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.
Showing posts with label Panama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Panama. Show all posts
Congress Approves Trade Agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea
October 13, 2011
The U.S. Congress approved trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama in what creates the largest opportunity for exporters in decades. This ends any fears that actions of the US government leaned toward protectionism, and the bills passed in light of opposition that these agreements will lead to job losses.
The Colombia bill faced the most Democratic opposition, on the grounds that Colombia did little to protect union leaders from assassination. According to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Colombia is the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists. Indeed, the Nation Union School, a labor rights organization in Medellin, reported that 51 union members were killed last year, an increase from 47 in 2009. Under the agreement, over 80 percent of U.S. exports will become duty free immediately, and remaining tariffs will be phased out over the next ten years. Key U.S. exports will gain immediate duty-free access to Colombia, including information technology equipment.
Last year, the U.S. exported $6 billion worth of goods to Panama and imported minimally from the country, but the new trade agreement will make it easier for the U.S. to compete for contracts in Panama's $5.25 billion expansion of the canal. The FTA guarantees access to Panama's $20.6 billion services market, including priority areas such as financial, telecommunications, computer, distribution, express delivery, energy, environmental, and professional services. Phasing out tariffs on imports and exports will benefit farmers in numerous ways, but will also allow for the duty-free export of information technology equipment.
Cable & Wireless signs $10.8 million Contract with Panamanian Government
Cable & Wireless will support the Panamanian government's 'Panama without paper' project, aimed at digitising the country's civil administration. The 'Panama without paper' project is part of the government's Digital Government program to transfer its documents and communications to electronic platforms and thus reduce paper use. Cable & Wireless will install systems designed to enable government departments and institutions to share information electronically and reduce their paper-based procedures. Twenty departments and Government-run organisations will be involved in the initial roll-out, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Agricultural Development, Civil Aviation Authority, Maritime Authority, Authority of Transit and Land Transport, Social Security Fund, National Customs Authority, the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers and the Institute for the Training and Utilisation of Human Resources. The project will also cover the creation of a 'citizens portal' to provide Panamanian citizens with access to basic Government services online, such as downloading PDFs of forms, or applying for a passport. The contract is worth around USD 10.8 million. Under the terms of the deal, Cable & Wireless Panama will supply, install and support the new systems over the next three years. CWP will create broadband connections between the departments, a front-end portal and will back-up data in one of its data centres. A customer service support line will also be set-up to provide ongoing support.
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.
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.
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