IT offshoring has both benefits and drawbacks. IT offshoring seems to benefit higher-level, non-technical employees more than it does lower-level and technical employees. IT offshoring seems to benefit specialized talent with access to globalized, foreign markets, but not the average employee that only has access to their local or national marketplace. I think it would be more beneficial for companies to retrain and upskill their staff than outsource jobs to other countries.
The benefits of IT offshoring include reducing costs, greater flexibility, and increased focus on strategic initiatives. IT offshoring also allows businesses to operate on a 24/7 schedule, which is good from a profit-making perspective, but not necessarily good from an employee’s rights perspective.
The drawbacks of IT offshoring include increased hidden costs (stemming from communication, travel, training, and integration issues), quality control issues since the IT department is decentralized, data security concerns, and a lack of transparency about working conditions.