Friday, May 05, 2006

Western Iowa Tech Brings Outsourcing to Sioux City

When people think of outsourcing, they think of places like China and India. But why not Sioux City, Iowa? Take edecen, for example.

edecen is a bold new program at Western Iowa Tech Community College, Sioux City, that seeks to boost local economic development through a combination of IT education and local IT business expertise.
The program has created an entrepreneurial partnership between IT students at WITCC and a consortium of independent IT businesses in the Sioux City area.

The partnership is based on IT courses and an internship program, offered through WITCC, which supports the entrepreneurial component. edecen’s project manager, Jeff Vore, is responsible for securing customers and projects for this partnership from around the country.

The initiative has been fostered by the rapid growth of IT outsourcing (ITO). This phenomenon is not new, but its development, especially in offshore locations like India, is rapidly gaining pace. Worldwide ITO spending is projected to rise to $260 billion by 2009.

Western Iowa Tech's edecen is an efficient, cost-effective alternative to offshore outsourcing that has the added benefits of meeting local needs for profitable growth and national needs for competitively priced, quality IT services.

The college's top administrators and board of directors have supported edecen since the concept was first developed and have committed capital and human resources to ensure that the primary goals are met. Among the activities that operate within the edecen framework are computer programming, graphic design, computer networking, Web design and development, and marketing.

Vore joined the edecen team last fall with more than 30 years of sales and sales management expertise to bring to the table. As a former small business owner in the marketing field, he has first-hand experience of the special challenges facing small businesses in his community.

"edecen has the potential to revitalize the IT business in Sioux City," Vore says. "More and more businesses around the country are outsourcing their IT operations. There's no reason why the immense talent in Sioux City cannot capture some of this very large pie."

According to Vore, American companies that outsource overseas have found that it's not always smooth sailing: "The work ethic may be different; the language or accent almost certainly so. There may be security issues, not to mention the problems created by time zones. What we offer here in the heartland is a reputation for hard work, strong skills and pride in a job well done."

Vore has built edecen's portfolio of participating companies in preparation for a nationwide marketing campaign this summer. Companies that have committed to edecen include: J.D. Gordon Design, Inc., 4TEC, Netsys+, FiberComm, Pacific City Graphics, Professional Computer Systems, Co., Catalyst Solutions, NCode Internet Solutions, Computer Service Innovations LLC, Triple Orbit, Inc., Trilogy Networks, Inc., SRTC, Inc., Radiosophy, Diversified Technology Solutions, Humanear Digital Design, Inc., Walton Internet Solutions, VZN Technologies, Media Concepts, elogic Learning, and Sabre Communications.

"We're excited that so many outstanding local companies have signed on," says Vore. One of the first area businesses to embrace edecen was Catalyst Solutions. John Pritchard, president and chief executive officer, is bullish about edecen's potential. "Students who take advantage of what edecen can offer them will come out ahead. I participated in a major internship program when I was going to the University of Minnesota. My combination of education and work experience was looked upon favorably for many years after graduation." Sreedhar Thota, computer programmer instructor at WITCC, says another benefit to the edecen customer will be the strong skill-sets of participating students. "My students are typically a mix of former Gateway employees, students out of high school and people who have a degree other than in computer programming," he says. "The Gateway employees have a wealth of experience. And some of my 'fresh out of high school students' typically fall into the whiz-kid category because they come to the programming class already having done a lot of game programming, or some programming as a hobby."

edecen is designed to bring outside business to the Sioux City economy, but it will also provide enhanced educational experiences for potential local employees. The opportunity to work on real-world projects in a real-life working environment through the internship opportunities will give students a level of experience and confidence they could never gain in the classroom alone.

"Already, nine students are getting exposure to real projects, timeline responsibilities, sales training, team work, and a host of other experiences that ensure they bring superior qualifications to the local job market when they graduate," Vore says.

One thing is certain, edecen is one of the most far-reaching and ambitious initiatives ever devised by WITCC. With so much support from the college and the community, success seems assured.

Fiona Valentine