the.world.is.flat-第28节

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！


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；　
high…quality；　low…price　way　to　innovate。　In　the　boom　times；　said　Haque；　it　was　not　
uncommon　for　a　50　million　investment　in　a　start…up　to　return　500　million　once　the　
company　went　public。　After　the　bust；　that　same　company's　public　offering　might　bring　
in　only　100　million。　Therefore；　venture　firms　wanted　to　risk　only　20　million　to　
get　that　company　from　start…up　to　IPO。　
〃For　venture　firms；〃　said　Haque；　〃the　big　question　became；　How　do　I　get　my　
entrepreneurs　and　their　new　companies　to　a　point　where　they　were　breaking　even　or　
profitable　sooner；　so　they　can　stop　being　a　draw　on　my　capital　and　be　sold　so　our　
firm　can　generate　good　liquidity　and　returns？　The　answer　many　firms　came　up　with　was：　
I　better　start　outsourcing　as　many　functions　as　I　can　from　the　beginning。　I　have　to　
make　money　for　my　investors　faster；　so　what　can　be　outsourced　must　be　outsourced。〃　
Henry　Schacht；　who；　as　noted；　was　heading　Lucent　during　part　of　this　period；　saw　the　
whole　process　from　the　side　of　corporate　management。　
113　
The　business　economics；　he　told　me；became　〃very　ugly〃　for　everyone。　Everyone　found　
prices　flat　to　declining　and　markets　stagnant；　yet　they　were　still　spending　huge　
amounts　of　money　running　the　backroom　operations　of　their　companies；　which　they　could　
no　longer　afford。　〃Cost　pressures　were　enormous；〃　he　recalled；　〃and　the　flat　world　
was　available；　＇so＇　economics　were　forcing　people　to　do　things　they　never　thought　
they　would　do　or　could　do　。。。　Globalization　got　supercharged〃…for　both　knowledge　work　
and　manufacturing。　Companies　found　that　they　could　go　to　MIT　and　find　four　incredibly　
smart　Chinese　engineers　who　were　ready　to　go　back　to　China　and　work　for　them　from　


there　for　the　same　amount　that　it　would　cost　them　to　hire　one　engineer　in　America。　
Bell　Labs　had　a　research　facility　at　Tsingdao　that　could　connect　to　Lucent's　computers　
in　America。　〃They　would　use　our　computers　overnight；〃　said　Schacht。　〃Not　only　was　
the　incremental　computing　cost　close　to　zero；　but　so　too　was　the　transmission　cost；　
and　the　computer　was　idle　＇at　night＇。〃　
For　all　these　reasons　I　believe　that　Y2K　should　be　a　national　holiday　in　India；　a　
second　Indian　Independence　Day；　in　addition　to　August　15。　As　Johns　Hopkins　foreign　
policy　expert　Michael　Mandelbaum；　who　spent　part　of　his　youth　in　India；　put　it；　〃Y2K　
should　be　called　Indian　Inter…depedence　Day；〃　because　it　was　India's　ability　to　
collaborate　with　Western　companies；　thanks　to　the　interdependence　created　by　
fiber…optic　networks；　that　really　vaulted　it　forward　and　gave　more　Indians　than　ever　
some　real　freedom　of　choice　in　how；　for　whom；　and　where　they　worked。　
To　put　it　another　way；　August　15　commemorates　freedom　at　midnight。　Y2K　made　possible　
employment　at　midnight…but　not　any　employment；　employment　for　India's　best　knowledge　
workers。　August　15　gave　independence　to　India。　But　Y2K　gave　independence　to　Indians…　
not　all；　by　any　stretch　of　the　imagination；　but　a　lot　more　than　fifty　years　ago；　and　
many　of　them　from　the　most　productive　segment　of　the　population。　In　that　sense；　yes；　
India　was　lucky；　but　it　also　reaped　what　it　had　sowed　through　hard　work　and　education　
and　the　wisdom　of　its　elders　who　built　all　those　IITs。　
Louis　Pasteur　said　it　a　long　time　ago：　〃Fortune　favors　the　prepared　mind。〃　

Flattener　#6　
Offshoring　
Running　with　Gazelles；　Eating　with　Lions　
On　December　11；　2001；　China　formally　joined　the　World　Trade　Organization；　which　meant　
Beijing　agreed　tofollow　the　same　global　rules　governing　imports；　exports；　andforeign　
investments　that　most　countries　in　the　world　were　following。　It　meant　China　was　
agreeing；　in　principle；　to　make　its　own　competitive　playing　field　as　level　as　the　
rest　of　the　world。　A　few　days　later；　the　American…trained　Chinese　manager　of　a　fuel　
pump　factory　in　Beijing；　which　was　owned　by　a　friend　of　mine；　Jack　Perkowski；　the　
chairman　andCEO　of　ASIMCO　Technologies；　an　American　auto　parts　manufacturer　in　China；　
posted　the　following　African　proverb；　translated　into　Mandarin；