Outsourcing is growing global phenomena – and New Zealand could be getting bigger share of it, according to recent report from technology intelligence specialists IDC.
While rising Kiwi dollar makes us less attractive option for IT outsourcing than places like India, which is hauling in heap of contract work from around the world, the report suggests more could be done to give New Zealand higher visibility as potential offshore destination.
There’s plenty of prospective business – recent IDC survey found around one fifth of leading US companies buy offshore services and European organisations are also increasingly seeking offshore elements from service providers. Such moves to create global sourcing models that “leverage capabilities across vast set of geographies designed to provision the highest quality of service at the lowest cost” should be regarded as permanent trend, says the report.
There are several reasons for seeing New Zealand as destination for such work – we’re mature but relatively cheap market with stable economy and the ability to support multiple languages. The drawback is that European businesses see us as too small and too isolated – if they even know where we are.
To change these perceptions would require sustained joint effort by both industry and Government, according to IDC’s associate director of IT services Phil Hassey.
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