International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

Exporting Information Technology Services: In the Footsteps of India 243
balanced board of senior managers, and is independently and professionally
managed based on a long-term vision. Policy makers can help initiate the establishment
of an industry association, facilitate international information exchange,
and provide finance or collaboration between the country’s export and investment
promotion agencies, if they exist, and the local industry association.
Promote professional certificates and quality standards and
protect data privacy and intellectual property rights
Clients based in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development who look for partners in developing countries often have limited
access to market intelligence about the maturity of local IT service companies
and the quality of local IT professionals. They are also likely to be concerned about
the record on intellectual property rights and protection in prospective client countries.
To counteract these information asymmetries and build trust with prospective
partners, IT service companies can raise their recognition internationally by promoting
the use of professional certificates, conforming to international quality standards,
and ensuring that they respect intellectual property rights and data privacy
and security legislation. While the decision to adopt quality recognition certifications
is taken on the firm level, there may be scope for policy makers to facilitate
outreach events that disseminate information about the use of international certificates
and standards. Policy makers are also responsible for enacting and enforcing
legislation on intellectual property rights, as well as data privacy and security.
A company that seeks to source IT services from abroad may choose to establish
a subsidiary to maintain full control of its work. Joint ventures and buildoperate-transfer
models are other sourcing strategies that offer a certain degree of
control, although they are less commonly adopted. Yet, for local homegrown companies
that are competing for foreign business, the use of quality recognition or
professional certificates such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration certification
from the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon is not only a
quality enhancement tool for operations, but also an important signaling device
to prospective clients. The certification is neither inexpensive nor easy to obtain
and caters mainly to medium and large companies. However, it is a quality mark
that is frequently used for sales and marketing purposes. Many larger clients of IT
services prefer to do business with suppliers that have obtained a Software Engineering
Institute–Capability Maturity Model Integration certificate of at least a
midlevel ranking. There are currently a large number of companies in developing
countries that have obtained the top-level ranking. 11
Data privacy and security concerns are related to the risk of data being lost,
accessed by external parties, or misused by companies processing the information.
Advanced technical solutions have been developed to address some of these IT