Sourcing of technology services has become truly global. American enterprises today have well over 2 million people, around the world in low-cost geographies, providing IT and process support services. However, in spite of the progressmade in managing global services, market studies still show that only 8% of technology service organizations are considered highly effective and aligned with their businesses.

This discrepancy exists because of a fundamental gap in integrating the service delivery value chain across industry, business, function, technology and operations competencies, in a globally distributed environment. Bridging this gap is either very expensive or, in many cases, not possible. The gap exists between business/functional requirements, and the technical/operational competencies needed to support them. This will continue to increase with rapid changes in the business and technology landscape.

Instead of throwing more investment dollars at bridging the gap, is it possible to eliminate it by building a more efficient, integrated, domestic sourcing alternative? The authors strongly believe so, though it requires a re-thinking of common sourcing assumptions, and a clean slate approach not burdened by incumbency.

The most efficient domestic services model can, in many cases, deliver better scalability, quality, and flexibility, at a more competitive price point, than global sourcing. This “Inshore” domestic services model leverages global sourcing best practices, eliminates inefficiencies inherent in large differences in time zones and culture, and accelerates “time to value” by using new technology models of service delivery. Coupled with a readily available talent pool, and a public-private partnership for workforce development, a globally competitive solution can be delivered in the United States even if the cost of resources at the entry level is significantly higher than in low cost countries.