Software Outsourcing Showdown: India Versus China
Tube Tim
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India
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Edge
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China
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Nonstop flight from Chicago to Delhi: 14 hours, 55 minutes
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→
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Nonstop flight from Chicago to Beijing: 13 hours, 20 minutes
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Software Quality
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India
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Edge
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China
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Capability Maturity Model (CMM) Level 5 (highest ranking for software development maturity)
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←
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CMM Level 3
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Size of IT Services Industry
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India
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Edge
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China
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$30 billion in 2006
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←
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$12 billion in 2006
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Getting a Good Cup of Joe
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India
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Edge
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China
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Learn to love tea. Local coffee options are weak
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→
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Starbucks locations abound in big cities
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Scalability
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India
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Edge
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China
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Tier-one vendors have tens of thousands of employees; can set up dedicated offshore centers for customers
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←
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Most work remains project-based only, due to the fragmented nature of the IT services industry
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Advanced Business Skills
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India
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Edge
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China
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Skills like project management and business analysis are gradually getting better, thanks to market pressures and more than a decade of experience serving Western IT services clients. But there's still plenty of room for improvement.
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←
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Poor project management and business analysis skills; limited experience serving Western IT clients.
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MVCs (Most Valuable Customers)
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India
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Edge
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China
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U.S. and Europe
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←
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Japan
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The Languages of Business
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India
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Edge
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China
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English/Hindi
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←
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Mandarin/Mandarin
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Global Reach
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India
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Edge
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China
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Local players have set up shop in the U.S., Latin America, Eastern Europe, and China.
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←
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Little expansion outside of China, except through acquisition or merger.
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Intellectual Property Protection
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India
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Edge
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China
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Investigates and cooperates with the U.S. companies on reported IP violations.
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←
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Encourages staff to protect client IP.
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Cheeseburger Far from Paradise
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India
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Edge
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China
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Good luck. If all else fails, try Millers 46 Steakhouse in Bangalore.
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→
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Many Western-type burger joints (with local flair).
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Average IT Staffer Salaries
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India
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Edge
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China
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$9,896
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←
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$10,095
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Wage Inflation
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India
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Edge
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China
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11% annually
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→
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8% annually
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Phoning Home
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India
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Edge
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China
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T-Mobile roaming rate of $2.49/minute
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→
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T-Mobile roaming rate of $2.29/minute
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Currency Crisis?
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India
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Edge
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China
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The dollar has depreciated 11 percent against the rupee in 2007; local service providers could pass the impact on to customers.
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→
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The dollar has depreciated 2.9 percent against the yuan in 2007.
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Jaywalking as a Sport
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India
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Edge
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China
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You’ll get hit by a car or pedicab.
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→
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Drivers will make an attempt to stop.
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National Marketing Efforts
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India
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Edge
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China
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National Association of Software & Service Companies (Nasscom) expertly sets the tone for conversations about India’s IT services industry globally.
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←
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Wants to set up its own version of Nasscom, but will likely be government run.
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Popularity Contest
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India
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Edge
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China
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Ranked number-one location for offshore IT services by Western IT services buyers. (Good job, Nasscom!)
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←
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Tied for number three with Eastern Europe (Latin America is number two).
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Technology Infrastructure
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India
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Edge
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China
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Top-notch IT infrastructure within technology parks and on major IT campuses. Outside of those areas, not so much.
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tie
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Solid IT infrastructure within technology parks, although not quite as good as India’s, extends to larger metropolitan areas.
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Physical Infrastructure
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India
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Edge
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China
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National telecommunications, power system and roads need major work.
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→
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Construction and modernization projects around the clock (thanks in part to impending 2008 Olympics), but bad traffic and smog in some cities.
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Multinational Presence
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India
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Edge
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China
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India’s share of multinational (IBM, Accenture, EDS) headcount devoted to offshore work has decreased by 9.5 percent in the past two years.
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←
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China’s share of multinational (IBM, Accenture, EDS) headcount devoted to offshore work has decreased by 15 percent in the past two years.
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Geek Quotient
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India
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Edge
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China
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Approximately 170,000 four-year bachelor’s degrees in engineering, computer science and IT (400,000 including subbaccalaureate degrees).
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→
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More than 500,000 four-year bachelor’s degrees in engineering, computer science and IT (but the accuracy of these Ministry of Education numbers has been called into question).
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Supergeek Quotient
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India
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Edge
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China
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Turns out about 40 PhDs in computer science per year.
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→
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Nearly 3,000 PhDs in computer science each year.
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