Source: www.industryweek.com

By Martin Migoya, CEO, Globant

These countries offer a number of outsourcing advantages.

Over the past several years, there has been tremendous growth in the IT industry. As a result of this technology boom, U.S. companies tapped into talent in countries such as India, Ireland and Israel. The growth that these countries saw had a tremendous impact on their economies and the investment in their people.

With this knowledge, I often found myself asking the question: Why did most of the outsourcing find its way to India? What did India have to offer that was different than Europe or Latin America? The answer was a lower cost of doing business and access to a vast labor pool. I realized that Latin America could offer all of these benefits and more to U.S. businesses based on our location and vast talent, and it was time to take advantage of it.

Today, there are more opportunities than ever in the outsourcing market -- and some of the largest technology companies in the U.S. are turning to Latin America for outsourcing support. U.S. companies in particular have recognized the many benefits of working with Latin American companies, which include:

• Nearby services: nearshore providers offer a priceless advantage: they are working at the same time as their clients. Being closer and sharing a similar time zone allows U..S executives to travel less, spend more time in their offices and homes and, best of all, avoid 3:00 am calls.

• Integrated teams: companies in Latin America share the same culture with the U.S., not a minor detail when you take into account that this cultural alignment fosters high level integration between the provider and client teams. The results are faster delivery, high motivation and an unparalleled partnership.

• Outstanding communications: Most Latin Americans are fluent in English, and there is a nice synergy with the U.S. culture.

Going Technical

Nearshore companies, therefore, are emerging as a better alternative when outsourcing services. In one of its last reports, IDC predicted that global suppliers will keep on turning their attention to emerging regions. They foresee that Latin America IT Spending will reach US$48.6 billion in 2008, showing a 12.9% growth over 2007, one of the fastest growth rates in the world.

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