From Publishers Weekly
In 1992, Yourdon published Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, which predicted that U.S.-based coders would "suffer the fate of the do-do bird" as firms shifted jobs from American workers to those overseas in order to take advantage of lower pay scales and less labor regulation; following the high-flying late '90s, that prediction has proved correct for many kinds of programming. A lifetime IT veteran, Yourdon has spent the last decade on the board of directors of a U.S.-based outsourcing firm and its Indian subsidiary, and the result is this insider's look at "knowledge-based" industries: the computer industry, as well as other "back office" operations like mortgage application processing or legal services. Refreshingly, the book is explicitly not designed for managers of any kind, but rather to give employees a sense of trends and context when deciding how to move within their own industries and how to "advise their children what careers and professions they should follow." Yourdon is not an economist, but his praxis-based evaluations, bolstered by reports over the last few years culled from the business press, feel carefully digested and are clearly presented in an affable voice. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
If you run a business, what should you outsource (and what shouldn't you)? If you're a knowledge worker (inside or outside IT), how can you protect yourself? How will outsourcing evolve next? What do those changes mean to you? Outsourcing is not just the #1 issue facing IT organizations: It's driving a profound transformation throughout American business. Whether you're an executive or a knowledge worker, the decisions you make about outsourcing can make or break your future. This book brings together all the information and insight you need to make those decisions—and make them the right ones. Once, outsourcing was largely limited to IT. Suddenly, it touches everyone from telemarketers to tax preparers, radiologists to market researchers. No American company or knowledge worker can ignore its challenge. Now, widely acclaimed author and consultant Ed Yourdon helps you understand the challenge of outsourcing—and meet it. IT pros and knowledge workers: Protect your career Eight realistic strategies for surviving the outsourcing revolution How to compete with the entire low-cost world and win Quantify, protect, and enhance your personal ñvalue propositionî Executives: Make smarter outsourcing decisions What to outsource, how to do it right, and when to avoid it Outsourcing, the next generation: Beyond programmers From telemarketers to accountants, clinical trials to market research The politics and geopolitics of outsourcing Backlash at home, upheaval overseas, and a plan for renewal Along the way, Yourdon assesses the politics and economics of outsourcing, long-term implications for both suppliers and buyers of knowledge-based services, and much more. Yourdon has been writing about outsourcing since before it had a name. In this book, he doesn't just predict your future, he helps you take control of it.
From the Back Cover
"In OUTSOURCE, Ed Yourdon conveys a nuanced understanding of a topic that too often has fallen victim to exaggeration and oversimplification. Will your job move offshore? That depends. Yourdon explains what it depends on, and what to do about it."
Robert D. Austin
Associate Professor, Harvard Business School
Co-Author of ARTFUL MAKING
"Is outsourcing a bane, a boon, or a bother? Yes. Ed Yourdon takes on this vastly complicated issue and makes it all crystal clear."
Tom DeMarco
The Atlantic Systems Guild
"OUTSOURCE cuts through the outsourcing hysteria to present a balanced view of why outsourcing is occurring, how it is likely to impact people's lives, and how to best prepare career-wise for the new realities it introduces. Whether you are a buyer or provider of outsourcing services, or an individual whose career may be affected by those services, Ed Yourdon offers valuable insights that you can immediately put to use."
Ian Hayes
Industry Analyst and President, Clarity Consulting, Inc.
"Ed Yourdon's book on international outsourcing is a major work on an important topic. I think the book will become required reading for all CIOs and officers of U.S. companies that produce software in quantity. As usual with Ed's work, the research is extensive, and the coverage is thorough. Ed has visited many of the international outsourcing labs, so he also offers firsthand observations."
Capers Jones
Chief Scientist, Software Productivity Research LLC
"Ed Yourdon has produced a comprehensive sequel to his 1992 prophecy, Decline and Fall of the American Programmer. His views were much maligned; yet he turned out to be right. To cope with challenges ahead, this book should be required reading by computer professionals who wish to prosper in their jobs."
Paul A. Strassmann
A CIO for 43 years (General Foods, Kraft, Xerox,
Department of Defense, NASA)
"Entertaining and understandable, Yourdon's OUTSOURCE examines the current situation from sociological, economic, and historical perspectives, providing individuals, employers, and policymakers practical insights and advice centered on increasing competitiveness and taking individual responsibility. OUTSOURCE is must-read for those who intend to survive and thrive in this hyper-competitive global economy. It's just what the doctor should have ordered."
Leon A. Kappelman, Ph.D.
Farrington Professor of Information Systems
Director, Information Systems Research Center
College of Business, University of North Texas
"'Nothing personal, just business' has a new ring—and it's a dangerous wake-up call to a harsh side of globalization—a wake-up call that will change your life, your company, our future... Early readers of OUTSOURCE will have the advantage in the job shake-outs and company restructurings that are accelerating now!"
Mo Bjornestad
CEO, SensorWave Corporation
If you run a business, what should you outsource (and what shouldn't you)?
If you're a knowledge worker (inside or outside IT), how can you protect yourself?
How will outsourcing evolve next? What do those changes mean to you?
Outsourcing is not just the #1 issue facing IT organizations: It's driving a profound transformation throughout American business. Whether you're an executive or a knowledge worker, the decisions you make about outsourcing can make or break your future. This book brings together all the information and insight you need to make those decisions—and make them the right ones.
Once, outsourcing was largely limited to IT. Suddenly, it touches everyone from telemarketers to tax preparers, radiologists to market researchers. No American company or knowledge worker can ignore its challenge. Now, widely acclaimed author and consultant Ed Yourdon helps you understand the challenge of outsourcing—and meet it.
IT pros and knowledge workers: Protect your career
Eight realistic strategies for surviving the outsourcing revolution
How to compete with the entire low-cost world and win
Quantify, protect, and enhance your personal ñvalue propositionî
Executives: Make smarter outsourcing decisions
What to outsource, how to do it right, and when to avoid it
Outsourcing, the next generation: Beyond programmers
From telemarketers to accountants, clinical trials to market research
The politics and geopolitics of outsourcing
Backlash at home, upheaval overseas, and a plan for renewal
Along the way, Yourdon assesses the politics and economics of outsourcing, long-term implications for both suppliers and buyers of knowledge-based services, and much more.
Yourdon has been writing about outsourcing since before it had a name. In this book, he doesn't just predict your future, he helps you take control of it.© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
About the Author
OutsourceAuthor Bio
EDWARD YOURDON has been a futurist, pundit, and advisor to CEOs around the world for nearly 40 years. He has been named as one of the ten most influential people in the software industry and has been inducted into the Computer Hall of Fame along with Charles Babbage, Grace Hopper, Bill Gates, Seymour Cray, and James Martin.
A New York Times best-selling author, his two dozen books include such classics as Nations At Risk, Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, Death March, and Byte Wars. Several of his books have been translated into Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, and Polish. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on the Y2K problem, has served on advisory councils of the U.S. Defense Department, and has been a board member of numerous high-technology companies in the United States and India.
Yourdon received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from MIT and has carried out graduate work at MIT and the Polytechnic Institute of New York. He has been appointed an Honorary Professor of Information Technology at Universidad CAECE in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has lectured at MIT, Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley, and other universities around the world. He has been quoted and interviewed in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, Boston Globe, the Times of India, and several computer trade publications. He has also been interviewed on numerous TV news shows and radio programs, including CNBC, National Public Radio, ABC Evening News, and Fox News.© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
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