IT outsourcing destination

MOAZZEM HOSSAIN, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA
The IT industry in Australia has been making strong, mostly domestic, progress over the last two decades. It is, however, well established that the industry has been suffering from a sustained trade deficit in recent years, due mainly to Australia’s lack of competitiveness in the export of IT-intensive products. The major objective of this study is to examine quantitatively the competitiveness of the Australian IT outsourcing industry and its potential to become a most preferred destination in the global IT outsourcing market. The investigation involves issues such as optimum pricing, cost advantage/disadvantage and productivity improvement. Recent studies have shown Australia has significantly increased productivity within it’s IT industry, but it failed to generate desired exports out of this sector. Australia has been losing competitiveness in providing some IT services due mainly to cost disadvantage. This results in job losses and job migration to offshore facilities with a low cost advantage. The outcome of this study will help to identify areas of Australian export opportunities, thus assisting to gain competitiveness in the global market.
Keywords: Information Technology (IT); Outsourcing; Competitiveness; IT-Enabled Services; Most Preferred Destinations.