BizTech

Dell brings them back

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/11/24/financial1350EST0129.DTL&type=tech

Read about Dell bringing back offshore jobs!

The Hidden Costs of IT Outsourcing

The Hidden Costs of IT Outsourcing

By Olga Kharif
October 27, 2003

Labor costs in traditional outsourcing powerhouses such as
India are escalating. Already, EDS vice president Dan
Zadorozny said, an entry-level programmer costs more there
than in Argentina -- which is where he's increasingly
sending clients.

[article covers various problems surfacing with
offshoring]

Full story at:
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/31955.html

No smooth sailing for offshoring

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/11/16/BUGTR32G6L1.DTL

No smooth sailing for offshoring
Moving IT work overseas can have unexpected costs

John Shinal, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, November 16, 2003

U.S. companies sending information technology work overseas merely to cut salary costs may find their savings are either disappointing or short- lived.

The reason is that the unexpected costs of moving IT jobs to India and China, including skyrocketing salaries, are changing the financial equation of offshoring just as U.S. executives are rushing to adopt the practice.

Interviews with business consultants, corporate executives, market analysts, venture capitalists and others who have looked closely at the trend revealed that much of the conventional wisdom about moving IT work offshore is, well, off base.

"Too many companies are viewing offshoring as a tactical decision," said Gregg Rock, president and founder of BrainStorm Group Inc., an offshore consulting firm in Boston.

For more, go to the URL above.

Caught in the Pull of Globalization

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/2003/11/10/news/7225976.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted on Mon, Nov. 10, 2003

Caught in the pull of globalization
ECONOMISTS SAY FLOW OF WORK OVERSEAS IS UNSTOPPABLE -- AND HEALTHY FOR U.S.
By Aaron Davis and Margaret Steen
Mercury News

Tech-woker activist Natasha Humphries outside the offices of the Communications Wokers of America in San Jose. Humphries, along with other local activists from TechsUnite.org plan organized protests against U.S. companies that outsource labor.

When Natasha Humphries went to Bangalore, India, in December to train Indian contract workers to do quality-assurance testing for her employer, Palm, she realized that her own job coordinating that work could be done by local workers there, as well. ``I'm fairly intuitive -- I saw the writing on the wall,'' said the 30-year-old Santa Clara resident.

Humphries was indeed laid off in August. Her former employer, now known as palmOne, says her layoff was not directly related to its outsourcing in India. Humphries, however, disagrees. And in unemployment, she has become an activist.

``I am not angry with companies for trying to conserve costs, but at the same time, we do have to acknowledge that it's going to create more problems for us domestically if we don't create more jobs for U.S. citizens,'' said Humphries in an interview last month before she testified in front of a congressional committee examining the effect of white-collar jobs moving overseas.

For more, go to the URL above.

Credit Agencies Sending our Files Abroad

LAZARUS AT LARGE
Credit agencies sending our files abroad

David Lazarus

Friday, November 7, 2003

Two of the three major credit-reporting agencies, each holding detailed files on about 220 million U.S. consumers, are in the process of outsourcing sensitive operations abroad, and a third may follow suit shortly, industry officials acknowledge for the first time.
Privacy advocates say the outsourcing of files that include Social Security numbers and complete credit histories could lead to a surge in identity theft because U.S. laws cannot be enforced overseas.
For their part, the credit agencies say the trend is a necessary cost- cutting move in light of new legislation

To read the article, go to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/11/07/MNG4Q2SEAM1.DTL

SBC Outsouring to India

The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/10/31/BUG3J2N1CV1.DTL

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Friday, October 31, 2003 (SF Chronicle)
SBC quietly spins off jobs to India
David Lazarus

Let's continue our exploration of personal information slipping abroad by
taking a close look at one company's efforts to outsource tech operations
to India.
The company in question is telecom giant SBC, which, according to
confidential internal documents, has hired two outsourcing firms in India
to take on a variety of tasks, ranging from "application enhancement and
maintenance" to "new application development."
SBC is by no means alone in looking overseas for cut-rate tech help.
Virtually every major U.S. corporation is outsourcing at least a portion
of its operations as a way to slash costs and boost profits....

Go to SF Gate URL for more.