{"id":4534,"date":"2007-07-10T10:29:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-10T10:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/has-the-lou-dobbs-factor-faded\/"},"modified":"2007-07-10T10:29:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-10T10:29:00","slug":"has-the-lou-dobbs-factor-faded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/has-the-lou-dobbs-factor-faded\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the Lou Dobbs factor faded?"},"content":{"rendered":"
It was only three years’ ago that I recall speaking at an Outsourcing conference in New York…there were a couple of hundred vociferous protesters outside the hotel, journalists armed with stories of woe about impending doom for the US economy…and that <\/span><\/strong>Lou Dobbs<\/span><\/strong><\/a> guy stirring it all up on the TV at dinner time with his "Exporting America" feature. How times have changed…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In the last few days, we’ve seen both the New York Times and the BBC produce reports on outsourcing that compliment each other to drive a compelling argument: Western firms can embrace the global labor pool to focus on delivering higher-value services – which is not<\/u> having a significant impact on domestic job losses.<\/em> The <\/span>New York times discusses the IBM business model<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t keep building out labor,\u201d Samuel J. Palmisano, the chief executive, said. \u201cThe long-term strategic answer was not to have a half a million people working for I.B.M.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Today, the company\u2019s global work force is organized in clusters of business expertise and connected by high-speed communications links. Project managers can search worldwide for the right people with the right skills for a job. One tool is Professional Marketplace, a Web-based database of people and expertise.<\/span><\/p>\n The idea is to build networks for producing and delivering technology services much like the global manufacturing networks that have evolved over the last couple of decades. Look inside a computer or automobile and the parts come from all over the world. High-end technology services projects increasingly will follow that formula, combining skills from across the globe and delivered on-site or remotely over the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Times also picks up on one very crucial point:<\/span><\/p>\n Jobs in technology services may be particularly vulnerable because computer programming can be described in math-based rules that are then sent over the Internet to anywhere there are skilled workers. Already, a significant amount of basic computer programming work has gone offshore to fast-growing Indian outsourcing companies like <\/span>Infosys<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Wipro<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Tata Consultancy Services<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n As they increasingly compete for higher-end work, the Indian companies are hiring thousands of workers this year in the United States, adding an odd twist to the offshoring trend. Tata alone plans to recruit 1,000 workers in America, said Surya Kant, president of the company\u2019s American unit, for \u201cthe near-shore work that requires regular contact with clients in person.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Times makes a compelling argument that only certain IT jobs can be moved offshore and the offshore providers are having to bolster their onshore workforces to compete effectively for the high-end work, otherwise will be left competing for lower-value work on a price competitive basis. So while offshoring in IT created a wide pool of labor talent, it has only fueled the demand for the high-touch labor needed to work close to the customer. Creating these types of jobs onshore only serves to keep IT professionals on their toes to focus their skillsets on more client-centric work, while a lot of the programming work is done offshore.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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