IBM specifically (and illegally) prefers hiring H1-B workers over American citizens

[T_Yamamoto]

They make PCs.

Can someone send me the rest of this thread on 3.5" disks my Compuserve connection has been flaky lately.

They don't make PCs. Lol. They're 95% software.

They sold off their computer making division to lenovo.

My dads a software engineer for IBM. Worked at IBM Japan and got a raise and was also moved to the RTP IBM. Currently (one of the) chief engineer there.

 

[Texashiker]

IBM was king of the computer world back in the 70's and 80's during the days of the mainframe. Today they are not even close to the top of the technology companies leading the computer world. IBM could disappear and it wouldn't make any difference. The technology industry would go on without them. The same couldn't have been said years ago.

When I was taking computer classes in college, I was once told,

If you have 1,000 users, use a windows server

If you have 10,000 users, use a linux server

If you have 100,000 users, use IBM.

As for IBM outsourcing, why is this even news? There are lots of companies that would rather import workers them pay American wages.

 

[disappoint]

They don't make PCs. Lol. They're 95% software.

They sold off their computer making division to lenovo.

My dads a software engineer for IBM. Worked at IBM Japan and got a raise and was also moved to the RTP IBM. Currently (one of the) chief engineer there.

Sorry it took so long to repsond to your post. Somebody sent me the rest of this thread on 5 1/4" floppy diskettes instead of the 3.5" hard disks I asked for. I'm thinking of switching from Compuserv to Prodigy.

 

[hans007]

When I was taking computer classes in college, I was once told,

If you have 1,000 users, use a windows server

If you have 10,000 users, use a linux server

If you have 100,000 users, use IBM.

As for IBM outsourcing, why is this even news? There are lots of companies that would rather import workers them pay American wages.

I'd still use Linux for 100000 users. IBM sucks

 

[ch33zw1z]

I'd still use Linux for 100000 users. IBM sucks

You realize that Linux will run on their products, and AIX is their flavor of Unix, right? It's not limited to x86..

 

[Fern]

IBM specifically (and illegally) prefers hiring H1-B workers over American citizens

Seems to me it's the client's preference, not IBM's.

Please understand the clients first preference is IGSI [IBM Global Services India] landed resource, then local US candidates, then remote, so these candidates will be in the second group to be considered. (sic)

Fern

 

[EagleKeeper]

Clients are given a cosy shopping list.

India support $50/hr
US support $150/hr

Which is client going to ask for? Both are backed by IBM.

 

[mshan]

From another thread on a different topic:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Squirrel
Is there even decent job security in coding? I had the impression most of those jobs were being outsourced.

I will say in our company that the low level grunt stuff is outsourced offshore, but the hard shit is in-house.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2277481&page=3

Sounds like the security of intellectual property (e. g. U. S. vs. China) may be an issue here (err, there ), too. Don't know how secure intellectual property is in India.

Generic, commodity type, customer support sounds like it will end up where cheapest cost to companies currently is. We could fight it, but then we eventually become like the Club Med southern European countries that can't compete on global stage. Unskilled, commodity product type manufacturing might go to Mexico (http://www.cnbc.com/id/49007307/What_s_the_Next_Global_Manufacturing_Superpower), where worker making $2/hr might still be able to eventually lift his or her family into Mexican middle class given lower cost of living. Do American workers really want to try and compete for those type of jobs?..

Unfortunately lost link now, but remember reading article about how Greece was unique among countries in the world because their debt problems were actually due to government spending (politicians kept bribing voters who more and more hand outs), vs. many other countries where debt overhang was the result of countries / goverments bailing on bankers / ruling elite types who gambled wildly, lost, and now need government welfare to maintain "financial stability" (http://londonbanker.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-i-oppose-financial-stability.html)

 

[werepossum]

They make PCs.

Can someone send me the rest of this thread on 3.5" disks my Compuserve connection has been flaky lately.

Wait, you've got 3.5" disks? Are they worth the upgrade, or not really any better than my 5-1/4"s? I don't want to jump on a fad, y'know.

I'd say IBM disappearing would be a huge game changing event for computers and electronics in general because IBM has such a huge patent base. Depending on who wound up with those patents, it could shatter many corporate strategies.

And while I dislike this strategy, I doubt it's illegal.

 

[yllus]

Seems to me it's the client's preference, not IBM's.

Fern

Clients are given a cosy shopping list.

India support $50/hr
US support $150/hr

Which is client going to ask for? Both are backed by IBM.

As far as I am aware, it is illegal for both the client and for IBM to prefer H-1B candidates over U.S. citizens if a citizen is available. At best, IBM is an enabler of an illegal practice - at worst, they're the brains behind the whole setup (not hard to believe as IGSI is the key source).

 

[EagleKeeper]

The key word that is provided is support at a given rate

Not nationality

That is how they skirt the H1B issue from the client POV.

 

[nehalem256]

While I personally find this thing horrible.

How exactly is what IBM did any different than Affirmative Action?

 

[Wardawg1001]

I work for a company that has similar practices. When staffing a project, there are three general types of resources to use:

1. US based employees
2. Foreign employees that are here on a work visa (this is what the OP's post is most likely referring to when it says 'ISGI landed resource'
3. Off-shore employees (ours are mostly in India and the Phillipines)

The cost rate for groups 1, 2, and 3 above are significantly different (we generally bill the customer for hours worked at a specific rate), but the knowledge level and productivity are significantly different as well. Also, most of the stuff our US based employees do simply cannot be performed by groups 2 and 3, for various reasons (mostly because all they do is grunt work, stuff that wouldn't warrant even warrant the starting salary of our US based employees).

I could care less, and have nothing to add as far as the legality of this practice, but we do regularly ask the customer whether they would like to use off-shore resources for certain tasks in the project, because it is cheaper for them (the customer) and makes the project more profitable for us.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

While I personally find this thing horrible.

How exactly is what IBM did any different than Affirmative Action?

Come on now, you can do better than that.

 

[pauldun170]

As someone who works in an industry where big blue is king...I'm going to say that IBM is EXTREMELY relevant to both the hardware and software industry.
Mainframe's people....they run your world whether you know it or not.

As for the cases where Offshore would be more desirable than Americans....
Availability.
IBM services clients worldwide. US based workers are only good for a couple of timezones.

 

[ForumMaster]

I have been educated about shit except that people in here like to talk down to others and think that somehow gets their point across.

I have been told, multiple times, that I don't know what I am talking about while no one has brought anything to directly dispute what I have said. Other people somehow thinking they know more than me doesn't make IBM more relevant.

Please visit this link.

IBM is a 100 year old company. It spends $6 billion annually on R&D.
That's crazy. They have an enormous portfolio of products/patents.
Back in the 90's, IBM was a software company. They nearly went bankrupt.

Then, a new CEO came along, an refocused the company on providing Enterprise solutions. (Same as Oracle). Much much more profitable then making desktop PC's like dell.

Now, you can claim they could disappear tomorrow and they wouldn't be missed, but that's just now true. They've invented so many things, for example, IBM invented the hard disk.

Your position is wrong, but what's worse, is that you can't accept the fact that you might be wrong. No one here cares whether you're right, or wrong.
Personally, I just want to enlighten you that IBM is one hell of a company...

 

[CitizenKain]

Actually, its exactly what I am saying.

I never said IBM is irrelevant as a company, not once. I said they are irrelevant to the computer industry. I said that if they go away tomorrow, it changes nothing significantly for that industry. No one has disputed this, they have only claimed I don't know anything about IBM, without backing it up.

Heard of mainframes before? Because important companies have, and they use them. You know who still makes those? IBM.

I'm not saying IBM is a great company, because they aren't, but saying they are irrelevant to the industry is laughably ignorant.

 

[Fayd]

IBM lost relevance 20 years ago. That said, this is still rather disturbing.

no, no they didn't.

btw, most tech companies do this. I know qualcomm did. why would they hire american workers when they can hire Ph.D's from india and china for peanuts? and keep them for at least 2 years?

 

[pauldun170]

I'd still use Linux for 100000 users. IBM sucks

You realize that Linux will run on their products, and AIX is their flavor of Unix, right? It's not limited to x86..

Linux VMs on the (IBM) mainframe = Absolute goodness.