Forbes Column 08: Bootstrapping, Montana Style

We have just started publishing The Montana Mogul, an interview with RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte, who has bootstrapped an over $100-million-a-year public company headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. >>>

Featured Videos

Vision India 2020: Maya Ray

One of the key issues that India was wrestling with in 2008 was how to preserve the Outsourcing industry since it had become such an important component of the country’s growth engine. >>>

Outsourcing

Forbes has a special report on Outsourcing this weekend. Here’s our coverage on the topic: >>>

Indian Anime

[This is an October 2005 piece that I am repeating in the context of our earlier discussion on the Indian Film Industry. I would be interested in hearing from people with experience with and knowledge of the animation industry in India, and how it is shaping up.]

The global digital animation industry is poised to grow to $70 billion by this year. The Indian animation industry is expected to reach $15 billion by 2008. Big numbers, pointing to India’s next big outsourcing boom. Labor arbitrage numbers are absolutely fantastic: $125/hour in the US versus $25/hour in India for animators. $75 Million to $175 Million for a full-length features film in the US versus $1-$15 Million in India. >>>

Catching Up on Readings: Bootstrap Yourself!

Amidst the ocean of content that is coming at you, readers, I am sure you find yourselves overwhelmed. Here’s a recap of some articles from this site which you may have missed, but may be worth your time: >>>

Deal Radar 2008: Elance

Elance is a marketplace which matches freelance design, technical, writing and other professionals with companies that need their services in a timely manner. The company was founded in 1999 by Beerud Sheth and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. >>>

Wave 3 of Indian Outsourcing

By Sudhakar Ram, Guest Author

Sramana had written about the Death of Indian Outsourcing a few months back. I got in touch with her, and since this was a subject I was passionate about, I have ended up writing this guest column on her blog! >>>

Forbes Column 08: The Next Indo-China War

Here’s my new Forbes Column: The Next Indo-China War. I look forward to your comments and perspective on the issues discussed in it.

Catching Up On Readings: Media Mania

If you have missed these posts from my recent writings, today may be a good time to catch up on some reading:

First, in the blogosphere, online media, old and new media, advertising – big changes have taken place. Here is a set of posts from the Deal Radar series that might help you make sense of these developments where I discuss companies that have driven some of the biggest changes: Techcrunch, GigaOm, Federated Media, Glam Media, Adify, Travel Ad Network, and Seeking Alpha. >>>

Obama and Outsourcing

I love listening to Obama. After a long time, a real orator is dominating the political coverage on television, and it’s an absolute treat.

But, one thing he keeps saying that I find confusing is that he will stop US jobs from going abroad.

How exactly is he going to do that? What policy would enable him to achieve this objective?

Any guesses?

EE Times on Indian R&D Centers

EE Times reports on India’s status as an off-shore R&D destination: >>>

India’s Technology Enabled Service: Surrogate Motherhood

Read this piece on today’s NY Times: India Nurtures Business of Surrogate Motherhood. >>>

Forbes Column 08: How to Save the World’s Back Office

Please read my new Forbes column, How to Save the World’s Back Office. In it, I discuss Gram IT, a rural BPO project promoted by Satyam. There is also a video segment that you can watch here.

I would love to see more projects like this come about, get funded, and scaled in the commercial domain in India. I see rural / small town BPO as a very interesting opportunity for the next phase of India’s evolution as the world’s back-office.

Entrepreneurs in India: TAKE THIS ON. >>>

Does SaaS Threaten Indian Outsourcing?

Here’s an issue for readers to weigh in on: Does SaaS Threaten Indian Outsourcing? >>>

Deal Radar 2008: InsideView’s Clever Maneuvering

InsideView — headquartered in San Bruno, California, USA and operations in Cincinnati, Ohio and Hyderabad, India—was founded in 2005 by Umberto Milletti and Richard Horn. The company has been featured here before and you can read my interview with Umberto here. >>>