Outsource Bulgaria

Ubisoft might be expanding their Bulgarian operations but this isn’t the game outsourcing I’m talking about.

A new wave of game outsourcing has sprung - mainly on the back of MMOs and has risen to prominence with Blizzard’s blockbuster MMO – World of Warcraft.

The game has claimed seven million lives so far and a whole cottage industry has emerged that delivers simple services and virtual items to the players.

The bulk of the people who procure the items are based in China. In fact, this is the way many people in China are able to pay for the game – by acquiring items and gold and then selling them for real money.

The phenomenon has become so wide spread that Chinese “farmers” are subject of abuse on many servers. The main reason for the special attitude towards “farmers” comes from the fact that they would indiscriminantly collect any rare resources they can lay their hands on – leaving other players empty handed waiting for a re-spawn.

While this isn’t traditional outsourcing, it follows the same model. Looking at it, there might be a niche for an European player in this hot virtual items market.

I haven’t heard of Bulgarian farmers though… maybe it’s just a matter of time before some of us return to our agrarian roots!

On his Dilbert blog, Scott Adams has a solution that will greatly improve the USA government’s decision-making process while making it cheaper. (Dilbert cartoon on outsourcing here.)

The solution? Outsource the government to India!

Here’s how the idea was born:

It’s common knowledge that all major government decisions in the United States are made via a process that Thomas Jefferson described in the constitution as “lobbyists bribing weasels.” Voters attempt to solve this problem by electing the weasels who do the best job lying about their intentions to change the system. So far, this hasn’t worked.

That’s why we need to outsource the important decisions to India. I’m sure a consulting firm in India could help the United States come up with a coherent energy policy, a plan for universal health care, a cure for global warming, and an anti-terrorism plan.

In addition to his musings, Scott has a special Q&A session that is a must-read.

Ernst & Young has published its survey on direct foreigh investment in the region. Bulgaria ranks second.

Distribution of investments (number of)

• Romania – 40%
• Bulgaria – 25%
• Turkey – 20%
• Serbia – 9%
• Greece – 4%

The survey also asked investors which factors need to be improved. Here’s the investor wishlist:

• Infrastructure – logistics & telco
• Political stability
• Following EU standards
• Simplifying administration
• Quality of life

Admittedly, outsourcing attracts only a small part of the direct investments but my guess is the investor wishlist is almost 100% identical regardless of sector.
 

There are many instances where people prefer to outsource work, rather than do it themselves. Popular authors outsource their work to professional writers, major corporations outsource some of their work such as data entry and maintenance to companies who specialize in these types of jobs, magazine publishers outsource some of their graphics and photography works to professional freelance workers and other companies that specialize in working with graphics and the internet has become one of the most popular places for outsourcing work.
Continue reading ‘Outsourcing Your Graphic Design Projects’