Linux vs Unix

[X-Temp]

Major debate.....Who to go with and why?

 

[JoyDivision]

One major problem if we do need to subcontract we like to use companies that actually know how to spell. American spelling is never good.

I think you just need to research your foreign markets a bit more .

 

[multilingual]

Welcome to the forum.

I would suggest using terms like 'cost effective' or 'value' instead of cheap.

It makes your service sound a bit........well, cheap.

JB

 

[X-Temp]

Thanks for the advice guys. Every little bit helps.

X

 

[SmallBizSoftware]

Sorry I can not help as I despise the offshoring of IT Services that is leading to a shortage of skills on these shores as all major corps are now sending there backend processing to countries with cheap labour rates. personally I have laid off some extremely talented guys as there jobs has dissapeared off overseas. It seems that IT is the new manufacturing industry and will die the same long, slow, painful death.

I also would raise the concerns of data protection when it comes to sending sensitive (as defined under DPA legs) data outside of europe.

Sorry to go all xenophobic but this is a UK business forum so lets actually support UK business !

p.s. going trendy and call offshoring right-shoring doesnt cut it with me either ... [/rant]

 

[X-Temp]

Well first of all I'm not offshoring, I'm sourcing to the UK. I am sending the contractors to London or where they need to go throughout the UK and sometimes Sweden or Ireland or wherever they have to go.

Secondly, this is supporting UK business. HQ is in the UK, I'm only here so we can have a presence here in the market and be more closely connected.

 

[Jayne]

Hi,

Most of the clothes you wear and soap powder you wash them in is made in other countries, the food you eat, cars, coal, sugar...the list goes on.

So why is IT any different?

Welcome to the forum Anthony

Jayne

 

[JoyDivision]

Hi,

Most of the clothes you wear and soap powder you wash them in is made in other countries, the food you eat, cars, coal, sugar...the list goes on.

So why is IT any different?

Welcome to the forum Anthony

Jayne

Its a lot more skilled, the UK still has a service industry but if we are not careful we will loose that in the UK will have no industry left at all.

I think there is more to life than money.

There is also a different issue that I.T products are not normaly bought of the shelf. (apart from general software packages).

 

[SmallBizSoftware]

Hi,

Most of the clothes you wear and soap powder you wash them in is made in other countries, the food you eat, cars, coal, sugar...the list goes on.

So why is IT any different?

Welcome to the forum Anthony

Jayne

Exactly my bl**dy point! all of our manufacturing and mining industry is dead due to cheap imports ... let's not screw up our service industry too. (unless u want us to import cheap bread & cakes too and close all of the bakeries!)

 

[Jayne]

They all ready do...they're called supermarkets :lol:

Jayne

 

[JoyDivision]

But the local indie food market is booming, espeicaly where I live most residents would rather be dead than shop at their local supermarket. I am forced to becuase I am poor however :

James Dyson had the right idea ship all the cheap low paid jobs abroad to boost profits to employ more UK based highly paid engineers.

However there is also a social need for low paid low skilled jobs.

 

[Jayne]

As I said before...tell this to Tony Blair it's his fault.

Jayne

 

[Enigma121]

Businesses that are shopping for cheap labour is a symptom of the minimum wage policy. Laws should have been introduced AT THE SAME TIME as this was, that stifled exporting of work abroad.

However if Contractors are prepared to travel here from eastern europe, pay our taxes and live as we do then I've no issue with them working here. Don't see why anyone should have, they are boosting the economy and paying for our pensions.

There are some IT jobs that will always have to be done onsite, so it's never gonna be 100% foreign labour.

I don't think you need to go that far for cheap labour. There are plenty of IT people in the UK who will do quality work for the satisfaction of a job well done.

 

[Jayne]

Businesses that are shopping for cheap labour is a symptom of the minimum wage policy. Laws should have been introduced AT THE SAME TIME as this was, that stifled exporting of work abroad.

However if Contractors are prepared to travel here from eastern europe, pay our taxes and live as we do then I've no issue with them working here. Don't see why anyone should have, they are boosting the economy and paying for our pensions.

There are some IT jobs that will always have to be done onsite, so it's never gonna be 100% foreign labour.

I don't think you need to go that far for cheap labour. There are plenty of IT people in the UK who will do quality work for the satisfaction of a job well done.

Totally agree

Jayne

 

[Kama]

My job is to sell IT Contractors to the UK. Problem is I am very new to the IT business world. I am not sure how or where to start.

Well, first of all. If you want people to have confidence in your company you should stop saying stuff like that.

If they hired you and you don't know the first thing about IT, what can people expect from the contractors?

Not exactly a ringing endoresement of your company, is it?

Best of luck to you. It is a tough market.

 

[Cornish Steve]

One major problem if we do need to subcontract we like to use companies that actually know how to spell. American spelling is never good.

I think you just need to research your foreign markets a bit more .

OK - you've beaten me. I have looked and looked at Anthony's message, and I cannot find any words that are misspelled. Where are they?

While I agree that sites aimed at Britons should use British English, why is American English never good? For an international audience, it may be just the ticket.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Hey guys, new to the forum here. Just started a new job and I would like some advice or opinions.

Anthony,

I took a quick look at your site, and it looks very professional to me. It's a great advertisement for your services. You are a lucky man living in Prague, which has to be one of the world's most beautiful cities.

The subject of offshoring is contentious. Having worked as an international business executive for two decades, I have to say that it's an inevitable trend. Companies that resist it are likely to fail. Strong words I know, but sometimes the truth must be said - no matter how uncomfortable it is.

The only thing that doesn't change is change itself. If we understand change, we can respond positively. If we anticipate change, we can lead. Offshoring is changing our industrial landscape. We ignore it at our peril.

I apologise in advance if my opinions in this message upset anyone. I think that offshoring is something to face head on, not something to avoid.

Sorry I can not help as I despise the offshoring of IT Services that is leading to a shortage of skills on these shores

To succeed, a company must either differentiate or compete on price. For companies seeking to compete on price, they must cut their costs to the bone. Since low-cost labour is available overseas, how can a company justify paying much higher rates for the same service at home? This sounds harsh but, as a consumer, are you willing to pay twice as much for a product made in the UK as for the identical product made overseas?

If there's a shortage of skills in the country, it's a result of a failing education system. This has little to do with offshoring. Actually, from my viewpoint, Britain demonstrates insight and business acumen in several industries that are the envy of the world.

this is supporting UK business. HQ is in the UK, I'm only here so we can have a presence here in the market and be more closely connected.

I agree. Ultimately, companies such as Anthony's are allowing British companies to succeed. As someone else commented, they pay taxes into the system and they improve the nation's productivity.

Traditional outsourcing has obvious benefits too. Basic, repetitive, and manual work is performed at low cost overseas, while skilled work, strategic marketing and design activities, etc. are controlled at home. Ultimately, everyone wins.

Let's not forget that offshoring generates revenue for developing countries that is often used to purchase sophisticated and highly profitable services from British companies. It's a two-way street.

if we are not careful we will loose that in the UK will have no industry left at all.

Absolutely not true! The UK is thriving right now. It has one of the strongest economies in the world. Other countries envy the education and expertise of the British workforce. By cutting costs, the UK economy ultimately is creating more and better jobs. I do wish, however, that those jobs were more evenly distributed around the country (which will be increasingly possible for IT-related work).

all of our manufacturing and mining industry is dead due to cheap imports

Being from Cornwall, I am acutely aware of this. Around the time that the movie Brassed Off appeared, the last active Cornish tin mine closed. This signalled the end of an industry that had lasted over 150 years. In the nineteenth century, Cornwall led the world in the mining of tin and copper; today, it's all gone. Every time I watch Brassed Off, my eyes well up with tears because I can relate to it. Not only is the story based around mines closing, but it's also about the local brass band (and I used to play in and conduct a town band in Cornwall).

In Cornwall, it's not just mining; it's also fishing and farming. The huge factory ships, for example, that moved in from Europe in the 70s and 80s largely wiped out the local fishing fleets. What I find sad is that no one anticipated this, and unemployment is painfully high in former mining and fishing towns as a result.

Having said all this, we can't fight the inevitable. That would be following the sad example of Cnut. The answer is to anticipate change and to take advantage of it. This means better education, a more flexible workforce, greater productivity, and capitalising on a country's (or an industry's) strengths. Britain has a long, long history of having done this, which is why such a small country remains an economic powerhouse.

I intend to succeed with my business. Right now, I am offshoring development work because it's the only way I can afford to get it done. When my business succeeds, it will create good jobs that can be performed from anywhere in the world. I intend to make sure that Cornwall benefits from this. No one can bring back mining jobs in Cornwall, but we can take advantage of offshoring to bring a new generation of jobs to the region. That, at least, is my hope and my dream.

Sorry for the long message.

 

[mumper]

Steve, the American spelling Joydivision was referring to was the spelling of 'Labor' in the title.

 

[JoyDivision]

Steve, the American spelling Joydivision was referring to was the spelling of 'Labor' in the title.

Yep and as a British company aimed at the British market a simple spelling error like that is not good.

As HSBC would say you need to know the market you're doing business in.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Steve, the American spelling Joydivision was referring to was the spelling of 'Labor' in the title.

I never even looked at the title! :roll: