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The Farthest Shore
When it comes to outsourcing locations, no place is too exotic. Not even Cleveland.
Last year, when management at call-center services specialist LiveBridge Inc. was searching for a place to house the company's Spanish-language operation, it looked south of the border -- way south of the border. After considering the more traditional outsourcing venues in Latin America, the Portland, Oreg.-based company decided to build its state-of-the-art call center in Argentina.
And just what was the lure of the land of gauchos and Maradona? "We didn't want reps who could just speak Spanish," explains CFO Chuck McLaughlin. "We wanted people who are bilingual, well educated, and who could interact with customers in a friendly, natural way."
LiveBridge isn't the only company taking the path less traveled when setting up an offshore outsourcing operation. As wages increase in one region, companies move farther afield. This search for new lands spells trouble for India. Admittedly, the subcontinent remains the most popular information-technology offshoring location for U.S. companies. But observers say India's period of competitive advantage may be waning. In fact, with local wages rising at a 20 percent annual clip, executives at companies from Bangalore to Brahmapur are reportedly beginning to shop out some of their own operations. "This outsourcing to India is definitely a very short-term phenomenon," insists Phil Fersht, an analyst who covers offshoring for The Yankee Group, a Boston-based technology-research firm. "Other countries are maturing and getting involved with the global economy," he adds.
Indeed, executives who are considering outsourcing their corporate IT functions are hearing from some unexpected quarters. At the top of the list: Africa. Experts report that several African nations, including Uganda, Senegal, and South Africa, are getting into the...