Make no mistake about it, offshore outsourcing has a bad rap. No one likes the idea of exporting jobs to another country. But, then again, the U.S. government is not doing nearly enough to foster, attract, or retain top IT talent, at least not according to Intel CEO Craig Barrett and HP chief Carly Fiorina.

Both Barrett and Fiorina defended the practice of offshore outsourcing and said the U.S. government needs to ratchet up efforts to make the country more competitive against other nations, speaking separately in Orlando at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo conference.

The reasons are simple: The opportunities for new business and IT talent are growing faster in other regions than they are in America.

HP for instance, currently gets 62% of its revenue from outside the U.S., Fiorina said.

“It is a huge advantage for us to be able to tap into markets and talent around the world,” she explained.

Intel also is increasingly pursuing overseas opportunities, since much of its business comes from outside the U.S., Barrett said, although he did not state the exact percentage of Intel revenue that comes from other nations.

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