The developing world could lead the next revolution in computing.
he
new global model for workforce management entails going to the talent wherever
it may be. Companies in the highly competitive, knowledge-driven IT industry are now
looking well beyond the established knowledge pools in the U.S. and Europe to build a
global R&D workforce.
Microsoft is a case in point. The company’s future rests in the
hands of its research unit, staffed by 700 scientists and engineers working in six
laboratories on three continents. The largest lab outside of Microsoft’s Redmond,
Washington, headquarters is Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing, where 200 researchers
are developing next-generation multimedia applications and Asia-specific computing
technologies.
Microsoft launched a new research laboratory in Bangalore
earlier this year to tap the vast talent emerging from India’s universities and
software companies. But all of Microsoft’s labs include researchers from a mix of
countries, compensated purely on the basis of merit.
Indian-born, U.S.-educated P. Anandan is now managing director
of Microsoft Research India. "The lab in Bangalore will be staffed with the best
research talent available to us from anywhere in the world," he says. "The
positioning and the remuneration of the researchers will depend only on their
qualifications, merit and research reputation, and nothing else."
The prevailing assumption in the U.S. is that companies open
research facilities in India solely to reduce labor costs, but this supposition is no
longer fully accurate.
"Research is a highly skilled field in which talent, and not
cost, is the main driver," Anandan says. "As a global company we have both the
opportunity and obligation to build an international community of researchers--going
where the talent is, so to say, rather than trying to bring them all to Redmond.
"In addition, India, like other countries, offers a set of
perspectives on technology and its role in society, which will inform our research
that is done here."
Many experts believe that the next revolution in computing will
come from efforts to meet the needs of the developing world rather than expanding
offerings in the advanced nations.
Microsoft built the Beijing lab in 1998. "Our decision to open
the lab in Beijing was due in large part to the great pool of talent located in the
area, but candidate nationality or location has never been a factor in our hiring
decisions," says Harry Shum, managing director at Microsoft Research Asia.
Technologies such as e-mail, instant messaging and Web
conferencing have enabled the globalization of research talent and made it possible
to build collaboration across continents. "Microsoft Research has successfully built
a global think tank where our researchers collaborate daily with scientists located
in Microsoft’s other worldwide research labs and with industry and academic partners
across the globe through these technologies and travel," Shum says.
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