<I recall a reason being given for outsourcing to folks overseas (in the
particular instance, China) was the ability to retain confidentiality.
Given a room full of data entry operators who do not read or speak the
language, data entry is done via pattern match.  They type what they
see, not what they read.>

A good sales pitch from vendors of this software, I'm sure, but we need
to remember that English (both U.S. and U.K.) is learned and spoken in
many countries more commonly than folks sometimes credit. Just because
we cannot always understand the accent when it is spoken does not mean
the speaker does not understand the language. Most residents of India
speak and understand very fluent English (although with a strong accent)
- after all they were part of the British Commonwealth for a long time.
Most folks from Eastern European countries once under the USSR learned
English from grade school clear through college - it was required for a
number of years.  China has also instituted English as a language
requirement from grade school up since they have so aggressively entered
the global marketplace.

There are documented incidents of outsourced personal data being used by
"off-shore" employees for personal gain as well as being "held hostage"
by employees demanding better pay, work environments, etc.  Using a U.S.
vendor, who perhaps subcontracts off-shore, is probably the best way to
approach these services, providing your contract very clearly stipulates
any  confidentiality requirements and places the responsibility (and any
subsequent blame) for meeting those requirements squarely on the U.S.
vendor.  There are federal and state laws to protect confidential info
in the U.S.  Privacy laws for non-citizens do not necessarily exist in
other countries.

Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
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