What do you like least about IT outsourcing?

Hi Folks,

Always was curious why some people like IT Outsourcing and some can’t bear the idea of Outsourcing.
There are many pros and cons so would be interested in your opinion.
What do you like least about IT Outsourcing?

Cheers!

Development of code in the hands of people who have no clue of the business, unlike those they replace.
No real control over who is doing the job - with in-house staff you have the ability (or should have) to know what each coder is like and be able to prod/poke or fire anyone who is a muppet.
Adding yet more degrees of separation in the form of communication and management hierarchy.
If done 'off shore' then the possibility of losing control/access to the code, not to mention issues with TZs. Let's not even consider how you do live support with off-shore developers in the frame.

Besides the obvious threat of losing my own job:

* The time difference. Many overseas developers work US hours but when they don't trying to overcome a 12 1/2 hour time difference makes collaboration or even simply scheduling a hand-off meeting all but impossible.

* The language barrier. Most people I have dealt with speak excellent English, however, the accent alone is often enough to add levels of confusion. Trying to hammer out technical specs during hours long conference calls quite frankly gives me a doozy of a headache.

* Not being familiar with America (it's culture, slang, quirks and customs) can cause additional complications especially in regard to interface design and support documents.

Too true. One of the most frustrating things is receiving a product, it not being what you wanted in the first place, and then not being able to communicate what exactly you want fixed.

Outsourcing causes a somewhat "Deal with what you get" kind of economy.

Also, the outsource's inability to be a part of the project from the conception stage (generally speaking) can cause a big disconnect

this ^^^

Thanks!

The people who like outsourcing are the people who pay the bills (management). The people who hate outsourcing are the people who have to deal with the consequences (developers).

My company outsources specific tasks. The outsourced teams speak little English, don't understand the industry, don't understand the business, and consistently submit code which is so awful that I have to deny entire blocks of it.

I have occasionally seen outsourced teams which produce quality code, but you get what you pay for. Companies outsource to save money, but when you pay half as much for code, the code you get is at most half as good. If you outsource unimportant one-off projects like my company does, the only trouble you're causing is the senior developer occasionally saying "none of this is right, do it again." If you outsource core business development, you can end up with bad code in your core business unit, which could soon put you out of business.

The time zone difference is a problem specifically when I have to deny code. The outsourced team finishes a project, submits it for code review, then goes to sleep. Even if I'm denying something for minor reasons, code release schedules are delayed by an entire day every time it happens. Conference calls are also weird because I have to get up early to speak to them on their way home, and information is sometimes lost overnight.

I worked at a social network which outsourced a "pimp my profile" section. The outsourced team, unfamiliar with MTV idioms, simply looked up "pimp" in the dictionary, and after 3 months of work delivered a social network plugin that would allow us to run an underage prostitution ring.

Thanks again

Pray tell, what region do YOU represent? Bet we can tell you how off your representation is.

...

Saying "the quality of IT code is based on the country it was written in" is as ignorant as saying the quality of math or writing depends on the country. I could outsource my code to my brother and it would be garbage. He lives 20 minutes from here.

I have nothing against outsourcing if I'm the source on the outside. Otherwise, it sucks.

You're full of crap, because you posted the exact same thread over here, where you also posted an ad for your services (which I won't link to here, just because you don't deserve the attention).

And this is why many of us hate outsourcing. Lies, lies, lies.

Outsourcing companies are more often than not lying right to your face. They cannot deliver what they promise, in the language they promise, at the time they promise. Outsourcing is cheap like the guy hanging around behind home depot is cheap.

Sammy, if you advertise here ever, it will be deleted and you'll be banned.