Body Count: Why Moving to India Won't Really Help IT

There was a story in the news a couple weeks ago about how IBM was planning to move thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of technical positions to India. This isn't just IBM, though. Nearly every big company that is in the IT outsourcing or software development business is doing or getting ready to do the same thing. They call this 'offshoring,' and its goal is to save a lot of money for the companies involved because India is a very cheap place to do business. And it will accomplish that objective for awhile. In the long run, though, IT is going to have the same problems in India that it has here. The only real result of all this job-shifting will be tens of thousands of older engineers in the U.S. who will find themselves working at Home Depot. You see, 'offshoring' is another word for age discrimination.

Cringely, Robert X. PBS (2003). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Designing Products for Offshore Development

Although as an Interaction Designer I'm not involved in the actual development of the products I design, I find it increasingly clear that outsourcing creates a significant impact on the entire software design and construction process. Offshore development is in its infancy, but will continue to evolve to become an increasingly effective way to go about certain kinds of software construction. Based on recent project work, this article describes a number of observations worth considering as you ponder how outsourcing and offshore development may fit into your plans.

Cronin, Dave. Cooper Interaction Design (2004). Design>Usability>International>Offshoring

Enterprise Content Management in an Offshoring Context

Many companies outsource content management implementations to systems integrators, but what if the implementers are based half-way around the world? Wipro's Apoorv Durga offers some good advice for enterprises considering taking their next ECM project offshore. As this map suggests, the view is quite different from India.

Durga, Apoorv. CMS Watch (2006). Articles>Content Management>International>Offshoring

Ethical and Intercultural Challenges for Technical Communicators and Managers in a Shrinking Global Marketplace    

In today's shrinking global marketplace, many technical communicators face challenges related to intercultural communication. This article examines ethical issues in intercultural communication, beginning with a brief survey of classical ethical models, then focusing on the guidelines for ethical communication developed by Allen and Voss to provide a framework for discussion. Of Allen and Voss's 10 values for ethical communication, we focus on privacy, legality, teamwork, social responsibility, and cultural sensitivity. We offer specific suggestions for avoiding stereotyping, tokenism, and ethnocentrism in technical documentation, including before-and-after examples. We examine the risks involved in using graphics and icons and in attempting to translate idiomatic usages. The article concludes with guidelines for technical communicators preparing documentation for international audiences and with suggestions for managers who wish to give their employees guidance regarding ethical and effective intercultural communication.

Voss, Daniel W. and Madelyn Flammia. Technical Communication Online (2007). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Exporting Technical Writing Jobs

Traditionally, contractors have played an important role in the technical writing field by providing specific expertise, thereby allowing companies to focus on their core competencies. Contactors have made it possible for companies to add temporary personnel when needed ' an important benefit in a field where work output peaks periodically.

VanNorman, Maggie. Carolina Communique (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

The Hidden Costs of Offshore Outsourcing

The current stampede toward offshore outsourcing should come as no surprise. For months now, the business press has been regurgitating claims from offshore vendors that IT work costing $100 an hour in the United States can be done for $20 an hour in Bangalore or Beijing. If those figures sound too good to be true, that's because they are.

Overby, Stephanie. CIO Magazine (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Managing a Virtual Team  

Managing a team of employees who are located around the world can be challenging. Discover how to efficiently and effectively work to create the highest level of output.

Damrau, Jackie. Intercom (2006). Careers>Management>Project Management>Offshoring

The Moment of Truth: How Much Does Culture Matter to You?

Whether we like it or not, offshoring is here to stay. 'If' or 'when' to offshore is no longer an issue. The heart of the discussion is 'how much' – how much we can afford to offshore or, more precisely, how much we can afford to keep. The User Experience (UX) profession has gone a long way in making the distinction between software design and UX design known. Will we be able to hold on to that distinction when it comes to offshoring?

Gorlenko, Lada. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Web Design>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Money Or The Gun

Businesses large and small can focus on what they do best by outsourcing non-core functions such as debt recovery.

Krueger, Ron. Outsourcing Institute, The (2006). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Moving Up the Value Chain: Transitioning From a Cost Center to a Profit Center  

A presentation about management issues for offshore outsourcing firms.

Ramkumar, Ramamoorthy. STC India (2003). Presentations>Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Offshore Documentation Development in India: Lessons from Experience  

Increasingly, many U.S. companies are locating documentation projects offshore, in countries such as India. Setting up and managing offshore documentation teams creates a special set of challenges, in areas such as hiring, training, planning, coping with time zone and cultural differences, and coordinating work done offshore and onsite. This presentation provides an overview of the offshoring trend and its implications for technical writers and managers. It also describes the challenges of managing offshore documentation projects and provides some guidelines and best practices for resolving them.

Abedrabbo, Francisco and Pavi Sandhu. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Offshore Project Management : The Business to Technical Communication (Part II)

As a project manager there are many things going through PM's mind. Many tasks - knowledge bank - technical and as well as business wise.

Khanna, Manoj. RapidBlog (2005). Articles>Project Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Offshore Usability

To save costs, some companies are outsourcing Web projects to countries with cheap labor. Unfortunately, these countries lack strong usability traditions and their developers have limited access -- if any -- to good usability data from the target users.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Articles>Usability>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Offshoring

What is offshoring? It's shorthand for offshore outsourcing, the practice of hiring employees, usually through an outsourcing service, in another country. Companies seeking to reduce their labor costs use offshoring to employ workers at costs substantially less than at home. Typically, companies headquartered in the United States contract for employees in India, and increasingly in China, Russia, Israel, or Ireland, for example. Why is offshoring in the news? Because staff and contract workers in the United States see their jobs in the high-tech industry disappear as their current or former employers use offshoring to reduce costs.

Sampson, Fred. STC Silicon Valley (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Offshoring: Strategies for Prevailing in the Global Marketplace for Technical Writing  

Offshoring will not go away. Technical communicators can improve their prospects by taking offshoring into account as they envision their futures. After defining offshoring and outsourcing, this paper presents a brief history of offshoring and the myths associated with it, followed by a reporting of observations made by practitioners in the field. The conclusions of this report include recommended strategies for technical communicators to consider as they move forward in their careers.

Highby, Marie. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Offshoring

Offshoring: What Does It Mean for Us?  

Summarizes a discussion about offshoring held at the Philadelphia Metro chapter's annual conference during which panelists suggested ways that technical communicators based in the United States can make their positions more secure.

Rosenberg, Nad. Intercom (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Calculator

When offshoring manufacturing to low-cost regions, executives need to determine the savings lower labor rates contribute to the bottom line. Meanwhile, the biggest cost for most companies engaging electronics contract manufacturing partners is the materials cost of goods sold (MCOGs) for products being manufactured. Whether outsourcing or offshoring your product manufacturing, the Outsourcing Calculator can help you uncover costs, and potential savings, as you evaluate low-cost manufacturing destinations.

Zetter, Mark. Venture Outsource (1999). Resources>Project Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Calculator

A very simple tool for calculating ROI for outsourcing developer labor.

Info Sourcing (2004). Resources>Project Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

An Outsourcing Case Study

With revenue flattening, David Galbenski needed a bold new plan. But was outsourcing everything to India really the right move? Darren Dahl speaks to some of the complexities in outsourcing legal work overseas.

Dahl, Darren. Inc. Magazine (2006). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Documentation Development: Assessing the Offshore Option

This paper discusses some of the aspects that should be considered when evaluating the required resources and total cost of offshoring documentation development. As consultants to the documentation industry, The Integrity Group is committed to recommending the overall best solution for each business need. We have, therefore, drawn some conclusions from our research and made recommendations for those who are considering offshoring.

Clifton, Deborah. WritersUA (2005). Careers>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Documentation Development: Assessing the Offshoring Option  

This paper discusses some of the aspects that should be considered when evaluating the required resources and total cost of offshoring documentation development. The actual metrics for assessing offshoring costs are not included in this paper. Rather, it is suggested that you take each of the topic areas and measure the costs as they relate to your specific situation. It is only after factoring in the dollars related to these activities that you and your company’s executive team can make a complete assessment of offshoring’s potential financial benefit.

Clifton, Deborah. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Risk Calculator

To determine the Risk of outsourcing your business.

Info Sourcing (2004). Resources>Project Management>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Outsourcing Tips

Have you calculated the risks of outsourcing, and how do you find the best vendor and what would you outsource?

Info Sourcing (2004). Resources>Documentation>Outsourcing>Offshoring

Send Jobs to India? Some Find It's Not Always Best

Even as the prospect of high-skilled American jobs moving to low-wage countries like India ignites hot political debate, some entrepreneurs are finding that India's vaunted high-technology work force is not always as effective as advertised.

Porter, Eduardo. New York Times, The (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring