Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 21:59:40 -0400 From: Geoff Halprin Subject: Re: NCSA talk on outsourcing To: Joseph Mack NA3T Cc: sage-exec@sage.org, Rob Kolstad , "Frye, Matthew" , matloff@laura.cs.ucdavis.edu On Mon, Apr 12, 2004 at 12:57:22PM -0700, Joseph Mack NA3T wrote: > Dear Sage-exec, > > Rob Kolstad suggested I contact you. [...] > What is SAGE's position on outsourcing and H-1B workers? Joe, Thanks for your email. Outsourcing is indeed an issue that affects our membership, both directly and indirectly, and both as a community that may feel the effect of displacement, and as employees of companies that provide outsourcing services. It is also a fact of life in the ICT industry (Information and Communications Technology; what they're calling it these days), and has been for more than 20 years. Indeed, it is how our industry operates. Any form of consulting service or subcontract software development is outsourcing. Australia undertook major outsourcing efforts fifteen years ago, mostly to American companies like IBM and EDS. Whether it is IBM selling their IT services to a private company or a government, and whether those services are provided on-site, off-site, or in another country are all nuances of the service delivery. The current wave of American outsourcing to other countries is just another move by corporations to attempt to control their costs, this time taking advantage of the global nature of the Internet and how it has changed the economics of outsourcing. Please do not think that we are disinterested or belittling the plight that many good people (including a significant number of our members) are finding themselves facing. My personal experience is that these deals are almost always short-sighted, and ultimately cost more and increase project risk; ironically two of the very arguments used to support outsourcing. There is a wealth of information countering the ideological drive to outsource. But these are personal opinions. As the professional association for practising system administrators, it does not serve our mission or membership to take a political stance for or against outsourcing. (It seems strange to choose a random point in the supply chain to draw a line.) If your specific hope is for SAGE to speak out against off-shore outsourcing, then I am afraid we cannot do so. We have members all over the world. SAGE is not a union of American workers; it is a global body seeking to advance the profession. Does that mean we should ignore the problem that this is causing to members in the USA? Of course not. We need to assist our members where we can. In the case of outsourcing, there are several things we can do: SAGE can provide assistance in the form of continuing education; we already provide workshops in how to talk to management (if you want to influence opinion in your company towards outsourcing, then this is a critical skill), and numerous technical workshops to ensure your skills are up-to-date and your chances of employment maximised. At last year's LISA, we had an invited talk on outsoucing and some of the pitfalls. The text of that talk is, or will shortly be available to members. SAGE also has an active member job board. We recognise the value that this service provides in these times. We are also building a library of reference material on our website. We hope to establish a section that provides balanced information on service delivery benchmarking and how to evaluate whether your organisation will really benefit from such a move, and how to maximise the likelihood of success, should your company proceed down that path. It has also been suggested that we might create a targeted forum for members to exchange their views and experiences. We will investigate this, but in the mean time, the normal SAGE discussion forums (sage-members mailing list, SAGEwire web site, local group meetings, conference BOF sessions) are available to anyone to initiate such a discussion. I welcome any specific suggestions you have as to how SAGE could help further. > Rob says that you haven't taken a position on outsourcing, which > indicates that you don't think anything needs to be done about it. I > assume then that you think that SAGE members are best served by SAGE > letting the outsourcing and H-1B situation continue as is. The conclusion you have drawn is not a valid one. SAGE cannot serve its members by taking a specific stance on such quotas. > Is SAGE doing anything on the political front on the matter? Is there > anyone in SAGE who is good at speaking publically about the matter? I personally spoke about this issue in Melbourne a month ago, and will also be talking about it at SANE in September. I am also writing an article which I hope will be ready for a forthcoming login magazine. I believe David Parter has also spoken on this subject. I am not aware of other people's efforts in this area. I welcome any feedback you have on how SAGE might be able to assist the community further. Warm regards, Geoff President, SAGE