Outsourcing #Fail: Will Disrupt have the answers?

• Why Malaysia has not fulfilled its potential in the outsourcing sector
• Third member joins panel to share views from talent side

IN 2005, while I was with another publication, I ran an interview with the global managing partner of outsourcing at consultancy firm Accenture. In that article, he urged Malaysia to quickly identify the niche it wanted to occupy in the outsourcing sector and to then deliver great value there.
 
His rationale was simple enough: With a then population of 27 million, Malaysia could not compete on scale to play in the outsourcing space.
 
He also said that local companies had to start having confidence in the ability of local outsourced service providers and give them jobs. Only then could these companies go out and win global business.
 
And, he also said that government should allow entrepreneurs to take over and stay out of the business.

Today, eight years later, do we have a clear answer if we ask ourselves about the niche Malaysia occupies in the outsourcing space?
 
Today, do the largest Malaysian companies outsource operations to Malaysian outsource players?
 
Why do foreign outsourced players based in Malaysia still win most of the outsourcing deals in the country?  Is it an issue of capability or just scale?
 
Is the sector attractive to newly-minted graduates coming out?
 
We may not like the answers, but today’s DNA-TeAM Disrupt on Outsourcing: Has Malaysia Missed the Wave? will attempt to explore some of the reasons for the sector failing to hit its potential.
 
How much more time should we give the sector to achieve its potential? With the outsourcing sector receiving a fillip with its inclusion in the Economic Transformation Program (ETP), is it also time to give the players a deadline after which Government turns its attention to other deserving sectors?
 
After all, the Government has promised to concentrate its development budget on the ETP to ensure it has the funding required for success.
 
But there will not be enough money to go around for all the Entry Point Projects that deserve funding. And the Government has promised that public money must be disbursed according to performance judged against milestones, key performance indicators and Gross National Income impact.
 
Joining Disrupt panelists Bobby Varanasi of Matryzel Consulting Inc and Munirah Looi of Outsourcing Malaysia is Gurpradeep Singh (pic), vice president of operations, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation.
 
With a Master’s of Science Degree in Technology Management from Staffordshire University in the United Kingdom, Gurpradeep has more than 25 years’ experience in the ICT and higher education industries, as a developer, project manager, technology manager and educator.
 
He will share his perspective of how attractive the outsourcing sector is to graduates coming out.
 
Today’s Disrupt session kicks off at 5.30pm at PlugNPlay Technologies, 7^th floor, South Tower, Gardens in MidValley, Kuala Lumpur. Register here for the event if you haven’t already.
 
Related Stories:
 
Disrupt #6: Has Malaysia missed the outsourcing boat?
 
Outsourcing Malaysia getting stale with plans, unrealistic with targets
 
TeAM and DNA out to ‘Disrupt’ the ecosystem
 
 
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