[MajimasEyepatch]

> Is the same thing to happen with software?

Offshoring in software development has been around for a very long time. Most large US companies have a mix of onshore and offshore devs. The more mundane the software, and the tighter the financial macro-environment, the more the ratio shifts toward offshoring. This is the way the offshoring cycle has worked for a long time.

However, unlike hardware, software is about information and communication, and cultural context is very important. I have seen firsthand that non-US teams building software for US consumers often don't quite understand the reasoning behind the requirements and may lack polish around basic things like English. (The same is true, of course, in reverse, if US teams build for non-US audiences.) So I think it should be a little bit stickier.

You also cannot copy software design in the same way that you can copy, say, the design of a lathe. A lathe is a lathe, and as long as you've got the tools and materials, a lathe made in the US should not in theory be any different than one built in China. The same is not true of software.

[dukeyukey]

> I have seen firsthand that non-US teams building software for US consumers often don't quite understand the reasoning behind the requirements and may lack polish around basic things like English

Something I'm curious about, have you seen this happen with countries culturally close to the US? Like teams based in Canada, Ireland, or the UK?

[WJW]

One of the biggest lies in cultural thinking is that countries like Ireland and the UK are "culturally close" to the USA. Sure they are close-er than say Italy or Japan, but anyone who thinks "close" means "similar enough that it doesn't matter" is in for a rude awakening.

In reality there are incredibly large gaps around even the most basic things like the meaning of words. As a very basic example: the meaning of the word "interesting" differs radically between cultures. Most US employees would think the boss is indeed interested when they describe an idea as "interesting" and may even bring it up again at some later date after more research. Meanwhile, someone from the UK means that it's the dumbest thing they've ever heard and they will be incredibly miffed if it is ever brought up again.

[lmm]

I've certainly experienced US-made software that was close to useless in the UK, demanding dates in some absurd middle-out format and expecting everyone to know what a "401k" was with no explanation, along with more minor bits of polish like saying "pound" but meaning a completely different symbol.

[dukeyukey]

Hah, good point. If anything, software handling that kind of data might be better is smaller countries that need at international audience from the get-go!