the.world.is.flat-第20节

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work　flow　tools；　it　is　how　many　people　in　India；　Russia；　China；　Brazil；　and　Timbuktu　
now　have　them　as　well…along　with　all　the　transmission　pipes　and　protocols　so　they　
too　can　plug　and　play　from　anywhere。　

Where　is　all　this　going？　More　and　more　work　flow　will　be　automated。　In　the　coming　
phase　of　Web　services…work　flow；　here　is　how　you　will　make　a　dentist　appointment：　
You　will　instruct　your　computer　by　voice　to　make　an　appointment。　Your　computer　will　
automatically　translate　your　voice　into　a　digital　instruction。　It　will　automatically　
check　your　calendar　against　the　available　dates　on　your　dentist's　calendar　and　offer　
you　three　choices。　You　will　click　on　the　preferred　date　and　hour。　The　week　before　
your　appointment；　your　dentist's　calendar　will　automatically　send　you　an　e…mail　
reminding　you　of　the　appointment。　The　night　before；　you　will　get　a　computer…generated　
voice　message　by　phone；　also　reminding　of　your　appointment。　
For　work　flow　to　reach　this　next　stage；　and　the　productivity　enhancements　it　will　
deliver；　〃we　need　more　and　more　common　standards；〃　said　IBM's　strategic　planner　Cawley。　
〃The　first　round　of　standards　to　emerge　with　the　Internet　were　around　basic　data…how　
do　you　represent　a　number；　how　do　you　organize　files；　how　do　you　display　and　store　
content；　and　how　do　you　share　and　exchange　information。　That　was　the　Netscape　phase。　
Now　a　whole　new　set　of　standards　is　emerging　to　enable　work　flow。　These　are　standards　
about　how　we　do　business　work　together。　For　example；　when　you　apply　for　a　mortgage；　
go　to　your　closing；　or　buy　a　house；　there　are　literally　dozens　of　processes　and　data　
flows　among　many　different　companies。　One　bank　may　handle　securing　your　approval；　
checking　your　credit；　establishing　your　interest　rates；　and　handling　the　
closing…after　which　the　loan　almost　immediately　is　sold　to　a　different　bank。〃　
The　next　level　of　standards；　added　Cawley；　will　be　about　automating　all　these　
processes；　so　they　flow　even　more　seamlessly　together　and　can　stimulate　even　more　
standards。　We　are　already　seeing　standards　emerging　around　payroll；　e…commerce　
payment；　and　risk　profiling；　around　how　music　and　photos　are　digitally　edited；　and；　
most　important；　around　how　supply　chains　are　connected。　All　of　these　standards；　on　
top　of　the　work　flow　software；　help　enable　work　to　be　broken　apart；　reassembled；　and　
made　to　flow；　without　friction；　back　and　forth　between　the　most　efficient　producers。　


The　diversity　of　applications　that　will　automatically　be　able　to　interact　with　each　
other　will　be　limited　only　by　our　imaginations。　
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The　gains　in　productivity　from　this　could　be　bigger　than　anything　we　have　ever　seen　
before。　
〃Work　flow　platforms　are　enabling　us　to　do　for　the　service　industry　what　Henry　Ford　
did　for　manufacturing；〃　said　Jerry　Rao；　the　entrepreneur　doing　accounting　work　for　
Americans　from　India。　〃We　are　taking　apart　each　task　and　sending　it　around　to　whomever　
can　do　it　best；　and　because　we　are　doing　it　in　a　virtual　environment；　people　need　
not　be　physically　adjacent　to　each　other；　and　then　we　are　reassembling　all　the　pieces　
back　together　at　headquarters　＇or　some　other　remote　site＇。　This　is　not　a　trivial　
revolution。　This　is　a　major　one。　It　allows　for　a　boss　to　be　somewhere　and　his　employees　
to　be　someplace　else。〃　These　work　flow　software　platforms；　Jerry　added；　〃enable　you　
to　create　virtual　global　offices…not　limited　by　either　the　boundaries　of　your　office　
or　your　country…and　to　access　talent　sitting　in　different　parts　of　the　world　and　have　
them　complete　tasks　that　you　need　completed　in　real　time。　And　so　24/7/365　we　are　all　
working。　And　all　this　has　happened　in　the　twinkling　of　an　eye…the　span　of　the　last　
two　or　three　years。〃　
Genesis：　The　Flat　World　Platform　Emerges　
We　need　to　stop　here　and　take　stock；　because　at　this　point…the　mid…1990s…the　platform　
for　the　flattening　of　the　world　has　started　to　emerge。　First；　the　falling　walls；　the　
opening　of　Windows；　the　digitization　of　content；　and　the　spreading　of　the　Internet　
browser　seamlessly　connected　people　with　people　as　never　before。　Then　work　flow　
software　seamlessly　connected　applications　to　applications；　so　that　people　could　
manipulate　all　their　digitized　content；　using　computers　and　the　Internet；　as　never　
before。　When　you　add　this　unprecedented　new　level　of　people…to…people　communication　
to　all　these　Web…based　application…to…application　work　flow　programs；　you　end　up　with　
a　whole　new　global　platform　for　multiple　forms　of　collaboration。　This　is　the　Genesis　
moment　for　the　flattening　of　the　world。　This　is　when　it　started　to　take　shape。　It　
would　take　more　time　to　converge　and　really　become　flat；　but　this　is　the　moment　when　
people　started　to　feel　that　something　was　changing。　Suddenly　more　people　from　
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more　different　places　found　that　they　could　collaborate　with　more　other　people　on　
more　different　kinds　of　work　and　share　more　different　kinds　of　knowledge　than　ever　
before。　〃It　is　the　creation　of　this　platform；　with　these　unique　attributes；　that　is　
the　truly　important　sustainable　breakthrough　that　made　what　you　call　the　flattening　
of　the　world　possible；〃　said　Microsoft's　Craig　Mundie。　
Indeed；　thanks　to　this　platform　that　emerged　from　the　first　three　flat…teners；　we　
were　not　just　able　to　talk　to　each　other　more；　we　were　able　to　do　more　things　together。　
This　is　the　key　point；　argued　Joel　Cawley；　the　IBM　strategist。　〃We　were　not　just　
communicating　with　each　other　more　than　ever；　we　were　now　able　to　collaborate…to　build　
coalitions；　projects；　and　products　together…more　than　ever。〃　
The　next　six　flatteners　represent　the　new　forms　of　collaboration　which　this　new　
platform　empowered。　As　J　show；　some　people　will　use　this　platform　for　open…sourcing；　


some　for　outsourcing；　some　for　offshoring；　some　for　supply…chaining；　some　for　
insourcing；　and　some　for　in…forming。　Each　of　these　forms　of　collaboration　was　either　
made　possible　by　the　new　platform　or　greatly　enhanced　by　it。　And　as　more　and　more　
of　us　learn　how　to　collaborate　in　these　different　ways；　we　are　flattening　the　world　
even　more。　
Flattener　#4　
Open…Sourcing　
Self…Organizing　Collaborative　Communities　
Alan　Cohen　still　remembers　the　first　time　he　heard　the　word　〃Apache〃　as　an　adult；　
and　it　wasn't　while　watching　a　cowboys…and…Indians　movie。　It　was　the　1990s；　the　
dot…com　market　was　booming；　and　he　was　a　senior　manager　for　IBM；　helping　to　oversee　
its　emerging　e…commerce　business。　〃I　had　a　whole　team　with　me　and　a　budget　of　about　
8　million；〃　Cohen　recalled。　〃We　were　competinghead…to…head　with　Microsoft；　Netscape；　
Oracle；　Sun…all　the　big　boys。　And　we　were　

playing　this　very　big…stakes　game　for　e…commerce。　IBM　had　a　huge　sales　force　selling　
all　this　e…commerce　software。　One　day　I　asked　the　development　director　who　worked　
for　me；　'Say；　Jeff；　walk　me　through　the　development　process　for　these　e…commerce　
systems。　What　is　the　underlying　Web　server？'　And　he　says　to　me；　It's　built　on　top　
of　Apache。'　The　first　thing　I　think　of　is　John　Wayne。　'What　is　Apache？'　I　ask。　And　
he　says　it　is　a　shareware　program　for　Web　server　technology。　He　said　it　was　produced　
for　free　by　a　bunch　of　geeks　just　working　online　in　some　kind　of　open…source　chat　
room。　I　was　floored。　I　said；　'How　do　you　buy　it？'　And　he　says；　Tou　download　it　off　
a　Web　site　for　free。'　And　I　said；　'Well；　who　supports　it　if　something　goes　wrong？'　
And　he　says；　'I　don't　know…it　just　works！'　And　that　was　my　first　exposure　to　Apache　。　。　。　
〃Now　you　have　to　remember；　back　then　Microsoft；　IBM；　Oracle；　Netscape　were　all　trying　
to　build　commercial　Web　servers。　These　were　huge　companies。　And　suddenly　my　
development　guy　is　telling　me　that　he's　getting　ours　off　the　Internet　for　free！　It's　
like　you　had　all　these　big　corporate　executives　plotting　strategies；　and　then　suddenly　
the　guys　in　the　mail　room　are　in　charge。　I　kept　asking；　'Who　runs　Apache？　I　mean；　
who　are　these　guys？'〃　
Yes；　the　geeks　in　the　mail　room　are　deciding　what　software　they　will　be　using　and　
what　you　will　be　using　too。　It's　called　the　open…source　movement；　and　it　involves　
thousands　of　people　around　the　world　coming　together　online　to　collaborate　in　writing　
everything　from　their　own　software　to　their　own　operating　systems　to　their　own　
dictionary　to　their　own　recipe　for　cola…building　always　from　the　bottom　up　rather　
than　accepting　formats　or　content　imposed　by　corporate　hierarchies　from　the　top　down。　
The　word　〃open…source〃　comes　from　the　notion　that　companies　or　ad　hoc　groups　would　
make　available　online　the　source　code…the　underlying　programming　instructions　that　
make　a　piece　of　software　work…and　then　let　anyone　who　has　something　to　contribute　
improve　it　and　let　millions　of　others　just　download　it　for　their　own　use　for　free。　
While　commercial　software　is　copyrighted　and　sold；　and　companies　guard　the　source　
code　as　they　would　their　crown　jewels　so　they　can　charge　money　to　anyone　who　wants　
to　use　it　and　thereby　generate　income　to　develop　new　versions；　open…　


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source　software　is　shared；　constantly　improved　by　its　users；　and　made　available　for　
free　to　anyone。　In　return；　every　user　who　comes　up　with　an　improvement…a　patch　that　
makes　this