MADE IN THE UK - DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Here at 9xb we like to take a look around our marketplace every now and again to see what everyone else is up to. In the course of our travels we see good ideas and neat innovations, dubious activity and just plain wrongness. I'm going to take a look at one business practice that we've seen increase dramatically over the past few years, and which is now creeping into our sector; shifting operations abroad.

The Call Centre

For large businesses like banks and phone companies, opening offices abroad and hiring a local workforce has proved the most cost-effective option. Many of us have spoken to someone in India about our bank accounts, and the implications of this have been in the news frequently. I'm not going to go into the arguments here, but needless to say there has been a backlash against having your calls routed 3000 miles away to someone with suspiciously perfect diction.

The Web Agency

I was surprised the other day when I came across a web-design firm who advertised having developers both here and in Asia. The reason for this was the "skills shortage" in the UK; the lack of creative and technical know-how in our web industry.

Asia, they said, could provide the high level of expertise that clients demand and having web developers over there meant that the build would progress faster.

The Rant

Firstly, I wonder what the thousands of web agencies, IT students and designers would say about the "skills shortage" in the UK. We may not have enough nurses and dentists, but programming talent really isn't something we lack.

More importantly, can the developers in an office abroad really offer the same level of service? Yes, they can work on your website when you're asleep, but does someone sitting 5000 miles away really have the same understanding of your business as someone in the next city?

Do they know your market and your goals, or are they just following a plan with no meaning? Can you call your developer, or their manager, when you have a question? Who's accountable for the work?

The Cost-Effective Truth

Even banks admit that they have overseas centres because it's cheaper. They can hire a large workforce at a low cost; it just makes business sense. I'm sure that in the case I'm talking about the Asian developers are good at what they do, but think about all the cultural, language and distance barriers between you and the person building your online platform. I don't know about you, but it's not something that would fill me with confidence.

Today's Moral

No matter how they try to sell it, moving development abroad is ultimately a cost-cutting measure. You might want a quick job, but ask yourself if this is more important than a working relationship with your developer. Does the overseas shift benefit you, or your web agency?

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