Outsourcing Buyers See Reason to Question Asia’s Dominance
April 30th, 2013
Porter of Humana points to importance of local firms
By Paul McDougall
It is one thing for investment agencies and Nearshore vendors to promote Latin America sourcing but when buyers start to become vocal champions, it’s a good idea to hear their rationale. “People tend to have a myopic view about outsourcing, we only think about India,” said Anthony Porter, director of IT Vendor Management, Procurement, Legal and Strategy at U.S. health insurance provider Humana.
British Columbia: The Cornerstone of Canada’s Digital Economy
April 9th, 2013By Tarun George
How often do you think of the province of British Columbia, Canada, as a destination of choice for the ICT industry? Especially when compared to Silicon Valley to the south, the likely answer is: Not much. But all the indicators are pointing to BC’s emergence as a tech and design hotspot, albeit facing stiff competition from other North American locations, all vying to attract investment and big name companies.
Brazil’s Current Account Deficit Expands Rapidly
January 25th, 2013BY STAFF REPORT
Weakening demand for raw materials from China seems to have taken its toll on Brazil’s current account deficit. Figures released by the central bank Wednesday showed the country’s current account deficit widened to a record $8.413 billion in December from $6.27 billion in November.
Analysts blame the deficit on Brazil’s increasing import and slipping export.
“An increasingly unequal balance of payments also raises the question of whether Brazil can continue to cover the shortfall with foreign direct investment, whose growth has stagnated since a jump in late 2010,” says a report from Reuters.
When FDI inflow was strong and steady in large part of 2012, the Brazilian central bank had managed to keep the deficit under control. But foreign direct investment started declining in the second half of last year.
The last time foreign direct investment failed to cover Brazil’s annual current account …
Outsourcing Contracts Activity Decreases at End of 2012
January 21st, 2013BY STAFF REPORT
The fourth quarter of 2012 saw a slowdown in the value and number of outsourcing contracts awarded globally, according to the quarterly Global TPI Index of sourcing advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG).
The Index, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with an annual contract value (ACV) of $5 million or more, totaled $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter, a drop of 27 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 and 11 percent from the third quarter of 2012.
The analyst firm has blamed US presidential election and Superstorm Sandy for the decrease in the number of outsourcing contracts.
Interestingly, Latin American markets heated up in 2012 as the number of outsourcing contracts in Brazil and other countries in the region nearly doubled from 2011, the research firm noted.
For the full year, the global market’s ACV totaled $21.2 billion, a decline of …
For All its Hype, China Turns Out to be a Tough Place to Do Business for LATAM Tech Firms
January 11th, 2013
Guicardi of Ci&T: Airlifting Americas-based employees into China has been necessary
By Narayan Ammachchi
With more than 500 million Internet users, China looks like a shining beacon for technology companies eager to expand overseas. Yet for IT and outsourcing companies from Latin America, the China experience is filled with disappointment and an unending amount of random barriers to doing business. Over the past few years, more than a dozen LatAm IT firms have moved into China, but a majority of them have found that human capital constraints, an immature IT environment and inconsistent governmental regulation have created major headaches. More striking still, many of them have yet to gain a single local customer.
Study: Slowdown in China and Europe Weakens Latin America Exports
January 8th, 2013BY STAFF REPORT
Latin America’s export growth decreased to 1.5 percent in 2012, partly due to falling demand for commodities in China and the recession in Euro zone.
The total export value for the year hovered above $1 trillion, says a new study from Inter-American Development Bank.
Given the report, LatAm’s export has been declining for the past two years after seeing a rapid rise in 2009 and 2010. In 2010 and 2011, exports increased by 29% and 26%, respectively.
“By mid-2011, export growth had stalled, and then continued to weaken in 2012,” the report added.
Despite the overall slowdown of export dynamism, results varied considerably among individual countries, according to the study. Exports from Chile and the MERCOSUR countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela) contracted an estimated 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively. But for Mexico and Central America, exports grew by an estimated 6 percent, while the Andean countries …
Currency Starts Chewing Away at Supremacy of Philippines’ Call Centers
October 10th, 2012By Ann All
The Philippines in recent years became the top offshore destination for call centers, overtaking former leader India. Recently the Contact Center Association of the Philippines projected revenues from the country’s call centers would hit $14.7 billion by 2016, up from $8.4 billion this year.
India Follows in China’s Footsteps, Expands Trade Ties With Latin America
September 6th, 2012By Narayan Ammachchi
India has never been a country striving to ‘copy’ China. But there is now one exception to that ‘rule”: India is deliberately expanding its business relationship with Latin America – across a range of industries – following very much in the path of its giant peer, China. Today the Latin American region accounts for just four percent of India’s trade, far less than China’s $230 billion trade. But analysts say India will catch up with China over the years to come.
Latin America Measures Up Well Against China as ITO Hub
December 19th, 2011
Latin America vs. China based on ten critical measurement criteria
By Dan Berthiaume
Despite Latin America’s increasing prominence as a provider of IT outsourcing services to North American companies, a popular perception remains that Latin America serves as a second choice to China. However, when the relative advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing IT functions to Latin American providers are compared to those of Chinese providers, the results indicate that Latin America can effectively compete with China as an IT outsourcing hub, and in many instances may even prove the superior choice.
Stefanini TechTeam Expands to China
December 6th, 2011Stefanini responds to increasing demand from large enterprises seeking globalization of IT services
Stefanini TechTeam ( www.techteam.com ), a global provider of onshore and nearshore IT consulting, integration and development, and outsourcing services, today announced the expansion of its presence in China, adding new service delivery capabilities that address the needs of a growing base of global clients.
The latest step in its continued global expansion, this move is aimed at tapping into the demand for Stefanini TechTeam’s services in China, where the company is already supporting some of the world’s largest global manufacturers.
Over the next three years, Stefanini is expected to invest $3 million in China as part of this expansion, with plans to grow and train a team of 1,000 employees in the region, working out of offices in Shanghai and the northern Chinese city of Jilin.
The additional staff resources – together with the support of existing …
