I read your article "Good morning, Vietnam" (5 September, pages 38-41) and thought it was very interesting, so far as it went.
Outsourcing overseas has been around for some time and is, of course, being driven by technology: our ability to transmit data from country to country in seconds has made this option viable. If we link this technology to globalisation theory then we can perhaps begin to predict the future with more certainty.

Presently, it seems outsourcing is used to achieve economies and to support smaller practices that take on larger projects without having the staff themselves. The question is, are the cost savings passed on as fee reductions or are they being retained by the UK practices?

To me it seems inevitable that as overseas outsourcing becomes increasingly popular, greater competition will exert pressure on UK firms to pass on their savings, eventually reducing building costs. It is also likely that other professions will be forced to embrace globalisation.

I see this practice as the start of a revolution for the industry: those that line themselves up with overseas partners now will be able to get in at the ground floor and those that don't will eventually be dragged along kicking and screaming by the pressure to reduce costs. I imagine the latter will be the case for most of an industry notorious for the myopia of its management.

Postscript

Frank Perry, via email.