Is Un-Sourcing a Problem for Costa Rican Call Center Workers?

At any given time in Costa Rica, tens of thousands of Ticos take calls from consumers in other countries who are in need of service and support. These agents work in call centers mostly located in the Central Valley, and the majority of the calls are handled in English -although demand for Portuguese-speaking agents is growing.

What would happen to the economy of Costa Rica if an army of unpaid workers decided to gleefully take over customer service and tech support from them? According to a recent article in The Economist, the new trends of“unsourcing” and peer-to-peer support could become a thorn on the sides of the outsourcing and call center economies of India and the Philippines. Should Costa Rica be worried as well?

Read it here at Costa Rica Star.

What Central America has to Offer

These days, services outsourced to Central America reach far beyond call center offerings.  Costa Rica blazed the trail in LAtin America for software development services and web design.  In fact, Costa Rican design and programming firm InterGraphic Designs signed popular nearshoring news source Nearshore Americas as a client.  
Beyond Costa Rica, other countries in Central America have well-established companies in local web development market.  In Nicaragua,  check out Guegue and Webbasica, web studios that offer web development, design, marketing, and hosting services.  El Salvadorian company Happy Punk Panda Studios creates digital campaigns for brands, and an array of web companies are popping up in Guatemala.

Read it here at The Next Web

U.S. Outsourcing Web Design to Central America?

Local companies in Central America operate exclusively for foreign clients.  The area started out as a popular call center destination and has evolved into a hub for web design and development.   According to Ricardo Arcee, an entrepreneur from Costa Rica, there are companies with 100+ employees who offer software development services to U.S. clients, such as Avantica, Isthmus, and Outcoding.  
In El Salvador, employers are working on the problem of migration, which leads to brain drain.  Nicaragua has companies offering web designing and software services, and the Latamapps initiative in Panama helps link clients with service providers.  These developments in the region help to generate revenue and make the industry more professional.
Read it at BPO India.

'Occupy Wall Street' Movement reaches Costa Rica

October 17, 2011
It looks like the United States has markedly more influence on Costa Rican culture than we thought.  On Saturday, 200+ people marched around the streets of San Jose, joining the worldwide protests against corporate greed and failed economic politics.  Like the US protests, the agenda was ambiguous.  
“This is a spontaneous event with no official organizers, leaders or representatives. There is no program or agenda. We are here because we share the idea of a better future for our country,” said Mayela Ruíz, who organized a number of social network events.  

Read it at the Tico Times

Costa Rica FDI on Pace to Break All-Time High

During the first 6 months of 2011, Costa Rica accumulated $1.06 billion in foreign direct investment, according to the Central Bank of Costa Rica.  Under President Chincillia, the Foreign Trade Ministry set an investment goal of $1.85 billion, and if FDI continues at its current pace, they'll surpass their record-breaking goal.    
IBM made the largest contribution to FDI in the first half of the year.  On June 30, the technology company accounced a $300 million increase in investment in Costa Rica which is expected to create 1,000 new jobs.  According to Carl Ingersoll, general manager of IBM Costa Rica, IBM wanted to invest in Latin America and chose Costa Rica based on "a number of competitve advantages".

source: The Tico Times

2011 Nearshore Destinations Ranking

Nearshoring has become a popular and intelligent option for US companies that are not only looking to lower costs, but also want that cultural affinity and technological innovation that lend themselves to increased productivity and expertise.  Latin America as a whole is gaining credibility, but it is important to delve deeper than the regional level to find the place where a company can attain the most value.  With this in mind, ThinkSolutions took 19 countries in Central and South America to determine their overall appeal as nearshoring service locations and ranked them according to their financial incentives, business environment, and labor force.  We placed emphasis on factors that would bring out the unique characteristics of the region, such as cultural affinity, time zone alignment, technological readiness, and language capabilities.  These rankings will be updated quarterly or as major events occur that alter the outsourcing landscape. Click here to request a white paper. 

Nearshore vs. Offshore

Jet Blue Prepares to Offer More Flights to Latin America

Jet Blue may become the airline of choice for companies with nearshoring strategies...

JetBlue Airways Corp., with 65 daily trips to the Caribbean and Latin America, may fly to more distant international destinations as it adds fuel-saving winglets to planes and receives new Airbus SAS A320neo jets.

The changes, along with replacing smaller Embraer E190 jets with bigger planes on some routes, will allow the New York-based carrier to fly farther and carry more passengers. JetBlue announced a $2.5 billion order Tuesday for 40 A320neos. 

The plan will allow JetBlue to expand its strategy of focusing flying in New York, Boston and the Caribbean. The carrier said it also is likely to use Airbus A321 aircraft it will receive to boost service on high-demand cross-country routes between New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Read it at Ashbury Park Press

Will Costa Rica Stand the Test of Time?

Costa Rica has positioned itself as a key nearshoring destination and boasts solid track records with companies including Amway, Microsoft, and IBM.  This article examines Costa Rica’s success despite rising salaries and a miniscule labor force, questioning their ability to stay at the top amidst rising competition in Latin America. 

Read it at Global Services Media.