Made in lower-cost America – Is your community "Homeshoring"

Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin may have some new competition–and not just from Bangalore, Shanghai and Singapore.

The latest kids on the tech block are places like Twin Falls, Idaho; Oklahoma City; and Jonesboro, Ark. These are among the smaller cities or rural areas of the United States where information technology companies have been locating or expanding facilities.

The companies, ranging from IT services start-up Rural Sourcing to computer giant Dell, can save on wages in these communities, thanks partly to inexpensive housing there. And in some cases, the companies are pitching operations in midsize America as an alternative to shipping work abroad.

What’s new:

Tech companies are locating operations in smaller U.S. communities, such as Oklahoma City and Jonesboro, Ark., where wages can be much lower than in computer industry hubs like Silicon Valley.

Bottom line:

Facilities in midsize American cities may offer a low-cost domestic alternative to offshore outsourcing. And some involved in the "homeshoring" trend can imagine small cities eventually challenging San Jose and Boston when it comes to tech innovation.

A key to what’s been dubbed "homeshoring" is tapping a little-noticed talent pool. Kathy White, Rural Sourcing’s founder and an Arkansas native herself, argues that technology professionals in major metropolitan centers often come from smaller communities. "We’re just reaching the ones that don’t want to leave," she said.

By Ed Frauenheim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

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