the.world.is.flat-第38章

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we　had　to　get　smart。　Going　for　all　or　nothing…that　is；　signing　up　to　make　only　a　full　
game　or　nothing　at　all…was　not　sustainable。　We　had　to　look　at　positioning　ourselves　
differently。　End　of　Dhruva　2。0。〃　
This　led　to　the　start　of　Dhruva's　3。0　era…positioning　Dhruva　as　a　provider　of　game　
development　services。　The　computer　game　business　is　already　enormous；　every　year　
grossing　more　revenue　than　Hollywood；　andit　already　had　some　tradition　of　outsourcing　
game　characters　to　countries　like　Canada　and　Australia。　〃In　March　2001；　we　sent　out　
our　new　game　demo；　Saloon；　to　the　world；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃The　theme　was　the　American　
Wild　Wild　West；　and　the　setting　was　a　saloon　in　a　small　town　after　business　hours；　
with　the　barman　cleaning　up　。。。　None　of　us　had　ever　seen　a　real　saloon　before；　but　
we　researched　the　look　and　feel　＇of　a　saloon＇　using　the　Internet　and　Google。　The　choice　
of　the　theme　was　deliberate。　We　wanted　potential　clients　in　the　U。S。A。　and　Europe　
to　be　convinced　that　Indians　can　'get　it。'　The　demo　was　a　hit；　it　landed　us　a　bunch　
of　outsourced　business；　and　we　have　been　a　successful　company　ever　since。〃　
Could　he　have　done　this　a　decade　earlier；　before　the　world　got　so　flat？　
〃Never；〃　said　Rajesh。Several　things　had　to　come　together。　The　first　was　to　have　enough　
installed　bandwidth　so　he　could　e…mail　game　content　and　instructions　back　and　forth　
between　his　own　company　and　his　American　clients。　The　second　factor；　said　Rajesh；　
was　the　spread　of　PCs　for　use　in　both　business　and　at　home；　with　people　getting　very　
comfortable　using　them　in　a　variety　of　tasks。　〃PCs　are　everywhere；〃　he　said。　〃The　
penetration　is　relatively　decent　even　in　India　today。〃　
The　third　factor；　though；　was　the　emergence　of　the　work　flow　software　and　Internet　
applications　that　made　it　possible　for　a　Dhruva　to　go　into　business　as　a　


minimultinational　from　day　one：　Word；　Outlook；　NetMeeting；　3D　Studio　MAX。　But　Google　
is　the　key。　〃It's　fantastic；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃One　of　the　things　that's　always　an　issue　
for　our　clients　from　the　West　is；　'Will　
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you　Indians　be　able　to　understand　the　subtle　nuances　of　Western　content？'　Now；　to　
a　large　extent；　it　was　a　very　valid　question。　But　the　Internet　has　helped　us　to　be　
able　to　aggregate　different　kinds　of　content　at　the　touch　of　a　button；　and　today　if　
someone　asks　you　to　make　something　that　looks　like　Tom　and　Jerry；　you　just　say　'Google　
Tom　&　Jerry'　and　you've　got　tons　and　tons　of　pictures　and　information　and　reviews　
and　write…ups　about　Tom　and　Jerry；　which　you　can　read　and　simulate。〃　
While　people　were　focusing　on　the　boom　and　bust　of　the　dot…coms；　Rajesh　explained；　
the　real　revolution　was　taking　place　more　quietly。　It　was　the　fact　that　all　over　the　
world；　people；　en　masse；　were　starting　to　get　comfortable　with　the　new　global　
infrastructure。　〃We　are　just　at　the　beginning　of　being　efficient　in　using　it；〃　he　
said。　〃There　is　a　lot　more　we　can　do　with　this　infrastructure；　as　more　and　more　people　
shift　to　becoming　paperless　in　their　offices　and　realize　that　distances　really　＇do＇　
not　matter　。。。　It　will　supercharge　all　of　this。　It's　really　going　to　be　a　different　
world。〃　
Moreover；　in　the　old　days；　these　software　programs　would　have　been　priced　beyond　the　
means　of　a　little　Indian　game　start…up；　but　not　anymore；　thanks　in　part　to　the　
open…source　free　software　movement。　Said　Rajesh；　〃The　cost　of　software　tools　would　
have　remained　where　the　interested　parties　wanted　them　to　be　if　it　was　not　for　the　
deluge　of　rather　efficient　freeware　and　shareware　products　that　sprung　up　in　the　early　
2000s。　Microsoft　Windows；　Office；　3D　Studio　MAX；　Adobe　Photoshop…each　of　these　
programs　would　have　been　priced　higher　than　they　are　today　if　not　for　the　many　
freeware/shareware　programs　that　were　comparable　and　compelling。　The　Internet　
brought　to　the　table　the　element　of　choice　and　instant　comparison　that　did　not　exist　
before　for　a　little　company　like　ours　。　。　。　Already　we　have　in　our　gaming　industry　
artists　and　designers　working　from　home；　something　unimaginable　a　few　years　back；　
given　the　fact　that　developing　games　is　a　highly　interactive　process。　They　connect　
into　the　company's　internal　system　over　the　Internet；　using　a　secure　feature　called　
VPN　＇virtual　private　network＇；　making　their　presence　no　different　from　the　guy　in　
the　next　cubicle。〃　
The　Internet　now　makes　this　whole　world　〃like　one　marketplace；〃　added　Rajesh。　〃This　
infrastructure　is　not　only　going　to　facilitate　sourcing　
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of　work　to　the　best　price；　best　quality；　from　the　best　place；　it　is　also　going　to　
enable　a　great　amount　of　sharing　of　practices　and　knowledge；　and　it's　going　to　be　
'I　can　learn　from　you　and　you　can　learn　from　me'　like　never　before。　It's　very　good　
for　the　world。　The　economy　is　going　to　drive　integration　and　the　integration　is　going　
to　drive　the　economy。〃　
There　is　no　reason　the　United　States　should　not　benefit　from　this　trend；　Rajesh　
insisted。　What　Dhruva　is　doing　is　pioneering　computer　gaming　within　Indian　society。　
When　the　Indian　market　starts　to　embrace　gaming　as　a　mainstream　social　activity；　


Dhruva　willalready　be　positioned　to　take　advantage。　But　by　then；　heargued；　the　market　
〃will　be　so　huge　that　there　will　be　a　lot　of　opportunity　for　content　to　come　from　
outside。　And；　hey；　the　Americans　are　way　ahead　in　terms　of　the　ability　to　know　what　
games　can　work　and　what　won't　work　and　in　terms　of　being　at　the　cutting　edge　of　
design…so　this　is　a　bilateral　thing　。　。　。　Every　perceived　dollar　or　opportunity　that　
is　lost　today　＇from　an　American　point　of　view　because　of　outsourcing＇　is　actually　
going　to　come　back　to　you　times　ten；　once　the　market　here　is　unleashed　。　。　。　Just　
remember；　we　are　a　300…million　middle　class…larger　than　the　size　of　your　country　or　
Europe。〃　
Yes；　he　noted；　India　right　now　has　a　great　advantage　in　having　a　pool　of　educated；　
low…wage　English　speakers　with　a　strong　service　etiquette　in　their　DNA　and　an　
enterprising　spirit。　〃So；　sure；　for　the　moment；　we　are　leading　the　so…called　wave　
of　service　outsourcing　of　various　kinds　of　new　things；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃But　I　believe　
that　there　should　be　no　doubt　that　this　is　just　the　beginning。　If　＇Indians＇　think　
that　they've　got　something　going　and　there　is　something　they　can　keep　that's　not　going　
to　go　anywhere；　that　will　be　a　big　mistake；　because　we　have　got　Eastern　Europe；　which　
is　waking　up；　and　we　have　got　China；　which　is　waiting　to　get　on　the　services　bandwagon　
to　do　various　things。　I　mean；　you　can　source　the　best　product　or　service　or　capacity　
or　competency　from　anywhere　in　the　world　today；　because　of　this　whole　infrastructure　
that　is　being　put　into　place。　The　only　thing　that　inhibits　you　from　doing　that　is　
your　readiness　to　make　use　of　this　infrastructure。　So　as　different　businesses；　and　
as　different　people；　get　more　comfortable　using　this　infrastructure；　you　are　going　
to　see　a　huge　explosion。　It　is　a　matter　of　five　to　seven　years　and　we　will　have　a　
huge　batch　of　excellent　English…speaking　Chinese　graduates　

coming　out　of　their　universities。　Poles　and　Hungarians　are　already　very　well　connected；　
very　close　to　Europe；　and　their　cultures　are　very　similar　＇to　Western　Europe's＇。　So　
today　India　is　ahead；　but　it　has　to　work　very　hard　if　it　wants　to　keep　this　position。　
It　has　to　never　stop　inventing　and　reinventing　itself。〃　
The　raw　ambition　that　Rajesh　and　so　many　of　his　generation　possess　is　worthy　of　note　
by　Americans…a　point　I　will　elaborate　on　later。　
〃We　can't　relax；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃I　think　in　the　case　of　the　United　States　that　is　what　
happened　a　bit。　Please　look　at　me：　I　am　from　India。　We　have　been　at　a　very　different　
level　before　in　terms　of　technology　and　business。　But　once　we　saw　we　had　an　
infrastructure　which　made　the　world　a　small　place；　we　promptly　tried　to　make　the　best　
use　of　it。　We　saw　there　were　so　many　things　we　could　do。　We　went　ahead；　and　today　
what　we　are　seeing　is　a　result　of　that。　。　。　There　is　no　time　to　rest。　That　is　gone。　
There　are　dozens　of　people　who　are　doing　the　same　thing　you　are　doing；　and　they　are　
trying　to　do　it　better。　It　is　like　water　in　a　tray；　you　shake　it　and　it　will　find　
the　path　of　least　resistance。　That　is　what　is　going　to　happen　to　so　many　jobs…they　
will　go　to　that　corner　of　the　world　where　there　is　the　least　resistance　and　the　most　
opportunity。　If　there　is　a　skilled　person　in　Timbuktu；　he　will　get　work　if　he　knows　
how　to　access　the　rest　of　the　world；　which　is　quite　easy　today。　You　can　make　a　Web　
site　and　have　an　e…mail　address　and　you　are　up　and　running。　And　if　you　are　able　to　


demonstrate　your　work；　using　the　same　infrastructure；　and　if　people　are　comfortable　
giving　work　to　you；　and　if　you　are　diligent　and　clean　in　your　transactions；　then　you　
are　in　business。〃　
Instead　of　complaining　about　outsourcing；　said　Rajesh；　Americans　and　Western　
Europeans　would　〃be　better　off　thinking　about　how　you　can　raise　your　bar　and　raise　
yourselves　into　doing　something　better。　Americans　have　consistently　led　in　innovation　
over　the　last　century。　Americans　whining…we　have　never　seen　that　before。　People　like　
me　have　learned　a　lot　from　Americans。　We　have　learned　to　become　a　little　more　
aggressive　in　the　way　we　market　ourselves；　which　is　something　we　would　not　have　done　
given　our　typical　British　background。〃　
So　what　is　your　overall　message？　I　asked　Rajesh；　before　leaving　with　my　head　spinning。　
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〃My　message　is　that　what's　happening　now　is　just　the　tip　of　the　iceberg　。　。　。　What　
is　really　necessary　is　for　everybody　to　wake　up　to　the　fact　that　there　is　a　fundamental　
shift　that　is　happening　in　the　way　people　are　going　to　do　business。　And　everyone　is　
going　to　have　to　improve　themselves　and　be　able　to　compete。　It　is　just　going　to　be　
one　global　market。　Look；　we　just　made　＇baseball＇　caps　for　Dhruva　to　give　away。　They　
came　from　Sri　Lanka。〃　
Not　from　a　factory　in　South　Bangalore？　I　asked。　
〃Not　from　South　Bangalore；〃　said　Rajesh；　〃even　though　Bangalore　is　one　of　the　export　
hubs　for　garments。　Among　the　three　or　four　caps　we　got　quotations　for；　this　＇Sri　Lankan　
one＇　was　the　best　in　terms　of　quality　and　the　right　price；　and　we　thought　the　finish　
was　great。　
〃This　is　the　situation　you　are　going　to　see　moving　forward；〃　Rajesh　concluded。　〃If　
you　are　seeing　all　this　energy　coming　out　of　Indians；　it's　because　we　have　been　
underdogs　and　we　have　that　drive　to　kind　of　achieve　and　to　get　there　。　。　。　India　is　
going　to　be　a　superpower　and　we　are　going　to　rule。〃　
Rule　whom？　I　asked。　
Rajesh　laughed　at　his　own　choice　of　words。　〃It's　not　about　ruling　anybody。　That's　
the　point。　There　is　nobody　to　rule　anymore。　It's　about　how　you　can　create　a　great　
opportunity　for　yourself　and　hold　on　to　that　or　keep　creating　new　opportunities　where　
you　can　thrive。　I　think　today　that　rule　is　about　efficiency；　it's　about　collaboration　
and　it　is　about　competitiveness　and　it　is　about　being　a　player。　It　is　about　staying　
sharp　and　being　in　the　game　。　。　。　The　world　is　a　football　field　now　and　you've　got　
to　be　sharp　to　be　on　the　team　which　plays　on　that　field。　If　you're　not　good　enough；　
you're　going　to　be　sitting　and　watching　the　game。　That's　all。〃　
How　Do　You　Say　〃Zippie〃　in　Chinese？　
As　in　Bangalore　te