Public Support Platform for the National Software and Information Services Outsourcing will be Initiated

On September 1st, a signing ceremony to officially begin "The Construction of National Software and Information Services Outsourcing Public Support Platform" was held at the China Sourcing 2007 (Nanjing) Summit Forum, which was also a part of the Nanjing Software Expo.

The forum was organized by the Ministry of Information Industry, government of Jiangsu province, government of Nanjing City, the China Software and Information Service Outsourcing Industry Union, the Ministry of Information Industry Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center, the Office of Information Industry of Jiangsu Province, and the Science and Technology Association of Jiangsu Province.

During the forum, the Vice Minister of The Information Industry Department, Lou Qinjian, made a statement and Chief Director of The Department of Electronic Information Product, Xiaohua, would sign the contract as the official representative of the Ministry of Information Industry. Thus, the signing of the contract would initiate the building process of the platform, which would include 11 building units.

National public brand, China Sourcing will build the receiving and sending platform that will be based on the record database for China Software and Information Service Outsourcing Industry, the status of China Outsourcing Industry, the classified database of overseas markets, the classified database of domestic enterprises information, and create receiving and sending service-based portal websites. The National Software and Information Service Outsourcing Public Support Platform formally opened on September 1st.

The platform adopts SOA framework and uses Web 2.0 concept. The functions related to enterprise outsourcing information collection, BPO management, online exhibition broadcast, technology demonstration, and so on are all soundly executed. It is also proficient in information search, information dissemination, full-text search, online consulting, and customizing personalized information and internet enterprise services and so on. It also can set up multi-language user interface for international users, set up capabilities related to mobile and fixed terminals that have man-machine interface, ensure the user access to information anywhere and anytime. It supplies an efficient online trading platform, supply and demand platform, and also communication platform for domestic software outsourcing enterprises.

In recent years, the software and information services outsourcing industry has been developing rapidly. It is an important trend and has become a new area of growth for the global software and information service industry. Thus, one of the most important strategic initiatives for further development of China’s Information Industry is to seize the opportunities in the world information industry’s structural adjustment and echelon transfer. These opportunities are the outcomings of strategic policies adopted by the government to develop information industry and will boost the faster development of the software and information service industry.

National software and information services outsourcing public support platform is comprised of a common technical support platform, an intellectual property service platform, a personnel training service platform, a national public brand building and marketing platform. The central goals are to build up the public service shoring system in areas where software and information service outsourcing enterprises are located and also to strengthen the core competencies of the software and information services outsourcing industry. These goals will thereby enable comprehensive and sustained public service for software and information outsourcing enterprises.

The platform comes with two flavors: a national platform and a local platform. The national platform was built by the Ministry of Information Industry’s Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center. The local platform was built by 10 outsourcing base cities, such as Dalian, Shanghai, Beijing and so on. Upon completion, the national platform and the 10 local platforms will co-operate and share resources. Working together, these platforms will help provide common support for China’s software and information industry.

The Ministry of Information Industry places great importance on the construction of this project that joins the 10 outsourcing base city governments together in order to build a public support platform.

The establishment of the platform will play a large role in reinforcing the existing industrial infrastructure, technology dissemination and application, intellectual property protection, national public brand promotion, personnel training and so on. And it will greatly increase the software and information outsourcing industry’s growth.

At the forum, the Ministry of Information Industry issued the English, Japanese, German versions of "China Software and Information Service Outsourcing Development White Paper" and extensively publicized the policies of the Chinese government’s software development and information outsourcing industry, especially those to abroad.

Looking back to June of this year, the First China Sourcing 2007 China Software and Information Service Outsourcing Summit Forum was held in Beijing, whose theme was "Seize the opportunity, pragmatic development, enlarge and strengthen China outsourcing industry." The Ministry of Information Industry issued "China Software and Information Service Outsourcing Development White Paper", "The Investigation Report of Chinese Software Information Services Outsourcing Enterprises and Professionals", and started a national IT personnel training project to tackle talent shortage – software and information outsourcing personnel training project. Many enterprises and institutions joined together to help set up "China Software and Information Outsourcing Industry Alliance".

On the basis of the success of the first forum, it is anticipated that the China Sourcing 2007 (Nanjing) Summit Forum will bring about more advantageous changes for China’s software and information outsourcing industry.

The Forum congregated the senior leadership of the Ministry of Information Industry, National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, government officials of the service outsourcing bases, domestic first-class outsourcing business leaders and representatives of the International Outsourcing Association, including many important guests such as the vice president of NASSCOM in India, the chairman of American Electronic Outsourcing Association, and the chairman of Europe Outsourcing Association. This gathering was for the purpose of discussing about the features of development and market prospect of outsourcing industry under the global information industrial structure, while also exploring the role and opportunities of China under the second global industry wave represented by the services industry.