Offshoring : the greatest thing since sliced bread

Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else. Many times confused with offshoring which is the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting; though recently it has become a kind of phenomenon in the world. Companies send the menial jobs away from the home country to other countries so that the business can be more specialized and streamline. This sounds great for business. Sometimes a little too great; to the point where we forget about the people who are doing our work.  Like a child at Christmas, we don't understand what is the result of offshoring on the countries we outsource and offshore to. What is the reality of these practices in Egypt? What role does it play in the structure of Egypt's economy?

              Egypt is number four in the world only behind, China, India, and Malaysia as a location for outsourcing and offshoring. According to Patrick Thibodeau's article, “Was Egypt oversold as top offshoring spot?"  He states that, "Egypt's rise as an offshore and regional tech venue is relatively new and rapid." But in the aftermath of the revolution, “tech work is being shifted out of country.” This puts Egypt in quite a predicament. How is it meant to keep these profitable jobs and continue with a long awaited political cleansing? Thibodeau’s source also references that, “Egypt's ‘outsourcing initiative was part of a much bigger economic development initiative, and it was all 'owned' by an inner group within the government and related agencies,” Many companies have left Egypt which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world because there are very few jobs and too many people to fill them.  Egypt is a popular spot for offshored IT centers because, “Egypt's geographical position, close to Europe and a central location between East and West, makes it the ideal destination for outsourcing operations. Egypt is currently serving most geographies: Europe, North America, Australia, and, of course, the Middle East.”

Businesses have jumped at this opportunity to offshoring like wolves. The opportunity is highly profitable. It has become such a phenomenon that there is an Annual Arab Outsourcing & Strategic Partnerships Conference that will be taking place soon. The goal of the meeting is for business men on both sides of the pond to, “gain insights on successfully establishing and Managing Strategic Partnerships.” According to another blog on AMEinfo.com, “organizations in the Middle East are keen to explore the benefits of outsourcing as it helps them focus on core-competencies and outsource the support functions such as IT, finance, HR, procurement, logistics and maintenance.” This was posted in support of the Conference this May.

  Overall business and the government have really taken to this idea of offshoring. But it was very hard for me to find any blogs from the point of view of the people.  If you make the money in a way you control the information that’s out there. Business loves this idea of offshoring and I can’t deny that it is quite intriguing. What’s the catch? Something like this can’t last forever. Only as long as someone doesn’t speak up for the rights of the people.

Works Cited

All, Ann. "Egypt Is Middle East's Rising Outsourcing Star | Interviews | ITBusinessEdge.com." Business Technology News, Analysis and Context | ITBusinessEdge.com. 23 Dec. 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/egypt-is-middle-easts-rising-outsourcing-star/?cs=23212>.

Fersht, Phil. "Egypt's Crisis: Where Social Media Threatens Global Outsourcing | ZDNet." Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet. 31 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/egypts-crisis-where-social-media-threatens-global-outsourcing/44255>.

"4th Annual Arab Outsourcing & Strategic Partnerships Conference." Home - 4th Annual Arab Outsourcing & Strategic Partnerships Conference 2012, Dubai, UAE. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.arab-outsourcing.com/>.

"Middle East Outsourcing Industry Offers Huge Growth Potential, Experts Conclude at Arab Outsourcing Conference | TCQ Triangle | AMEinfo.com." Middle East Business & Financial News | Business Directory & Current Events | AME Info. 30 Apr. 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.ameinfo.com/194756.html>.

Samson, Ted. "Egypt Ranked among Top Global Offshoring Destinations | Outsourcingoffshoring - InfoWorld." Business Technology, IT News, Product Reviews and Enterprise IT Strategies - InfoWorld. 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.infoworld.com/t/outsourcingoffshoring/egypt-ranked-among-top-global-offshoring-destinations-276?page=0,1>.

Thibodeau, Patrick. "Was Egypt Oversold as Top Offshoring Spot?" Computerworld - IT News, Features, Blogs, Tech Reviews, Career Advice. 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9207680/Was_Egypt_oversold_as_top_offshoring_spot_>.