Kirk LaughlinThe Latin American technology services market has another concrete example of its ability to compete on technology acumen and delivery skill, not just resource cost and proximity. Popular ERP software firm SAP announced at its annual global conference, Sapphire, that it is adding Neoris to its list of global service partners.
Neoris, now headquartered in Miami, has deep Latin American roots. In only a decade, the company has become the largest IT consulting and system integrator in Mexico, and the second largest in Latin America. However, size isn’t the reason on-lookers should be impressed.
Forrester’s most recent SAP Provider Wave listed Neoris in the strong performer band and commented,
“nearshore providers like Neoris — continue to globalize as well as continue to move up the food chain in terms of high-value consulting. They are more and more competing — and winning – against the former “big four.”
Neoris’ SAP practice has grown approximately 40 percent per year for the last decade; the firm’s continued strong and consistent delivery has gotten the attention of SAP at the highest levels. After seven years as an SAP solution services partner, the firm has joined less than two dozen companies worldwide that have managed to achieved the elite “global services provider” designation. What does this mean?
It’s a big deal. 60 percent of the global IT services market is owned by the 22 SAP global services partners. The global partner designation indicates that an SAP provider can design and execute large SAP implementations in any vertical anywhere in world. Given that thousands of firms provide SAP services, Neoris’ position in the top 22 demonstrates the company is a top-tier provider not just in Latin America, but globally.
Neoris is unique even among the SAP elite. SAP hasn’t named any new global partners for the last three before adding Neoris, and the current list of global partners is dominated by behemoths like Accenture, IBM and Hitachi. Neoris is one of the smallest firms on the list, making it an attractive option for organizations that prefer a more nimble delivery partner with a relationship that favors collaboration.
Nearshore Americas spoke with Claudio Muruzabal, CEO of Neoris, regarding the firm’s achievement and its larger implications for the Latin American technology provider market. Muruzzabal said,
“Achieving global partnership positions ourselves to get access to more state of the art solutions that SAP is bringing to the marketplace. It puts us in a different class. On the side of the client, the global services designation is an additional level of assurance that the provider is competent. Neoris is the first Latin America-born company to become a SAP global services partner.”
However, examining the members of the global provider list shows that most of the firms on the list have some presence in the Latin American market. So why is it significant that Neoris is now a global partner?
According to Neoris, although many firms have a presence in Latin America, a significant number are not deeply ingrained or dedicated to the region. Many providers tout a Latin American presence, but really only have a loosely arranged team of contractors constructed due to customer demands. In many cases, attrition on these teams is higher, which can severely project delivery.
Despite this demonstration of the strength of skills in the market, Neoris and other Latin American providers competing with elite global firms still have opportunities for improvement. For example, although Neoris performed well in Forrester’s wave, the firm’s performance in SAP strategy development was marginal.
Additionally, many delivery providers in the nearshore market should do a better job at marketing themselves as leaders in technology innovation. Messaging promoting Latin America needs to be more focused on it being a source for strong technical talent, and not just a place to build a call center operation. Muruzabal said in the next few months one of Neoris’ strategic goals is to improve messaging about key capabilities and quality of resources.
Add comment