by Stephanie Overby

Vietnam Outsourcing Guide

News
Jul 10, 20071 min
Outsourcing

Low wages and improving English skills, but risk of IP loss and infrastructure problems are an issue

  • Overall Ranking: Nascent
  • Average 2nd Year Programmer Salary: Less than $5,000
  • Geopolitical Risk: Moderate
  • English Proficency: Fair
  • Pros: Cheap; lowest wages in the outsourcing world. Major contracts with Western telecom providers like Nortel Networks and completion of tech park in Ho Chi Minh City promising. English now standard curriculum. IT sector growing 20% annually. Low attrition rates. Could step in as a low-end provider for basic IT projects as India moves up the value chain.
  • Cons: High risk of IP loss and infrastructure outages. Entire country operates on 60MB of bandwidth. Inadequate non-IT infrastructure (roads, power grid, airports, real estate development). Most companies can offer only small-scale back-office functions. Low number of English speakers and senior IT managers.

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