rather than turn to Indian outsourcing firms.
Home improvement giant Lowe’s announced it
would do that last year, relying on outsourcing
only for niche projects.
But launching costly software devel-
opment projects to better compete for
clients, as Infinite Computer Solutions
did, presents problems, too. “As the
pace of innovations in production tech-
nology increases, firms have less time
to amortize the sunk costs associated
with purchasing new technologies,”
says Azmathulla Khan H, PMP, PgMP,
head of IT, ThyssenKrupp Elevator Asia
Pacific, Bengaluru, India, which provides
outsourcing work. “This makes produc-
ing in-house with the latest technologies
A big problem facing outsourcing companies
trying to reinvent themselves, however, is a skills
shortage, Mr. Khan notes. A study of 150,000
Indian engineering graduates from 2015 found that
fewer than 18 percent had the skills to be consid-
ered employable in the software services sector.
Fewer than 4 percent were considered
employable as software engineers in IT
product roles.
The traditional outsourcing companies
likely to survive in the new and more
competitive business environment, Mr.
Khan says, are the ones that move quickly
and intelligently to capture market share
from as many sources as possible. A
diversity of clients and projects can build
resiliency. Companies should “work with
multiple partners, ranging from startups
to leading multinational corporations. …
And they should continue to strengthen
their focus on market research and portfolio and
program management.” —Donovan Burba
“As the pace of
innovations in production
technology increases,
firms have less time
to amortize the sunk
costs associated
with purchasing new
technologies.”
—Azmathulla Khan H, PMP, PgMP, ThyssenKrupp
Elevator Asia Pacific, Bengaluru, India
A 2015 study found that fewer than 18 percent of
Indian engineering graduates had the skills to be
considered employable in software services.
