BellSouth considers outsourcing IT

US telecommunications company BellSouth may save as much as $275m in IT costs over five years by outsourcing its application development and maintenance work.

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Whether BellSouth moves ahead with its plan will depend on the success of a pilot program in India, said Elyse Hammett, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based company.

BellSouth has outsourced its IT application and development work to Accenture, its long-standing partner. The company said that "as roles do transition", Accenture "will move people to other opportunities within their organisation based on business need and skills". 

BellSouth said its $275m estimate was based on a savings of 45% to 70% in outsourcing costs. 

India was chosen because it offers low-cost, high-quality work, a stable infrastructure with redundant communications links built to international standards, and a pro-US business environment. 

Other countries considered include Spain, Canada, the Philippines, Brazil and Australia.

Patrick Thibodeau writes for Computerworld