'Outsourcing,' 'offshoring' are not one and the same

By John Agsalud

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 24, 2012

~~<p>At the risk of overstepping the boundaries of a business technology column in this election year, we'll compare and contrast the concepts of "outsourcing" and "offshoring." While many use these terms interchangeably, they are two distinct principles. Both outsourcing and offshoring are common in IT, perhaps more so than any other industry.</p>
<p>Outsourcing is best described as the subcontracting of a business function to a third party. In other words, rather than pay its own employees to perform this business function, the outsourcing company hires someone else to do it.</p>
~~

At the risk of overstepping the boundaries of a business technology column in this election year, we'll compare and contrast the concepts of "outsourcing" and "offshoring." While many use these terms interchangeably, they are two distinct principles. Both outsourcing and offshoring are common in IT, perhaps more so than any other industry.

Outsourcing is best described as the subcontracting of a business function to a third party. In other words, rather than pay its own employees to perform this business function, the outsourcing company hires someone else to do it. Login for more...