Would IT freelancers benefit from more roles going to India?

The Government ICT Offshoring Guidance said that firms would then be free to focus on the higher-skilled activities that help boost companies' revenues. The document went on to argue that short-term job losses are often regained as the economy grows. Therefore the medium-term impact would be nowhere near as bad as the number of jobs that were apparently lost in the first instance.

Data from the Leverhulme Institute was used to back up these claims. It's statistics show that offshoring created 100,000 jobs in the UK between 1994 and 2004, and increased business turnover by about £10 billion.

Efficiency savings can often be found by offshoring application development and remote infrastructure management services. Furthermore, the drive to move towards cloud computing services will mean that ICT services will increasingly be delivered from global locations.

However, the guidance does point out that there are risks associated with outsourcing IT. Threats to data security and the problem of managing services have to be taken into consideration and weighed against the cost effectiveness of outsourcing.

A number of government departments are considering offshoring some IT functions to cut costs in the wake of the government's austerity measures. Birmingham City Council has already announced it plans to transfer 100 HR and IT roles to India. HP has also proposed transferring 200 ICT support roles at the Department for Work and Pensions to India.

© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: Monome DIY Kit: Glowing LEDs 02 by g.p.macklin