Daily Archives: May 27, 2004

Top-Consultant.com reports: “freelancing is becoming an ever more popular career choice for experienced consultants looking to increase their earnings – or take greater control of their work/ life balance. In a press release issued this week, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) estimates that there are now around one million freelancers in the UK, with up to 40% of the UK?s workforce expected to have become freelance by 2010 – powered in no small part by the rise of broadband and the home-working solutions that this has made possible.

Established consulting brands do not like to admit it, but they are increasingly relying on their networks of ‘Associates’ or freelance consultants to plug shortages in permanent consulting staff. The firms lose a bit of control over the quality of consulting they deliver, but on the plus side can gain flexibility in resourcing – and reduce the risks associated with over-expanding in the early phases of a recovery. “

In Bangalore I can already see this happening. An amazing number of XLRI alumni are opting for flexibility that freelancing provides. Specially ladies, though a male batchmate has already opted for it. I think another factor is the intellectual focus of such jobs. A lot of the people who opt for freelancing also write and do classes at B-Schools. Such things are usually under a scanner when working with traditional large organizations (due to concerns of copyright etc). Of course, Charles Handy has already forecast this, calling such people “Fleas” compared to the Elephants (or large organizations!). And Dan Pink in the USA has already named these people as the “Free Agent Nation” !

Searching for names

we are expecting our second kid around the last week of June/first week of July

Any suggestions for names (both boy and girl!) are welcome…!

Rajesh Jain points to a Forbes.com article that says:
“Microsoft wants to dominate this business and make it a Windows world. IBM has embraced Linux and in doing so has stoked the biggest threat ever to confront the Microsoft monopoly. While IBM’s products run on Windows, it wants its customers to see how nicely they would run on Linux as well, using the free operating system as a lure. ‘Like getting free bread in a restaurant,’ says Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president of technology and strategy at IBM and a pivotal proselytizer of Linux inside the company. Ultimately, customers may not need Windows at all.

For 20 years Microsoft has out-earned, out-smarted and out-maneuvered IBM. At long last IBM may have found a way to get even. Twenty years ago IBM ruled the computer industry. But today Microsoft runs the show. It earns 30% more profit than IBM on one-third of IBM’s revenue and has almost double its market value. With Linux, IBM hopes to get even.”