Capturing the systemic and noteworthy advancements in Mexico economics, IT and political leadership over recent months, Nearshore Americas today announces a special series of white papers that will be published in our pages over the next several months reporting on these newly arising market conditions.  

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By Tim Wilson

Let’s face it – outsourcers as a whole are not the world’s best marketers. Some struggle to get the word out, and, ironically, most aren’t comfortable leaving the marketing in someone else’s hands. Fair enough – assuming an outsourcer has its own marketing house in order. Many don’t and, as in any industry, some companies, and some regions, do better than others. “Brand is everything in outsourcing,” says Deborah Kops, outsourcing consultant at Sourcing Change.

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By Luke Bujarski

Esteemed economist Arminio Fraga Neto recently issued a mixed assessment of the macroeconomic and political environment of Brazil, noting that the government is indeed “listening” to the needs of the private sector but also doing too much to protect specific industries. Fraga was one of several notable speakers at the recent “Brazil Summit”, organized in New York City, by the Brazil-American Chamber of Commerce, where global services was one of the prime topics of discussion.

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By Tarun George

Earlier this month in New York City, a panel of Jamaican trade officials and ambassadors came together to once again make the case for increased investment in the Caribbean island nation. What was different was their audience. Instead of focusing on American executives as usual, this time they targeted the Jamaican business elite, living and working in the US. In other words, they were leveraging potentially their greatest asset outside their own country: the national diaspora.

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Ever wondered why IT and BPO companies in Chile have continued to expand despite what is commonly seen as a severe shortage of skilled workers locally? In Chile, immigration rules are strikingly different than nearby nations like Brazil. IT companies can bring in as many skilled professionals from overseas countries as they want. Jobseekers from across the world are arriving by thousands and filling up the vacant positions in all sectors of the economy.

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Nearshore Nexus – the most influential event in the thriving Nearshore outsourcing marketplace – kicked off today to record-breaking attendance in Jersey City, NJ. The sold out conference is hosting executives from over 30 Fortune 200 U.S. companies and representatives from 18 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Panels and presentations in the early phase of the event have focused on a range of business critical outsourcing issues, from bank industry risks to the real cost of setting up operations in the region.

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Out of nowhere, Costa Rica is described as “another Puerto Rico”

By Narayan Ammachchi

Rising wages and inflation are threatening to undermine Costa Rica’s outsourcing sector, with several outsourcing firms scaling down operation and fleeing to cheaper locations. Costa Rica has the highest rate of inflation in all of Central America and the country’s currency Colon too has continued to rise against the US dollar. Inflation in February was 6.52 percent, the highest since 2009 and beyond the central bank’s target of 5 percent, according to Bloomberg.

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Latin Americans will buy 24.9 million notebooks, 73.2 million smartphones and 11.9 million tablets in 2013, according to an IDC forecast. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon, which has already swept across corporate America, will be an influential driver in acquisition of this hardware in the Nearshore as well. “One in three large companies in Latin America have allowed employees to bring in their own device and connect to the office data,” said Diego Anesini, an IDC telecom analyst in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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By Narayan Ammachchi

Organizers of the Start-up Chile say they have received more than 1500 applications from entrepreneurs in 68 countries and will soon select the top 100 best projects for funding.

Start-up Chile is currently in its seventh phase of funding new entrepreneurs and inviting them to Santiago to participate in what has become a symbol of Chile’s embrace of innovation and new ideas. Under the program, the Chilean government will give each entrepreneur US$40,000 in seed funding and a work visa.

Most of the budding entrepreneurs seeking funding are from Chile (37%), the United States (12%), Argentina (8%), Brazil (5%) and India (5%). And the projects that the entrepreneurs are offering to work on are related to social media (17%), e-Commerce (15%), IT and enterprise software (15%) and education (11%).

“The Chilean entrepreneurial ecosystem keeps getting stronger. People from all over the world want to join the entrepreneurial revolution that is …

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By Narayan Ammachchi

French BPO giant Capgemini has landed a lucrative outsourcing contract with Swedish high-tech firm Sandvik.

Under the agreement, Capgemini will process the Sandvik’s financial transactions (F&A) at its delivery centers in Brazil, Poland, China and India. Neither firm has disclosed the financial details of the deal.

The French company stated in a press release that it would streamline accounting processes and help Sandvik adopt global financial standards. The relationship between Capgemini Group and Sandvik is not new but, according to analysts, this is the first outsourcing contract that the Capgemini has won from the Swedish company.

“We feel a strong cultural connection between the two organizations and are very excited about the collaboration between Sandvik and Capgemini over the coming years,” stated Hubert Giraud, CEO for Global Business Process Outsourcing at Capgemini.

Capgemini – which reported US$13.5 billion in revenue last year – has over 9,000 FAO professionals …

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