Hindustan Times, New Delhi, May 16, 2008 

The global business field is leading to a flat world. Outsourcing in marketing - especially for market intelligence and analytics - will soon be common

FLAT WORLD is a metaphor used for saying that the global business field is being leveled. In his book, The World Is Flat, acclaimed author Thomas L. Friedman says, "It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world - using computers, email, fiber-optic networks, teleconferencing and dynamic new software... what the flattening of the world means is that we are now connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single global network, which, if politics and terrorism do not get in the way - could usher in an amazing era of prosperity, innovation, and collaboration, by companies, communities and individuals."
A pertinent question that arises here is: what would be the impact of the coming together of global knowledge centers on business, and specifically on the marketing of products and services? Let us look at the different aspects of this global knowledge connect, and the impact of each on marketing.

Free flow of information
Internet has made possible the free and smooth flow of information in the form of data and individual knowledge. All businesses have free or easy access to crucial business information, and it is no longer a deciding factor for business success. The focus has now shifted to how this information is synthesized and what marketing insights are derived from them. Needless to say, the internet makes it possible for smart professionals anywhere in the world to create intelligent, analysed information and share it with businesses in any other part of the world.

Outsourcing
There has been a rapid increase in the use of outsourced services in marketing. Businesses are increasingly realising that it makes better business sense to focus on their core competencies, leading to a trend in outsourcing of many more internal functions. The flat world has also led to the development of a new breed of vendors, who lay a greater emphasis on partnerships and prefer to work as an extension of the client team. Many companies can now choose to outsource part instead of whole projects. For instance, Indian marketing analytics companies offer significant marketing insights with the help of their strong analytics expertise to many leading retail, automobile and consulting companies abroad.

Offshoring
There is a trend for a significant number of marketing functional activities to be "offshored". We will see an influx of a large number of talented and analytically sophisticated resources into marketing. The data driven marketing will become easier to implement and speed of delivery will be greatly enhanced. Already, much of secondary and primary researches are done out of India or other offshore locations by some companies.

Commoditisation of industries
Lastly, the flat world has given rise to increased commoditisation. Many of the differentiators of marketing effectiveness have become commodities and there is greater emphasis on creativity and managerial uses of insights. Marketing people have got some definite advantages from a flat world. They now have access to better sophisticated, more precise and actionable and makes use of advanced techniques to answer business questions. This is further enhanced by the presence of numerous analytically trained professionals with advanced degrees in marketing, statistics and engineering. Add to these artificial intelligence such as increased expertise in software, programming, processes, systems and analytics.
Another benefit of the flat world is fast turnaround of work. From inception to completion, somewhere in the world, teams will work on an overseas client's projects while he is asleep at night. The outsourced vendors employ more resources resulting in greater speed and lay a lot of emphasis on programming, automation and other speed enhancers. Each component of a project can be executed in the most cost-effective time and place. In this scenario, the marketing person can get significant cost savings, or he could get twice as much work done at the same price. India, China and Eastern Europe are fast becoming popular destinations for outsourced work. China is a leader in off-shore manufacturing sector, has a talented pool of engineers and scientists, is ramping up skills in English and Economics and is uniquely positioned to tap the Japanese and Korean markets. It also has favorable government policies. Eastern Europe has a highly talented pool of engineers and scientists, robust education system with ample supply of professionals for analytical work, moderate, but increasing labor costs, proficiency in non-English languages and proximity to European markets.
India, with its flourishing offshore IT services and BPO sectors, offers a large talent pool with good project management skills, high-quality academic qualifications, proficiency in English and rigorous analytical skills. We also have favorable government policies and there is a large diaspora driving demand. In this scenario, it is likely that India will soon be the leading outsourcing destination for knowledge work.

Anil Kaul
CEO and co-founder, AbsolutData Research and Analytics