LONDON: The number of people in offshore locations delivering software and ITservices (S/ITS) to the UK will double to over 130,000 in the coming threeyears, according to a new study by Ovum on global sourcing.

Based on research conducted with vendors accounting for more than half of theUK S/ITS market, the report highlights a 6 per cent fall in the number ofUK-based S/ITS staff by the end of 2008. This equates to the loss of 5,000onshore positions each year.

"We will see the UK-based S/ITS workforce shrink in size under theeffect of offshoring," says Phil Codling, senior analyst, Ovum. "Butthe overall loss of jobs will be gradual and less dramatic than somecommentators might have you believe."

The bulk of the job reductions projected in the UK S/ITS industry will fallin programming, other lower-level technical roles, call centre/help desk andback-office corporate administration.

"These are functions that can readily be offshored and in some casesautomated. There is no point in trying to fight the drop-off in demand for suchroles onshore. UK S/ITS firms must focus on the fact that the key value ofonshore IT workers will be their ability to deliver innovative solutions inclose co-operation with end customers," says Codling.

He also emphasises that such business-centric skills drive the success andcompetitive advantage not just of the UK's IT firms but also of technologydependent sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, media and evengovernment.

Ovum's research predicts that the number of UK-based staff hired by offshorecompanies will continue to increase over the period, but not sufficiently tooffset the overall decline in UK S/ITS jobs.

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