US-based companies’ IT work going global

The field of information technology (IT) has seen more than its fair share of jobs going offshore, mainly to save money on the tech-related payroll.

Companies that feel compelled to slash jobs locally while staffing up their offshore operations have received a lot of media coverage, usually good from the investors’ angle and usually bad from everyone else.

To this day, the whole offshoring trend isn’t well understood by the IT managers and even less by the general public so InformationWeek’s September 2008 Analytics Report, revealing IT strategies from the 500 (alleged) best and brightest companies, in North America may further help us put numbers on this globalized work phenomenon.

So the basic assumption is that United States companies are looking beyond their borders when it comes to their latest IT strategies.

The following numbers seem to be going in that direction…

67% (of the 500 companies that have been surveyed) use offshore IT services — If anybody still doubted the outsourcing trend was for real, this is the number that ends the debate;
46% have full-time IT employees outside the US — The offshore wages are so low compared to domestic ones that setting-up a foreign shop can be done relitively cheaply;
40% conduct business process outsourcing offshore — This is the proverbial cherry on the outsourcing sunday as whoever determines the BPOs has a lot of power over “how things get done”;
14% encourage US IT workers to work in offshore comapny offices — And most of the time, it’s a matter of setting things up “over there” so that unit can (eventually) become “worthy” of “local quality standards”.

So the numbers are pretty clear about the fact that offshoring has moved into “mainstrem IT” but qualitywise, many US-based companies are still seeing very serious problems stemming from their “cheap” offshore workforce that perhaps entertain a different relation with the whole “quality matters”.

US companies using offshore workers report countless problems ranging from poor communications, sloppy code, tech short-sightedness, critical lack of “vision” and scalability as well a general sense of having to reinvent the wheel every time a more challenging project comes up.

In other words, even though some American companies might be celebrating the spectacular cuts in employee wages, when they offshore their IT work, the end result isn’t necessarily going to be in-line with the standards they’ve been enjoying for several decades, domestically.

When the US-based companies fired hundreds of thousands of workers to send their work offshore, many of those IT-proficient workers decided to leave the “crazy 9-to-5 rat race cubicle experience” to go “independent”, usually as consultants. Their take on the situation is positive, overall. By being their own boss, they decide everything about their job, including their fees so, at anywhere between $75 and $175 per hour, it’s relatively easy to make as much (or more) money as their previous “full-time” job… and, as a bonus, they get to see their family a lot more.

Of course, there’s a huge lot of IT workers who have yet to find themselves another job (since they’ve been offshored so massively) and that’s very sad as these qualified workers are being replaced by foreigners who cost less but probably are worth less, also… and their managers only see the wage part, blissfully ignoring the quality part of the global equation.

US customers are also on the losing end of this offshoring proposition because they stand to receive sub-standard services while the price they pay isn’t likely to go down as the difference will generally be passed along to the shareholders, as generous dividends. And… since the rich shareholders often send off their money to offshore bank accounts, the domestic economy is likely to suffer a lot more (over the coming years) as offshoring gets even more prevalent and shareholders continue to use “fiscal havens” to legally evade their tax responsibilities, at home.

So offshoring is good for…

the rich shareholders; and
for the workers at these “exotic” locations.

…but bad for everybody else, such as…

the fired workers who (previously) contributed so massively to the tax base and the social economy;
the consumers who basically do business with an “American-front” while providing all their sensitive private information to an “offshore back-end” where no (credible) legal framework exists; and
the US government which gets a lot less taxation money to carry out its social projets and responsibilities.

Some experts are saying that within a decade or so, foreigners from countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Romania will catch-up with the US IT workforce’s typical high-quality results.

Until then, the US IT workers will likely further their qualifications and make themselves “essential” all over again, namely by shifting the current computing paradigm, meaning that the basic “rules” of the IT game could change in the US’ favor, once again.

Whatever you think of all this, offshoring will continue to have a very real impact on how the domestic IT workforce evolves — fortunately, worthwhile opportunities still exist for “the locals” although it’s wise to assume that, from this point on, it might not be that way forever.

Tags: offshore, offshoring, offshored workers, foreign worker, it workers, exotic locations, us-based companies, us it work, domestic wages, foreign wages, high it wages, low it wages, india, china, vietnam, united states, politics, taxation, fiscal havens, fiscal evasion, shareholders, money, dividends

PrestaShop lets you open up your own web store

If you’re a merchant looking for a straightforward way to morph into an “e-merchant”, PrestaShop might make it on your shortlist.

For starters, it’s an open source (read: free) PHP and MySQL-based web script that, once installed, allows you to run your very own “electronic store”, with all the modern bells and whistles you’re used to seeing at the major e-tailers, including a comprehensive PayPal checkout.

The larger setups might swing towards the very impressive Magento Commerce web script, which is also open source and based on PHP and MySQL but for anything akin to a small to mid-sized store, PrestaShop feels like an awesome fit — even though it can technically handle a much larger store.

PrestaShop handle multiple languages, multiple currencies and multiple payment processing options brilliantly. It sports many “web 2.0″ features like a tag cloud, countless modules (extending the basic features) and a healthy dose of AJAX effects, namely when you add an item to your shopping basket.

From a customer’s standpoint, the web script looks very nice, is intuitive and performs flawlessly. All of which are essential for online sales to happen.

As an “e-store administrator”, you’ll be able to manage your catalog, customers, orders, payments and shipping to stay on top of what’s going on. The “admin interface” is easy to operate and the average semi-techie type will feel in control enough to enjoy working with this script (and that’s important if you’re going to use PrestaShop on a daily basis).

In a nutshell, here’s an overview of what PrestaShop offers, in its “front office”, which is basically the stuff your online customers will look for, see, use and appreciate:

Special deals (price reductions, gift vouchers)
Featured products on homepage
Top sellers on homepage
New items on homepage
‘Free shipping’ offers
Cross-selling (Accessories)
Product image zoom
Order out-of-stock items
Customer subscription & user accounts
Unlimited payment methods
Payment by bank wire
Cash-On-Delivery (COD)
Preconfigured for Paypal
Multiple-recipient contact form
Product tagging & tag cloud
Search
Merchandise return (RMAs) & credit slips
Package tracking
Offer gift-wrapping & recycled packaging
PDF customer invoice
Shopping Cart recall
Sale of services & virtual goods
Custom Favicon
RSS feed
Newsletter opt-in
‘Pick up in-store’ option

By all means, this is a highly credible (front-end) feature set which, coupled with your time, effort, creativity and marketing in setting up your online store can help you succeed in your e-tailing project.

Open source consulting firms might also adopt this script as it’s solid enough for serious deployments (now) but also set for a bright future with loads of upcoming features like 1-click purchases, affiliates management, per-item shipping cost and a loyal customer program.

It’s always reassuring to see an open source script being update regularly with such high-impact features that bring real value for both the e-merchant and the online customers.

Keep an eye on PrestaShop, this e-commerce web script is clearly going places.

Tags: prestashop, e-commerce, e-merchants, e-tailing, e-tailers, e-shops, online shops, e-shopping, web script, php, mysql, open source, paypal, bank wire, money, merchandise, package tracking, rmas, credit slips, free download, front office, online shoppers

A new look for the Twitter interface

For many people, Twitter has grown to become a sort of vital link between them and a fast-moving world.

While Twitter isn’t everyone’s proverbial cup of tea, with its onslaught of “just happening” posts, millions of users seem to be doing just fine, with it. These users will be happy to learn that the nice people at Twitter have released a new, lighter, quicker, prettier and simplified version of their web site.

The most significant changes, however appear to be in the sidebar. The tabs from above the sideline have been moved to the right side. In short, if you haven’t been by there in a while, now might be a good time to check the place out.

For those who are politically inclined…

The US election fever doesn’t go unnoticed, on Twitter. Far from that, actually, since the posts just keep pouring in on Twitter’s specially deisgned 2008 Election page where you can view a live stream of “what’s hot now”, from the entire twittersphere.

It’s hard to imagine anyone would change their vote based on something they’d have learned from Twitter’s live election feed but still, some posts are funnier than others.

Aside from politics, it also seems that Twitter is used by business types who need to coordinate some of their actions between each other but it’s still an “edge” thing and hasn’t translated into a significant phenomenon, yet.

For those who still don’t quite grasp how this free service can make their life better, here’s Twitter’s take on itself: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” — so there you have it, Twitter is about (relatively) effortlessly staying in everybody else’s loop.

Technology gurus have coined Twitter’s service to be a micro-blogging platform where brief text updates, usually comprising less than 140 characters, are posted in the same way a blog post would… only a lot shorter.

Reading other people’s “twittered life” can be amusing, for a while. After that (short) while, it can quickly get boring, pointless and futile. Seriously, it gets there fast. Nevertheless, “twittering friend circles” seem to be blissfully happy with this free micro-blogging service which, for these users, currently feels both trendy and (of all things) useful.

Maybe long blog posts, like this one, are becoming “too long” in a world which has become somewhat overloaded with content featuring varying levels of “value”. Perhaps micro-blogging, Twitter-style, conveys enough value (for enough people) to turn into a genuine “solution” for insanely busy, yet wired, people.

The future of Twitter (and similar services) will be decided by Netizens like you because where you click is, ultimately, where the online world may be heading.

Tags: twitter, twitter’s new interface, new looks for twitter, new templates, simpler themes, election fever, live feeds, micro-blogging, microblogging, microblogs, microbloggers, short blog posts, instant distribution, information overload, valuable content, online trends, netizens, web, choices