Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with IBM Consulting. I passed them along to my friend and he feels he at least will be better prepared for his interview. On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 12:45 PM, Guillermo Alan Bort <cicciuxdba@xxxxxxxxx>wrote: > I've worked for IBM global delivery services and, as everything in life, it > depends on the manager you get. I've had a pretty good stay (except for my > salary, which didn't get updated in two years... I live in a country with a > 30-40% inflation rate per year, so this is essentially cutting my salary. > Also, they charge in U$D to their customers and they pay is in local > currency, so they make a difference when the U$D goes up or down and when > the local currency goes down with respect to U$D) > > Now, I've worked as part of a similar project (taking over the dba work > from local DBAs), this was outsourced to Argentina, and English was a > requirement upheld until HR had trouble finding qualified candidates who > were willing to work for what they offered, then being able to actually > communicate with the customer was not all that important. It is a very > annoying job trying to understand how everyone does their job when you are > about to take it away from them... they are not exactly cooperative. > > Don't get me wrong, outsourcing is my livelihood, but I don't think it > should be done *just* to cut down costs, it should be done as a way to > leverage different timezones, and to get access to skills you normally > wouldn't... there are some damn good DBA out there... not all of us live in > San Francisco. > > The problem with outsourcing as a way to reduce costs is that you get (with > some exceptions) less of something. > > I don't know how IBM India works, perhaps they are more organized, but in > here we were severely understaffed (about 200 dbs per DBA) and the average > skill was very low. So, the customer got mostly slow and crappy service > unless they complained. If the customer complained then they would assign > one of the "Senior" DBA to the task. (funny enough, not all the "Senior" DBA > had more experience than the rest... they were just a bit better with > customer relations and had google as their home page). So, with that many > databases and that low level of skill, nobody knew anything about any > database. Yes, I'm sure it was cheaper for the customer, and I don't think > we ever lost any data, but availability was not the best... > > Also, if you are used to doing things quick, it won't happen in IBM. They > have a lot of compliance procedures and it makes making the smallest change > in a customer's environment a very difficult and tedious process (and mostly > inefficient). > > On the other hand, it's a great place to either start a career as a DBA > (they have some training programs that are very good) or to retire, just > make sure you negotiate a good retirement package :-P > > And you will meet a lot of people, it's a good place to make contacts, and > I personally got a few good friends out of IBM. > > One of the downsides of working for an outsourced service is that your > scope is somewhat limited. You will have a task matrix and you'll have to > stick to it, so on-the-job learning opportunities have a very low cap. > > I hope you find my personal experience helpful and by no means take it as > anything other than that, my personal experience. > > Cheers > Alan.- > > > > On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 1:15 PM, Guenadi Jilevski <gjilevski@xxxxxxxxx>wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> What I expect is IBM to buy the perm staff ( convert to to IBM employee) >> from old company and to extend contractors. Only few key positions will be >> original IBM on the spot under IBM umbrella and off-shore support can be on >> need basis. Probably opportunities to ask questions. Perot, IBM have done >> this before. >> >> Regards, >> >> Guenadi jilevski >> >> On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 6:41 PM, David Ramírez Reyes < >> dramirezr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >>> Companies like Bank of America now should be named Bank of India... >>> >>> David Ramírez Reyes >>> Profesión: Padre de Familia >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On 13 June 2011 10:40, David Ramírez Reyes <dramirezr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >>> >>>> That is the core of most of this Indian outsourcing companies, they hire >>>> you with a very low salary just by giving the "opportunity" of get an >>>> American visa (for non american citizens); companies like Infosys, >>>> Accenture >>>> or ACS (between others) are making this activities their "way of living'. >>>> >>>> About 5 years ago, we were 5 DBA's in the company and I was the only one >>>> ourside US, now I am the nearest, 2 are in India y 2 more in China (earning >>>> less than the half of my salary, and I learn the half of the salary of my >>>> ex- coworkers!) >>>> >>>> Welcome to real life... >>>> >>>> David Ramírez Reyes >>>> Oracle Global DBA >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On 13 June 2011 10:28, Andrew Kerber <andrew.kerber@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >>>> >>>>> I talked with them at one point, they were establishing a support site >>>>> in Iowa. However, the salary was ludicrously inadequate. About half of >>>>> my >>>>> current salary. Of course, that was probably when they were building the >>>>> justification for bringing in lower paid DBAs on H1(b) visas. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 10:13 AM, Dennis Williams < >>>>> oracledba.williams@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> List, >>>>>> >>>>>> A friend works at a U.S. company where the DBA services are being >>>>>> outsourced to IBM. I believe this is IBM India. He has been invited to >>>>>> interview with them for a job. He resides here in the U.S. I'm trying to >>>>>> gather some information for him about how this all works. If anyone has >>>>>> worked for or with IBM consulting, please help me out. Private replies >>>>>> are >>>>>> fine. >>>>>> >>>>>> Thank you, >>>>>> Dennis >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Andrew W. Kerber >>>>> >>>>> 'If at first you dont succeed, dont take up skydiving.' >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >> >