Cyrill Eltschinger has recently received the 2007 Great Wall Friendship Award, the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality’s highest award for the foreign experts who contribute remarkably to the development of Beijing.

Though a non-native, Cyrill’s understanding about China is not only remarkable, but is also a source of amazement to his Chinese colleagues. In his book Source Code China, the author has meticulously presented a broader picture of the country in relations with others. Cyrill has compared China with its major competitors such as India, Malaysia and Russia, and revealed that China as a destination for IT outsourcing is ready to give an edge-to-edge competition to them.  However, the comparison could have been more comprehensive.

Having worked for several years as the head of the Chinese company I.T. United, which has now been acquired by the Mexican services company Softtek, Cyrill’s grasp of the dynamics of the services industry cannot be doubted. In the book, Cyrill has strived to be neutral in his approach towards China. For instance, he writes, “The financial issues of company loans, reinvestment, foreign exchange, as well as a successful exit are also problematic due to administrative ambiguity. Regulatory approvals can be required at various stages. Today, the Chinese administrative system functions are being gradually improved by the principle of simplicity unity and efficiency.”

Book:  Source Code China

Author: Cyrill Eltschinger

Pages: 320

Price: $38.80

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Published in: 2007

Using short profiles, Cyrill has skillfully revealed interesting facts about cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Chengdu, Xi’an, Jinan, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, as global outsourcing destinations.
Source Code China not only describes risks - such as Intellectual Property Rights - one might face when outsourcing to China, but also offers pointers to mitigate such uncertainties at various stages. If you are thinking about China, go to chapter 9, “China’s Legal Framework,” to get started. It will give you a good insight into the legal requirements you need to focus on.

The most interesting thing about the book is the predictions related to China. The book reveals that “while obviously IT and related tech export services will continue to grow with the Japan market by 2020, China will most probably offshore less than 40 percent to Japan. More than 60 percent of the offshore-focused will service Western markets and the Asia-Pacific regions” … “by 2020, a large portion of the tech talent workforce in China will be serving its own domestic demands.”

In all, a good read if you are inclined to source services from China.