Offshoring still winning the outsourcing shuffle
Data regarding how
many companies are doing offshore outsourcing and using H-1B visa
suggests the outsourcing shuffle - companies sending work out,
others hauling it back in - continues. But while one in five
companies have pulled outsourced work back in-house the past year,
that has not dimmed interest in the global IT.
Offshoring continues to grow in popularity. Among the 500
companies on the survey, 36% have outsourced new work offshore in
the past 12 months to improve efficiency, more than those who have
done so domestically. Still, 20% have brought outsourced functions
back in-house for the same reason. In total, two-thirds of
companies use offshore outsourcing. Fifty-nine percent augment
U.S. IT staffs with foreign workers on H-1B or L-1 visas.
In terms of globalization, the trend from the research is
unmistakable: there's no letup in the march toward global IT. H-1B
visas are one clear example, currently being used by 59% of the
companies on the survey, that figure was just 43% three years ago.
Source:
InformationWeek
Southeast Asian outsourcing to grow
SINGAPORE – EMS revenues in Southeast Asia topped
$20.7 billion in 2006 and are on track to reach $38.4 billion in
2013, Frost & Sullivan said.
The region is benefiting from the migration of multinational
providers from the U.S. and Europe looking to reduce their
manufacturing costs and underutilized capacity.
EMS providers generally prefer making investments in larger
markets such as China and locating near OEMs customers. However,
with long-term growth expected, they are likely to set up or
expand their existing bases in Southeast Asia to minimize the
risks of concentrating on just a few geographical areas.
Medium-volume products such as medical equipment and automotive
electronics are seen as the better fit for Southeast Asia, since
EMS providers will have sufficient volume to cover fixed costs.
These products contain a high degree of IP specific to OEMs,
thereby presenting a significant entry barrier for original design
manufacturers (ODMs) and any new participants. Hence, specializing
in low-volume products can prove advantageous to EMS providers in
the long term.
EMS providers can also benefit from pursuing collaborative design
with OEMs and share any IP created, rather than providing complete
design services to prevent any conflict of interests. This
arrangement can also provide EMS providers with the knowledge and
skills gained during the design phase to the manufacturing phase
of a product, reports Frost.
Source:
Sourcingmag
Nokia Siemens Networks R&D outsourced to IBM
As part
of the deal, about 235 employees will transfer to IBM to work on
the next-generation voice and multimedia services, mobile Internet
products, and VoIP products.
IBM has signed a deal to provide a range of research and
development services to Nokia Siemens Networks, a networking
company formed after the spin-off of several related businesses by
mobile phone manufacturer Nokia and engineering giant Siemens.
Under the agreement, IBM will take on R&D for NSN's next
generation voice and multimedia services, mobile Internet
products, and voice-over-Internet offerings. About 235 NSN
employees will transfer to IBM as a result of the deal.
The agreement is part of a broader push by NSN to outsource its
R&D activities in order to cut costs and gain access to
specialized knowledge. "This move provides Nokia Siemens Networks
with the flexibility it needs to successfully compete in the
market," said Jurgen Walter, head of service core and
applications, Nokia Siemens Networks, in a statement.
IBM said it will eventually use some of the assets acquired in the
deal to provide similar R&D services for other customers, as part
of its global engineering solutions portfolio.
IBM said that it expects the agreement to go into effect from
December. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Source:
Information Week
