Outsourcing Breaking News

Satyam chief quits, admits faking financial results
The chairman of troubled Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services on Wednesday tendered his resignation to the company's board of directors, admitting that the company inflated its financial results. More..

Indian outsourcers face scrutiny after Satyam debacle
The revelation on Wednesday by Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services that it had fiddled with its accounts will likely have an impact on other Indian outsourcers, according to analysts. More..

U.S. risks its standard of living without boost to research
The chairman of the U.S. House committee overseeing federal technology research investments, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), who last year warned that the "the best jobs may soon be found overseas," said he expects a boost in science funding from the new administration. The funding will help in the development of such areas as nanotechnology, better batteries, waste recycling and health care, he said. More..

Buyer beware: Outsourcing not economic panacea in 2009
Poorly constructed contracts, inadequate service delivery could negate the cost-cutting benefits of outsourcing. IT executives need to proceed with caution when signing service deals in the rush to lower fixed expenses. More..

Top 5 IT Predictions That Won't Pan Out For 2009
At this time of year, journalists love to compose lists to fill demand for content that can be rolled out at some point in the media dog days over the festive period, even if the writers themselves have disappeared off on holiday. Nothing wrong with that, so here is ours, but in the form of an antidote, suggesting some things that *won't* happen next year. More..

Outsourcing firms warn of H-1B visa cutbacks
In filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, companies that use H-1B and L-1 visas are alerting investors that it may become more difficult to obtain them in the future. Some firms are also noting that they don't know whether President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress will help them get adequate numbers of visas. More..

Indian outsourcer Satyam diversifies into construction
Satyam Computer Services, India's fourth largest outsourcer, said Tuesday it will invest in construction companies in a bid to deliver higher shareholder value in an otherwise challenging environment. More..

HCL completes acquisition of Axon
Indian outsourcer HCL Technologies has completed its $658 million cash offer for Axon Group, an SAP consulting company in the U.K. and Axon will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange Tuesday. More..

India's competitors catching up as outsourcing hotspots
One of India's key advantages as an offshore outsourcing location was its lower cost. But it may be losing this advantage to countries like Pakistan and Vietnam, which now offer staff at far lower costs than in India. More..

Survey: One in four IT jobs moving offshore
Large companies are accelerating their use of offshore outsourcing and as many as a quarter of IT jobs at Global 1000 firms may be moved offshore by 2010, according to The Hackett Group, a Miami-based consulting firm whose clients include many multinational firms. More..

Wipro redeploys some engineering staff to BPO
Indian outsourcer Wipro has decided to assign to its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations some of the software engineers it had promised to hire from college campuses. More..

U.S. Report: Major terror attack by 2013
In stark and certain terms, a Congress-mandated commission Tuesday warned that the world's nations face the threat of a major terrorism attack using biological and nuclear weapons by 2013. The commission's report, titled "The World at Risk," skips over the threat of cyberattacks and focuses almost exclusively on nuclear and biological weapons. More..

Napolitano may find support for raising H-1B cap at hearing
President-elect Barack Obama's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will face a nomination hearing before a Senate committee whose chairman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, has been both a critic and a defender of the H-1B program. The Connecticut senator's most recent action on the program came in April, when he backed legislation seeking a major increase in the number of H-1B visas that are issued. More..

Fear of more attacks could hurt business in India
Mumbai is trying to limp back to normalcy after terrorist attacks last week left around 195 dead, and close to 300 injured. But there are questions whether foreigners will continue to take the risk of doing business in the city and the rest of the country, which have faced repeated terrorist attacks in the past. More..

Amazon, Capgemini partner on application development
Consultancy Capgemini and Amazon.com will offer application development and hosting services using Amazon.com's infrastructure, the companies said on Tuesday. More..

How to Choose the Right IT Outsourcing Provider
So, you have decided to outsource. The journey to that decision was no doubt a difficult one, but now comes the hardest part: the road to selecting an outsourcing partner. Take the wrong path, and your project will be destined for failure, but the right one could lead you to a valuable outsourcing relationship for years to come. Here are five steps that should be on your roadmap to choosing your outsourcing partner. More..

Will the Recession End Offshore Outsourcing?
I recall sitting on a panel at an outsourcing conference in New York City back in 2004 when the major spike in offshore outsourcing kicked into gear. There were protesters outside, demonstrating their frustration about U.S. jobs "moving offshore". In response, an attorney declared, "outsourcing provides a great opportunity for the U.S.-we can "offload low-value jobs and focus on higher-value, more innovative work". I recall thinking to myself, even then, that that argument didn't quite add up. More..

8 reasons tech isn't dead...yet
The global economy is in as bad shape as we've ever seen. In the last two months, U.S. consumers have stopped spending money on discretionary items, including electronic gear, prompting this week’s bankruptcy filing by Circuit City. Retailers are worried that Black Friday will indeed be black, as holiday shoppers cut back on spending and choose lower-priced cell phones and notebook computers. More..

Hiring slows for Indian IT services and call centers
India's IT services and call center industry is likely to hire tens of thousands fewer workers for the Indian fiscal year running from April 2008 through March 2009. More..

What Outsourcers Can Learn from Open-Source Communities
Outsourcing development and open-source development may at first appear to be about as far apart as baseball and football. Both use a ball in a game, but that's about it. Yet a closer look from open-source software developers and industry analysts reveals that enterprises using outsourcing for their programming needs could stand to learn some management and process techniques from the open-source community. More..

Indian outsourcing industry jittery after Obama win
India's outsourcing industry is in private a little jittery after Senator Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election. But there is the expectation in industry circles that in the end economic pragmatism will prevail. More..

Wipro delays Atlanta center
Indian outsourcer Wipro is delaying establishing a software development center in Atlanta, Georgia, reflecting the impact of the global economic downturn on the company's expansion plans. More..

Seeing tough times ahead, Symantec plans layoffs
Anticipating a slowdown in IT spending, Symantec expects to begin laying off employees next month. More..

Job cuts in India's call centers and BPO likely
Call centers and business process outsourcing providers are among industry sectors in India that are likely to cut more than 25%of their staffing in the next 10 days, according to a report by a trade body. More..

Can outsourcers survive the economic storm?
Industry watchers say the market for IT services will go relatively unscathed during the economic crisis as IT departments work to cut costs and streamline operations. More..