According to Steria SA, a firm that has a considerable outsourcing presence in the Indian subcontinent, all the hype about protectionist policies in Europe and the U.S. are merely short-term and there would be little impact in the long-term.

Steria took over Xansa UK in 2007. The company is one of the leading outsourced IT and back office service providers in Europe and it has been extending its operations in India since the acquisition. Steria typically uses resources from India for business process outsourcing service delivery. The company’s headcount puts one in three of its employees in India.

CEO and Chairman of Steria SA, Francois Enaud, told livemint.com in an interview that although the financial meltdown has impacted the global economy, it still does not represent a threat for the offshore development arena.  Taking the U.S. for instance, President Obama has expressed his inclination to protect in the U.S., commented Enaud. He continued to say that this issue is of crucial concern to an American. However, Enaud said, it does not imply that the U.S. is antagonistic toward a thriving global economy or offshoring projects.

More importantly, Enaud said that IT has a high level of specificity.  IT business cannot be developed without sustaining onshore activity since the work needs to be in close proximity with the client. The more the IT sector develops offshore, the more jobs it drives onshore.