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1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply of Services Geneva 28-29 April 2005 Michael Engman OECD Trade Directorate

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Page 1: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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International sourcing of IT and business process services

Experiences from the United States, the EU and India

WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply of Services

Geneva 28-29 April 2005

Michael Engman

OECD Trade Directorate

Page 2: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Overview of the presentation

Background and factors that initiated the outsourcing practice

Experiences from the Indian IT industry Inter-modal linkages Mutual benefits and the case for adjustment

Page 3: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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International sourcing may include provision of services by: foreign subsidiaries of multinationals (International insourcing); or

foreign external providers (International outsourcing).

IT and business process services are mainly sourced domestically and cross-border supply is predominantly North-North trade.

However, cross-border supply of IT and business process services is increasingly provided by low-income and medium-income countries in e.g. Eastern Europe and South & East Asia.

Background

Page 4: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Cross-border supply of IT and business process services is growing fast

Enabling factors: Improvements in ICT infrastructure, reduced communication costs, maturation of delivery models, etc.

Increasing demand: Companies in high-income countries focusing on core competence and cost savings, accessing local talent, servicing local markets, etc.

Increasing supply: Companies in low-income countries providing increasingly sophisticated services around the clock. Several countries have large, well-educated labour forces with matching language skills.

Page 5: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Exports of Indian IT and IT-enabled services

0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

18,000

1996:2-1997:1

1997:2-1998:1

1998:2-1999:1

1999:2-2000:1

2000:2-2001:1

2001:2-2002:1

2002:2-2003:1

2003:2-2004:1

2004:2-2005:1E

US

$ m

illi

on

0.0

2.5

5.0

7.5

10.0

12.5

15.0

Per

cen

t

IT and ITeS exports IT and ITeS exports as share of total Indian exports

Source: IMF BoP, NASSCOM

Page 6: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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India has become a major exporter and several factors contributed to its early success

Investment in tertiary education: Investment in higher education provided crucial high-skilled labour.

Capital and best practices: Indian Diaspora returned to India with risk capital and best practices.

Foreign competition: Most IT-companies developed without a domestic client base and faced international competition from the beginning.

Independent growth path: The young industry was relatively unaffected by domestic inefficiencies.

Innovative delivery model: The modes of service delivery – including via cable, satellite and temporary movement of workers to client sites – circumvented a number of trade and regulatory barriers.

Page 7: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Inter-modal linkages in delivery

International delivery of IT and business process services is a complex practice which involves strong inter-modal linkages.

Delivery of IT services requires roughly 1/3 of manpower to be situated at the client’s site, and 2/3 of manpower to work from their home office(s).

International delivery of business process service, like call centre and data entry services, involves more offshore work and less movement of service providers.

The real value proposition for both client and service provider lies in the cross-border supply of services.

→ To realise the potential benefits, services liberalisation of cross-border supply need to be accompanied by liberalisation of temporary movement of service workers.

Page 8: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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The mutual benefits are significant…

High-income countries: Cost savings enable companies to offer new, cheaper, more flexible, and

often higher quality services to their clients. International sourcing allows companies to focus on what they do best,

freeing up capital to be re-invested in R&D and more productive activities. International sourcing gives companies access to scarce talent and

facilitates access to foreign markets. Low-income countries:

The development of labour-intensive high-tech service industries helps countries to gain high-income services jobs and boosts economic growth.

Cross-border supply of IT and business process services helps to transfer technology and to reduce the technological divide.

Page 9: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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…but many workers in high-income countries are worrying about their jobs…

What is the case for adjustment?

Page 10: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Most services will remain non-tradable (outer limit estimates: 5-19%). Job losses should be considered within the context of broader

national employment trends. The 60 thousand US jobs expected to migrate per quarter are relatively

low compared to those 7-9 million US jobs created and destroyed per quarter.

France, Germany and Italy, for example, are experiencing even more moderate movement of services jobs abroad.

International sourcing is not a zero-sum game: there are positive dynamic effects.

Gradual convergence of salaries: e.g. wages at Infosys Technologies rose by 18% per year in 1999-2004.

Adjustment pressure while real is likely to remain modest in OECD-country labour markets

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The largest importers of IT and business process services also show the largest trade surpluses for commercial services (USA & UK).

Surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that outsourcing in Continental Europe is at a relatively early stage. French companies are importing services from North and West Africa. German companies are importing services from Eastern Europe. Spanish companies are importing services from South and Latin America.

Labour market adjustment may affect certain occupational categories.

Importance of sound labour market policies to facilitate adjustment.

Adjustment pressure while real is likely to remain modest in OECD-country labour markets

Page 12: 1 International sourcing of IT and business process services Experiences from the United States, the EU and India WTO Symposium on Cross-Border Supply

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Thank you for your attention

For further information, please visit www.oecd.org/trade

or contact Michael Engman at [email protected]