IT professionals in US who worked in hardware maintenance roles, on upgrade projects were the ones who where most likely to lose their jobs as a result of the continuing offshore IT oursourcing to regions like India, China, and Eastern Europe.

Cost remains one of the key factors why jobs are outsourced, so some jobs will always find its way out. A recent debate held by the British Computer Society, concludes that the US's IT contractor sector will disappear by 2025. Yet demand for IT contractors is still high, with more and more women being encouraged to join the industry.

In March 2007 Prudential, the financial services group, annouced that it is to cut 520 UK-based IT jobs as part of an 80m pounds plan to cut costs by offshoring and outsourcing. This rationalisation programme will cost the company 165m pounds to implement.

Vodafone is also making 120 IT workers redundant, further to establising an outsourcing deal.

All the IT operations and hosting of its SAP financials, WebSphere, Business Objects, and JDA merchandising applications will be handled IT companies. Much of the work, from May 2007, will be handled by indian companies.

Not everything looks so bad because, "Offshore outsourcing is as much an opportunity as it is a threat to our economy", says Dan Bowyer of The Engine Room. He adds that: "It may feel objectionable in the short-term because it is shifting traditional revenue and operational models. Change is normally uncomfortable." Nevertheless he thinks that it is "ultimately always healthy".

The International Outsourcing Forum, which involved some leading IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) suppliers, met in Singapore during February 2007. The forum expects 3 million jobs to be created worldwide by 2008; the global outsourcing and offshoring market will also grow from a value of $10bn today to $50-60bn next year. BPO will catch-up with IT ourtsourcing this year.

Most of the offshore outsourced IT work is low-level and low-skilled The National Outsourcing Association supports this view. It comments that outsourcing does not necessarily benefit the developing nations to the detriment of the US economy and that of other countries.

A report by Jobserve presents a very positive outlook too. Demand for IT contractors grew by 22% between January and March 2007, and it has doubled since the same period last year.

Yet there still remains an IT skills gap in the US. The National Outsourcing Association says this situation is even replicating itself in India; there are a number of well-trained Indian IT contractors now working overseas, including in the US, creating a skills shortage in India.

This could prove detrimental, leading to increase outsourcing costs. Nevertheless, India and China are expected to maintain their low-cost labour advantage for the next 20 years or so. India is currently the most preferred offshore outsourcing locations, according to AT Kearney's annual 'Global Services Location List'.

In order to fill the cultural gap and the need to improve the management of many outsourced projects.

So IT professionals can count mixed blessings today; some jobs are being lost while others are created. "The smart contractors and organisations will shift with the times, take advantage of lower labour costs, find niches and the dead wood will fall away".

There's a need for IT contractors to develop a wide-range of skills, including those involving business and project management. Offshore outsourcing would then become more of an opportunity than a threat to their jobs and the future of the industry.