Does ‘Flat World’ Feel More Like Hype or Reality?

In Infosys’s Think Flat Blog, Richa has raised a question, does ‘flat world’ feel more like hype or reality?

Well, I feel that Flat World is a HYPE. The world has been flat for years, though nobody called it Flat. It was just globalization, outsourcing and collaboration.

The world is now a global village, well connected by latest communication and transportation options, thanks to technology innovations.

India has joined this slow journey in 1991. Information Technology has its share in this growth in India, but it should not be forgotten the contribution of other industries like Reliance and Tata. Such companies do not make much noise or hype about this and does not get noticed like Infosys or Wipro.

I feel that the world has been flat for many industries, for years. For example, in case of apparel retailers in the US, planning and design could be done in the US, procurement and sourcing office in Singapore, sourcing and manufacturing done in India/China, goods sold in the US/UK, customer service in India, sales analysis or vendor management done in Philippines, and the senior management is located in the US, etc.. This has been in practice for many years now.

What makes the new Flat World theory different than what has been in existence in this case?

Isn’t the flat world concept which is being introduced now a hype in the IT industry, thanks to Tom Friedman and Infosys?

To me flat world really means socialism, giving equal opportunity for all and keeping our social responsibility.