Outsource Me, I'm Programmable. Im An Indian!
Author: Jason T

"Here, as I sip on my cuppa decaf, sitting in the comfort of my
home, 'programming and outsourcing' can only be the last thing
on my mind. After all, I've my business and job in place and am
doing well for now!" Can this be you talking? If so, then also
ask yourself "Am I just fine the way I am or am I missing out
on a Christmas Bonanza by not being tuned into the latest on
the outsourcing front?"

If you are forward thinking, you would regard information as an
essential strategic tool for furthering your business or career.
Read on, because I've a lot of information to help you with,
whether you are a manager, entrepreneur or a programmer
yourself.

No matter how much you would hate being 'Bangalored' yourself,
but this sure seems to be the latest fad amongst all the big
and small businesses in the world, and I'm not even sure
whether to call it a trend as it rather seems to be "the" way
to do business in this millennium. Just Google your way to an
insight into how much an Indian programmer is in demand by
those willing to outsource and I'm not surprised if it feels
like "Am I in danger of falling behind in business or career if
I don't outsource or get some outsourced job?"

WHY OUTSOURCE?

Pull up your socks for 'all the goodies up for grabs' out
there. Here is just a small preview:

1.  You pay a salary anywhere upwards of $4,000 monthly per
programmer. And this is excluding the bonuses and other
benefits like travel, relocation, insurance, sick leave
expenses etc. On the other hand, for the same amount of job,
you pay only a small fraction for the labor (because of the
conversion rate of the USD being approx. $1 = 45 INR) and nil
for other costs to an Indian programmer. So, you save on your
labor costs.

2.  You don't have to invest in the infrastructure, hiring and
training, recurrent operating costs and other overheads since
the programmers come with their own offices, hardware and
software requirements. Besides, you cut on the soaring real
estate costs and rents of owning a plush office space in a
strategic location. So, you completely delete your enormous
capital costs of doing it all in-house.

3.  The capital released or saved in this manner can be
channeled by your business into its core competencies.

4.  You don't have to worry about the quality either, since you
are tapping into the experience and expertise of seasoned
programmers. Infact, you are now able to provide better service
levels to your end user as compared to what an internal
department can provide.

5.  You can retain your focus on your core processes and
customer needs which directly impact your bottom line, instead
of worrying about the peripherals.

6.  Outsourcing works out as a greater efficiency generator in
terms of improved speed and better service quality without
having to invest in people and technology.

7.  If you are a small business or entrepreneur with lesser
capital flow, you stand to be largely benefited by outsourcing
as you can now manage bigger facilities at fractional costs and
your customers get services at par in quality with the services
provided by big businesses.

8.  When there is a time crunch and deadlines are fast
approaching with their monstrous mouths wide open, you don't
have to shout at your already stressed out employees, just take
a dive at the chill pool of outsourcing and relax. Your work and
your deadlines will be taken care of. Besides, you can start new
projects much quickly and with no hassles.

9.  For small work volumes and intermittent jobs, it is
sensible if you outsource instead of hiring full-time
employees.

10.  With the 'Virtualization' of office, you don't have to
deal with the stress and head ache of constantly monitoring at
your office. Now you have more flexibility, freedom and
mobility and can manage projects online.

11.  The more depersonalized virtual work atmosphere is
conducive to making wiser business decisions. No organizational
politics to deal with, a fairly clean system!

In short, you save your time, money,energy, focus and resources
and you are spoilt for choices too! That is why I think, now you
can really make hay while the sun shines, or shall I say, save
your bucks while the Indian works.

WHY INDIA?

APPREHENSIONS ENDED

India is a huge sea of educated and English speaking manpower
(infact, English is the language of choice for the educated
Indian). This includes a vast pool of talented programmers and
IT professionals, all credits to India's educational tradition
of strong mathematics and science and a strong system of
tertiary education. India's democratic stability, free market
economy and dependable judicial system lend a safety net to its
already time tested credentials. Infact, you have no legal
hurdles to overcome if you outsource to India. Indian legal
system has evolved to be highly supportive of international
contracts and Indian economy is in tune with the new realities
of the globalised world. Rather, thanks to its stupenduous
economic and domestic market growth, India is now witnessing a
reverse brain-drain for being the new economic hot-spot. All
this gives India the competitive edge vis-a-vis the other
upcoming outsourcing markets of the world.

Initially, clients would outsource only low skill coding
projects to India. But, now with India's reputaion getting well
established as the offshore destination for quality and
innovaton, global customers are queuing up for custom made
software solutions and outsourcing all their programming and
software development needs (ranging from systems analysis to
designing, coding, writing, implementation, and testing). India
as the first choice of the big players in the Industry, only
adds to its credibility.

Clearly, India should be your destination of choice too because
of its low labor costs, a populace comfortable with English
language, competent and cost effective solutions, appreciation
for software development disciplines, focus on quality output,
diverse programming skills, best brainpower and rock bottom
development costs.

WHAT'S IN THERE FOR THE INDIAN?

When an Indian freelancer takes on the challenge of claiming
his share in the outsourcing pie, you know that he has arrived.


1) If you are a programmer, you will be only happy to freelance
for an outsourced job since, for you, payments would come in
multiples of (approximately) Rs. 45 or more, and this can only
grow further.

2) By freelancing, you can be your own boss and get rid of the
supervisor breathing down your neck.

3) You can take up just the projects that really interest you
and give them your best instead of doing all sorts of boring
odds and ends in a regular office job. Infact, your experience
and expertise can generate more value for you in terms of
compensation as well as recognition.

4) Translating into your life, outsourcing can be a great
equalizer since a virtual office trivialises the effect of
personality. Your customers will only meet your skills and not
you or your appearance (you can save a bath for the rainy day!)
and therefore the personal biases of the project manager can't
come into the play while delegating jobs. Moreover, evaluation
would be totally fair.

5) For skilled women and the elderly folks who are forced to
stay back home for some reason, you can freelance and program
your way to financial glory and self fulfillment.

6) The liberty gained by opting to be a freelancer releases a
programmer from the regimented office life and gives him all
the freedom to be more in control of his life and career.

THE FINAL WORD

Here, we have a scenario in which, both the programmers and the
businesses stand in a win-win situation. There will always be
people who would resist change and decry the advantages of
globalisation in general and outsourcing in particular, for
various reasons. But, each one of us can choose whether we like
our oblivion enough or we wake up to the new reality, adapt to
it and embrace it as a productive part of our lives and
businesses. So, let's get on board this global opportunity and
ride high on its wave, or else, as we know, only the fittest
shall survive and thrive.

You can view the unabridged version of the article here
http://www.e-guru.in/articles.htm


About The Author: The author welcomes Indian freelancers,
webmasters and outsourcing clients to visit
http://www.e-guru.in To find the best of Indian programmers