Ascent Systems Establishes Tech Center to Counteract Offshoring

By David Sims

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Ascent Systems, a professional services firm, has announced the launch of its "Ascent Technology Center," which firm officials say "cuts the total cost of information technology projects by up to 70 percent."

 

The ATC will provide full-spectrum technology services to its clients and is expected to employ nearly 300 people when fully staffed. Ascent offers technology consulting, custom software development, CRM, ERP and PLM systems integration, Web content management, and IT project outsourcing to clients in the Pittsburgh region.

 

"We believe that, throughout the last decade and a half, the U.S. IT services industry has not mounted an effective campaign to reduce the cost of IT projects and has sent the work offshore rather than do it here," said John Twigg, Chief Executive Officer of Ascent.

 

Twigg added that one result is that the Bangalore region of India has grown their technology industry by billions of dollars and 170,000 workers over the last few years. "So, we are launching such a campaign in Pittsburgh today."

 

Twigg has spoken on the detrimental effects of offshore outsourcing on radio and television programs as well as at numerous technical and business events. He also represents the interests of U.S. members of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers in meetings with legislators in Washington D.C.

 

Twigg foresees a trend where lower IT costs will let clients of any size to increase their use of technology to be more competitive. "A 2004 Deloitte Consulting study showed that Pennsylvania manufacturing firms lag the U.S. national average in productivity by 11 percent," Twigg noted, adding that Ascent's consulting rates for enterprise resource planning systems will be "close to 70 percent below traditional ERP providers."

 

As far back as 2005 about half of Silicon Valley's outsourced jobs were winding up in India, Silicon Valley-area managers told a survey conducted by a team of faculty at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business two years ago.

 

The survey tracked outsourcing by regional companies over the last three years, and registered a slight decline in the number of companies taking jobs out of Silicon Valley last month. It found the trend was slacking off.

 

"Outsourcing as a drain on area jobs seems to have leveled off," Mario Belotti, the W.M. Keck professor of economics at the Leavey School of Business said in the survey. "This leveling off is consistent with the latest monthly increases in the county labor force and civilian employment. Recent gains in both of these economic variables have been somewhat higher than similar gains for the U.S. as a whole."

 

Ironically, according to San Francisco Business Times, an outsourcing company called Freeborders is helping companies re-outsource Indian work to cheaper fulfillment in China.