Software services: delivered by Olympiads

The 2007 awards for the 48th International Mathematical Olympiads will be made on the 30th July. With over 500 contestants from many countries this was a meeting of the very best mathematical brains in the world.

The winners were: In first place predictably was Russia, and China took a close second place. The final podium place went to Vietnam, who despite being the smallest country in the play off, showed that their investment into science based education is returning dividends.

Where does the UK sit in all this? Well, with only 11% of graduates studying a science subject (Vietnam 83%) it is no wonder we don’t even make the top 20 (28th). Nor do any of the European countries and indeed the USA, the largest developed economy in the world only made 5th! Interestingly, India only made 25th and they output the population of small country in graduates each year!

With 160,000 developer vacancies in the UK that cannot be filled, we have a dire skills shortage. Vietnam on the other hand is scaling up IT resources to meet the rising demand for developers from the UK and USA. Vietnam is now the third country of choice for offshore software development. Harvey Nash has been developing software for UK and USA businesses for many years. Now scarce resource in the UK is abundant in Vietnam.

All the latest Microsoft technologies, including SQL server 2005, .NET 3 are enabling British and American business to maintain a competitive edge. Global innovation is here. You might be surprised to see what is delivered as British is made in Vietnam. For those people who worry about offshoring: It is the same as importing iron ore into Britain in the 1800’s. Our expertise in manufacturing turned it into gold.

Now we are engaging in a global resource pool and our future is in our own hands. Adapt or die?

July 30, 2007 10:25 AM | Permalink