US and Europe to Lose Millions of Business Services Jobs as Part of “Natural Evolution” of Globalization
April 4th, 2012By Jon Tonti
Of the 8.2 million business services jobs held domestically at the beginning of 2002 in some 4,700 companies based in North America and Europe only 4.5 million will remain in their domestic markets by 2016 according to a study by The Hackett Group, a management consulting firm. The same study finds that the amount of business services work moving offshore will “level off significantly” during the next few years due to changes in the conditions of offshore drivers.
By Luke Bujarski
The next-generation of outsourcers could soon be relocating to a place most of us only hear about after the news of some high-profile tax scandal hits the morning papers. With only 55,000 inhabitants, it doesn’t take long to realize that the Cayman Islands will never be Latin America’s BPO workhorse. Yet, this has not stopped real estate group Cayman City Enterprise from working with the local authority to build out a 50-acre business park catering to, among other niche industries, outsourced services firms.
Costa Rica: A Small, But Rising Competitor in the Global IT Economy
March 29th, 2012By Mark McLoud and Jagdish Dalal (COP)
Until recently, the IT Services industry has been dominated mostly by large companies leveraging their presence in mass-scale geographies such as China and India and servicing equally large clients in the US and Europe.
Will Mexico’s Presidential Elections Impact the Nearshore Wave?
March 27th, 2012
By James Bargent
When Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006, he became leader of a nation divided by a close-run election that was tainted by allegations of widespread fraud. Six years later, and the legacy he will leave come the end of his term in December will be similarly divisive for Mexicans and foreign business interests alike.
A Tech Renaissance in the Heart of Northeastern Brazil
March 26th, 2012
By Filipe Pacheco
Recife is one of the oldest cities in Brazil – the capital of the Northeastern state of Pernambuco was the main port for the exportation of sugar back in the XVII century. Now, this historical city has some of the most buzzing digital scene of the country. Since 2000, “Porto Digital do Recife” has been established itself as one of the most strategic digital centers in the country — and it is important to highlight the city is located hundreds and hundreds of miles north of the economical heart of the Brazil, the Southeast.
Is Latin America Doing Enough For Its Economies?
March 14th, 2012
By Robert L. Scheier
The more than 700 attendees at the MIT Latin America conference March 10th in Cambridge heard a lot of upbeat talk about economic prospects for Latin America in general, and emerging markets throughout the southern hemisphere.
Brazil Cutting Interest Rates
March 8th, 2012Source: Reuters
Brazil slashed interest rates by a larger-than-expected 75 basis points on Wednesday, stepping up its battle to revive struggling industries that threaten to derail the recovery of Latin America’s largest economy.
In its boldest move since August, when it surprised markets and began the current round of cuts, the central bank lowered its benchmark Selic lending rate to 9.75 percent from 10.50 percent in a split decision.
Two of the bank’s seven directors wanted to lower the rate by half a percentage point for the fifth straight meeting.
It was only the second time on record that Brazil has cut the Selic below 10 percent, taking borrowing costs to their lowest level in nearly two years.
Directors made the decision hours after data showed industrial output fell nearly three times more than economists had expected, the latest indicator to suggest Brazil’s boom is fizzling.
Central bank chief Alexandre Tombini is treading a …
Patent Processing Signals New Opportunities for Central America
March 8th, 2012
Marlett: From Managua to Wall Street.
By Luke Bujarski
Nicaragua might be among the poorest of countries in the western hemisphere, but that hasn’t stopped MDB Capital Group from ramping up an ambitious patents processing operation there. In fact, widespread underemployment is one secret to the success behind PatentVest, the knowledge process outsourcing subsidiary of MDB Capital Group, on the ground in Managua since 2007.
Mexico Increasingly Competitive
March 8th, 2012Source: Smart Planet
U.S. companies looking to outsource IT services and business processes are increasingly eyeing Latin America, and Mexico in particular.
It’s “near shore” versus offshore in action.
Closer to home than India or China, often with a deeper cultural affinity (especially among Southwestern states), Mexico has become an increasingly competitive option in the past five years.
“Mexico has made important advances,” said Javier Allard, president of the Mexican IT industry trade group AMITI. “We don’t want to compete with India, China or the Philippines. There are many niches.”
Neoris, a Mexico-based company that provides IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) services in Mexico, Argentina and elsewhere around the globe, is one of the companies seeing gains, as demand for near shore outsourcing from U.S. companies grows.
Neoris handles the e-commerce portal for a major home improvement retail chain; manages “enterprise resource planning,” or ERP, for an auto parts manufacturer and oversees …
Mexico’s Economy Targeted to Grow at 4.5% Rate this Year
March 7th, 2012Source: CRI English
Mexico’s economy may grow at least 4.5 percent in 2012 and may surpass 5 percent thanks to the spending boom caused by the country’s presidential election campaign, an analyst said.
“I believe that even if we are using a conservative forecast we are going to see the economy grow by at least 4.5 percent, and it is very likely it could be even higher and grow more than 5 percent,” Alfredo Coutino, chief Latin America economist for Moody’s Economy.com, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Monday.
“The Mexican economy is going to be better this year, both because the U.S. is recovering in a much better way than anticipated, and also because the economy is benefiting from the political spending,” Coutino said.
Moody’s forecast is significantly better than a growth of 3 to 4 percent projected by other financial experts, a view which has been supported by …
