Duke wasn’t the only U.S. school to be skunked at the prestigious computing contest. Of the home teams, only Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked among the 12 highest finishers. Most top spots were seized by teams from Eastern Europe and Asia. Until the late 1990s, U.S. teams dominated these contests. But the tide has turned. Last year not one was in the top dozen.

WAKE-UP CALL
The poor showings should serve as a wake-up call for government, industry, and educators. The output of American computer science programs is plummeting, even while that of Eastern European and Asian schools is rising. China and India, the new global tech powerhouses, are fueled by 900,000 engineering graduates of all types each year, more than triple the number of U.S. grads. Computer science is a key subset of engineering. “If our talent base weakens, our lead in technology, business, and economics will fade faster than any of us can imagine,” warns Richard Florida, a professor at George Mason University and author of The Flight of the Creative Class.

Software programmers are the seed corn of the Information Economy, yet America isn’t producing enough. The Labor Dept. forecasts that “computer/math scientist” jobs, which include programming, will increase by 40%, from 2.5 million in 2002 to 3.5 million in 2012. Colleges aren’t keeping up with demand. A 2005 survey of freshmen showed that just 1.1% planned to major in computer science, down from 3.7% in 2000.

This really isn’t news is it? I mean, we all see this coming, right? We all clearly see the pros and cons in the leveling of the playing field. We know anyone can access global software programming talent at sites like oDesk, RentACoder, Elance, etc. (For more complete list, see list of Outsource Marketplace Providers on this site).

Have you read the “The World is Flat” yet? (Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk) I know some people think this book is a bit far fetched; I’d love to hear some kind of rebuttal to the points presented in the book.

Related posts:

1. The World is NOT Flat
2. Surprise, surprise – software engineers hit by offshore job outsourcing
3. Are Programmers Really Engineers?

EDS is the latest major IT services vendor to bolster its offshore operations. The Dallas-based company, which provides a range of IT and BPO services to corporate and government customers, plans to double its staff in Hungary, a spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.

Entire CRN article

But why stop there, EDS?

With competition fierce for both employees and new contract wins, Western IT service providers may finally be looking at acquisitions as a way to quickly get a bigger foothold in India’s booming outsourcing market. On Tuesday, Electronic Data Systems, the number-two player in the United States, is expected to announce just such a move.EDS says it’s offering $380 million to acquire a 52% stake in Indian business process and software development outsourcer Mphasis BFL Ltd. The offer represents a 30% premium over Mphasis’ average share price over the past six months. Mphasis is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Article also available on CRN website

Related posts:

1. India SRO Hopes to Tighten Offshore Data Security
2. Accounting Outsourcing in India
3. Offshoring Software Development – Beyond India