outsourcing - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• With H-1B visa, diversity doesn't apply

  Apple says workforce diversity "inspires creativity and innovation," but one of Apple's major contractors, Infosys, is far from diverse.

• So Cal Edison's path to the center of the H-1B debate

  Southern California Edison was known for good pay and benefits before it began laying off IT workers and <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2879083/southern-california-edison-it-workers-beyond-furious-over-h-1b-replacements.html">replacing them with H-1B visa holders</a>.

• Displaced IT workers are being silenced

  A major problem with the H-1B debate is the absence of displaced IT workers in news media accounts. Much of the reporting is one-sided -- and there's a reason for this.

• Hypocrisy and connections help IT outsourcing firms

  The liberal group Center for American Progress (CAP) advocates restricting the use of H-1B visas by offshore outsourcing firms. Its recommendations are designed to get offshore firms to hire more U.S. workers and curb their ability to move jobs offshore.

• A victorious GOP would shape the Senate's H-1B debate

  If the Republicans win the Senate on Tuesday, the power shift will affect the nation's on-going H-1B visa debate.

• 7 outsourcing nightmares -- and how to avoid them

  Poor communication, shortsighted contracts -- don't get derailed by an IT outsourcing agreement gone awry

• How to manage outsourcers after the contract's ink is dry

  When the global trade association SEMI experienced a big revenue decline last year and had to cut staff, CIO Gil McInnes turned to outsourcing.

• Outsourcing information security

  The need to keep information secure is not a recent development. To satisfy this need, most organisations construct a list of security requirements based on common sense. This has proven fairly effective with simple and well understood media such as pen and paper. As information management (and its security) has become more complex in nature, the likelihood of a gap in that common sense list of requirements has increased.

• Outsourcing: Crippling Mistakes IT Departments Make

  Researchers at the University of Tennessee have studied a variety of outsourcing deals-from IT and back-office work to manufacturing and logistics-and identified the most common mistakes organizations make when partnering with an external provider.

• IT Outsourcing: Legal Mistakes That Can Cost You Big

  Good legal counsel can be worth every penny when putting together an outsourcing deal. But those legal fees can add up quickly if you're not careful. Worse yet, some common mistakes customers make when working with an outsourcing attorney can prove costly not only during contracting and negotiations but over the life of the deal.

• Offshoring? Try China and India plus a third site

  China may be rising as an offshoring destination, but many companies are outsourcing to multiple countries rather than just choosing between China and India.

• 10 Cultural Faux Pas You Should Never Make in India

  It's been 12 hours since your last bite to eat. Your stomach growls angrily as you meet the host who will take care of all your needs while you prepare to sign a big contract with his company. He takes you out to dinner at a nice restaurant--please tell me you didn't just order a steak!

• Cutting the Wrong Employees Can Kill A Business

  Retaining strategically important IT staff in a recession can provide an organisation with competitive advantage. Outsourcing selectively now is a good option, but retaining in house project management skills is the key for IT leaders when the economic climate improves.

• Cisco quietly downsizing through outsourcing

  When Cisco celebrated the fifth anniversary of its New England Development Center last year - a ceremony attended by Massachusetts Congresswoman Niki Tsongas and a representative from Gov. Deval Patrick’s office - the company was quietly preparing to move several jobs from there and other locations to contractors in India and elsewhere, mostly in the company's Network Management Technology Group (NMTG).

• What Outsourcers Can Learn from Open-Source Communities

  Perhaps your company's outsourcing efforts would go more smoothly if you picked up a few of these effective programming tools and methodologies from open-source developers.