PSIA participates in forum

The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), the trade group composed of local software development firms, said in a statement that it will participate in the upcoming World BPO Forum in New Jersey, in the US, says Manila Bulletin Online.

The forum, taking place from 28 to 29 July, is considered the largest offshoring and outsourcing summit in the world.

Major outsourcing service providers attend the forum to network and to discuss emerging trends and issues affecting the sector.

Infosys Technologies, India's second-biggest software developer, revealed it plans to raise the share of its revenues from Europe to counter a slowdown in the US, the world's biggest economy, which fetches it about 60% of its sales, says Business Standard.

Infosys, which earned 28% of its revenues from the European Union in the year ended 31 March, plans to expand its sales and marketing offices and hire more people in Europe.

The Bangalore-based company will also post more employees at customer sites in Europe, seeking to win more orders and eventually shift a part of the work to India.

According to ExpressIndia.com, the cap on skilled immigrants moving to the US could force companies to outsource research and development works to foreign countries, leading to a cut in employment and investment at home, a top American think tank has warned.

"The inflow of foreign students, scientists and engineers has been a key factor that has enabled the US science and engineering workforce to grow faster than the US is graduating native-born scientists and engineers," according to a report by the Rand Corporation.

The report has underlined that the recent reduction in skilled immigrant visas has the potential to reduce the inflow of foreign science and engineering workers; and that curtailing the supply of these scientists and engineers can lead US firms to outsource more research and development work to foreign countries and locate new facilities overseas.