Have you heard? General Motors is planning to bring most of its IT jobs back in-house over the next three years. Currently, GM outsources about 90 percent of its IT services to other companies around the world.
Randy Mott, GM’s new CIO, says the company plans to build three U.S.-based software development centers. Manning those centers will be a massive undertaking and significantly ramp up GM’s IT staff. Experts say jobs will include software developers, project managers, DBAs, and business analysts.
Ford Motor did something similar a few years back. Is this a trend? Is outsourcing becoming a thing of the past?
Probably not, say many industry analysts. In a recent survey of 513 business-technology professionals, just 4 percent said they plan to decrease IT outsourcing, while 79 percent were looking to increase outsourcing.
The reason, as always, is money. Why pay $94K to an American software developer when you can get one in India for $14K. Better yet, one in the Philippines for $7,500. Not only are foreign workers ridiculously cheap, but cloud computing now allows reliable around-the-clock access to company projects and business processes in any part of the world.
Still, with outsourcing the bugaboo of politicos and the Devil of American workers, it is possible that some U.S. companies will yield to popular pressure and bring at least some jobs home. GM’s decision, after all, was probably based partly on the bail-out money it received from the American people. Maybe corporate America does have a conscience after all.
In the meantime, resign yourself to negotiating a lengthy phone tree in Bangalore or Manila to fix your software glitch. Or you could just turn everything off and head out to Starbucks for a triple mocha latte.