GPI Consultancy

My research report "A Value Chain Analysis about the IT Outsourcing sector in Egypt' has now been published.

IT Outsourcing consists of a range of IT-services; the main topic of this report is application outsourcing, such as software support and custom application development. Thousands of Egyptian IT companies are active in this field and are working for domestic clients. Hundreds of Egyptian firms are also offering these services to foreign markets, especially to clients in the Gulf region (GCC). The European markets are served on a much more limited scale.

Because of the growth for offshore outsourcing in the main export markets, the outsourcing sector in Egypt is expected to grow over the coming years – provided the internal political situation does not deteriorate.

The current Egyptian IT exports are valued at around EUR 712 million, creating a total of 161,000 jobs. The United States and European markets are the key markets for outsourcing services, while the market share of Europe is around 30% of the worldwide market. The European market for IT outsourcing is also expected to grow over the next three years. Any company from a specific country, including Egypt, that can deliver either sector or domain competencies, has a distinct advantage in Europe. It is important to specialise in something specific and remain one step ahead. Egyptian IT companies have experience with several of the new trends, such as big data, mobile application development, Internet of Things and Virtual and augmented reality.

Egypt has now a large number of IT firms, and those working for foreign clients mainly target the Middle East and North Africa region. Others have clients in Europe (even with local representations). While global services delivery operations have been mostly concentrated in Cairo, other large cities such as Mansoura, Asyut, Alexandria and Luxor also have well-developed local economies and provide access to large talent pools. Egypt is also one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurship regions in the Middle East and North Africa.

The report has been compiled by Paul Tjia (GPI Consultancy), on behalf of CBI. To download the report:https://www.cbi.eu/sites/default/files/market_information/researches/VCA%20ITO%20Egypt.pdf

IT na corona: Offshore en nearshore komt flink in beweging. Het werk dat is uitbesteed aan bedrijven in Azië en Oost-Europa, liep redelijk door tijdens de coronacrisis en waar dat niet het geval was, hebben klanten coulant gereageerd. Maar de markt voor offshore en nearshore krijgt wel met flinke veranderingen te maken als gevolg van de crisis. In deel vijf van de rubriek over IT na corona spreekt AG Connect met Paul Tjia, expert op het gebied van offshore sourcing.

IT na corona: Offshore en nearshore komt flink in beweging Outsourcingbedrijven moeten veel harder werken voor nieuwe opdrachten.

Producing animation in North Korea is a viable option, and the work is of high quality with relatively low costs. European clients have been outsourcing this work since 1986. In order to check opportunities for collaboration, animation studios in Pyongyang can be visited during our upcoming study tour to DPRK from 17 - 25 September 2018.

For an overview about the sector:https://www.gpic.nl/producing_animation_in_North_Korea.pdf

Free Online course on Globally Distributed Software Engineering will ! Working in a company with distributed software engineering teams? Interested in exploring offshore sourcing? Already outsourcing to India or Eastern Europe? Develop the technical and organizational skills you need to practice software engineering in a globally distributed environment.

Software engineering operates ever more frequently in globally distributed settings. This practice, also known as Globally Distributed Software Engineering (GDSE) has advantages and disadvantages that need to be addressed in a thoroughly practical way.

On 24 October 2017, the new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Globally Distributed Software Engineering (GSE101x) starts. One professor of Delft Technical University and 13 guest lecturers tell you all about it! This software engineering course covers the subject in an accessible and practical manner. You will be introduced to the different pros and cons of GDSE, the practical consequences of GDSE and its technological feasibilities and infeasibilities. The course includes the practical experiences of users and examples of GDSE applications such as outsourcing, offshoring, nearshoring and multi-partner systems development.

You will learn how to develop the technical and organizational skills required to carry out software engineering when distributed around the globe. These will be based on analysis of best-practice examples from distributed software engineering project teams. Guest lectures from industry experts and researchers will be an integral part of the course. These lectures will demonstrate how GDSE is handled in industry, how decision-makers lead their teams in this context, and what is the state- of-the-art in GDSE research. For example, Paul Tjia (GPI Consultancy) will discuss the trends in country selection. Several destinations will be covered, including India, Bangladesh, Palestine and North-Korea.

During the course, you will have hands-on experience of GDSE by working together with team members from different countries as a distributed team. Together you will prepare a number of artefacts that build on the body of knowledge of GDSE and so have the chance to contribute to this growing field of knowledge.

What you'll learn:
- To understand the main constructs of globally distributed software engineering theory.
- How to apply the principles of globally distributed software engineering in your own company’s practice.
- To produce an artifact that adds to the overall body of knowledge of globally distributed software engineering.
- To identify the main concepts in decision-making and leadership roles in a globally distributed context.

For an introduction video: https://youtu.be/gyrkIqK6A0s
To enroll (it's free!): https://www.edx.org/course/globally-distributed-software-delftx-gse101x

Globally Distributed Software Engineering Software engineering operates ever more frequently in globally distributed settings. This practice, also known as Globally Distributed Software Engineering (...