The global software industry

Abstract

This article compares the offshore market strategy of the U.S., India and China in the 21st century. In developing its offshoring strategies the U.S. is gradually moving away from low cost labor strategies of the past. It is redirecting its resources to organizations that have a focus towards leading edge technology, research and development, high-quality infrastructure and clusters that can deliver value added products and services. Meanwhile, evidence would also suggest that many large Indian companies are developing expertise in the so-called vertical domain areas because they offer a rise up the value chain into areas of work that are longer-term and more lucrative than traditional code programming. Comparing India with China, as an outsourcing destination, one of the important strengths of China is its huge domestic software market that attracts domestic software firms as well as foreign software firms. China is starting to promote social and economic development through the wider use of information technolog