Signs of a business revolution from India

While it’s still a common belief, among the general public, that IT companies in India are nothing more than sweatshops, the savvy Canadian business people know the reality is closer to the other end of the rainbow — the technology powerhouse side.

India is already offering IT services that compete with the world’s best and brightest. The information technology outsourcing revolution is well underway, with India being the clear winner. As if this wasn’t enough of a blow to the “local” IT job market, more outsourcing “ideas” might become viable alternatives, for all sorts of companies.

For instance, what if a company’s CEO was fired to be replaced by a tactical team of 10 Indian PhDs with complementary knowledge? Would that be a good thing, for some companies? It seems a growing number of decision makers “in the West” are considering these kinds of alternatives.

Predictably, it doesn’t stop with the CEO but it goes down to command chain as well. When the workforce pool is suddenly upped by tens of millions of university graduates, Western workers risk being evaluated to see if their job couldn’t be done “on the cheap side”. Since the outsourcing trend towards India isn’t limited to IT anymore, expansive cities like Bangalore stand to gain the most.

In today’s Indian employment marketplace, a 15,000$CA IT worker is considered the professional equivalent of a 90,000$CA worker, in Canada. Mathematically speaking, it’s easy to understand why the outsourcing for computer-related tasks has gained such momentum, over the past few years.

So here’s the big question: how can Canada stay competitive in the face of such a qualified, yet affordable, workforce?

More education and ongoing training are two smart ways to keep our workers “attractive” for the most lucrative employers. Furthermore, government policies protecting the “domestic innovators” from global threats, including the outright theft of their hard work, is another pillar we need to build up in order to survive the massive influx of talent being brought, by India, to the worldwide pool of qualified labor.

In the real world, the Canadian government is currently doing very little (if anything at all) to protect its domestic innovators from India’s clear and present “outsourcing dangers”. Some people from Canada, who are familiar with this matter, consider this to be a treason to our workforce.

Getting educated about how India is reshaping the IT industry, all over the world, should help understand what’s in store for many other lines of work, in Canada and everywhere else.

Tags: india, outsourcing, information technology, it, jobs