Seeking Wisdom

Followup on Exodus

2008-02-24T01:10:00.001-08:00

from: The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, July 3, 2007, front page

title: "Some in Silicon Valley Begin to Sour on India"
subtitle: "A Few Bring Jobs Back As Pay of Top Engineers In Bangalore Skyrockets"
by Pui-Wing Tam and Jackie Range

Interviews and research with quotes as follows:

Munjal Shah [with image of him, and born in India] led a California start-up
[Riya] opened an office in Bangalore in 2005, hired about 20
skilled software developers at 1/4 what they cost in Silcon Valley. Then
salaries soared. He said this year it cost 75% of SV salaries, plus extra
expenses of running an office in India, and in April this year he closed
the Bangalore office.

"Across SV, some technology companies, particularly start up and midsize
ones, are beginning to turn away from India for low-cost labor to do
sophisitcated tech work. Kana ... eliminated 100 software-developemnt jobs
in India in late 2005 and expanded its U.S. hiring instead. Teneros, Inc.,
shut down a 30 member India office and brought 12 of the people to its
headquarters in ...California."

The article mentioned that Apple cancelled plans to open a facility in
India.

"'The wage inflation rate for engineers in India is four times what it is
here' in America, says Intel's chief executive, Paul Otellini."

Article says Indian wage inflation is 10-15% per year, other sources say it
is closer to 50%.

"India is no longer the premier outsourcing destination."

Article says even the simple call-center work may be done more cheaply in
the Philippines and Vietnam, and mentions that Indian companies are even
looking outside India to create jobs. TCS recently opened a center in Mexico
and is considering a move to Morocco. Wipro has two centers in China and
planning one for the Philippines.

Pervasive Software (from Texas) opened a Bangalore unit in 2004 with 45
people, but turnover reached more than 25% per year. Last year it closed the
Bangalore office.

The article mentioned that it takes more supervisors to manage Indians.
So, they are asking why pay a junior guy in India just a little less when
they can get a senior guy right in California.

Link to an article on the subject.

Exodus begins in India

2008-02-24T00:55:00.001-08:00

I was chatting to one of my friends over in India the other night. He was talking about layoffs in the high tech sector

(2/23/2008 2:20:06 AM):

LN: siababa.. what you told me... on that day is true.. recession has started here..
LN: engineers are loosing the jobs..
LN: TCS / Yahoo / IBM
LN: layed off around 800 Engineers

What LN is telling me is telling me the prediction I made 4 years ago is begining to come true. The engineer's had it good for a while, jumping from job to job and expecting double digit pay raises.. Alas, they have priced themselves out of the market, exodus begins. Right now its a small trickle, soon it will gain momentum and before anyone realizes, all the big companies will be gone and won't be back for a long time. Alot of folks will be without work but lots of loans to pay off. Hard times to come. 2008/2009 will be bad years. My advice to my friends in India is, save cash, pay off loans asap, and find a good paying job in a local company if you can. Its gonna get tough.

Flirting can be dangerous to your life.

2008-02-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

I always like to start and end the day by reading the BBC news on the net (news.bbc.co.uk). I was struck by the news about Saudi men being arrested for so called "flirting" with "girls".

Here is the article : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7260314.stm

I was both amused in a sad way and somewhat disappointed.. No, I am not a Saudi and never been there.. But I often wonder what redeeming qualities Saudi culture has ?.. The only thing they have going for them is lots of oil and petro dollars. And of course they have Mecca. If they had neither, would anyone ever mention them ?. They have given birth to Al Queda. Because they don't want westerners there (simplistic I know). Without Oil and petro dollars, they have nothing. No industry that could sustain the country worth mentioning. There is plenty of data on Saudi Arabia https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html if you want to check out.

And yet, this not so democratic country, oppressive and without any redeeming qualities, whose citizens were the instigators and executioners of 911 terror attacks have remained allies of the west and USA. And this is not a secret, and yet somehow all of this is ignored and Iraq was attacked ?!.. Good riddence to their dictator.. but I cannot help but feel there is something wrong with the picture ?!. I say the best thing that can happen to Saudi Arabia is for the Oil to run out. Then their dream will come true.. West will leave em alone.. Actually, everyone will leave em alone. They won't have food to eat and will have to pull their collective fingers out. Oil has been the bane of their existance. It won't be as bad of course as some of their leaders who are educated have made investments overseas with incomes etc. But one is not sure if these investments are for the Nation (if the concept even exists) or for the individuals and their families?.

Back to those poor 57 bastards who have been arrested for "flirting" whatever that may mean. And don't get me started on the women's rights..

On the glass is fuller than empty.. Saudi Arabia is not the worst country on Earth. They are not even mentioned on the The 10 worst countries in the world.

Last word:: Alas, no one and no where is perfect. If Saudis or anyone else want change, they should. Oh well...

Enough of my rants.

Watching Amgen Tour of California

2008-02-18T11:37:00.001-08:00

This is a bicycle race, with aspiration of becoming a "Tour de France" like race in California. It has ways to go.. This year, the prologue time trial started close to where I live.. So naturally I wanted to experience this and see the celebrity riders close by. Naturally I rode my bike there, as parking would have been near impossible.

Well, the race is a short 2.1 mile stint. Riders do it around 4 minutes. The spread between them is seconds. I dare say, watching a bike race on the side of the road, specially on a time trial is less than spectacular..

I watched about four riders going by, at which time boredom set in. I rode back home and fired up my computer, and watched the rest live off of the net.
http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
Just marvelous. Now time for a ride for me..

Coolest thing

2008-02-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

I have stopped watching tellie for quite a while now..
But not before discovering the show : House.
Alas, its not enough to start watching tellie again..
Thanks to DVD rentals I can watch the lot from the start. But I have something better.. Discovered I can watch it online..
www.fox.com

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T04:50:00.000-08:00

My first posting in my first ever blog. Its Christmas !. People around the world are supposed to be Merry; happy and slightly intoxicated.. I am slightly happy and not intoxicated. Can't take alcochol any more, its tiresome. And by the way, so is commercial christmas. I used to be a strong opponet of christmas, however, I have had a change of heart on that.. Any opportunity that would get some cheer, real or imaginary, into people's hearts, stops conflicts, allows space for reflection and yes prayer, is a good thing.

I do however like to vote Westminister City Council as the collective scrooge they are. I read on the BBC news site that they have voted to abolish soup kitchens in their borough because its unsightly never mind the needy. Here is a discussion on the beeb if you are interested
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=3975&edition=2&ttl=20071225125848

Cheers

siababa