Yet, the number of computer science graduates dropped 42 percent between 1986 and 1995. Global outsourcing has the potential to fill a substantial portion of this gap. A number of developing countries have invested heavily in technical education and can provide a ready supply of bright people at a relatively low cost. Infrastructure improvements in many developing nations, particularly in the area of telecommunications, and the fact that IT professionals tend to work independently, make it possible to bring this talent to bear on virtually any programming task. Traditionally, the most active location for staging these types of IT initiatives has been India.
American corporations appear to be taking notice.
The first step is selecting the right business applications. While many companies think of outsourcing first as a method of handling new application development, it's important to note that it has equal or greater relevance to maintenance and enhancements of existing applications. Many companies prefer to handle strategic initiatives with their internal IT staff, because they have greater knowledge of business rules, and outsource the maintenance of legacy systems. This approach has the advantage of maximizing the knowledge capital invested in individual professionals by enabling their dedication to maximum value-added activities. IT managers who have sent work overseas agree almost to a person on the need for a vendor-supplied project manager at the client site.