Offshoring fears excessive, author says

Fears that offshore developers will take jobs away from North American counterparts are being overblown, charged a keynote speaker and noted author at the recent Software Development Conference & Expo West 2004 event in Santa Clara, Calif.

Responding to an audience member’s question, Steve McConnell, chief software engineer at Construx Software Builders Inc. and author of the book, “Code Complete,” said the need for software development is still growing. While acknowledging that some may see him as Nero fiddling while Rome burns, McConnell, said, “I’m not all that concerned about offshoring.”

Even if 100 per cent of Indian development resources were focused on the U.S. demand, there still is a labour shortage for developer skills, he said. The years 1999 and 2000 saw a spike in demand related to the Y2K and technology boom periods, he said. Yet while both phenomena went away simultaneously, the result did not produce a 15 per cent unemployment rate, McConnell said. This, he said, “is suggestive of just how strong the demand for technical skills really is.”

The repercussions of offshore development will be felt more at the executive level “because a lot of the initiatives I’ve seen are really very na

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Featured Articles

Cybersecurity in 2024: Priorities and challenges for Canadian organizations 

By Derek Manky As predictions for 2024 point to the continued expansion...

Survey shows generative AI is a top priority for Canadian corporate leaders.

Leaders are devoting significant budget to generative AI for 2024 Canadian corporate...

Related Tech News

Tech Jobs

Our experienced team of journalists and bloggers bring you engaging in-depth interviews, videos and content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives.

Tech Companies Hiring Right Now