Consider offshore outsourcing for high-end IT services: Gartner

Bangalore, Jun 11 (UNI) Indian organisations facing the daunting challenge of an IT skills shortage and ''second-class'' treatment from local service providers must consider offshore outsourcing to obtain high-end IT services, according to consulting firm Gartner.

''India is witnessing a severe shortage of skilled IT resources at all levels,'' said Gartner's distinguished analyst for IT sourcing group and Vice-President Linda Cohen.

National E-Governance Program (NEGP), the Centre's initiative demanding skilled IT personnel and resource hungry Indian offshore service providers were outstripping local supply, adding that rapid economic growth in India was exacerbating the problem, a release from Gartner said.

''Local service providers lack adequate focus on the Indian domestic market, widening the demand-supply gap by not allocating enough quality resources for Indian customers,'' Ms Cohen added.

Gartner said India was undergoing massive economic growth with the GDP growing at 9.2 percent in fiscal year 2007, which was second only to China among the major economies of the world.

A recent Gartner survey showed IT budgets in India had the highest growth of 16.19 per cent, whereas it was only 3.16 per cent in the rest of the world.

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