Outsourcing isn’t really the devil it’s made out to be
Indian Web companies have been very unabashed about sending out unsolicited emails to any email address that they can grab. While spams offering to cater to 'below the stomach issues' dominate most of the junk email domain, Web companies have lagged behind only a trifle.
When I say Web companies, I mean Indian, Russian and Chinese Web companies.
Indian Web companies in particular, share a love and hate relationship with Web companies that are established in the developed countries like US, UK, Australia, Canada and so on. We, being an Indian Web company, have come across an overwhelming number of Web companies abroad that keep Indian Web development companies at an arm's length. And not without reasons, examples of which would be:
- Having had a VERY bitter experience with an Indian Web company in the terms that communication happened in comical English and the product delivered was a far cry from what was promised, not to mention scooting away with the retainer.
- The Web company abroad simply wants to keep all their business in-house and never wanted to outsource in the first place but was bombarded each day with pleading emails shouting the benefits of outsourcing down their throats.
I seek to bring home to my readers that outsourcing is just another form of innocent trade and isn't as threatening or controversial as it's made out to be by some enteprenuers.
A company's apprehensive attitude towards outsourcing stems from the insecurity of dependence on a foreign entity for it's production and delivery. This is a VERY misplaced concern in the modern scenario which is highly charged with communication and connectivity. I'd say it's definitely poor business sense if not narrow mindedness.
The benefits of outsourcing are far too many to be given up in favour of an irrelevant fear. Instead of giving up outsourcing altogether a company can very easily safeguard and ensure both it's production and delivery by retaining a portfolio of two or maybe three reputed and well established Web vedors abroad. So in case one of those siezes to provide services due to any reason, one can fall back on the other two. And there is no dearth of vendor Web companies which do good work and are reliable.
Another reason is more of an emotional nature than practical and is therefore tricky to tackle. It's patriotism. Point taken that it makes a lot of patriotic sense if a CEO cares for his own country's economy and wants to give business to his own countrymen and not foreigners.
But such enteprenuers do not understand things in a broader light. They deny the fact that globalization has happened and is going to stay whether they like it or not. They would gorge on mangoes imported from India or Mexico on their breakfast table and when in office they would whine about outsourcing. While other businesses would take advantage of their government's policies of free international trade, such CEOs would be opposed to a trend which they could never reverse. So who is the ultimate loser ? The very CEOs with this kind of thinking.
Globalization - which is both approved and encouraged internationally - enables business sectors from around the world to explore attractive and profitable trade options with their foreign counterparts. This has happened since the dawn of trade and civillizations. However, it's only now that the world is experiencing it's full extent with the advent of Internet which has shrunk the world with it's criss - crossing data cables.
Now, there aren't just individuals who are opposed to outsourcing but leaders of countries as well. Mr Obama, the US president, is whemently against US companies which outsource. One side of this coin is that it's fair for a President to worry about employment and skills of his own people but the other side is that he would find it hard to restrict those businesses from outsourcing who have enjoyed it's benefits successfully over the last many years.
It would be a big task for the US government to enhance Web services and skills on such a mass level within the US that the current per hour programming rate of $45 to $60 charged by domestic programmers drops to $10 to $15 per hour that is being offered by foreign Web companies. And even if this is realized, there would be other hurdles difficult to address which pertain to the mindset of US programmers.
It would be impossible to inculcate in them 'by hook or by crook' approach to a project which seems to come naturally to Indian Web developers and which is welcomed by US Web companies with an ear to ear grin. The happy go lucky and a lenient attitude of Indian Web programmers towards their clients establishes a very comfortable rapport between the two and is a pleasant change for the US Web companies when their own programmers would charge them for every minute spent in their office premises.
Coming back to outsourcing let's summarize:
- Outsourcing is innocent trade between two countries which is as old as the 'oldest profession' 
- Outsourcing / trade will happen whether individuals or leaders like it or not. Either cannot reverse it
- Either you broaden your horizons to embrace outsourcing or choose to be left behind and miss the boat
- When individuals are brought together they have no option but to talk and interact and they would do so in any way they deem appropriate. Similarly when countries are brought together, peoples of these countries would interact in anyway they deem appropriate and trade / outsourcing is just one aspect of it
So, embrace outsourcing as you ventured to sample the odd tiffin of your friend in school !