Why don't you try outsourcing. If you can't find anything in India anymore, look at China. They are great in boxes of all colors.
My friend's experience with outsourcing: I had a friend who had an internet business idea. Rather than quit his six-figure job consulting to write the software himself, he hired an indian firm which provided him with a programmer at a rate somewhere in the teens I believe. Apparently it was easy to get set up, and the guy from India who arranged the contract spoke English very well. The problem is the actual programmer couldn't speak English worth crap. Frequently my friend had to explain what he wanted done to the sales guy (the guy I mentioned who spoke English well). The sales guy would then explain what was to be done to the programmer. Communications were allready difficult due to the time-lag. This made it even harder. In the end, after several months, my friend had to re-write all of the software himself, because the code the Indian programmer wrote was complete crap.
I've been searching for good programmers for some time now in places like www.rentacoder.com and elsewhere Hey Bobcows, those 2 resources you gave look really interesting, thanks. PS I too went the India route. I was in contact with an IIT graduate who now works for Morgan Stanley in Bombay. She specializes in analyzing US equity tick data. Talk about finding the motherload! Of course she can't do anything for me but she gave me several other independent programmers who graduated from IIT's math of finance program (for those who don't know, ITT is India's answer to MIT only way more competitive). After several phone discussions, I too gave up on India. The language, distance and time barriers are too high for me. So, I'm still looking.
"finding the motherload" translated in Americanese is "finding the holy grail" Interesting to learn that IIT is in the run with MIT on this.
Well, this just illustrates the fact that a coder is not necessarily a good manager. First of all, anyone that has been in software or IT long enough to command 6 figure employment should also have had exposure to the business of hiring outside vendors - both domestic and offshore. Its very common to get suckered into these types of deals: hiring people you dont know that dont have references simply because they are cheap is an intelligence test. There are firms offshore that can wipe the floor with most if not all of the major US based consulting firms, and for a price that should embarass the majors. Your friends experience only illustrates a poor decision.
There plenty of qualified folks here in the US that can program your system. If you have trouble finding, send me a private message. I have been an independent software developer for 20 years and can help you. I'm currently swamped but can squeeze you in. Forget about India, forget about China. Why do you want to export your trade secrets? I've seen company after company let Indians take over their product development, including a few of my former clients. They are willing to entrust people half the world away with their multi-million dollar investment in software development to save a few bucks. It's hard enough to prosecute in the American justice system instances in copyright infringement for software, how do they expect to do it on an international scale?
Darn tootin' logikos - well put. It is taking a while, but many firms are starting to realise what a can of worms outsourcing opens. What a bunch of Bozos. Need I say anything about the NDAs signed with some of the companies in these countries. The NDA is only good for wiping your arse with!
Very good question. There are also plenty of hungry snoopers in the US willing to pick some crumbs out of your money making boxie, grey or black.