Mercy for those realizing global opportunities through offshoring and outsourcing effectively

Abstract

Globalization is certainly one of the greatest achievements of the human race. Today's global connectivity and collaboration provide extensive chances for companies and every single being. Especially, the proliferation of new technologies like Internet and e-mail, and the arrival of new services like software maintenance and development, have boosted global trade in the last decades. In 2008, the value of global IT service offshoring amounted to ca. USD 30 billion and further growth is still predicted. Leveraging today's global delivery capabilities provides significant benefits for companies and allows cost savings of up to 40%. Although global sourcing and offshoring is already common practice for many companies not all organizations are using it today. Sooner or later, all companies will have to practice it in order to have a competitive edge. Today it is possible to leverage the world wage gap even for high-skilled jobs. Those who manage the global network successfully will be the prosperous companies of the future and many of them will come from the emerging markets. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.