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20 Nov 2004
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Information Technology Association of America Defends Offshore Outsourcing

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Dear Friends,

Outsourcing white-collar jobs to low-wage countries such as India and China
has thrown some Americans out of work, but a new report predicts that the
trend will ultimately lower inflation, create jobs and boost productivity in
the United States.

The Information Technology Association of America, acknowledges that the
migration of tech jobs to low-paid foreigners has eliminated 104,000
American jobs so far, nearly 3 percent of the positions in the U.S. tech
industry.

The ITAA describes itself as a trade group for IT industries ranging from
computers, software and telecommunications to the Internet and professional
services. Its board of directors includes representatives of major IT firms
including AT&T, EDS, Northrop Grumman, and Amazon.com, and its members
include Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.

The trade association's report comes against the backdrop of the
presidential campaign, in which job losses and the best way to create jobs
have both been hot issues. More than two dozen states are considering bans
on outsourcing government contracts. The ITAA argues that legislation of
that sort would be "protectionist" and "unwise."

But Cynthia Kroll, senior regional economist at the University of
California, Berkeley, said policymakers can't afford to ignore outsourcing.
"If R&D is coming out of India, will the next wave of growth bypass us
entirely?" Kroll asked. "We need to pay attention to what India and China
and these other countries are doing to get these new rounds of investment."

ITAA leaders say outsourcing has damaged the job market far less than the
dot-com meltdown of early 2000, when Internet startups, telecom companies
and other companies eliminated as many as 268,000 positions. "The myth is
that we've started this long decline into the midnight of the technology
work force," ITAA president Harris Miller said. "This report shows that,
assuming the recovery continues, the number of IT jobs will actually
increase."

Outsourcing dramatically reduces labor costs, allowing companies to sell
goods ranging from software to tax-preparation services at lower costs or
higher profit margins. The report argues that greater profits theoretically
allow companies to buy new equipment, build laboratories and conduct
scientific experiments - even in expensive Silicon Valley and other U.S.
tech hubs.

According to the report, savings from outsourcing allowed companies to
create 90,000 new jobs in 2003, with more than one in 10 of them in Silicon
Valley or elsewhere in California, researchers said. The report predicts
that in 2008, outsourcing will create 317,000 jobs - 34,000 in California.

Companies spent $10 billion last year to outsource jobs ranging from medical
transcription to nanotechnology research. The ITAA predicted the companies
would spend $31 billion in 2008.

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To participate in the Coffee Break XIV, click here now:
http://www.mtindia.org/jobs/
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Ciao!

Maj (Dr.) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ mailto:amit@...
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"

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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) Schatz & Nobel, P.C. Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against MedQuist,
Inc.

The law firm of Schatz & Nobel, P.C., announced that a lawsuit seeking class
action status has been filed in the United States District Court for the
District of New Jersey on behalf of all persons who purchased the securities
of MedQuist, Inc. between April 23, 2002 and November 2, 2004 (the "Class
Period").

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, MedQuist violated
federal securities laws by issuing materially false or misleading public
statements. On November 2, 2004, Medquist announced that on October 29, 2004
, the Company's Board of Directors concluded that the Company's previously
issued financial statements, including the 10-K reports for 2002 and 2003,
as well as the encompassed Forms 10-Q for the corresponding period, and all
earnings releases and communications should no longer be relied upon.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041115/nem023_1.html

2) Most small companies can't provide big benefits

Health care insurance costs are going up across the US, with companies
passing on more to employees as they struggle to meet their bottom lines.
That situation is even more critical for many small businesses.

It's highly unlikely that any company is going to be able to offer as
lucrative a package as it could have even a decade ago, as health care
coverage soars and 401(k)s and other programs in which the employers and
workers share the costs replace traditional pensions.

Yet most small businesses struggle to keep benefits packages strong. They
simply don't have the clout of the big corporations when hammering out the
best deals for health insurance and retirement packages.

"The challenge certainly always is in the cost, especially medical," said
Linda Yaniszewski, chief executive of Execuscribe, a 15-year-old medical
transcription service company. "Our premiums continue to escalate. We try to
increase our contribution every year. And yet we know that medical is a
critical benefit that people are looking for. So in order to recruit really
good people, we have to do that."

http://www.rochesterdandc.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041107/BUSINESS/41107\
0313/1001

3) Pak IT Ministry unveils draft of data protection act

A draft of a piece of data protection legislation was unveiled by Pakistan's
Information Technology Minister Awais Leghari on Saturday.

The draft Foreign Data Security and Protection Act 2004 aims to protect and
provide safety for foreign data processed in Pakistan. "With increasing
competition in the global business process outsourcing marketplace, the lack
of legal cover given to the protection of data within the country is an
impediment to growth in this sector," a press statement quoted him as saying
at a ministry meeting.

"The medical and legal transcription industry has been asking for such laws
to be enacted by parliament because they will reassure foreign businesses
looking to outsource their data processing and similar activities."

Without such laws in place, unscrupulous or disgruntled employees within
companies that perform such services might violate the data privacy
guidelines given to them by their customers.

Once comments from the industry and other relevant quarters have been
received, and appropriate adjustments have been made, the bill will be sent
to the cabinet and subsequently to the National Assembly for debate and
legislation. In order to ensure its smooth passage, this law only covers the
narrow requirements of processing foreign data and is not intended to
address overall concerns of privacy and access to personal data.

Dr Aamir Matin, managing director of the Pakistan Software Export Board,
said a comprehensive comparison with similar laws from around the world has
been carried out.

"We are comfortable with the way the act has been worded since we had a very
specific purpose in mind," he said. The draft act specifically makes it an
offence for anybody, acting for his own or anyone else's benefit, to process
personal data in violation of any of the provisions of the act. The act
prescribes punishments of both imprisonment and fine.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-11-2004_pg7_38

4) RP steps up bid to be hub for medical transcription

The Philippines has stepped up its bid to become the hub for medical
transcription outsourcing as it targets major clients from the United States
and Europe, the Department of Trade and Industry reported. Trade Secretary
Cesar Purisima expressed confidence that the country could emerge as a major
player in the medical transcription industry market. "We are an acknowledged
provider of health-care professionals worldwide and now it's time for the
Philippines to offer the foreign market its world-class services in medical
transcription as well," he said, adding that the country churns out more
than 30,000 professionals a year for the medical and allied industries.

Purisima explained that Philippine medical transcription companies could do
business through contracting with third-party transcription service brokers
or by creating a market presence in the US through Virginia-based Cymed Inc.
and Healthscribe. To date, there are 17 companies engaged in the medical
transcription business. These include Digitext Asia, eData Services Phils.
Inc., Infosource Co. Inc., IT Outsource, SPI Healthcare Documentation, Total
Transcription Solutions Inc. and Transkripyo Inc.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=NATIONAL&oid=63595

5) Pallonji Mistry forays into MT business

Construction baron Pallonji Mistry has got into the business process
outsourcing (BPO) business. Forbes Gokak, a Shapoorji Pallonji group
company, which deals in textiles to consumer durables, has set up two firms,
Forbes Technosys and Forbes Bradma Business Automation, to run the BPO
business.

Forbes Technosys looks after the international call center business while
Forbes Bradma Business Automation is focussing on the domestic business.

Harjit Ahuja, former managing director of Webhelp India, has been appointed
the chief executive officer of the BPO venture in both companies. Before
Webhelp, Ahuja had worked with Reliance Infocomm and the GE group.

When contacted, Ahuja said "The BPO venture is yet another addition to the
group's diverse business interests. We are currently doing pilot projects at
(our facilities in) Andheri and Kandivili in Mumbai. We are planning to set
up our own call centres in the Shapoorji Pallonji group-constructed IT park
in Pune. The Pune facility will initially have 200 seats and this will later
be increased to 800 seats."

"We have already bagged some contracts from international and domestic
clients in the area of medical transcription, among others," Ahuja added.

Interestingly, the Mistry family holds a stake in India's largest software
company Tata Consultancy Services, which also has BPO interests. The family
is also the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons, the holding company of
the Rs 54,000 crore Tata group.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?hpFlag=Y&chklogin=N&autono\
=172712&leftnm=lmnu1&lselect=0&leftindx=1

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or post it on your site? Please do! But also be sure to read
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All original content of this newsletter is © Copyright 1998-2004
Mediweb Infotech Pvt. Ltd. All cited articles are copyright of
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Thank you for your interest in MT India!

The MTIndia Team
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