the.world.is.flat-第31章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


provider。　Using　fiber…optic　cable…connected　workstations；　Indian　techies　could　get　
under　the　hood　of　your　company's　computers　and　do　all　the　adjustments；　even　though　
they　were　located　halfway　around　the　world。　
〃＇Y2K　upgrading＇　was　tedious　work　that　was　not　going　to　give　them　an　enormous　
competitive　advantage；〃　said　Vivek　Paul；　the　Wipro　executive　whose　company　did　some　
outsourced　Y2K　drudge　work。　〃So　all　these　Western　companies　were　incredibly　
challenged　to　find　someone　else　who　would　do　it　and　do　it　for　as　little　money　as　
possible。　They　said；　'We　just　want　to　get　past　the　damn　year　2000！'　So　they　started　
to　work　with　Indian　＇technology＇　companies　who　they　might　not　have　worked　with　
otherwise。〃　
To　use　my　parlance；　they　were　ready　to　go　on　a　blind　date　with　India。　They　were　ready　
to　get　〃fixed　up。〃　Added　Jerry　Rao；　'Y2K　means　different　things　to　different　people。　
For　Indian　industry；　it　represented　the　biggest　opportunity。　India　was　considered　
as　a　place　of　backward　people。　Y2K　suddenly　required　that　every　single　computer　in　
the　world　needed　to　be　reviewed。　And　the　sheer　number　of　people　needed　to　review　
line…by…line　code　existed　in　India。　The　Indian　IT　industry　got　its　footprint　across　
the　globe　because　of　Y2K。　Y2K　became　our　engine　of　growth；　our　engine　of　being　known　
around　the　world。　We　never　looked　back　after　Y2K。〃　
By　early　2000；　the　Y2K　work　started　to　wind　down；　but　then　a　whole　new　driver　of　
business　emerged…e…commerce。　The　dot…com　bubble　had　not　yetburst；　engineering　talent　
was　scarce；　and　demand　from　dotcoms　was　enormous。　Said　Paul；　〃People　wanted　what　they　
felt　were　mission…critical　applications；　key　to　their　very　existence；　to　be　done　and　
they　could　go　nowhere　else。　So　they　turned　to　the　Indian　companies；　and　as　they　turned　
to　the　Indian　companies　they　found　that　they　were　getting　delivery　of　complex　systems；　
with　great　quality；　sometimes　better　than　what　they　were　getting　from　others。　That　
created　an　enormous　respect　for　Indian　IT　providersf。＇　And　if　＇Y2K　work＇　was　the　
acquaintanceship　process；　this　was　the　falling…in…love　process。〃　
Outsourcing　from　America　to　India；　as　a　new　form　of　collaboration；　

exploded。　By　just　stringing　a　fiber…optic　line　from　a　workstation　in　Bangalore　to　
my　company's　mainframe；　I　could　have　Indian　IT　firms　like　Wipro；　Infosys；　and　Tata　
Consulting　Services　managing　my　e…commerce　and　mainframe　applications。　
〃Once　we're　in　the　mainframe　business　and　once　we're　in　e…commerce…now　we're　married；〃　
said　Paul。　But　again；　India　was　lucky　that　it　could　exploit　all　that　undersea　
fiber…optic　cable。　〃Ihad　an　office　very　close　to　the　Leela　Palace　hotel　in　Bangalore；〃　
Paul　added。　〃I　was　working　with　a　factory　located　in　the　information　technology　park　
in　Whitefield；　a　suburb　of　Bangalore；　and　I　could　not　get　a　local　telephone　line　
between　our　office　and　the　factory。　Unless　you　paid　a　bribe；　you　could　not　get　a　line；　
and　we　wouldn't　pay。　So　my　phone　call　to　Whitefield　would　go　from　myoffice　in　Bangalore　
to　Kentucky；　where　there　was　a　GE　mainframe　computer　we　were　working　with；　and　then　
from　Kentucky　to　Whitefield。　We　used　our　own　fiber…optic　lease　line　that　ran　across　
the　ocean…but　


the　one　across　town　required　a　bribe。〃　
India　didn't　benefit　only　from　the　dot…com　boom；　it　benefited　even　more　from　the　
dot…com　bust！　That　is　the　real　irony。　The　boom　laid　the　cable　that　connected　India　
to　the　world；　and　the　bust　made　the　cost　of　using　it　virtually　free　and　also　vastly　
increased　the　number　of　American　companies　that　would　want　to　use　that　fiber…optic　
cable　to　outsource　knowledge　work　to　India。　
Y2K　led　to　this　mad　rush　for　Indian　brainpower　to　get　the　programming　work　done。　The　
Indian　companies　were　good　and　cheap；　but　price　wasn't　first　on　customers'　
minds…getting　the　work　done　was；　and　India　was　the　only　place　with　the　volume　of　
workers　to　do　it。　Then　the　dot…com　boom　comes　along　right　in　the　wake　of　Y2K；　and　
India　is　one　of　the　few　places　where　you　can　find　surplus　English…speaking　engineers；　
at　any　price；　because　all　of　those　in　America　have　been　scooped　up　by　e…commerce　
companies。　Then　the　dot…com　bubble　bursts；　the　stock　market　tanks；　and　the　pool　of　
investment　capital　dries　up。　American　IT　companies　that　survived　the　boom　and　venture　
capital　firms　that　still　wanted　to　fund　start…ups　had　much　less　cash　to　spend。　Now　
they　needed　those　Indian　
Ill　
engineers　not　just　because　there　were　a　lot　of　them；　but　precisely　because　they　were　
low…cost。　So　the　relationship　between　India　and　the　American　business　community　
intensified　another　notch。　
One　of　the　great　mistakes　made　by　many　analysts　in　the　early　2000s　was　conflating　
the　dot…com　boom　with　globalization；　suggesting　that　both　were　just　fads　and　hot　air。　
When　the　dot…com　bust　came　along；　these　same　wrongheaded　analysts　assumed　that　
globalization　was　over　as　well。　Exactly　the　opposite　was　true。　The　dot…com　bubble　
was　only　one　aspect　of　globalization；　and　when　it　imploded；　rather　than　imploding　
globalization；　it　actually　turbocharged　it。　
Promod　Haque；　an　Indian…American　and　one　of　the　most　prominent　venture　capitalists　
in　Silicon　Valley　with　his　firm　Norwest　Venture　Partners；　was　in　the　middle　of　this　
transition。　〃When　the　bust　took　place；　a　lot　of　these　Indian　engineers　in　the　U。S。　
＇on　temporary　work　visas＇　got　laid　off；　so　they　went　back　to　India；〃　explained　Haque。　
But　as　a　result　of　the　bust；　the　IT　budgets　of　virtually　every　major　U。S。　firm　got　
slashed。　〃Every　IT　manager　was　told　to　get　the　same　amount　of　work　or　more　done　with　
less　money。　So　guess　what　he　does？　He　says；　'You　remember　Vijay　from　India　who　used　
to　work　here　during　the　boom　and　then　went　back　home？　Let　me　call　him　over　in　Bangalore　
and　see　if　he　will　do　the　work　for　us　for　less　money　than　what　we　would　pay　an　engineer　
here　in　the　U。S。'〃　And　thanks　to　all　that　fiber　cable　laid　during　the　boom；　it　was　
easy　to　find　Vijay　and　put　him　to　work。　
The　Y2K　computer　readjustment　work　was　done　largely　by　low…skilled　Indian　programmers　
right　out　of　tech　schools；　said　Haque；　〃but　the　guys　onvisas　who　were　coming　toAmerica　
were　not　trade　school　guys。　They　were　guys　with　advanced　engineering　degrees。　So　a　
lot　of　our　companies　saw　that　these　guys　were　good　at　Java　and　C＋＋　and　architectural　
design　work　for　computers；　and　then　they　got　laid　off　and　went　back　home；　and　the　
IT　manager　back　here　who　is　told；　1　don't　care　how　you　get　the　job　done；　just　get　
it　done　for　less　money；'　calls　Vijay。〃　Once　America　and　India　were　dating；　the　


burgeoning　Indian　IT　companies　in　Bangalore　started　coming　up　with　their　own　proposals。　
The　Y2K　work　had　allowed　them　to　interact　with　some　pretty　large　companies　in　the　
United　States；　and　as　a　result　they　began　to　understand　the　pain　points　and　how　to　
do　
112　
business…process　implementation　and　improvement。　So　the　Indians；　who　were　doing　a　
lot　of　very　specific　custom　code　maintenance　to　higher…value…add　companies；　started　
to　develop　their　own　products　and　transform　themselves　from　maintenance　to　product　
companies；　offering　a　range　of　software　services　and　consulting。　This　took　Indian　
companies　much　deeper　inside　American　ones；　and　business…process　outsourcing…　
letting　Indians　run　your　back　room…went　to　a　whole　new　level。　〃I　have　an　accounts　
payable　department　and　I　could　move　this　whole　thing　to　India　under　Wipro　or　Infosys　
and　cut　my　costs　in　half；〃　said　Haque。　All　across　America；　CEOs　were　saying；　〃'Make　
it　work　for　less；'〃　said　Haque。　〃And　the　Indian　companies　were　saying；　'I　have　taken　
a　look　under　your　hood　and　I　will　provide　you　with　a　total　solution　for　the　lowest　
price。'〃　In　other　words；　the　Indian　outsourcing　companies　said；　〃Do　you　remember　how　
I　fixed　your　tires　and　your　pistons　during　Y2K？　Well；　I　could　actually　give　you　a　
whole　lube　job　if　you　like。　And　now　that　you　know　me　and　trust　me；　you　know　I　can　
do　it。〃　To　their　credit；　the　Indians　were　not　just　cheap；　they　were　also　hungry　and　
ready　to　learn　anything。　
The　scarcity　of　capital　after　the　dot…com　bust　made　venture　capital　firms　see　to　it　
that　the　companies　they　were　investing　in　were　finding　the　most　efficient；