Interesting Wired News article on outsourcing IT to rural US communities rather than over seas:

Today Rural Sourcing claims 20 clients, including Mattel and Cardinal Health, $1 million in revenue and 50 full-time employees at five IT centers in Arkansas, North Carolina and Missouri.

White started the company two years ago with $2 million of her own money in partnership with her alma mater, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where she earned a bachelor's degree and MBA while raising two small children. She hopes to employ 100 full-time consultants by the end of next year, and 1,000 within five to seven years.

The company charges $35 to $50 per hour for IT expertise, which may cost around $100 in New York City. While this is no match for outsourcing rates in India, clients benefit from local accents and similar time zones -- not to mention the absence of stigma sometimes attached to farming jobs out to foreign countries.

...via Slashdot