Copyright © 2007 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.
I have been able to visit the IBM facility north of Beijing's fifth ring where teh IBM Development Lab and IBM Research Lab are housed. There is also an SOA Solution Center as well. The internet was a lot faster there too compared to the hotel and my client. I've heard again that an earthquake off Taiwan ruined and undersea fiber optick cable and much of Asia is affected. How many of you have redundancy between the US and your global operations to survive an undersea cable break? What would you do if it only was a lot slower vs. broken completely?
Below, my IBM co-workers play a hacky-sak type game at lunch. The software group development lab is to the right, the solution center is straight ahead behind them, and the research lab is to the right side.
Copyright © 2007 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.
Anyone who has been a regular visitor to my humble blog has probably noticed that the globalization of software development has been a frequent topic of mine. In particular, I have been heavily involved over the last 3-4 years with software development in India. Whether you or I like it or not, it looks like I am going to continue to be immersed in the topic of globalization. I started a new assignment with a new client recently and this client has very strong ties to China. I could not believe my good fortune when I was given a golden opportunity to travel to China for about two weeks of meetings. Wow! A chance to observe the technology sector in China firsthand! I arrived in China Monday night.
Because of all the language and cultural issues, IBM has made a conscious effort to locate consultants who speak Chinese. Someitmes it seems like every Chinese speaking IBM consultant in the US and Canada is on my project! Not that this is a bad thing either. Its great to be able to hop in a taxis with a co-worker and have a co-worker act as interpreter.
Then around 10 AM this morning "it" happened. My client got passionate about a particular topic and switched from English to Chinese. Within about 10 seconds all my co-workers had joined in the discussions in Chinese too and "it" hit me. I was the only non-Chinese speaker in the room and there were three different Chinese conversations going on. I didn't take it as they were trying to exclude me. I think it was just easier for the client to express their thoughts clearly in their native language. I chose to just let the conversations go on without my interruption. My co-workers updated me later with a summary of their concerns. I have a feeling it won't be the last time either.
If you're interested in reading more about my trip to China, see my posts on China on my "Phil's Folderol" blog.
Copyright © 2007 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.
Anyone who has been a regular visitor to my humble blog has probably noticed that the globalization of software development has been a frequent topic of mine. In particular, I have been heavily involved over the last 3-4 years with software development in India. Whether you or I like it or not, it looks like am going to continue to be immersed in the topic of globalization. I started a new assignment with a new client recently and this client has very strong ties to China. I could not believe my good fortune when I was given golden opportunity to travel to China for about two weeks of meetings. Wow! A chance to observe the technology sector in China firsthand!
Because of all the language and cultural issues, IBM has made a conscious effort to locate consultants who speak Chinese. I think every Chinese speaking IBM consultant in the US and Canada is on my project! Not that this is a bad thing. Its great to be able to hop in a taxis with a co-worker and have a co-worker interpreter.
Then around 10 AM or so this morning "it" happened. My client got passionate about a particular topic and switched from English to Chinese. Within about 10 seconds all my co-workers had joined in the discussions in Chinese too and "it" hit me. I was the only non-Chinese speaker in the room and there were three different Chinese conversations going on. I didn't take it as they were trying to exclude me. I think it was just easier for the client to express their thoughts clearly. I chose to just let the conversations go on without my interruption. My co-workers updated me later with a summary of their concerns. I have a feeling it won't be the last time either.
If you're interested in reading more about my trip to China, see my posts on China on my "Phil's Folderol" blog.
Copyright © 2007 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.
Anyone who has been a regular visitor to my humble blog has probably noticed that the globalization of software development has been a frequent topic of mine. In particular, I have been heavily involved over the last 3-4 years with software development in India. Whether you or I like it or not, it looks like am going to continue to be immersed in the topic of globalization. I started a new assignment with a new client recently and this client has very strong ties to China. I could not believe my good fortune when I was given golden opportunity to travel to China for about two weeks of meetings. Wow! A chance to observe the technology sector in China firsthand!
Because of all the language and cultural issues, IBM has made a conscious effort to locate consultants who speak Chinese. I think every Chinese speaking IBM consultant in the US and Canada is on my project! Not that this is a bad thing. Its great to be able to hop in a taxis with a co-worker and have a co-worker interpreter.
Then around 10 AM or so this morning "it" happened. My client got passionate about a particular topic and switched from English to Chinese. Within about 10 seconds all my co-workers had joined in the discussions in Chinese too and "it" hit me. I was the only non-Chinese speaker in the room and there were three different Chinese conversations going on. I didn't take it as they were trying to exclude me. I think it was just easier for the client to express their thoughts clearly. I chose to just let the conversations go on without my interruption. My co-workers updated me later with a summary of their concerns. I have a feeling it won't be the last time either.
If you're interested in reading more about my trip to China, see my posts on China on my "Phil's Folderol" blog.
Copyright © 2007 by Philip Hartman - All Rights Reserved
The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.
