Mindsgate Media, a South African-based multimedia and Internet solutions company, has looked to the Indian IT market for a cheaper skills base for its US operations, as it says SA skills are no longer as competitively priced.
Marius Wannenburg, MD of Mindsgate Media SA, says it has acquired US IT outsourcing company Indoam, which utilises the Indian IT market.
"Indoam will give us direct access to the Indian skills market. The Indian skills base will be used by our US office with development work and will also be hired out to its client base."
Wannenburg says because of the strengthening of the rand, SA is no longer financially competitive with the US.
"We find that we are paying programmers in the States the same amount as we would pay to local programmers for the same job. On the other hand, the Indian IT market provides a better skills to cost ratio.
"It was therefore a purely financial decision for us. While the top local programmers in SA are still first choice for us, SA is just not the cheapest anymore," he says.
Although video production will remain a core focus for the company, Wannenburg says Mindsgate Media is working aggressively to diversify into the Internet streaming solutions market.
"One of the sites our new staff will be working on is Talk011, which provides reduced international call rates to Americans."
The system offers a prepaid service allowing Americans to dial international numbers through the Web site, providing a saving of up to 80%.
Wannenburg says Mindsgate Media hopes to create a similar site in SA within the next two years once legislation preventing international calls being made over the Internet is changed.
Share
