Guillermo Bodnar, US CTO, explains why Globant went for the Nextive acquisition.

Globant, the Latin American leader in the creation of innovative software products, today announced the appointment of Reid Hoffman to its Board of Advisors. Mr. Hoffman comes to Globant following a recent investment in the company by the not-for-profit Endeavor Foundation´s Catalyst Program, of which Mr. Hoffman is a Board Director.

Globant runs a network of more than 2,500 software engineers, developers and designers based in 15 locations across Latin America and the US, creating innovative software products for international clients including LinkedIn. Globant is responsible for the development of LinkedIn’s mobile applications for Android and iPhone, and the implementation of the OpenSocial framework to integrate applications with the professional network (more information on http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/10/31/linkedin-open-s/).

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Hoffman said, “Globant is a great example of the Endeavor Foundation’s mission of catalyzing long-term economic growth in emerging markets. The team struck me with their vision, passion and extensive experience working with some of the most innovative companies of today. The work they’re doing is generating jobs and career opportunities for thousands, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to help them continue on this trajectory.”

Mr. Hoffman is Partner at Greylock and executive chairman at LinkedIn, the company he co-founded in 2003. Reid currently serves on the boards of Airbnb, Edmodo, Mozilla (Firefox), Shopkick, Swipely, and Zynga. He has co-led investments in Coupons.com, Groupon, and Viki.

“We are extremely proud to have Reid in our Board of Advisors. I admire his professional experience and especially the way he is always thinking big and different”, said Martín Migoya, Globant CEO and Co-founder. “His technology, business and entrepreneur perspectives will provide strategic points of view on Globant´s challenges. During this year, we need to work hard to keep adding more value to our customers, staying at the edge of every technology and trend, and growing at a constant pace, both organically and through M&As. I believe that Reid will definitely add a lot of value to these plans.”

Globant´s Board of Advisors plays a key role in defining the strategic agenda and providing advice and guidance to the Company. Mr. Hoffman´s knowledge around innovative successful companies will be key to help Globant become a leader in its field.

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By Sabina A. Schneider

Terabytes and even petabytes of unstructured data hold vital business information somewhere within – but sifting through a virtual haystack of skyscraper proportions requires new tools and new ideas. Even sophisticated relational systems can’t extract all the value from the massive collections of data maintained, and enlarged daily, by today’s organizations. New solutions are needed.

This white paper briefly summarizes the impending data overload and then describes how advanced platforms and processes can be used to build an effective, affordable information mining and analysis system. Find out how tools like Hadoop help businesses not only dig up the data they’re looking for but also discover what that data means.

Migoya: "Like Sustainability 3.0"

Argentina’s Globant first pick for new program to help “mentees” make a global vision possible

By Patrick Haller

The Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneur program has been called “the best anti-poverty program of all” by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.  Endeavor was created 14 years ago as a mentoring program for small to medium-size companies from emerging markets that, like many Latin American outsourcing companies, show big potential.

A candidate for the program will typically have been operating for three to five years, and be worth between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000. Seven years ago, Endeavor decided that Argentina-based software developer Globant fit the profile perfectly.

The company has now become the first in Endeavor’s portfolio to benefit from the newly launched Endeavor Catalyst program, a passive investment vehicle that has added $2,000,000 to Globant’s current funding round of $13,000,000.

Martin Migoya, Globant’s CEO and co-founder, says the Endeavor program has been important to his company’s growth, especially the access it has given them to international advisors. “I remember particular places where we had doubts of what direction to take and had access to people to give us advice and navigate through the process,” Migoya says. “They also provided us with the global vision and reinforced that it was possible. And we started to believe it was possible.” Other benefits of the program included introduction to MBA candidates from MIT and Harvard, opening offices in the US, Brazil, and Uruguay, and the chance to inspire other entrepreneurs to create global companies.

Last year Globant received three awards from Endeavor and was recognized as the top Endeavor entrepreneur. “We are changing the lives and careers of thousands of people,” Migoya says.

Catalysts for Change

In recent years a number of venture capitalists from Silicon Valley have joined Endeavor’s board and instructed the program’s leadership to devise a way to leverage its role with helping their “mentee” companies grow. Up until that point, they relied on generous volunteer “give-back,” which has helped to sustain the program, along with private donations. “We struggled with if we should take an equity stake,” says David Wachtel, Endeavor SVP of marketing & communications, “but we did not want to ‘choose among the children.’”

After much thought and legal consultation, Endeavor Catalyst was born. This non-profit platform allows Endeavor to invest donor money in emerging market companies, based on them meeting certain benchmarks. The first round of funding for Catalyst was raised over that last two months, and Globant was the first company to fulfill the criteria.

“For us, this round means much more than just the $2,000,000,” Migoya says. “It is a symbolic act that shows the reinforced trust that Endeavor puts in Globant; trust that was first shown in 2005 when they selected us as Endeavor Entrepreneurs. That was a key milestone in our history, since they enabled us to learn from some of the most talented and experienced professionals in the world.”

Regenerating Sustainability

Migoya says that the new money will be used to keep growing Globant as it expands to other cities and countries in LatAm and the US. The company will soon be opening an office in Austin, Texas, and two more in Argentina.

When the investment pays off, all of the earnings will go back to Endeavor to allow Catalyst to regenerate and make new investments. The fund currently has commitments of $10,000,000 with a goal to raise $20,000,000 by the end of year, but the long-term goal is to ensure that Catalyst will be self-sustaining, according to Wachtel.

“Whenever the money returns it will keep helping Endeavor and other entrepreneurs; it is like Sustainability 3.0. They invest in our company and the return of that investment will continue financing Endeavor programs,” says Migoya. “We are committed to Endeavor, and anything we can do we will do it. We don’t have any contract with them. Our heart is with them.”

One way that Globers, as staff of Globant are called, are already helping is by acting as endeavor mentors in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and other locations. “It is not Globant,” Migoya stated, “it is the entrepreneurs of Globant. Individuals. Endeavor doesn’t select companies, it selects entrepreneurs.”

You’re invited – November 8th at 2pm EST - to a very special discussion on creating a mobility experience that is first and foremost designed to thrill and fully engage the end-user. Our special guests include Aeria Games, a fast-emerging international games creator, top executives from Globant’s gaming studio. Register Today

Kolodziej: "Most people involved in tech are fully fluent in English"

By Patrick Haller

Argentina’s tech sector is thriving, despite a less than stellar level of public sector stimulus. One of the most dynamic and tireless believers in Argentina’s potential is Vanessa Kolodziej – CEO of BA Accelerator, and a co-founder of the popular startup advocacy group, Palermo Valley. We caught up with Kolodziej to find out what’s really behind Argentina’s emergence.

Kolodziej has extensive experience with entrepreneurship, technology and venture capital in Latin America. Kolodzeij is also co-editor of Startup Digest BA and co-organizer of Startup Weekend and BarcampBA. She also co-founded several technology companies and was a VC investor.

NSAM:  Tell us about the accelerator’s work.

Kolodziej: BA Accelerator helps entrepreneurs start their companies and increase their chances of success. We provide capital, know how, mentoring and connections, among many other things. The program is based in Buenos Aires but is open to entrepreneurs from all over the world. Our next call for entries closes on September 1.

NSAM:  How do Argentine firms get their message out to the world?

Kolodziej: We rely on recommendations mainly and having our work speak for itself. Argentinean firms are professional, their employees are very creative and hard working, and we share many cultural traces with the US.

NSAM:  What is the biggest misperception about Argentine tech companies?

Kolodziej: The biggest misperception is that we do not share the language or the culture with the US, which is not correct: most people involved in tech are fully fluent in English, have traveled or even studied in the US and understand American culture very well.

NSAM:  Why should US companies be interested in software developed in Argentina?

Kolodziej: Software developed in Argentina is high quality but it is especially very elegant: we like solving problems with the least resources. It is in our DNA; we are used to both uncertainty and limited resources.

NSAM:  Who are the top players in the Argentine IT sector?

Kolodziej: There are many but to name a few I would say Globant in terms of clients and size, and Zauber and FDV Solutions in terms of quality.

NSAM:  Where are the IT hot spots in Argentina?

Kolodziej: Buenos Aires is the leader, but great software is also developed in Mar del Plata and Tandil, Córdoba and Rosario, Tucumán and Mendoza, San Luis and Chaco.

NSAM:  What are some of the obstacles with exporting software to the US?

Kolodziej: To the best of my knowledge, the only current obstacle is finding enough quality tech people, fast enough.

NSAM:  What challenges do tech firms face either when starting or after they are established and they want to grow?

Kolodziej: Again, finding enough quality employees fast enough is the most important challenge. The cultural fit, small time difference and widespread use of English makes it all very simple.

NSAM:  How supportive is the government of IT initiatives?

Kolodziej: Very, at the national, provincial and city levels. Different provinces have different incentives but one thing is clear: the government knows that the tech sector is a provider of jobs and currency, so it has been trying to facilitate it a lot lately.

Globant CEO Martin Migoya welcomes the firm's growth, fueled partly by the creative tech approach of CTO Guibert Englebienne (at left).

By Dennis Barker

Well-known nearshore trailblazer Globant revealed parts of an ambitious, globally expansive growth strategy this week with the acquisition of a small and savvy mobile software developer in Silicon Valley. The acquisition, taken on face value, shows Globant is doing what very few Latin America-borne IT players have done in recent years: land onshore in the US, make an acquisition or two, and create US jobs in the process. (Outsourcing bashers, explain how such companies hurt the US economy.)

Globant, never afraid of standing out from the crowd, appears to be gathering increasing market velocity on its way to becoming one of the few ‘household’ names of Latin America IT services.

The firm enhanced its mobile and social-media capabilities this week by acquiring Nextive, a U.S. firm that specializes in those types of applications. Globant also became the first Argentina company to buy a U.S. company. (Price was not revealed.)

Nextive, based in San Francisco, will lead development in Globant’s Mobile Studio software unit. “Adding this talent will increase the Studio’s skills and naturally the number of people working on products for mobile devices, social apps, and to a small extent gaming,” said Martin Migoya, Globant co-founder and CEO. “Nextive will add expertise that will help us continue to develop innovative software. They have a lot of deep understanding of the popular mobile platforms, including iOS and Android.”

“We also expect that the deal will allow us to increase our presence in the U.S.,” Migoya said.

Globant already has several marquis brands it works with, including Google, EA, and LinkedIn. Migoya said 80% of their revenue comes from projects in the States. Nextive’s current client list includes GSN and Crowdstar. The company already has offices in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. “We will take advantage of those locations to serve clients,” Migoya said.

Globant is looking at other North American companies it might snatch up. “But honestly,” Migoya said, “there are not a lot of U.S. technology companies for sale right now that would be a good fit, that share the same culture the way Nextive does.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the acquisition is Globant’s pronouncement that it will be bringing jobs to the U.S. as a result. “We plan to hire 200 people within the next 18 months, starting very soon,” Migoya said. Although the country is suffering from high unemployment, Migoya said competition for skilled mobile developers is tough.

“We like to think that creating jobs for people is part of our what we do,” Migoya told Nearshore Americas. “Making money is important, of course, but if that is all we are trying to do, that is not very interesting.”

It appears to have been a good year for Globant so far. Earlier, the company landed $15 million in financing from two capital firms.

As for where the Globant/Nextive team might be focusing its efforts, Migoya said in an earlier interview that “the area that we’re seeing the most innovation happening these days is in social applications connected with the main social networks…. Corporations want applications that allow them to access that world, in order to target their customers in a more efficient and specific way – this is the big thing that’s bringing social networks into the news these days.”

Migoya also noted that Globant is “not an IT outsourcing company. We are a developer of software products for global customers.”

About those recurring rumors that Globant itself might be scooped up, Migoya chuckled. But he did say the company is considering going public, with the possibility of an IPO sometime in the next year.

Source: El Cronista
Argentine IT exports increased by 222% between 2003 and 2009, while the exports of goods reached only 86%, according to data from the Permanent Observatory of the Software and Information Services Industry (POSISI). Numerous companies began selling their products to foreign markets while learning about the needs of customers and how to satisfy them through local production.  Despite the international crisis of 2008/09, local companies that exported products grew by 23.8% between 2009 and 2010, versus the 19% of non-exports.

Argentina’s Promotion of Software Law is targeted at increasing software service exports into the United States. The practice of penetrating the US market can be done many ways, including relying on personal contacts, local associates, recommendations or through personal visits.

How to Land

Javier Porretti, Commercial Director for Softtek Sudamerica Hispana, an IT business service provider nearing 20 years of experience, and billing $300 million USD, recounts,  “toward the beginning of the 90s the strategy was to relocate managers of commercial profile to search for clients abroad.  That helped us to understand the market, not in general statistical terms but to understand the idiosyncrasies of each client and to know whether their needs are related to what we offered, amongst other things.”

Today Softtek exports 50% of its products with 80% going to the United States.  “Our company was created with a focus on the global and directed toward the United States and Great Britain.  The founder’s first action was to write the names of all their contacts on a blackboard and to travel abroad to introduce them to our services.”

Guibert Englebienne, a member of the Globant software development company, remembered “through these contacts came the first client, which quickly made our company grow through recommendations and by word or mouth.”  Globant started operating nearly ten years ago, with an initial investment of $5,000 USD and today earns $60 million USD.  “It is important that we have offices at the places of IT export destinations, as this allows us to have a very close relationship with clients without gaps,” he added.

Edgardo Seijas, Director of the G&L Group, a company that provides IT services and earns $73 million USD, looked for a local associate.  “That was our first experience when we entered the country a few years ago, and business was facilitated, whether by language, cultural aspects or by permanent presence.”  Competir, a company that has been exporting e-learning solutions to technology firms since 2000, uses a Mexican company as its commercial associate to explore the Spanish speaking market in the United States.  Pablo Aristizabal, CEO of Competir, said “We reached that point after having obtained wide product acceptance throughout the Latin American community.”  The entrepreneur, whose firm earns $3 million USD, recommends that the solution that one wishes to export should comply with all the regulatory prerequisites of the country, that its managers study the market fully to identify their desired niches.  It is also suggested to protect oneself against the risk of non-payment, since the legal action processes “can be very slow and costly.”

Pablo Setuain, General Manager for Sudamerica de Core Security Technologies, an IT security company that has half of its staff working in the USA, and exports 90% of its products, said “For other companies, the possibility of selling in the United States appeared in a more indirect and less planned for manner.  It was through presentations and international conferences that we started to be recognized in the industry.  In this manner, important companies started to be interested in our services and products at the end of the 90s.”

Achieving Sustainability

Maintaining operations in the foreign market may be harder than obtaining the first customer, as it requires a sustainable effort over time, consistency of doing business  – which fulfills the agreement – and knowing the cultural rules and customs of the importing country.

“After registering a company in the United States which costs between $1,500 and $2,000 USD, we make sure to find an accountant or attorney who could perform the operation’s day-to-day accounting and malpractice insurance.  Once the first client has been obtained one has to be very patient and perform excellent work,” points out Cesar D’Onofrio, co-founder of Common Sense, an IT solutions company that started sales in the USA in 2006, and earns $4 million USD.

“The most important thing is to be accurate, deliver on time what has been promised, and maintain pricing consistency.  Avoid surprises, or taking advantage of challenging situations with the client.  In my opinion, it is much easier to generate a faithful client in the United States then in other less-developed markets, principally because work is awarded,” advised Anton Chalbaud, co-founder, along with Matias Paterlini and Claudio Cohen, of the Altodot Company dedicated to the development of marketing technology over social platforms.  The company has been exporting to the US since 2009, and earns about $500,000 USD.

Comparative Advantages

India, a country with one of the most developed software exporting industries in the world, is the strongest competition Argentines have for the US technological market.  “With regards to India, Argentina has two advantages, on the one hand we have the same time zone as the United States which facilitates the implementation of a project that requires daily communication.  On the other it is important to note that our culture more resembles that of the North Americans,” stated D’Onofrio of Common Sense.

Softtek’s Porretti says that one has to find the strategic advantage. “The advantage that the world and the United States offers us Argentines is that we are the principal player in the IT market as seen from this demand.  The majority already tested India and the nations requiring services find themselves with unsatisfied needs that are not provided for in this country, where there are high rotation levels, and where everything is resolved by adding more people,” stated the executive.  Clients diversify where they place their needs, differentiating what is sent to each place based on critical function, the complexity and the technology to be used.  “In India they look to bill an hourly rate while we do so through the IT productivity budget.  These are varying concepts: one based on quantity of people and the other based on quality of people,” concluded the executive.

(Translated and condensed from original article, authored by Aurelia Rego in Buenos Aires)

Over 150 professionals turned out last week in Buenos Aires for a two-hour session on  “Selling IT Services into the US”, sponsored by our friends at Globant and CommonSense.  Sometimes pictures do a better job of telling the story, so check these out:

We’re gliding through the Globant facility in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires, and our guide is the t-shirt clad CTO and co-founder of Globant: Guibert Englebienne. First stop – the new executive leadership work space where all top five executives of Globant will work together in the same area. No doors, no walls – just open collaboration space and a nice view of the river.

Globant, one of the most colorful rising stars in Latin America IT, has a knack for turning its back on conventional ideas. Guibert tells me he hates to hear the term ‘human resources’, saying it reflects a limited, 20th century view of work associates. The Globant facility is meant to be a place to have fun, and also get work done. That may sound like a contradiction, but for Guibert  and his co-founders, they’re just re-creating the same stimulating work environment they dreamed up seven years ago – when a barroom discussion led to the full-fledged launch of Globant with less than $10,000 in funding.

Buenos Aires has always been at the core of Globant. On this day there are young professionals buzzing around – it’s got a distinctive college campus feeling, yet there is contemporary art everywhere, a guitar room where two employees are jamming together a very tangible sense of collaboration.  But don’t take a word for it…  scroll through some of our photos during our Guibert tour: