Startup opens offshoring alternative in distressed Michigan

[OhioChick]

New domestic IT services company, headed by offshore vets, gets state support

February 9, 2010 01:19 PM ET

Computerworld - Michigan's unemployment rate, at 17.5%, is among the nation's highest. At the same time, the state boasts a large pool of highly educated workers.

The available workforce, along with low real estate prices and aggressive financing programs available from the state government, is starting to attract new businesses.

One of the latest arrivals, Fremont, Calif.-based IT services firm Systems in Motion Inc., (SIM) has opened an operation in Ann Arbor that now employs some 35 workers, more than half the company's overall workforce of 65 people. In five years, start-up SIM hopes to employ about 1,100 people in Michigan.

SIM's plans for the state was cited by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in her State of the State address earlier this month.

SIM is the latest IT firm boasting a domestic business model designed to compete with offshore providers. SIM, though, has a different approach than the oft-used strategy of running operations in rural locations and home offices. SIM is focusing instead on strong employee training and development programs and on creating streamlined processes.

More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9154278/Startup_opens_offshoring_alternative_in_distressed_Michigan