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And you thought outsourcing was safe?

By Gearhead, NetworkWorld.com, 06/28/05

A CNN news item today (June 28th) announced "Internet crashes in Pakistan." Apparently an undersea cable carrying Internet data and other telecommunications went bad and Pakistan dropped off the 'Net. Even worse, fixing the cable will cause an interruption for other countries using the link which includes India, Dubai and Oman. The outage is expected to be fixed by tomorrow (June 29th) but the impact in Pakistan is reported to be catastrophic with crucial systems such as airline booking systems failing.

This is interesting not only because it underscores the reliance that most nations have on Internet service but also illustrates the consequences of service levels for outsourced operations such as call centers that operate in countries with less than robust connectivity. Perhaps we need a diplomatic strategy to foster worldwide adoption of and reliance upon the Internet -- the goal would be to create a politically and economically enmeshed world where our friends and foes are constrained by the same need: To get and stay connected.

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