Kirk LaughlinThe New Outsourcing Axis: Examining IT Service Innovation Inspired and Built in Latin America
By the Editors at Nearshore Americas We typically think of innovation in terms of groundbreaking developments, like packing a million more circuits on a sliver of silicon, a new software interface, or an incredibly shrunken form factor. But innovation also comes in the form of less dramatic changes: improved processes, flexible methods, and smarter use of the talent at hand. Henry Ford’s introduction of the assembly line in 1913 is a prime example—although it was not the assembly line itself that proved most significant. As historian Douglas Brinkley explains: “Rather, it was the creation of an atmosphere in which improvement was the real product: a better, cheaper, Model T followed naturally. Every man on the payroll was invited to contribute ideas, and the good ones were implemented without delay.” (Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and A Century of Progress) Nearshore providers of IT services, particularly in the field of application development, are innovating not by inventing new programming languages or methods but by adopting and adapting techniques that enable them to respond most quickly to customer needs.
