Excerpt from Chapter 2: Where to Outsource

We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations, far away. We have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, or as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

A large number of detailed studies and overviews of the global outsourcing market are available. Some cost thousands of dollars, and some are available for free on the Internet. I don’t feel compelled to duplicate their contents here.

Many of the details in these studies are interesting, but many are not. After all, if you are interested in outsourcing to India or Brazil, Do you really care to know the population of Minsk or even that it is the capital of Belarus?

The world stage is constantly changing. Much of the information here is destined to become out of date as soon as it is printed.Therefore, updated information for these countries and regions of the world will be delivered on the book’s web site.

Another problem with much of the information about outsourcing countries is that it covers many different kinds of outsourcing, such as call centers, business process automation, database administration, data entry, etc. The rankings of these countries as outsourcing destinations are not specific to the type of outsourcing you need. You may not want to outsource your call center or the processing of medical records to Bucharest, but it could be an excellent place to develop your .NET application.

Furthermore, rankings of outsourcing vendors focus on the largest ones. Who is biggest? The surveys, studies, and reports show which vendors have the most people, the biggest revenue, the fastest growth rate, and the most locations around the world. But should you just hire the biggest outsourcing vendor you can find in any country? Probably not.

The goal of this chapter is to give you an overview of the various locations of the world where outsourcing services are provided, and to help you understand why some software development organizations choose to use the services in those locations. It will not help you become a champion on the Jeopardy TV show or an ace at Trivial Pursuit.