Outsourcing and Linux development boom in North America

Stan Beer
Thursday, 01 June 2006 04:26

IT Industry - Market

A new survey of North American software developers has revealed a marked in increase in outsourcing and offshoring as well increased Linux adoption.

According to a report from Santa Cruz based research firm Evans Data, titled Spring 2006 North American Development Survey,the past year has seen an 18% increase in the use of contractors and a 25% increase in overall outsourcing.

Outsourcing by the corporate enterprise segment, which accounted for 57% of the development effort, increased by 37%. Offshoring played a major role with over 37% of North American companies sending development offshore, representing a 20% increase from the prior study. Additionally, the study indicates an increased willingness by small and medium companies to pursue outsourcing and off shoring.

“The focus has shifted away from outsourcing or offshoring simply to save costs toward strategic talent acquisition of more highly qualified workers who have been trained in the technology areas that are driving business process change and revenue generation,” said John Andrews, president of Evans Data. “We see this trend continuing to play a critical role going forward as the pressure on IT to be ever more agile and innovative will only increase.”

Other findings from the Spring Survey of more than 450 developers in North America:

* Wireless development efforts are expected to double to 40% in the next 24 months.

* 69% of respondents consider Linux viable for mission critical applications, driving the 50% adoption rate expected by the year end. Corporate enterprises, typically the last segment to adopt non-commercial applications, are adopting Linux at growing rates.

* AJAX, a Java component supporting XML integration, has seen an 11% adoption increase.