Outsourcing is a buzzword that creates love and hate with mere mention of it depending on what side of the globe you are on. On the Asian side, its percieved as as the greatest invention next to sliced bread :) It has helped countries like India and China become economic super powers. At the same time, on the western side its synanomous with job loss , unemployment, etc.
I am sure there is a lot written out there about different sourcing strategies, models, etc. But, when I looked for history of outsourcing, I did not see or find much. Being from India, I went back to our epics to see if there is any outsourcing in them. In case you are not familiar, India has 2 great epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. BTW, I want to add a note of caution here. I want to bring out some lighter side to Outsourcing and at the same time do not want to hurt any sentiments associated either with outsourcing or the epics being discussed.
Lets me start with what I perceive as outsourcing in Ramayana.
"The bridge to Lanka". Lord Rama was away from his kingdom and down south. He needed an army to build the bridge to Lanka so that he can defeat demon king Ravana and bring back Seetha Matha. He did not have the time or resources to go back to Ayodhya and bring his army or raise an army of his own. He showed mankind what needs to be done in such a scenario. He engaged the services of Vanara Sena for the same. The project went through some tough phases, but with the right guidance from Rama, Vibhishana and Sugreeva, it was a great success. Thus the first outsourced project was a success both in terms of results and timelines.I have embedded links for Ramayana and Mahabharata if you want to read this in detail.
More in my next blog, when we discuss Mahabharata and then move on to various kings and kingdoms.
Have fun
-Keshav
