The former Soviet Union is emerging as a research and
development centre for software and telecommunications
firms, according to the Aberdeen Group.
Aberdeen found that nearly three-quarters of the offshore work
in Russia is undertaken by IT companies, said Stephen Lane, the
analyst who authored the report.
"What they have is a culture that is focused on problem-solving
and focused on using technology in an innovative fashion," Lane
said, although he added that there is not a Russian company out
there "that can compete with an Indian company in terms of scale or
scope".
Bob Pryor, who heads New York-based Cap Gemini Ernst &
Young's outsourcing services, agreed that Russia has some very
advanced technological skills. But he believes the country will
remain a relatively small part of the offshore outsourcing market
because the government is not developing the industry and may be
living off the legacy of its past.
Marc Herbet, executive vice president of Sierra Atlantic, an
application management company in California, which runs an
offshore centre in India, said Russia may well take off as an
offshore outsourcing centre if Europeans begin embracing offshore
work, particularly because of the proximity.
Patrick Thibodeau writes for Computerworld