the.world.is.flat-第27部分

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a　very　dated　1950s　Morris　Minor　design。　Everyone　in　the　government　drove　one。　So　we　
had　a　five…car　caravan　and　we　were　driving　back　from　the　airport　to　town。　I　was　in　
the　back　car；　and　at　one　point　we　heard　this　loud　bang；　and　I　thought；　What　happened？　
I　shot　to　the　front；　and　the　lead　car's　hood　had　flown　off　and　smashed　the　
windshield…with　these　GE　people　inside！　So　this　whole　caravan　of　GE　execs　pulls　over　
to　the　side　of　the　road；　and　I　could　just　hear　them　saying　to　themselves；　'This　is　
the　place　we're　going　to　get　software　from？'〃　
Fortunately　for　India；　the　GE　team　was　not　discouraged　by　the　poor　quality　of　Indian　
cars。　GE　decided　to　sink　roots；　starting　a　joint　development　project　with　Wipro。　Other　
companies　were　trying　different　models。　But　this　was　still　pre…fiber…optic　days。　
Simon　&　Schuster；　the　book　publisher；　for　instance；　would　ship　its　books　over　to　India　
and　pay　Indians　50　a　month　（compared　to　1；000　a　month　in　the　United　States）　to　type　
them　by　hand　into　computers；　converting　the　books　into　digitized　

electronic　files　that　could　be　edited　or　amended　easily　in　the　future　…particularly　
dictionaries；　which　constantly　need　updating。　In　1991；　Manmohan　Singh；　then　India's　
finance　minister；　began　opening　the　Indian　economy　for　foreign　investment　and　
introducing　competition　into　the　Indian　telecom　industry　to　bring　down　prices。　To　
attract　more　foreign　investment；　Singh　made　it　much　easier　for　companies　to　set　up　
satellite　downlink　stations　in　Bangalore；　so　they　could　skip　over　the　Indian　phone　
system　and　connect　with　their　home　bases　in　America；　Europe；　or　Asia。　Before　then；　
only　Texas　Instruments　had　been　willing　to　brave　the　Indian　bureaucracy；　becoming　
the　first　multinational　to　establish　a　circuit　design　and　development　center　in　India　
in　1985。　TI's　center　in　Bangalore　had　its　own　satellite　downlink　but　had　to　suffer　
through　having　an　Indian　government　official　to　oversee　it…with　the　right　to　examine　
any　piece　of　data　going　in　or　out。　Singh　loosened　all　those　reins　post…1991。　A　short　
time　later；　in　1994；　HealthScribe　India；　a　company　originally　funded　in　part　by　
Indian…American　doctors；　was　set　up　in　Bangalore　to　do　outsourced　medical　
transcription　for　American　doctors　and　hospitals。　Those　doctors　at　the　time　were　
taking　handwritten　notes　and　then　dictating　them　into　a　Dictaphone　for　a　secretary　
or　someone　else　to　transcribe；　which　would　usually　take　days　or　weeks。　HealthScribe　
set　up　a　system　that　turned　a　doctor's　touch…tone　phone　into　a　dictation　machine。　
The　doctor　would　punch　in　a　number　and　simply　dictate　his　notes　to　a　PC　with　a　voice　
card　in　it；　which　would　digitize　his　voice。　He　could　be　sitting　anywhere　when　he　did　


it。　Thanks　to　the　satellite；　a　housewife　or　student　in　Bangalore　could　go　into　a　
computer　anddownloadthat　doctor's　digitized　voice　and　transcribe　it…not　in　two　weeks　
but　in　two　hours。　Then　this　person　would　zip　it　right　back　by　satellite　as　a　text　
file　that　could　be　put　into　the　hospital's　computer　system　and　become　part　of　the　
billing　file。　Because　of　the　twelve…hour　time　difference　with　India；　Indians　could　
do　the　transcription　while　the　American　doctors　were　sleeping；　and　the　file　would　
be　ready　and　waiting　the　next　morning。　This　was　an　important　breakthrough　for　
companies；　because　if　you　could　safely；　legally；　and　securely　transcribe　from　
Bangalore　medical　records；　lab　reports；　and　doctors'　diagnoses…in　one　of　the　most　
litigious　
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industries　in　the　world…a　lot　of　other　industries　could　think　about　sending　some　of　
their　backroom　work　to　be　done　in　India　as　well。　And　they　did。　But　it　remained　limited　
by　what　could　be　handled　by　satellite；　where　there　was　a　voice　delay。　（Ironically；　
said　Gurujot　Singh　Khalsa；　one　of　the　founders　of　HealthScribe；　they　initially　
explored　having　Indians　in　Maine…that　is；　American　Indians…do　this　work；　using　some　
of　the　federal　money　earmarked　for　the　tribes　to　get　started；　but　they　could　never　
get　them　interested　enough　to　put　the　deal　together。）　The　cost　of　doing　the　
transcription　in　India　was　about　one…fifth　the　cost　per　line　of　doing　it　the　United　
States；　a　difference　that　got　a　lot　of　people's　attention。　
By　the　late　1990s；　though；　Lady　Luck　was　starting　to　shine　on　India　from　two　directions：　
The　fiber…optic　bubble　was　starting　to　inflate；　linking　India　with　the　United　States；　
and　the　Y2K　computer　crisis…the　so…called　millennium　bug…started　gathering　on　the　
horizon。　As　you'll　remember；　the　Y2K　bug　was　a　result　of　the　fact　that　when　computers　
were　built；they　came　with　internalclocks。　In　order　tosave　memory　space；　these　clocks　
rendered　dates　with　just　six　digits…two　for　the　day；　two　for　the　month；　and；　you　
guessed　it；　two　for　the　year。　That　meant　they　could　go　up　to　only　12/31/99。　So　when　
the　calendar　hit　January　1；　2000；　many　older　computers　were　poised　to　register　that　
not　as　01/01/2000　but　as　01/01/00；　and　they　would　think　it　was　1900　all　over　again。　
It　meant　that　a　huge　number　of　existing　computers　（newer　ones　were　being　made　with　
better　clocks）　needed　to　have　their　internal　clocks　and　related　systems　adjusted；　
otherwise；　it　was　feared；　they　would　shut　down；　creating　a　global　crisis；　given　how　
many　different　management　systems…from　water　to　air　traffic　control…were　
computerized。　
This　computer　remediation　work　was　a　huge；　tedious　job。　Who　in　the　world　had　enough　
software　engineers　to　do　it　all？　Answer：　India；　with　all　the　techies　from　all　those　
IITs　and　private　technical　colleges　and　computer　schools。　
And　so　with　Y2K　bearing　down　on　us；　America　and　India　started　dating；　and　that　
relationship　became　a　huge　flattener；　because　it　demonstrated　to　so　many　different　
businesses　that　the　combination　of　the　PC；　the　Internet；　and　fiber…optic　cable　had　
created　the　possibility　of　a　whole　new　form　of　collaboration　and　horizontal　value　
creation：　outsourcing。　
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Any　service；　call　center；　business　support　operation；　or　knowledge　work　that　could　


be　digitized　could　be　sourced　globally　to　the　cheapest；　smartest；　or　most　efficient　
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　Kentuck