Summing up the nearshore advantage: Mexico IT tells the story on video

This video – recently distributed by the Mexico promotional agency “Mexico IT” – provides a pretty detailed picture on why Mexico has gone from the “best kept secret” in global outsourcing (a Gartner quote) to one of the world’s leading BPO destinations. A mild warning: The content is definitely promotional in nature, but there are plenty of infobits to make watching worthwhile:

Emergia Adds Colombia to Global Roster of CRM Sites

Madrid-based Emergia has recently opened a contact center site outside of Medellin, Colombia — further evidence of Colombia’s growing strength as an attractive BPO destination. “Colombia is a country with many emerging business opportunities, so it aligns perfectly with our goals of expanding globally. We intend to coordinate a large number of projects from Manizales, to meet our European and American customers from a single center, “said Alejandro Zurbano, CEO Emergia. For the English version of the press announcement click here.

Emergia has a dozen contact centers globally and, in addition to the new Colombia site, also operates a center in Managua.

Mexico’s BPO Sector Surges 25%; Soars Past $3 billion

Mexico’s BPO sector showed no signs of slowing down in 2008, according to a new study by AT Kearney,  recently reported in this post on the “dramatic shifts” in global outsourcing. The BPO sector in Mexico grew at a rate of 25% last year, moving past the $3 billion mark and placing the country at 11th place in the global rankings of national outsourcing destinations.

BNAmericas takes a closer look at the factors underlying Mexico strong BPO track record here. Signs point to a bright future, largely because of Mexico’s strong reputation as a breeding ground for skilled workers.

Genpact: Clients Starting to See More Stability

Genpact sounds slightly optimistic in its assessment of global outsourcing in this interview posted today in India’s Business Standard.

“Though decision making is not accelerating, our clients are stable now in terms of doing business,” said V N Tyagarajan, COO, Genpact.  “We see growth coming from three areas – verticals, horizontals and geographies. We are constantly evaluating these three areas for both organic and inorganic growth.”

Genpact, which is an active player in the nearshore region, is one of several large BPO providers who have said that the worst of the economic pain may have passed. It’s is not surprising therefore that there continues to be interest in diversifying the global footprint of the largest providers – and thus we continue to expect more deals especially in Latin America, either through outright acquisition, or more increasingly a mix of shared services/ captive operations finding some level of operating integration. As for Genpact, about 83 per cent of the company’s  revenues come from business process services, while revenues from IT services were about 17 per cent of total revenues for the first quarter of 2009.

Off Hours: Honduras a Hot Spot for Traveling Single Women

Take time to check out the serene and spectacular Pico Bonito National Park where there are some beautiful natural swimming pools

Living a Balanced Life: Make The Most of Your Business Trip to Honduras

Central American countries continue to gain visibility in the minds of North American travelers – and for good reason – great cultures, great history and a sense of hospitality and friendliness throughout the region. If you’re headed to Honduras to check out newly emerging global services industries there – start by landing in San Pedro Sula – and we recommend you follow the advice of this seasoned traveler, who tailors her message specifically to single women travelers.

“Dramatic Shifts” in Outsourcing Point to Upside for Latin America

The pursuit of human capital is driving a dramatic shift in the global outsourcing industry. According to report released today from AT Kearney, the top outsourcing destinations (India, China and Malaysia) are losing ground as the flow of deals spreads more widely across the globe.

As we continue to chronicle on this website, one of the key beneficiaries of this trend are Latin American and Caribbean nations who have made the necessary investments in telecom infrastructure, jobs and educational training and tax incentives to attract services contracts. As advocates of nearshore outsourcing, we were especially pleased to see that AT Kearney singled out several nearshore nations as being outstanding performers in global services:

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to capitalize on their proximity to the United States as nearshore destinations. Chile placed highest among countries from the region, ranking 8^th on the strength of its political stability and favorable business environment. Other strong performers in the region include Mexico (11^th), Brazil (12^th), Costa Rica (23rd) rising from 34th place and  Jamaica, which rose 11 places to rank 24^rd.

The report goes on to say that the global economic slowdown will probably not translate to job losses in offshore operations. Instead, companies will continue to try to maintain service levels and take advantage of highly efficient operations. For a look at the press release go here.

Exclusive: Why VistaPrint is So Bullish on the Caribbean

VistaPrint’s Roger Williams recently spoke with Caribbean CRM Central to talk about the company’s captive design, sales and services centers in Bermuda and Jamaica. Roger is the General Manager of VistaPrint Jamaica Limited. About a quarter of the company’s 1,600 global workforce is based in the Caribbean. The talent pool in Jamaica has become one of the core attractions for VistaPrint.

Roger shares some insightful comments about the reason for VistaPrint’s commitment to developing a nearshore operations center. Follow this link to see the whole interview…

Your Voice Counts, Your Story Matters: A Personal Note

In the two months since launching CaribbeanCRMCentral, one truth has become boldly clear to me: The nearshore sourcing community has important stories to tell. These stories get to the heart of successful business partnerships:

Send notes to Kirk at: kirk@nextcoastmedia.com

• Outsourcing providers scoring powerful results in customer service support and contact center performance
• Groundswells of interest in building KPO and ITO capabilities
• The establishment of attractive tax relief and real estate usage incentives, championed by economic development agencies
• Captive organizations building robust nearshore sites to better service their customers – and fulfilling the core fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders of building more profitable operations. (Stay tuned for more coverage – both Telus from Canada and VistaPrint are doing interviews with us to tell about high performing nearshore operations.)

If you’re reading this far – there is a good chance you are part of this dynamic community. (We’re talking about a region that stretches from the Caribbean through Central American and the two Andean nations of Colombia and Venezuela, with a total population approaching 140 million people.)

I invite you to tell your story, to talk to me (and our growing community) about your observations, successes and areas where the nearshore community needs to  create more value and build stronger competencies. (Or leave a comment in the section below.) We have opportunities for guest columnists, one-time bloggers, Q/A interviews and other ways to get your ideas and message across. Send notes to: kirk@nextcoastmedia.com

PS: I am a big believer in meeting face-to-face. Give me and my team a good reason to come visit and the drinks are on us!

ACS Will Bulk Up Offshore and Hire Less Onshore; More Staff Join DR Facility

You have to give credit to Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) for anticipating the next wave of global sourcing and seeing beyond the turmoil of the current economic crisis.

ACS executive VP Ann Vezina

As Tom Blodgett, ACS executive vice president and Group President of ACS’ Business Process Solutions line of business told us in a recent interview “the caravan is moving along” in response to a question about the politics of outsourcing, the organization is definitely not standing still waiting for Accenture, IBM or Tata to claim more business. In an interview with InformationWeek yesterday, ACS executive VP Ann Vezina said that the company is headed toward establishing an even employee balance between offshore and onshore.

This would be a pretty dramatic shift, given the fact that about 70% of the company’s workers (ACS employs over 74,000 worldwide) are currently in the onshore category.

What are the implications for the nearshore community?

ACS already has established operations in Mexico, Guatemala and Jamaica (along with St. Lucia), through its recent acqusition of E-Services. The company is also adding about 150 positions to a facility in the Dominican Republic. There is no question ACS is looking at more opportunities in the nearshore – in fact, some sources are indicating that the next Caribbean stop will be Barbados.

RCCSP Announces Training for Call Centers Pros Throughout CALA

Nina Kawalek, President and CEO of the Resource Center for Customer Service Professionals (RCCSP), has just announced the schedule for training throughout the Caribbean and Latin American (CALA) region.  We talk a lot about investing in human capital in the nearshore BPO industry and there is probably nothing more tangible than investing in your own teams through these top-notch programs.

Click here for more information: