Who Isn't Promoting Outsourcing?

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is singing the praises of outsourcing, now that he's outside the U.S. Bill, in Hanoi yesterday, spoke about Vietnam's global outsourcing potential, noting its winning formula of high literacy, growth rates, young population and growing IT skills.

It caught my attention since I am now in Saudi Arabia (which explains the Photo of the Day on the right) working with its Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and e-Government Program to develop a framework for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in e-government.

Outsourcing and PPPs are hot, even in countries like Saudi that are flush with cash. Even where it is politically sensitive--like the U.S.--outsourcing is one aspect of the unstoppable force we call globalization. The question is: does it deliver the benefits expected of it?