ITAA: Take steps to compete

For the United States to remain the world leader in information technology, its companies and workers must be more competitive, according to a position paper by the Information Technology Association of America.

"A recent ITAA study shows that many U.S. companies have already or will consider moving IT jobs offshore. This is the new global reality for U.S. IT companies and workers, and we must meet it with a new spirit of competitiveness," said Harris Miller, president of the Arlington, Va., trade association, which represents more than 400 U.S. IT companies.

The paper, which is online at http://www.itaa.org/news/gendoc.cfm?DocID=245, said the U.S. IT industry must take several steps to maintain its competitive advantage, including more research and development for products and services and improving quality.

According to a survey published May 5 by ITAA, 22 percent of large IT companies have moved work offshore, and 15 percent of IT firms said they will, or are undecided about, moving jobs overseas within a year.