2009 Services Summit: A first hand look at Guatemala's talent pool
August 24th, 2009
For those US companies who want to know more about the advantages of partnering with Guatemala outsourcing providers, a good place to learn more is to attend the upcoming Services Summit, running from Sept. 10-12 in Guatemala City.
The event will be organized under a corporate matchmaking format, allowing buyers and sellers to spend quality, one-on-one time together. This is a second annual event, sponsored by the Guatemala Exporters Association. Sessions will be organized around these key topic areas:
Sustainable Tourism
Health & Wellness Tourism
Laboratory Services
Software Development Solutions
Contact Centers & BPO´s
To register, just visit this site.
Nearshore Americas to launch in September!
August 12th, 2009
I’m excited to announce the launch of Nearshore Americas in September. The site will the first truly independent news and commentary online resource for the emerging nearshore community. (This is the first public viewing of our new logo by the way – the three sweeping elements are meant to reflect North, Central and South America working as one.)
We are launching the media brand to meet a strong hunger for relevant and deep analysis of how to develop profitable, long-lasting partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean. We will have much more to tell you in September, including launch of a regular newsletter, contributions from outsourcing experts, buyer case studies, live blogging and much more! Response to our current brand – Caribbean CRM Central – has been overwhelmingly positive. We expect to play a part in helping the Nearshore community establish itself …
Meet Nearshore Americas at the SSON Conference in Chicago
August 12th, 2009
The North American Shared Services and Outsourcing Summit is coming to Chicago, from Sept. 28-Oct. 1 and I’ll be there blogging live (for our new brand Nearshore Americas) and talking to customers of Nearshore outsourced services. Event organizers have done a great job landing high quality customer speakers – including executives from Wal-Mart, Cigna, Kraft Foods and Hyatt. I will be tuning in specifically to sessions relevant to companies who continue to try to navigate in the outsourcing universe, including:
- Innovative pricing models and contracting
- Building a world class HR shared services function
- Getting your organization ready for BPO
There will also be a session specifically dedicated to emerging outsourcing regions, particularly Latin America.
If you’re going to be in Chicago for the event, let me know - let’s connect: kirk@nextcoastmedia.com
Is Disaster About to Strike India Outsourcers?
August 5th, 2009Forrester Research came out with a research piece this week, titled “Will your Offshore Provider Survive The Recession? that asks BPO clients to take a cold, hard look at the health of India-based providers.
The Forrester researcher, Sudin Apte, paints a pretty grim picture of the India BPO sector citing that major providers are ill-equipped to handle a perfect storm of diminished demand, picky clients wanting better deals and anti-outsourcing rhetoric from President Barack Obama.
The researcher says: “Indian providers’ limited preparedness to fight the recession poses a risk for clients. While in the short term sourcing professionals will find it attractive to obtain lower rates, vendor viability is challenged in the long run — putting project delivery and overall client work at risk.”
These are pretty strong words and have major implications for Nearshore providers and US customers. What can providers learn?
Lesson 1: Differentiate yourself and your brand. Part of …
Honduras BPO Stays the Course Despite Political Instability
July 24th, 2009The more I talk to those connected to the Honduras outsourcing sector, the more I 
realize that – frankly – the country might just be a lot better off if former President Manuel Zelaya never comes back to the capital of Tegucigalpa. Even US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says an attempt by Zelaya to return to Honduras would be “reckless” and would damage attempts for constitutional order.
No hard feeling Mel, but if you and the rest of the political leadership want to truly serve your country then walk away from the righteous arguments and let stability – and commercial growth and opportunity – prevail.
Of course, the political situation in Honduras is not that simple. But what is encouraging is that despite the past several weeks of negotiations and high-level wrangling, the country’s emerging BPO industry is holding itself together …
Is the skills shortage getting more serious in Costa Rica?
July 23rd, 2009
Costa Rica has been blessed with assets that virtually any country in the world would envy: stable government, twenty-some different micro-climates, low unemployment and an educated class that knows how to get the job done.
Yet, there are persistent questions about a saturation point in Costa Rica, where all the best labor is soaked up – especially in technical fields. For a country of just 4.1 million people, there is an impressive list of foreign companies with operations in Costa Rica. Oracle, HP, Intel and Cisco all have offices in Costa Rica and there are countless software development firms providing services to clients all over the world.
According a study just released by Manpower, nearly half of Costa Rica firms cannot meet their needs for skilled labor, particulary in technical fields. The survey found Peru (56%) and Mexico (44%), are also having …
Invest in Guatemala takes a huge cut in staff
July 20th, 2009Invest in Guatemala (IIG), the economic development agency based in Guatemala 
City, recently lost 12 of 15 staff members in a sweeping layoff that has many in the local outsourcing industry wondering: What is the government thinking?
The agency is a key catalyst in promoting the BPO/outsourcing sector in Guatemala, and also helps attract investment into other industries such as agriculture, tourism, energy and manufacturing.
The news is a big shock to many who have come to recognize the Guatemala government as having an enlightened approach to attracting foreign investment. IIG staff are charged with facilitating discussions between local service providers in the BPO sector and foreign clients. Most of the clients are from the US, and those formative relationships – cultivated by IIG – are built oftentimes on trust and continuity.
There is nothing more alarming for an foreign investor to …
Colombia Shows Signs of Becoming a Major Outsourcing Hub; Officials Condemn “Risky” Label
July 9th, 2009By Karina E. Cuevas
Bogota employs over 30,000 people in the contact center industry
Plenty of heads shook with dismay across Latin America, and particularly in Colombia, when Bogota was labeled as the riskiest outsourcing destination in the world for 2009, according to publishers of the Black Book on Outsourcing.
Lots of rankings come out annually about outsourcing providers, specialty areas, regions and cities – but this particular announcement seemed to be so at odds with reality that it triggered a slew of condemnations across the Internet and raised serious questions about the methods used by authors Scott Wilson and Doug Brown. (For further opinion, see Nearshore Americas’ reaction here.)
Modern City on the Rise
A city that generates over $250 million annually in the call center/outsourcing industry can hardly be called a dangerous investment option. “It [Bogota] has a big and modern economy with over 500,000 college students, a major international airport and the advantage of moving more cargo in Latin America [than any other country],” says Vladimir Ramirez, Managing Director of International Development Group, a management consulting firm with operations in Colombia, New York and Chicago. “It was number one in foreign investments last year (in LATAM) making it the first port of entry in Latin America and having both Colombian and international Spanish call centers located in Bogota.”
With facts like these, it’s hard to believe the negative comments on Bogota, but Black Book of Outsourcing doesn’t stop there. It places Bogota under the radar as a dirty and polluted city with an immature legal system. When contact about the report, authors Scott Wilson and Doug Brown did not respond to questions.
“Many people know very little about Latin America and nothing about Colombia, so I don’t know if those people have ever been here or where they get their data,” says Ramirez. “Colombia, within its political context, has never had a coup d’état, it has only entered in a recession once at the end of the last century and from a public order point of view it is no more corrupt than India, Indonesia and other countries in Latin America.”
Teleaccion: Training Plays a Key Role
Colombia counts on the expertise of a consulting and training company, unique to Latin America, called Teleaccion.
It’s a 21-employee institution specialized in improving technology and BPO management within the country and nine other nations around Latin America.
It has focused on three primary countries of growth for the call center market, including Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
“We have trained around 23,000 people within 157 contact centers in Latin America,” says Patricia Alzate, General Manager of Teleaccion. “We work for Latin American reality, not for American or European cultures. Our method is a practical and simple one that has showed great results.”
According to Ramirez, Colombia is a market waiting to be discovered by the international community. Currently there are around 120,000 employees within the call center industry. The largest call centers are located in Bogota which employs around 30,000 people. The country, with seven distinct regions, offers over 12 cities in which to base a company. In five years, the call center/outsourcing industry is expected to generate $2.5 billion in revenue for the country.
Opinion: Harsh Criticism of Bogota is Out of Line
July 9th, 2009The hit on Bogota as the “Riskiest Place on Earth for Outsourcing” is a huge reminder of the vast amount of ignorance that exists both within the outsourcing industry and beyond about doing business in Latin America. I personally contacted “Black Book” author Scott Wilson two weeks ago to pursue details on his research methods and he initially was responsive.
I met Steve Rudderham in Guatemala City a few months ago at the IAOP chapter meeting and was immediately struck by his vision for driving higher performing outsourcing relationships and how Nearshore providers have a huge opportunity to capture a bigger share of the global exported services marketplace. We recently checked in with Steve who just recently joined Capgemini as vice president of client engagement for the Americas. In the interview we talk about critical issues facing the sector including Life Beyond Call Centers, Governments’ Role in Driving BPO activities, the Key Advantages of the Nearshore Customer Relationship, Safety and Risk issues, Building an Active Community of Nearshore Professionals and Capgemini’s Leadership Role in the Region.
Question: Steve, at the recent IAOP Central America meeting in Guatemala you called on Central America outsourcing service providers to think more about higher value services and that “there is more to life than call centers.” What risk do these providers face and where should they be headed?
Steve Rudderham recently left his position at Genpact and is now a vice president at Capgemini's Americas operations.
I wanted to encourage local providers to look beyond the capabilities of Call Centers – that is what India, Europe and now China have done well. It becomes an iterative process where people see career growth in a company beyond answering the telephone, and stay with that provider, and in turn that allows the providers to demonstrate a stable workforce which then allows them to market more services, and hence more career growth for individuals and the community. Without these value added services, the outsourcing economy for a particular will quickly flatten out in terms of growth and development.
Capgemini Latin America vitals:
Total employees in Latin America – Approximately 1,000
Locations: Guatemala, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo (San Salvador and Xela)
Services: F&A – O2C, R2R, P2P, Customer Care & Intelligence
Languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese
Question: In looking beyond call centers, what higher-value services can Nearshore services providers move toward and what human capital capabilities will they require?
There has been an increase in demand within the F&A Services sector for Nearshore alternatives – particularly in Accounts Payable and Accounts receivable processes. Once the clients are comfortable with these processes staying Nearshore, it opens up the opportunity for more complex work like General Accounting, General Ledger and FP&A work, so long as the country can support this demand with the resources. Supply Chain and procurement is another growing vertical that Latin America countries should look to take advantage.
Question: Tell us about your new role at Capgemini.
I have recently moved from Business Leader of Genpact’s Latin America operations to Capgemini as a Vice President for Client Engagement in the Americas. In this role, I will be leading the engagement for several key clients in the Americas and ensuring that service delivery is exceeding customer expectations. I am looking forward to the challenge and excited about working within Capgemini as they expand their Americas footprint.
Question: What has the economic crisis done to impact the way Capgemini supports US clients seeking support in Nearshore markets?
