Secret Microsoft pacts leaked

16 Jun, 2004 at 7:17pm ET Article published in Tech

It has been reported that confidential agreements between Microsoft and two software companies in India have been leaked. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers claims the documents expose Microsoft’s intention to hire low-cost foreign vendors to write its software.

“We’re in a cyclical business, so that’s part of it,” she said. “In the work we do, there are areas of expertise. It makes sense to go to the experts because it’s not intellectual property, core technology. We’ll continue to do that.”

Source: SeatleTimes

Comments

16 Jun 2004 ~ 7:47pm primesuspect Does this really surprise anybody? Microsoft could singlehandedly start the ball rolling for a massive economic recovery in this country (the USA) but they choose the cheapest source of labor and outsource valuable jobs to other places. Yay for corporate greed!
17 Jun 2004 ~ 11:59am DanG Oh, I thought that the details of their pact with the devil was finally being made public.
17 Jun 2004 ~ 12:33pm Straight_Man Not only that, but one of thier hardware research centers is in Beiging, China. Technology Review ran an article about that center.

Microsoft is a GLOBAL operating company now, not just a US company or even a North American company. Thier whole aquisition and R&D strategy is global-perspecive based. Has been for almost a decade, and things are accellerating that way more and more. FOR tHE WHOLE IT arena set.

Definitely not surprising, and known to enterprise channel folks. Not knocking the news poster, but it is interesting how long this has taken to perk to the enthusiast\consumer market level to this degree.

Not only is Microsoft doing this, but city governments are (example, Tempe, Arizona is spending a budgetted $1,500,000 for Tax-collecting software, and supplier is one Indian (Country of India)company), as mentioned in John Dvorak's Inside Track column in PC Magazine for July of 2004, Linux is a global interco-operatively MADE O\S, and to compete with that Microsoft has to become globally sourced also. And is doing so and has been doing so.

Dell support has a support center in India, used for times when US support folks are sleeping or not working and call overload fallthrough goes there also. From callers in US. They are not the only mfr to do this kind of thing. Outsourcing support is also common. Southwestern Bell outsources their broadband first level and second level support, company that has the contract happens to be US based right now.

Our hardware is sourced overseas, most of it, at some level.
17 Jun 2004 ~ 1:03pm a2jfreak Isn't Bill Gates a liberal democrat?

primesuspect wrote:

Does this really surprise anybody? Microsoft could singlehandedly start the ball rolling for a massive economic recovery in this country (the USA) but they choose the cheapest source of labor and outsource valuable jobs to other places. Yay for corporate greed!
17 Jun 2004 ~ 1:36pm Leonardo Stop before we start. Let's keep this a non-political thread, OK?