Naked CIO: Buy British

Offshoring IT jobs is bad for the UK, says the Naked CIO. And never has this been more real than in a recession.

For a long time I have felt the trend of offshoring our IT foundation to India is not only disturbing but would have future consequences. The way in which the government has tacitly encouraged these activities makes it an accomplice in the weakness of today's IT trade.

At the very least the UK should tax companies who choose to rely on cheap non-British labour and apply this tax money to improving British workers' skills, or to programmes to put the displaced workers back to work. But none of this is happening.

Now we find ourselves in a difficult economic environment. More and more IT professionals are out of work - and wondering why UK industry and government have abandoned them. Meanwhile India, although impacted by the recession, is being propped up by the coffers of Barclays, BT and a host of other UK businesses.

At a time when the UK public needs them more than ever, our big corporations are solidifying their investment overseas. More than this they can't seem to see that a bad British economy fuelled by raging unemployment will do more harm than good for their company revenues and future growth.

Some people will argue it's cheaper doing business in overseas markets and that this allows for the consumption and sale of goods to be competitive back in the UK. But in recent years the cost differential between shipping jobs overseas and keeping them in Britain has reduced dramatically. The key driver now seems to be one of expertise and not cost reduction. Simple economy suggests that if UK workers are not working then cost saving seems somewhat irrelevant.

In my personal experience the offshoring of vital resources and labour is costly in reducing the quality of products, due to lack of communication; in lowering value, due to rework and extended time lines because of barriers to drive to market (specifically with application development); and in opportunity cost, due to the lack of innovation coming from grassroots levels to improve the business.

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It is time within the IT sector to 'Buy British'. I encourage you to review your suppliers and companies and use your leverage as an IT consumer to demand that the services and products you purchase are supported by British IT professionals working in Britain. Moreover, if you use offshore services it is time to review these agreements and look for ways to find alternatives that are supported by your fellow British colleagues.

Some proponents of offshoring argue it allows British workers to become more specialised and just gets rid of the menial jobs Brits don't want to do anyway. I disagree with this. Firstly, the economic development plan of offshoring communities such as India is specifically designed to focus on getting all jobs - not just the menial ones. Secondly, even if businesses keep higher-level jobs such as project management in the UK, they become more difficult when managing remote locations with dramatically different cultural settings.

As much as people argue differently offshoring is still predominantly one which serves the lowest common denominator - and any British business looking to improve and become more efficient will be hard pressed to do so if it relies on this model.

I believe we can drive value into IT in a cost effective manner at home, through investing in British resources. I also believe the penalty for not changing this current trend in our workforce will cripple British IT development for years if not decades to come.

It is time to lobby government to tax local companies who choose to offshore IT resources and to apply this income strategically to strengthen IT skills and the IT industry here at home. If companies can send a clear message then perhaps we can give some of our beleaguered colleagues hope - and return the IT foundation of this country back to where it should be.