A Springboard To Services

We released the Asia Pacific IT Services report today, this has been exciting for me to get it up and running at Springboard Research. The media and client interest is very strong, I do not think I have had such interest in a report in many years. One view from Australia was interesting. See the link below.

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=721475774&eid=-6787

Andrew is friend of mine, so we have managed today to have a laugh about it. Honestly the article does misconstruct a couple of issues, the core thing is the growth in China. It is not coming from outsourcing however, China will not outsource, rather from support services and integration services. The traditional model of support moulding to outsourcing does not appear to work in China.

I was last in Manila a couple of years ago, I was surrounded at the hotel lobby by about 30 police/army with M16's and the largest Alsatian dogs I have ever seen. It added some pressure to a presentation I was giving in terms of global delivery locations. It was difficult to consider Manila in that environment, especially when I looked at my spouse test (would an executive from the US in particular like to relocate with family in that environment, most unlikely).
Now there is still security about, and the odd disturbance, but it appears that the economy is rolling ahead, the political environment is relatively stable and people look happy (even by the high standards of the Philippines).
The local newspaper is full of ads for roles at HP, Accenture, Convergys, Teletech and the like, it seems that the market is accelerating greatly. I actually think that in general terms (ie not North Asia), the Philippines is the second best global delivery market in Asia. This is also highlighted in very high real estate occupancy levels. Lets hope it continues.

It is a little disappointing that Apple decided to launch the I-Phone in Europe before Asia Pacific. It seems that the 3 billion or more consumers in the region wil have to wait until the 700 million or so Europeans have their play first. Given the innovative and dynamic nature of the Asian marketplace and the overwhelming consumer orientation, this is a little disappointing decision by Apple. This is also true as a result of network issues that exist in Europe in terms of the I-Phone. Clearly the consumer based enterprises that are able to prioritise Asia in the future will win out rapidly, this may not effect Apple short term, but firms who continue to hold this view may pay a price at the register.

Thanks to Dane Anderson for alerting me to this,