Entrepreneurs Plan Cruise Ship For Near Shore IT Outsourcing

2 May, 2005 at 10:35pm ET Article published in Tech

Two California entrepreneurs are developing an IT services business plan that reads like a CIO’s paradise: sharply lower IT prices coupled with easy access to software and engineering outsourcing developers just a short boat ride away.

It’s the “Code Boat,” a plan by David Cook and Roger Green, the founders of SeaCode. Their venture calls for staffing a cruise ship three miles off the Southern California coast with customer IT specialists and then making the ship available to IT headquarters staffers through a short water taxi ride.

“We’re getting a good reception,” said Green, a veteran software developer and executive. “Our plan is resonating mostly with companies that are already outsourcing.”

The founders say they have secured financing for their venture and they are now attempting to line up a cruise ship and IT customers for SeaCode. Says Cook: “Our goal is to be in the water by the end of the year.”

Their idea has drawn some criticism from critics who are labeling it a “slave ship” and a “sweatshop,” prompting some to doubt SeaCode will ever get launched.

Not so, say Cook and Green, who say they plan to pay engineers and software developers well. The believe they can skirt H-1B visa regulations by categorizing their specialists as “seamen” and who would therefore be able to visit the U.S. mainland on shore passes. They will do a significant amount of hiring among non-U.S. lands to sign up top experts.

Source: TechWeb

Comments

2 May 2005 ~ 11:06pm profdlp I wonder if they need any Machinist Mates?
2 May 2005 ~ 11:11pm Kwitko Anything for a buck. :shakehead
2 May 2005 ~ 11:14pm profdlp You got something against money? Because if you do, you can send yours to me.
2 May 2005 ~ 11:35pm Garg Americans will still be losing jobs. The only difference is that the people that took them might be in shouting distance. I wonder if the boat coders will even have to pay taxes?
2 May 2005 ~ 11:42pm QCH Funny thing, this near sourcing. My Grad class JUST descussed this topic. The concept that Canada is less expensive than US but the culture is very similar and there is no time difference either. So, send the Phone support to Canada.

Face it... USA is goin towards skilled labor and away from manual labor. Our future is the leaders and refiners of products and echonolgy farmed out abroad. Within 100 years, the global economy will force the world to equalize much more than now. Looks grim for USA but great for the world.
3 May 2005 ~ 1:45am profdlp

QCH2002 wrote:

...Within 100 years, the global economy will force the world to equalize much more than now. Looks grim for USA but great for the world.

I disagree. Once the rest of the world catches up to the technologically advanced nations (and I hope that's soon) it will greatly expand the tech market for everybody.

How many PC's were sold in countries like Russia ten years ago? I had a friend who made a killing exporting 286 computers to Russia and Poland in 1995 simply because they were considered "high-tech" compared to what was available there at the time. Some of them he had literally pulled out of the trash.

How many computers will be sold in emerging countries in Africa and Eastern Europe ten years from now? My guess is that it will be a whole lot more than are being sold now. If I were a freelance programmer or Web Developer I'd rather have a potential market measured in the billions than in a measly couple hundred million like it is now.
3 May 2005 ~ 10:34am QCH I was referring to the global market and the impact of lower wages in other countries. Right now, Dell outsources most of its phone support to India. The average hourly wage for India is equivialant to less than $2.00. So Dell saves money and US phone support looses the jobs. Now, as India gains more of these jobs over the next decade, their cost of living will increase, their standard of living will increase and their hourly rate will rise. Now, 15 years down the road, Dell may choose to move its support to Afghanistan because their hourly rate is lower than India. 15 years down the road, switch again.

The US is just now starting to understand that Math and Science is extremely important. Our children are WAY behind many other countries. Over the next hundred years, the disparity between the India's of the world and the US will diminish. Already, the US dollar is weaker against the Yen, the Euro, etc... The world economy will not allow a powerhouse like the US to be so far ahead forever. A balance will be reached. The US will still remain a dominant force but we will need to adapt to the change by specializing other areas that no one else can match. Biotech? R&D?
3 May 2005 ~ 12:22pm Camman I think comparing the strength of the U.S. Dollar against that of foreign currencies really doesn't have a place in a discussion of global economy over a 100 year time period.

The dollar was only weakened in the last couple years and just very recently has it hit it's lowest value vs. the Euro. I think it's a temporary situation as the whole U.S. economy is still in a bit of a lull.

Perhaps you're right about the global economy equalizing over a long period, but even so, I don't think comparing current exchange rates are really any sort of evidence as to where the U.S. economy is headed.