25 dangerous cities for outsourcing from cio.com

Came across an article in CIO.com that listed the 25 most dangerous cities for offshore outsourcing.

 

The article had a protectionist overture and hinted that US companies are better off getting the work done locally (or through nearshoring). Almost all the Indian IT cities are listed in the top 25 (whew! Didn’t know you can actually outsource to Accra in Ghana till I saw the list!). In fact, all the well known and not so known outsourcing destinations across the developing world find their names included in the list. While Bangalore is there for environmental waste & pollution, Jerusalem along with Mumbai and Delhi are listed for high terrorism threat.

 

What is surprising though is the timing of the article (and the report on which the article is based). The report is titled “2009: The year of outsourcing dangerously”. It is not in 2009, Bangalore has suddenly become a threat to the environment or Jerusalem becomes a soft target for terrorist. And to bring about a list of 25 cities and including parameters that are not so serious is stretching this anti offshoring propaganda a bit too far (most of the Indian IT cities are listed from 20-25).

 

You can read the full article here and arrive at your decision: http://www.cio.com/article/482404/The_Most_Dangerous_Cities_for_Offshore_Outsourcing?source=artrel_top

 

Outsourcing has become an imperative business decision and offshore outsourcing is indeed a very attractive option for companies looking to optimize cost (who isn’t!). There are enough business cases for each one of onshore/nearshore/offshore solutions or a combination of these. It is also fair for a government to try and protect the jobs of its citizens. The good times helped in overlooking this tricky situation. But the current economic situation demands an answer and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few quarters!