IT Offshoring Creates New Demand

Offshore outsourcing, particularly in the area of information technology, has been a sensitive subject of much debate over the last decade. In fact, in many cases the coverage of the issue has risen to near hysteria. While U.S. companies make efforts to remain competitive in the global economy, questions arise over whether these gains are being realized or whether these firms are, in effect, outsourcing our country's ability to remain a leader in technological innovation. Equally as important are the concerns of IT knowledge workers, whose jobs have been moved overseas while they remain searching for the next step in their careers. U.S. IT workers find themselves asking:

  • Am I going to lose my job to someone in India who will do it for less?
  • What skilled positions will remain here in the U.S., and how do I position myself to be in demand?
  • Must I consider a career change into a more stable field?

This article addresses the trend of IT offshoring, and aims to dispel some of the myths about the reported lack of technology opportunities that remain for the skilled workers here in the United States.

As an executive recruiting firm charged with delivering highly skilled IT talent to clients on a contract, contract-to-hire, or permanent basis, Partner Technology is regularly involved in the hiring decisions of U.S. based companies and their IT departments. We consult with chief information officers (CIOs), IT directors and HR departments to help them plan for current and future demands for skilled talent. We work with these clients to craft scope documents for new technology initiatives, and to identify the contingent and full time resources needed to make it happen for years to come.

While the movement to outsource IT jobs to foreign countries continues, we see tremendous opportunities developing for technology experts here at home. Every industry changes, and IT is no different. Though some might argue the point, hardware, software, and IT services can in fact be produced and delivered more cost effectively and at comparable levels of quality in other parts of the world. This natural flow of trade is to be expected as companies strive to remain competitive and deliver corporate profits. However, the trend toward more IT offshoring does not leave expert technology workers here at home empty handed. In fact, we believe that today's U.S. technology workers stand to reap significant benefits from this trend if they can prepare for it now.

What's Really Leaving
All technology jobs are not moving offshore. In our experience, it is the repetitive, task oriented work, often perceived as commodity-level IT services, that is being outsourced. Legacy coding, legacy system support, 'churn & burn' software programming for new software development efforts, 3rd party package technical support, system testing, Network Operations Center (NOC) and/or data center support – particularly second and third shifts – are what companies are sourcing elsewhere.

In many ways this trend resembles changes in other industries. A pharmaceutical company invents a new drug compound, brings the product to market, and enjoys many years as the exclusive provider. Then the patent expires, the formula becomes widely available, and competitors rush to create similar products faster and less expensively. The leader may still reap many benefits of being first to market, but healthy competition drives new innovation and the end users benefit from higher quality and lower prices. We shouldn't expect the IT sector to operate differently. Legacy system support, product testing and technical support hasn't changed much in the last decade, and companies will always test new approaches to delivering better quality faster and for less. However, this shift in where or by whom a product or service is delivered produces new opportunities.

Creating a Vacuum
Many U.S. corporations have found that offshoring is not the panacea that they once envisioned it to be. A system developed by cheaper labor proves to be more costly if the requirements are not understood and the project veers off course, much less if it has to be scrapped and re-written.

U.S. companies that have outsourced these and other IT services are seeing new needs develop. Struggling to make the outsourcing model work, IT departments have had to develop more effective project managers, able to more effectively gather and communicate requirements clearly across cultural and geographic boundaries and provide IT controls. While the work in the trenches can be outsourced, the knowledge and experience of the business environment simply cannot be shipped overseas. Many firms are seeking process improvement experts, business process reengineering solutions and professionals that are experts in the systems development lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies that can more ably guide application development.

IT Offshoring Creates Demand for:

Business Systems Analysis
Business Process Engineering
Functional Analysis
Process Improvement
Techno-Functional Analysis
IT Auditing
QA Analysis
IT Security
Project Management Office
IT Procurement / Sourcing
Program Management

Certifications in Demand:
RUP
Six Sigma
ITIL
CISA
CMM
CISSP
PMP

Companies still need technically skilled people to understand the needs of the business unit, to propose technology solutions to their challenges, to guide the project to completion, and to evaluate its ability to deliver business value. We find these areas of IT to be booming; that it is no coincidence that the emergence of the project management office (PMO) and offshoring occurred around the same time period.

Hybrid roles such as the 'Techno-Functional Analyst' are becoming more prevalent. U.S. corporations that ship a significant portion of the IT operation offshore also feel a great need for knowledge workers to fill positions in the area of IT governance and IT risk. QA, IT auditing, procurement, IT security and risk assessment may have traditional been viewed as the 'red-headed step child' of IT, however now these initiatives are at the forefront as companies place greater emphasis in hiring people in record numbers in these areas.

Advice for IT Professionals
As with knowledge workers in many other industries, IT professionals must recognize the changing global economy and prepare themselves and their careers to stay in demand. It is important to note that we are not advocating the abandonment of technical skills. However, IT professionals who position themselves with knowledge of business operations will find themselves to be the most marketable in the long term.

Below we offer several tips for IT professionals to stay ahead of the curve:

  1. Focus your career in the broad areas of Business Systems Analysis, Process Improvement, SDLC methodologies or Project Management
  2. Align with business units within your employer organizations. Study their operations, seek to understand their challenges, and position yourself as a resource to solve real problems and deliver business value.
  3. Become an expert in the competitive advantages within your company and the IT initiatives surrounding them. Companies are much less likely to outsource proprietary intellectual capital.
  4. Apply creativity in solving problems using your technical skills; frame what you know in light of the business problem it solves.
  5. Work to change the perception of IT in your organization from a 'vendor' group to a business partner in addressing competitive challenges.
  6. Get yourself to the table for product launch discussions, strategic planning initiatives, and other major organizational decision making processes.

Whatever field you are in, you will insure your viability if you can become a true consultant to the business.

If you're in a role that you feel may be negatively impacted by IT offshoring and you'd like advice on where to head next, contact Partner Technology at 513.322-5540 or careers@partnerps.com.