E-Commerce Times Talkback

Re: High-Tech Firms Say Outsourcing Is Necessary for Survival
Posted by: Chris Gaither 2003-11-04 11:15:56

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Andre Brassard keeps sending out resumes but has largely given up on the profession that employed him for a decade: writing software. In his old department at Mindspeed Technologies Inc., most of the software engineers are gone. The work Brassard and his colleagues did is now largely done in Ukraine for one-quarter to one-third the cost. "What has happened to me is irreversible," Brassard said. "It's not like the downturn of 10 years ago. Then it was just bad times."

Re: High-Tech Firms Say Outsourcing Is Necessary for Survival
Posted by: codingwizard 2003-11-04 11:25:21 In reply to: Chris Gaither

While this process indisputably reduces costs, it is in my opinion very dangerous for technology startups, particularly software startups, to pursue this route. While a company can insist upon non-disclosure agreements, these do not have the force in other countries they do in the West, and particularly in the United States. There is a great danger the technology will simply be given away to high-turnover overseas shops who will emerge as competitors who needn't invest in R&D.
Also, it is myth that such outsourcing has caused a great reduction in the demand for software and other developers, at least not yet. The great reduction in demand is due instead to the wholesale adoption of shrinkwrap software by Western businesses during the 1990s, consolidating the need for developers in a handful of companies competing for each market niche.

Re: High-Tech Firms Say Outsourcing Is Necessary for Survival
Posted by: SrProgrammer 2003-11-04 21:55:45 In reply to: codingwizard

There are lies and then there are damn lies and stating that Outsourcing Is Necessary for Survival of High-Tech Firms is a damn lie. When you peel back the FUD you can see it for what it is, GREED. Innovation? When are slave wages and exploitation called innovation? It may have been perceived as innovation 100 years ago as slave ships from Africa made their way to the cotton fields in North America, but today it's no more than an unadulterated move to destroy the careers of millions of highly paid professionals in the US by exploiting people in India. And of course their own countrymen are quick to point out that these folks are grateful to earn enough to buy a bowl of rice. I wonder how many computers Dell and IBM are planning on selling in India? If Dell and IBM could not bring their products built on slave labor back into the US to reap huge profits, the only outsourcing would be to companies in this country. And I don’t mean Indian front Companies exploiting L1 Visas.
As these multimillionaire CEO’s proclaim that they need better-trained employees and have no choice but to outsource, who was it that placed theses companies at the top of the technology heap? It certainly was not the folks from Bangladesh. If the CEO’s, COO’s, and corporate spin-doctors think they can hide the facts from the American people and avoid a backlash, they better think again.