Spain: a bridge to South America

Spain offers a wealth of highly qualified technical specialists with no end of industry expertise. And the country has repeatedly proven itself a reliable partner when it comes to managing complex projects. For European clients entering the outsourcing market for the first time, Spain’s proximity offers major advantages, making it easy to coordinate projects and build close working relationships. Companies already experienced in global outsourcing frequently use Spain as a “nearshore” bridgehead to other offshore locations such as South America.

A recent study by the BRASSCOM (the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies) provides companies with compelling reasons to tap into the Brazilian ICT market. According to the Brazil IT-BPO Book published in November 2009, Brazil is the world’s eighth largest market for business process outsourcing for IT solutions – with a turnover of $58.1 billion in this area in 2008. In fact, IT and communication now account for seven per cent of Brazil’s GDP.


Brazil and Spain: a strong alliance

Whether as a nearshore location for US companies or an offshore location for European firms, Brazil boasts benefit after benefit. Most importantly, the Brazilian market is both politically and economically stable. “Here, we can source the talents we need from a large pool of highly qualified specialists”, explains Carlos Eres. Eres is responsible for GFT’s operations in southern Europe and South America and manages the development centres in these regions. Communicating with Brazilian teams is easy as English and Spanish are the languages of business. And the strong cultural overlaps between Brazil and Spain also help explain why the close partnership between GFT’s sites in Sorocaba (Brazil) and Spain has proven its worth time and again. GFT’s London team also plays a part in this trans-continental collaboration. “Brazil makes a perfect addition to our development centre in Barcelona. The time difference between London and Brazil is less than three hours, making coordination straightforward”, explains Graham Underwood, head of GFT in the UK. In fact, customers often don’t realise that part of the IT team is on the other side of the Atlantic until they see testing being carried out late in the evening.


Different teams for different requirements

The choice of locations and specialists to work on a given project depends on client requirements and expectations. To implement particularly complex projects quickly, it is essential to have experts working in different time zones. Having top experts at hand in different countries makes all the difference. But the secret to success lies in integrating these experts into a functional global network, managing this network efficiently and flexibly, and putting together the perfect team of IT experts for any given requirement. Outsourcing to providers in a position to provide this level of service results not just in cost savings, but also in major value-added. Overall, they are much more than just a conventional subcontractor.

Brazil IT-BPO Book