Outsourcing issue or Hanuman's Tail?

Shashwat Chaturvedi

MUMBAI: Hanuman, the monkey-god, was caught by Ravan's guards in Ashok Vatika, the garden where Rama's consort Sita was held captive by the demon king. Ravan after much deliberation, decided to teach Hanuman a lesson that he will not forget. He ordered his sentinels to set Hanuman's tail on fire.

To do his bidding, Ravan's soldiers proceeded to wrap up Hanuman's tail with cloth, so that it could be set on fire. But, Hanuman had something else in his mind. Hence, the moment they completely wrapped up his tail, he would make it grow further, longer than the cloth wrapping it. The exasperated soldiers would proceed and wrap it further, only to see it grow again.

The outsourcing issue can be compared to Hanuman's tail, just when you think, that you have seen the end of it, it grows further. Every multi-national worth its weight, started employing outsourcing as a means to save money. Now, the industry has evolved, it is not only about saving money, but about streamlining the processes and scaling up in a hurry.

The benefits of outsourcing are well documented and well publicized. Still, ever so often there will be a discussion or debate by U.S. and other European citizens on the benefits. There will be heated debates on how jobs are flying abroad, political parties will talk about bringing legislation. Even, Hillary Clinton is thought to be speaking against the merits of outsourcing. The latest casualty is McAfee.

McAfee is the largest dedicated security company in the world and based out of Santa Clara, California. It has close to 3,400 employees worldwide and revenues in the range of $987 million (FY2005). The company has recently ramped up its operations in India, it plans to invest $80 million in India operations, scale up the development center in Bangalore, etc.

According to some forums on the Internet, Sridhar Jayanthi, head (India Operations), McAfee, made a statement to the end that, “there is a shortage in the US of security professionals and researchers, and in India the company found a large and trainable talent base." Ever since, different people (assumedly of U.S. citizens, as they constantly hark about patriotism) have been running down the company for its supposed stance. Some members also suggested banning McAfee products.

Ashley Wearne, vice president, Marketing & Integrated Solution Sales, Asia Pacific, put the issue in proper perspective. “It is not about shortage of security professionals, it is mainly to do with the quality of work. We are not looking at cost-cutting or cheaper work, we are excited at the high skill sets that are available in India,” said Wearne. For companies like McAfee, on the lookout for a couple of hundred people in a quarter or a year, India is the desired location.

Setting up operations in India is not that expensive when compared to other locations, the different state government are rolling out red carpets and the workforce is there to hire. Agrees Wearne, “in India, we get the scale. A lot of guys in the same spot, not easy anywhere else,” he adds. But he quickly adds, “We set up centers based on strategic and global requirements, thus we have development centers in the U.S., Europe, Asia, etc.”

Wearne points out the business sense, “Outsourcing makes a lot of sense. With outsourcing we not only save but also make a lot of money, which benefits our shareholders. Being an American company, I believe, most of the shareholders will be Americans. So in a way, we are profiting Americans. We have a mandate from our shareholders to make money,” he ends.

But will such logical arguments stand in the face of irrational fears is a different tale (pun unintended). Different countries in Europe are talking about 2P legislation, whereby a person displaced by outsourcing needs to be provided with an alternative job opportunity. The private sector is largely unaffected, evident from the fact that a latecomer to the outsourcing game, EDS is set to buy out MphasiS, to be competitive with other rivals like IBM and Accenture (who have a big installed base in India).

Coming back to Hanuman's tail. Finally, after much troubles it was set afire. Hanuman then jumped from one rooftop to other in Ravan's kingdom and set the whole place on fire. Is there a moral here? Think!