Outsourcing: An Academic Perspective

1. السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية وزارة الإتصالات وتكنولوجيا المعلومات الجامعة الإسلامية- غزة كلية تكنولوجيا المعلومات Outsourcing: An Academic Perspective Rebhi S. Baraka Faculty of IT Islamic University of Gaza

2. Outline • Need for New Type of Employee • The Indian Example • Positive Areas Making Palestine a Strong Outsourcing Location • Constraints to Outsourcing • Perspective: Some Highlights

3. New Type of Employee: Creative Symbolic Analysts • In his book Work of Nations, Robert Reich describes a new type of employee, ”Creative Symbolic Analysts.” • These Symbolic Analysts, he believes, will be the predominant careers. • They will be charged with the task to innovate with things (creating new software for example) and innovators with needs (creating new services that will delight people). • Put in an economic sense, productivity will increasingly rely on the ability to create ’bluesky’ innovations. • That is, create both the product and the desire for the product.

4. The Indian Example • English proficiency. • An education system that fosters strong skills in mathematics and science. • Government Policies: IT has become an integral part of the national agenda. • Infrastructure support: in terms of power, utilities, property, technology parks. • Umbrella Organizations: National Association of Software and Services Companies – which monitor and push for government policy and regulations to foster the growth of India’s IT sector

5. Positive Areas Making Palestine a Strong Outsourcing Location The analysis from the research indicates some very positive areas that make Palestine a potentially strong outsourcing location: The reasons for this are: • Labor costs in Palestine are extremely competitive against both the West and competitive with India and China; • Software, IT Outsourcing services are delivered through electronic communication, providing a borderless environment. • Location, language skills and cultural awareness is good compared to some competition.

6. Constraints to Outsourcing • Insecurity and instability a major constraint. • The relative isolation of Palestinian companies and individuals has led to the industry needing to understand the up to date competitive climate • International standards are lacking, especially around process and quality management • Lack of capital to drive investment • Limited commercial training and development of new employees • Lack of exposure and contacts in the world markets.

7. Perspective: Some Highlights • K- 12 Educational Training • Provide CS and SE quality education • Provide awareness and self-confidence, market competitiveness. • Training • English, communication, skills • Local/global market connections through incubators and joint projects with the private sector. (limited role) • Gain/Improve experience of international business

8. K- 12 Educational Training • Educational training must include a strong program in K- 12, state-of-the art technologies, and intensive language programs. Classroom discussions must facilitate active group participation, brainstorming activities, and adaptability • Education must create a marriage between intellectual curiosity and innovation.

9. Need for CS and SE quality education • Bjarne Stroustrup, designer of the C++ language and a professor at Texas A&M University, said to me that he’s heard of employers – from Microsoft to Apple to IBM – bemoaning the poor quality of CS grads. James Maguire • ….’s graphic libraries allow students to cobble together software without understanding the underlying source code.Robert Dewar Professor emeritus, NYU • “A lot of it is, ‘Let’s make this all more fun.’ You know, ‘Math is not fun, let’s reduce math requirements. Algorithms are not fun, let’s get rid of them. Ewww – graphic libraries, they’re fun. Let’s have people mess with libraries. And [forget] all this business about ‘command line’ – we’ll have people use nice visual interfaces where they can point and click and do fancy graphic stuff and have fun.“Robert Dewar Professor emeritus, NYU

10. Perspective: Some Highlights • Involve the industry/ private sector in joint initiatives such as courses, during school hiring, training, seminars and workshops, short time employment. • Train/experience in management • Develop skills in emerging technologies • Cloud Based Software Development (e.g., SaaS) • Web Applications • Mobile Applications • Big Data Analytics

11. References • Andrae Gonzales et. al. Outsourcing: Past, Present and Future. • James Maguire. IT Outsourcing and the "Unemployable" US Tech Professional. Datamation. • Nicholas White. Market Mapping of the Palestinian ICT Sector and the Opportunities for Partnerships in the Region. 2nd Edition.