Subcontracting to the Subcontinent

Remember the old bumper stickers: Buy U.S. Shoes, Save U.S. Jobs? Its not just shoemaking anymore thats being done overseas. Now you can add programmers, data warehouse managers, and dozens of other IT jobs to the list. Those positions and hundreds more are being filled overseas, many of them in India.India has several things going for it. Thanks to years of British occupation, English is spoken by nearly everyone. And its geographic position puts it almost opposite the U.S., so New Delhi is 10 and a half hours ahead of New York. That means you can offer 24-hour customer service, and none of your stateside reps need to be working at midnight.One company that offers offshore outsourcing is First Apex (www.firstapex.com), which opened a development shop in Bangalore back in 1996 for internal products, and has since become an outsourcer for outside projects, according to Nag Rao, North American director of U.S. operations for the company.Outsourcing offshore is less expensive, but Rao warns that it has to be done right or it will in fact become costlier. Expense is what everyone looks at first, but if you are not successful, it ends up costing you twice as much, he said. Carriers have to ask themselves if the outsourcer understands their business practices. Only if the answer is yes does the deal begin to become attractive for both sides.Some companies may worry about sending work to India, but Rao said that has become a non-factor. There is not that much risk involved anymore, said Jerry Keeley, vice president of sales for First Apex. Fifteen years ago you couldnt find these places with a map, but today, communication is such that the practice has been validated.Sending your IT work halfway around the world is fine for some companies, but Don West, vice president of client services for State National Companies, doesnt believe its for everyone. There are not many companies rigorous enough to handle the distance, he said. Things get lost in the translation. When there are issues between the two sides it usually comes down to communications.If the communication is the spoken word, Keeley said thats not an issue anymore. India is full of call centers handling predominantly English-speaking customers. The people there speak good English, he said.Communication is not always verbal, though. It can be cultural as well. Companies like things done in a particular way, and lose some of that control when they outsource a business process overseas.Keeley said there are three factors to consider when going overseas: Is the company financially viable? When you call them will they answer? Will you see the same people time and again, or will it be a revolving door? RRH