Outsourcing? Offshore? Students Need to Know

Dr. Antonio M. Lopez, Jr.Department of Computer Sciences and

Computer EngineeringXavier University of Louisiana

One Drexel Drive, Campus Box 50New Orleans, LA 70125

Voice: 504.520.5248Fax: 504.520.7908Email: tlopez@xula.eduWebPages: www.xula.edu/~tlopez

Media Hype

High-End Technology Work Not Immune to Outsourcing

-- New York Times, June 16, 2004

If the heart and soul of computing is programming and it is being

auctioned off to the lowest bidder offshore, what is

the future for me?

Computing disciplines:What’s in a name?

Computer Science

Computer Engineering

Software Engineering

Information Systems

Information Sciences

Information Technology

Computer Information Systems

Computer Information Sciences

Management Information Systems

Outsourcing and OffshoreOutsourcing means that an organization has contracted with an outside service provider for the performance of some specific function.IT outsourcing is outsourcing where the contracting is for various information systems functions such as managing of data centers, help desk, hardware support, software maintenance, network maintenance, etc.IT outsourcing offshore is IT outsourcing that employs non-U.S. citizens on non-U.S. soil.

What is a career field?ca•reer ( ka rer′ ) n., v., adj.

- n 1. An occupation or profession followed as one’s life work 2. A person’s general course of action through some or all of life: a short career as a soldier field ( feld ) n., v., adj.

- n 3. A sphere or branch of activity or interest: the field of teaching 4. The area drawn on or serviced by a business or profession ca•reer field ( ka rer′ feld ) n.

- n An area of personal interest where one is willing to devote a lifetime of work.

career field

transportation

medical

manufacturing

finance agriculture

service

education

entertainment

energy

government

technology

mining

space

manufacturing

fashion

automotive

materials

aerospace

Design

Real-time control

Diagnosis and monitoring

Security

finance

banking

stock marketinsurance

Forecasting

Optimization

Scheduling

Real-time monitoring

steel plasticspolymers

shipbuilding

construction

transportation

air

sea

road rail

GPS

Reservations

Optimization scheduling

Pipeline inventory

Load configurations

servicetourism

foodadvertising

religion

beauty

Reservations

Scheduling

Inventory

Payroll

Budgeting

entertainment

theater

music

video sports

Special effects

Real-time control

Diagnosis and monitoring

Synthesis

Security

energy

fossil fuels

windhydroelectric

nuclear

solar

Real-time control

Prediction

Optimization

Scheduling

Real-time monitoring

Real-time control

Diagnosis and monitoring

Research and development

Tracking

government

defense

civilian security

labor

Prediction

Collection

Tracking

Research and development

medical

health care

surgical

biotechnology

laser MRIvideo

revenue

Industry “Lenses”

Computer Industry

• Hardware

• Software

Non-computer Industry

• Small Businesses

Product Focus

Customer Friendly

• U. S. Government

But then again …