Besides NII, all 22 universities in Dalian have studies related to the IT industry. Five more software colleges were founded in Dalian after NII.

Recruitment is a major concern for many BPO corporations when they start the business in a new city. But DLSP offers a reserve team made up by well-trained new graduates to do the preparation work. The reserve team will also become part of the companies' Dalian operations.

The customized services have attracted more than 500 transnational companies to the park including 40 of those in the Fortune 500.

The IT outsourcing industry has also drawn more than 50 billion yuan to the local economy and created about 90,000 working opportunities. Half of the 800 IT companies in Dalian are invested from overseas.

"The IT industry, which consumes less natural resources and creates no pollution, is very suitable for an environmentally friendly city like Dalian," says Dalian's Party secretary Xia Deren. Xia adds that the IT industry has become the mainstay for the local economy over one decade.

"Globalization, independent innovation and talent are the three strategies which we use to fuel development," Xia says.

East to the existing software park, the DLSP II will also cover up to 9-sq-km along the Lushun South Road, almost three times the size of the current park. In northern Dalian, the Dalian Development Area has also attracted famous transnational corporations including one of Dell's global call centers.

Apart from enlarging the industry zone, local IT companies are also looking for a much bigger market in Europe and the US.

"The top international BPO clients in Dalian are from Western countries such as Microsoft, Oracle, HP and Intel," says Liu Jiren, chairman and CEO of Neusoft.

Neusoft Europe was established in January 2009. Half a year later, the new European branch took over three subsidiary companies under the Finnish software company, Sesca Group Ltd, to enter the high-end smart phone market. Last April, Neusoft spent 6 million euros on the acquisition of Harman International's R&D center in Hamburg.

For Liu, Europe and the US are the cradles for new technologies and applications such as cloud computing and software platforms, which will change the industry.

"Chinese companies should expand their business in the European and American markets, and that's the only way to keep us up to international speed," Liu says.