Donald Trump has published a short piece on outsourcing. He says that in the long run, outsourcing creates jobs because increased corporate profits pump money back into the economy. Agreed.
Outsourcing is a problem, however, for many kinds of businesses — high technology, for instance. My company, Iotum, builds software, which is a kind of knowledge work. Knowledge work requires constant interaction between people. Even the most advanced communications systems available can’t substitute for the 20 minute stand-up meeting that our development team has every morning. And, if you talk with anyone who has successfully run an offshore development project, the first requirement is to move your managers to the location of your workers.
Protectionism is not the answer to the outsourcing problem. Tear down the barriers to trade, bring foreign workers to America to help keep the economy growing, and focus on educating people to become knowledge workers in these critical sectors of the new economy.
But I guess that’s probably what prompted Mr. Trump’s piece in the first place.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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Trump is an idiot! Anyone who thinks that corporate America is going to be happy making money using outsourcing 1st and then investing in America after the fact is an IDIOT! A little initial greed will result in more greed.
I believe in free enterprise, but free enterprise with a conscience. All of this short term thinking is what has gotten us into this mess. I hope the new administration taxes the hell out of these traitors.