Some of the best moments of Nearshore Nexus ’13 happened on the fly – during networking breaks, on the way to sessions, in hallways, at lunch or during our closing “Nexus After Dark” reception. Our team has gathered the best photos from those moments here in one album on our Facebook page – take a look and recall the great memories!
View Slideshow: Business Networking at Nearshore Nexus
Rising Wages and Inflation Damage the Luster of Costa Rica
April 23rd, 2013
Stream’s Salazar: “Almost impossible” finding talent at right price
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.
By Narayan Ammachchi
HP is gearing up to relocate a part of its global services center in Costa Rica to the Indian city of Bangalore, leaving 400 people jobless. The U.S. tech giant has not explained what caused its decision, but analysts believe rising wages and dwindling English-speaking workforce in the Central American country has long been a concern for the Silicon Valley company.
By Lindy Hanson & Geoff Woollacott
Investments in IP-based delivery and platforms will enable traditional services firms to break the link between revenue and headcount growth and result in a net improvement in positioning of “India-centric’ outsourcing providers, according to new findings from Technology Business Research. The break in this linear equation will result from monetizing IP and represents an opportunity for professional services firms to increase margins that can drive bottom-line improvement and free up budget dollars for investments in cost of services, R&D and SG&A functions.
Wipro Spins Off Non-IT Units to Focus on Outsourcing
November 1st, 2012BY STAFF REPORT
India’s technology giant Wipro has decided to separate its IT outsourcing unit from other non-core businesses in an attempt to intensify its focus on outsourcing which accounted for 95 percent of the firm’s operating profit in last fiscal year.
“Creating a technology-focused company will allow us to better serve the needs of our customers, and accelerate investments necessary to capitalize on market growth opportunities,” said TK Kurien, CEO, IT business and executive director, Wipro Limited.
The other divisions will be brought under a single umbrella and will be named as Wipro Enterprises Limited. And Wipro Limited will remain a publicly listed company focusing exclusively on information technology.
“Wipro Enterprises Limited will be an unlisted company,” the Bangalore-based outsourcing company stated in a press release.
Wipro is India’s third largest outsourcing company. Last year, it appointed a new chief executive and restructured its operations. But its IT business does …
UST Global Teams with Former President Fox to Open Mexico Hub
September 18th, 2012
UST aims to be the big fish in a smaller market like Leon.
By Luke Bujarski
California-based technology and back office provider UST Global has selected León, Mexico as the official ‘offbeat’ location for its Latin America delivery hub. With two U.S. clients already committed to Mexico, the company aims to be the first global outsourcer to set foot in Leon.
Jamaica BPO in Depth: Special Report Uncovers Potential for Specialized Services
September 11th, 2012
Read the full report by clicking here
By Jon Tonti
Jamaica has the largest English speaking population in the western hemisphere behind the United States and Canada totaling 2.7 million. What’s the best way to tap into this thriving population of English-speaking Jamaicans? That’s one of the key questions pursued in a new Nearshore Americas E-report – BPO Jamaica– that takes a fresh look at a country that both Gartner and A.T. Kearney say is a “market to watch in 2012.”
BPO Jamaica stresses that companies like ACS/Xerox, Teleperformance, Convergys, VistaPrint, and Scotiabank are not in the Jamaican market for pure labor arbitrage, but are instead pushing into more sophisticated BPO, taking advantage of Jamaica’s human capital, the country’s “major strength,” and a strength that is now beginning to flourish in Kingston rather than solely Montego …
Is NASSCOM Worried About the Impact of Nearshoring?
August 24th, 2012
NASSCOM chief Som Mittal
By Narayan Ammachchi
Is India, the world’s largest IT outsourcing service provider, concerned about the growing appetite of U.S. companies for nearshoring? India Inc’s largest lobby group and IT industry body, Nasscom, says: NO. The Americas-centric nearshoring trend will benefit India rather than harm its interests, said Nasscom President Som Mittal in an interview with Nearshore Americas.
Why the “Command and Control” Model of US Management Fails to Work in Latin America
August 21st, 2012
Duke’s Lewin: P&G is struggling in Brazil because of trying manage the ‘American Way’.
By Jon Tonti
Just because US music, fashion, and entertainment have long since permeated and been adopted by Latin America, don’t think that the US corporate style of management enjoys the same reception. Latin America has its own management style that is as different to the US management style as France’s is to Germany’s. “I recently saw a situation where a company brought in a top manager from outside the region who was put in charge of a group of executives from the home country that resulted in 25 percent of those executives leaving the company,” said Jane Siegel, a senior scientist at Carnegie Mellon’s Silicon Valley campus.
Sitel’s View on Brazil: Targeting “High End” Call Center Services
August 7th, 2012
By Filipe Pacheco
Given its fast-rising status, Brazil has become an increasingly lucrative market for contact center companies. Sitel has been in Brazil for more than ten years and its comparatively ‘early’ entrance to the country is starting to pay off. The provider is poised to expand its local-market focus with five different centers, more than 4,000 employees, and a tri-lingual workforce.
