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Outsourcing's out as world goes online
May 19, 2006

Outsourcing is over, says columnist Thomas L. Friedman. It's been replaced by "around sourcing," he writes in today's New York Times.

The column's behind a subscription firewall, but Friedman's argument goes like this: many countries--even, or especially, developing ones-- have become sufficiently wired that "the outsourcee has become the outsourcer," with creativity flowing multiple ways. It's no longer a matter of concepts emerging in the US, for instance, with the implementation details handled in India. He cites, for example, the team of Indian engineers that, instructed to "think big," came up with the Google Finance concept.

All that's necessary for "around sourcing," Friedman writes, is sufficient telecom infrastructure, improved education, corruption-free economic governance, and the rule of law. The potential result: "faster global growth in this century, with many more people lifted out of poverty."

One problem with "around sourcing" he doesn't address, however, is what happens to the engineers in developed countries who have been comfortable at the creative apex of the development pyramid. It's not at all clear what, if anything, the "around sourcing" loop will deliver to them.

Posted by Rick Nelson on May 19, 2006 | Comments (0)