Creative Outsourcing Argentina

Goods are generally sold online at a 21 % discount relative to bricks-and-mortar stores!

2010-05-12T18:01:00.001-03:00

May 12th, 2010. Clicks trump bricks. After a slow start, internet shopping explodes in China. From The Economist print edition.

Goods are generally sold online at an even greater discount relative to bricks-and-mortar stores in China than elsewhere: a survey by Credit Suisse revealed an average discount of 21%.

A WOMAN living in Shanghai takes a long time to list all the items she has bought online in recent months: an iPod, a blender, a lamp, a rice cooker, a mobile phone, credit for it, a coffee-maker, coffee to put in it, Levi’s jeans (both real and counterfeit), underwear, paper, milk, snacks, toilet paper, butter, shampoo, DVDs and even some pretty orange fish for her aquarium. She also bought a few electric bicycles online and resold them at a profit to Americans via eBay, but has had to scrap this sideline thanks to stiff competition from other online entrepreneurs. Consumers in some places (notably America) have been slow to use the internet to make everyday purchases such as groceries. But in China the low cost of delivery and the high cost of property are feeding an e-tailing frenzy.

Online retailing had lagged in China, thanks both to a relative scarcity of internet access and the lack of a trusted payment system for e-commerce. Financial regulators had no intention of allowing non-Chinese systems like PayPal to enter the market until strong domestic companies had established themselves. But both of these issues have now been resolved. Computers, internet cafés and web-browsing mobile phones have become ubiquitous. A local firm, Alibaba, has come up both with a popular electronic trading platform, Taobao, and an electronic payment system, Alipay (in addition to its business-to-business exchange, which is listed in Hong Kong).

With the building blocks in place, the growth of both formal e-tailing and the more informal sort of online entrepreneurship has been stunning (see chart). As elsewhere, customers have been quick to buy clothing and consumer electronics online. But many other goods are also increasingly bought via the internet. Nielsen, a consumer-research firm, says that two-thirds of Chinese households with internet connections bought an everyday item online in the past six months, and half of all wired households with babies have bought nappies or formula online. Surveys suggest that more than 10% of baby gear is now sold online, along with a growing share of cosmetics. The most common item Unilever sells through Taobao is Lipton’s tea; the consumer-goods firm cleverly matches offline advertising campaigns to online promotions. In other markets, all of these products are typically bought in shops.

Goods are generally sold online at an even greater discount relative to bricks-and-mortar stores in China than elsewhere: a survey by Credit Suisse revealed an average discount of 21%. That is partly thanks to competition, as Chinese entrepreneurs have rushed to set up websites to exploit any pricing inefficiency. Equally important, delivery costs next to nothing. For five yuan ($0.73) swarms of scooter drivers are willing to deliver almost anything to anyone in Shanghai and many other cities in less than an hour, although how they make a decent return on their frenetic efforts is a mystery. Alternatively, distribution is sometimes done through warehouses that frequently relocate, thus taking advantage of temporary deals and avoiding the costs that come with China’s arcane, overheated and often corrupt property market.

Aside from shoppers, who get better prices and more convenience, the biggest beneficiaries of this shift are products that have well-known, trusted brands, since these are the easiest to peddle online. That has been a huge boost for Western firms, which have otherwise often found themselves at a disadvantage in the Chinese market. They continue to sell through big retailers too, but most of those are also scrambling to add online capacity.

Awkwardly, this leaves retailers selling the same product at different prices online and in their stores. Gome and Suning, the two biggest electronics chains, offer discounts online. Clever buyers visit a branch to take a look, and then order via the internet. The cannibalisation of higher-margin sales must be painful, but the reasoning is easy to understand: if the retailers do not undercut themselves, thousands of resourceful web-surfers will.

About Connaxis

Connaxis makes and manages web application. We do this better than other companies through the synergy of our four business units: creative, development, Internet marketing and support. In Buenos Aires, Argentina we have access to highly skilled local and international professionals at a relatively low cost. It is the synergy that counts!

For more information on Connaxis, please visit our corporate website: www.connaxis.com. To view examples of our work please visit our portfolio website: www.creative-outsourcing.com. Call us on NL: +31208080017 US: +16468108783 ARG: +541152465987 or mail us at contact@connaxis.com.

150 specialists

2009-03-18T10:28:00.001-03:00

Imagine that your business can offer any online service to your clients. There are no exceptions, you can offer them all. Any demands from your clients can be achieved with a specialist. One person solely working and channeling all energy within his/her own specialty. Over the years we have seen web development becoming more and more complex. Where does one find the specialists capable of building a modern web application with for business? Modern web development requires various specialties. An e-business consultant, project manager, web designer, a flash specialist, an after effects specialist, possibly a 3D specialist, an Adobe Flex programmer, AS3 programmer, PHP programmer, an HTML & CSS coder and also an online marketing specialist! Imagine that all of these specialists are available at your disposal, yet actually not listed on your pay role. You would not need to pay when the specialist is sick or on holiday. You would not pay even half of what you are acustomed to paying on an hourly basis. There are no costs for management, chairs, desks, work space, parking space or social security. The specialist works only when you need him/her and you can pass on the charges to your client using your standard commercial prices. You and your client have full insight into the planning and progress of the project and you don't even need to speak a second language. When you call the specialist you can speak your native tongue with someone from your own country. You have the upper hand and can offer so much more to your customer without the risk of having these people on your own pay role.

You may think; that is not possible, certainly not where I am from. Well you may be right about that. It is not possible in the western world however very soon, it will be. The possibilities described above will be at your disposal; more possibilities and less risk. Present communication techniques like browsers, Skype, e-mail, collaboration software in combination with a growing mobility of young professionals all help make it possible along with a location with an excellent telecommunication infrastructure and high education levels. A place where people speak different languages, where labour costs are low and where the climate and environment are very attractive for young, high educated specialists. A place where the sun shines, and everyday you can enjoy a clear blue sky, where food and drinks play an important role in a metropolis with natural beauty and exciting, passionate culture. Here, it feels like you are on holidays whilst you are working. The unexpected can surprise, yet it is also safe. In such a place, you would find 150 specialists. A company where local and international young professionals build together a future and offer a high level service to demanding international clients. Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation for you and for these people??

Your assumption is right. 150 specialists is our vision. Connaxis wants to achieve 150 internet specialists in the centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A cosmopolitan city with a perfect climate, a fresh breeze, Italian passion and a good taste for food and drinks. A country full of natural beauty and enhanced with high education levels. Argentine is renowned for it's professionals and belongs to the world's top three in regards to creativity. And geographically, we are not too far away. The time difference (depending on summer/winter time) with Europe is 2/4 hours and 2/0 hours with the United States (based on Eastern Time). The cost of living is low, it is possible to enjoy Buenos Aires life on an Argentine salary, which converted to dollars or euros does not amount to much. Buenos Aires is said to be one of the cheapest cities in the world. (138/143)

This is not a utopia, it is a reality. Working with '150 specialists' will give you a big advantage over your local competitors. You can spend the money earned on yourself. Why not take the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires and try the world famous Argentine steak? Bring your family with you. And mix business with pleasure. Visit the waterfalls in the North, the glaciers in the South or the 7-lake district in the West. Stay one week in the metropolis of Buenos Aires and see a football game in La Bombanera or a tango show in San Telmo. During your stay you can visit our office, meet our specialists and discuss ongoing projects. You are always welcome here and we would be pleased to have you!

Take a look at our Corporate site www.connaxis.com or on our Portfolio site www.creative-outsourcing.com. Send an e-mail or give a call on +54 11 5246 5987.

Your only limitation is your own imagination.

About Connaxis

Connaxis is a Creative Outsourcing specialist. We offer high level creative services. The following creative services may be outsourced to us: Web Design, Graphic Design, Flash, 3D, Animations, Games and Video. Furthermore we offer services like programming, internet marketing and support.

For more information on Connaxis:
www.connaxis.com – NL: +31208080017 US: +16468108783 ARG: +541152465987
Peter van Grinsven peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com | Managing Director

Labels: Creative Outsourcing; Outsource Argentina; Outsourcing Consultants; Dedicated Resources; Web Development; Internet Marketing; Multilingual Support

Beat your local competitors by smart sourcing creative services!

2009-02-07T11:19:00.002-02:00

How should Argentina having the best cost quality relationship in creative outsourcing services worldwide impact your business/you? When making your outsourcing decisions it should mean that you choose Argentina for creative work. Just as you might choose India for programming, for example. When you make the correct decisions for outsourcing certain types of work to particular world wide markets it will make you more competitive in your home market. Maybe your direct competitor does not outsource anything, making that company less flexible and thus more risky and more expensive then your business. Another competitor may outsource design to India. Your company will win pitch after pitch because you can provide much higher creative quality. Your competitor will be stuck in the low margin market, which does not care for quality design. In the end your outsourcing decisions determine whether or not you win projects in your local market. When you play your cards right and source your products from the right partners you set yourself up for success.

Even if you have your own creative team in place it is unlikely that this team will have all the specialties that modern web development requires. You might have little business for Flash; After Effects or 3D specialists but you still like to serve your clients when they need help in these areas. Why not have reliable partners that can provide these specialists for a price which is less then half of that when outsourcing in your own country? And what about your decision to keep extra creative capacity available to react quickly to demands of your clients? In some months you cannot do without, but in others you will not need the extra capacity. In any case this extra capacity will reflect in your price towards your clients. You can choose to outsource this incidental extra work and keep your staff focused on the more demanding creative jobs you have at any time. You do not loose out in flexibility and you do not have to charge the creative idle time to your customer. You only take what you need. You gain competitiveness in the process. Because we work as a wholesaler for companies all over the world, we do have all specialties you need in-house and we can easily fit in any spike of extra work because we can divide it over more staff. Due to the availability of creative talent in Argentina we can easily scale up when necessary.

Of course we can provide more than creative services to you. Perhaps Indian development is cheaper, but it is more convenient to deal with only one company like a one stop shop. Our company has Native American employees working in key areas like account management, project management, internet marketing, and programming. We also work in the same time zone.

So, let us summarize. Why would you want to use our creative services in particular and our development in general?

* Best price / quality creative services worldwide
* No communication problems as we share your own native tongue
* No time differences
* You remain flexible
* No need to charge idle time to your clients
* Access to many different specialists

Our current partners that made the decision to start working with us are growing steadily. They are winning project after project. Their success translates into our success. It is an ideal, symbiotic relationship. Some partners start onselling one or more of the other services we offer, like:

* Coding HTML & CSS
* Programming
* Internet Marketing
* Support

We can see that it works. Our partners are successfully expanding their businesses because they can provide a better offering than their local competitors. Let yourself be convinced. Drop us an email. We will work together with you to improve your competitiveness. Together, we will make your business grow.

About Connaxis

Connaxis is a Creative Outsourcing Specialist. We deliver high quality creative outsourcing services. You can outsource Web Design, Graphic Design, Flash, 3D, Animations, Games and Video to Connaxis.

For more information on Connaxis: www.connaxis.com – US: +16468108783 ARG: +541152465987 NL: +31208080017

Peter van Grinsven peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com | Managing Director

Labels: Creative Outsourcing; Outsource Argentina; Outsourcing Consultants; Dedicated Resources; Web Development; Internet Marketing; Multilingual Support

The Audacity of Hope

2008-12-27T09:41:00.003-02:00

I just read the book 'The Audacity of Hope' from elected president Barack Obama. I must say I could not agree more. The greatness of America lays in the fact that Americans have the audacity to hope for a better future. Europeans could learn a lesson from the Americans. Since I left The Netherlands 4,5 years ago my thoughts towards the USA changed drastically. As the rest of Europe I was jealous of the success of the USA and nationalistic towards my own country, The Netherlands. Being 12000 kilometers away for several years gave me a new perspective. The difference between the Europeans and the Americas is that we mostly complain whereby Americans focus on positivism and hope towards a better future. Like Obama mentions in his book. Americans have the audacity of hope to believe in a better future and work toward achieving their goal. It is amazing that America just choose the first black president in the history of the United States. People were not lead by color but by choosing the best man for the job. In my own life I can relate to Obama. For me also it has been an uphill battle. I have gotten nothing for free in my life. Positive side effect is that it has hardened me. I had to do it myself, believe in my own capabilities and make things happen. I was challenged many times in life but finally I made it successfully through business school; university, was hired by one of the mayor consultancy agencies, started a DOTCOM and now living in Argentina, started a company that has the audacity to believe that Argentina can be best at producing creative services worldwide. As of yet the concept is unknown. People even do not think creative services should be outsourced. They do not know Argentina. The combination of words 'creative outsourcing is an invention, it is not used regularly. But still, after carefully analyzing, the local situation I think I am right. I have the audacity to believe that I am right and the rest of the world is lagging behind in knowledge. It is just because my life has been a constant struggle that I am not put down immediately by what other people say or think. The struggle has thought me to believe in myself and to have hope. I hope that bit by bit little lights will pop up around the world of people believing that Argentina is right place for creative services. With Connaxis we not only hope but we also prove it in our every day work. We show customers that you can achieve the best price / quality relationship outsourcing creative work to Argentina. Our showcase portfolio site (http://www.connaxis.com/portfolio/overview) is hallmark of what has been achieved in less than half a year. Imagine what we can do over the course of several years. Imagine what we can do with the bigger budgets of larger clients. No, I do not believe anymore, I know we are right. I have the audacity now to tell each of you that we are right and that you should investigate it for yourself. Have the audacity to inquire to question our proposition. Drop us a mail. We will be happy to send you all the work we did up to now. We will be happy to present you with a list of competing companies in Argentina. Have a look at their work. Convince yourself. Discuss your findings on our websites blog.

Find the audacity of hope for yourself. Work toward fulfilling your dreams. Go out there in make it happen. You just have to believe and the magic starts.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Peter van Grinsven
Managing Director
Connaxis S.A.

Outsourcing of Creative Work is to Argentina what Outsourcing of Programming is to India and Outsourcing of Production is to China.

2008-09-25T18:51:00.020-03:00

The abundance of creative talent, highly educated specialists, Western culture and low cost make Argentina ideal for the outsourcing of Web Design, Graphic Design, Flash, 3D Animation and development of Games and Video.

Creative Outsourcing is starting to become more and more common place for companies and clients in the developed world. The Internet, email, and lately collaborative applications like Skype, ClockingIT, Basecamp, WebEx have made it easier to outsource creative work as long as it can be send digitally. Creative Work has long been considered difficult to outsource since it needed close contact between client & provider and is often culture specific. Creative work is now the new outsourcing threshold. Where can you best outsource Creative Work? To India where the majority of programming is going or to China, the manufacturing giant? What about Eastern Europe or Mexico? Finally all water flows to the lowest point. The lowest point is defined as the point where we find the best price & quality relationship. We have reason to believe that Argentina will become the global center for Creative Outsourcing. The abundance of creative talent, highly educated specialists, Western culture and low cost make Argentina ideal for the outsourcing of Web Design, Graphic Design, Flash, 3D, Games and Video.

What makes Argentina so well suited for Creative Outsourcing?

1. Economic setting

Companies in Argentina only started to export services after the big depreciation of its currency at the end of 2001. Let me explain why. Up until the late 1980s telecoms companies were monopolies or state owned and famous for their inefficiency. It took an average citizen in Argentina up to 15 years to get a telephone land line connection. Then, in 1989 President Menem came to power. He did two things that eventually turned Argentina into an export country for services. First, he freed up the telecoms market. The state owned companies were sold to European buyers. Companies like Telecom from Italy and Telefonica from Spain invested heavily in a modern telecoms infrastructure. They placed fiber optic lines throughout Buenos Aires and connected the major urban centers. Within a few years people had easy access to modern telephone systems. This alone however did not turn Argentina into an outsourcing power house. Menem's second priority was to curb the country’s endemic inflation. The Argentine government attached the value of the Argentine Peso to the US Dollar in equity of 1 Peso for 1 Dollar. This meant that, by law, the Peso could not decrease in value more than the Dollar. Hyperinflation came to an immediate standstill but prices kept rising, although it was at a slower pace. Soon a Coca Cola cost more in Buenos Aires than in New York. Argentina started to import more and more and its local industry started to perish. Argentina could not compete with the modern and highly capital intensive industries of Western Europe and the United States. To matters worse, Menem was unable to balance the books. The government spent more money than it received. The holes were filled with loans which resulted in an ever growing debt burden. Finally in the end of 2001 the system collapsed. The country defaulted on its loans and depreciated 3 to 1 to the dollar. This left Argentina with a modern telecom infrastructure, a competitive telecom market, highly skilled labor and wages that could be compared to those in India. The first market players to jump to the opportunity were international call center companies like Teleperfomance and Teletec. Soon to join these companies were companies that offered services with a higher added value like programming and web development. Everything that could be sold digitally prospered. You might wonder where this new situation will lead to. What is the comparative advantage of Argentina over the rest of the world? While browsing local web pages and observing the quality of local television ads you will find that Argentina has an excellent price & quality for creative services. Creativity or Western culture cannot be taught in a university. It is something deeply ingrained into a country’s genes. Where India and China can beat the world in programming and manufacturing; Argentina can be best at providing high quality creative services with a Western style. Let's look a bit more into the elements that make Argentina so suited to deliver creative services.

2. Abundance of Creative talent

When hiring creative talent in Argentina you will be surprised about the number and quality of people that apply for a creative position. The abundance and high quality of people that look for work as a web designer; graphic designer; 3D specialist; animator and video developer is just stunning. While taking a closer look at the existing creative outsourcing industry you will find a plethora of very professional companies that have great design capacity you will not see in other countries such as The United States or Europe. Looking further you will find that Argentina has always had the highest cultural standing in South America. It is the country of tango and theater shows. Buenos Aires is the center of South America for cabaret, cinema and TV productions. Recently MTV decided to move their regional head quarters to Buenos Aires. MTV Networks’ CEO Robert Bakish commented that “Exporting Argentine creativity will enforce our commitment to create the best content for our audience”. MTV is one of the most creative companies world wide.

3. Highly Educated Population

Historically, Argentina has the best educational level of South America. In Argentina there is great availability of highly skilled professionals. Argentinians have always been very successful abroad and are well-known for their professionalism. The IT sector is well developed.

4. Western Style favors Argentina

98 % of Argentinians are of European descent with the majority being a mix between Italians and Spanish immigrants. Argentina has always looked at Europe as their point of reference. Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South America. Visitors are unanimously enthusiastic about this cosmopolitan city with its architecture, night life, cultural activity & fashion industry with its creative flair an international style.

5. Wage prices can be compared to India

Since the end of 2001 the country has recovered most of the jobs that were lost after the collapse of 2001 and some of its purchasing power. Salaries for highly qualified creative people still run at around USD 700 gross per month. Due to the abundance of people aspiring to work in the creative sector the wages remain stable. Exceptional people accept relatively low wages just to be able to work and gain experience in the industry. Furthermore, Buenos Aires is one of the cheapest capitals in the world. Salary costs in Argentina are 60% lower than the average salary costs in Eastern Europe, whereas these are 15% higher than the average wages in India.

6. Creative Outsourcing Market booming

Argentina has seen an enormous boom in its outsourcing industry since 2001. Companies like Connaxis (www.creative-outsourcing.com); Latin3 (www.latin3.com), WebAr (www.webar.com), WUNDERMAN (www.wundermandigital.com.ar), crossmedia (www.crossmedia.com), Bougie Man Media (www.boogiemanmedia.com), XAGA (www.XAGA.com), 451 (www.451.com), Bridger Conway (www.bridgerconwayinteractive.com), Group94 (www.group94.com), Gameloft (www.gameloft.com) have experienced exponential growth over the past 6 years. Lately companies like MTV made Buenos Aires its local Latin American hub to produce all creative work for the Latin American Market. Connaxis is the first company to recognize Creative Outsourcing as one of the countries greatest strategic long term opportunities. Connaxis CEO, Peter van Grinsven, commented that "The strength of Argentina lies in its abundance of creative talent, highly educated specialists, Western culture and low cost". Latin3 is the premier provider of "Exponential Marketing" services in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic markets. Latin3 is a creative outsourcing giant, with 120 professionals, developing creative work for companies like Cisco Latin Ameria, Dell Latin America, Lexicon, Microsoft Latin America, Nextel International, Pepsi Latin America and many more. Gameloft has been developing mobile games in Argentina since 2001 and grew its staff to over 400 professionals in 2008. MTV is planning to create 200 new full time work positions. MTV Buenos Aires will become the creative center of Latin America for MTV, Vh1 and Nickelodeon, with the responsibility of creating a portion of all the creative work done for cinema.

The success of these companies are only the beginning of the story. It is a story in the making. Argentina is converting itself in the creative outsourcing center of the world and it is already a success story for first mover companies described in this article. Companies mentioned in this article experience exponential growth numbers and worldwide recognition for creative skills delivered to their international clients. It is not a story of selling web design but one of 'creativity', which is something more abstract which originates from deep within a country's culture and history. The mix between Spanish and Italian descent in a new and vast country like Argentina, its particular history and the recent possibilities of email and the Internet are creating a new industry of Creative Outsourcing. Argentina is about to become the Creative Outsourcing Workshop of the world.

Peter van Grinsven

Managing Director

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United States: +16468108783 Extension number: 101

Argentina: +541152465987 E-mail: peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com

The Netherlands: +31208080017 Skype: petervangrinsven

¡NEW! Please check out our new Portfolio Website:

Connaxis Creative Outsourcing Specialist www.creative-outsourcing.com

First page position Google.com: Creative Outsourcing

MTV will start production in Argentina

2008-05-22T19:42:00.008-03:00

Argentina will function as the regional hub for creative outsourcing services.

May 22 2008. Yesterday, MTV Networks, part of Viacom International, announced a 76 million dollar investment in its new production facility in Argentina over the coming 5 years. MTV Networks is a content production company and the investment is part of the regional roll out plan, according to official sources.

The investment will create up to 200 new full time work positions and the company plans to open a new corporate headquarter with its own creative studio. The news was transmitted in person by the MTV Networks’ CEO Robert Bakish during a meeting at the ‘Casa Rosada’ with the president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Also present were the Minister of Economy, Carlos Fernández and the responsible for the National Investment Agency, ProsperAr, Beatriz Nofal.

The roll out plan consists in providing support to the whole Latin American operation from Argentina.

In this way MTV Networks will do local production while, at the same time, it´ll outsource other services, like administration, publicity and production of events, to Argentina. “Exporting Argentine creativity will enforce our commitment to create the best content for our audience” commented Bakish.”We trust that the increased presence of MTV Networks Argentina and Design Studio Buenos Aires will have a significant impact and will positively enhance the growth of the whole entertainment industry in Argentina”

In this way MTV Buenos Aires will become the creative center of Latin America for MTV, Vh1 and Nickelodeon, with the responsibility of creating a portion of all the creative work done for cinema and all the subtitle and dubbing services of the whole Spanish speaking region. The digital transmission business will also be administered through the Argentine center.

About Connaxis

Connaxis helps companies in outsourcing their activities. If the client chooses for outsourcing, Connaxis offers two services. A local company under its own flag or outsourcing an activity to the Connaxis’ Managed Service Delivery Center. One of the activities of the Service Delivery Center is the internet solution. This internet solution includes web design, programming work, internet marketing, translation and multilingual support. Connaxis helps companies to stay competitive and serves as an extension of the customer’s organization.

For more information on Connaxis: www.connaxis.com – US: +16468108783 ARG: +541152465987 NL: +31208080017

Peter van Grinsven Peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com | Managing Director

Labels: Creative Outsourcing; Outsource Argentina; Outsourcing Consultants; Dedicated Resources; Web Development; Internet Marketing; Multilingual Support

Ten reasons for outsourcing in Argentina

2008-01-14T18:08:00.002-02:00

14 January 2008, The Internet and the emergence of low-salary countries have resulted in the increased outsourcing of activities. Although this country is quite unknown for this matter yet, Argentina offers excellent outsourcing opportunities. Since 2002, important customer contact companies have established in Argentina, such as Regional Support Centers and Shared Service Centers. Exxon Mobile has moved its accounting activities to Buenos Aires; MCI turns Buenos Aires into a regional hub and also Google has announced establishment in Argentina. Now, what makes Argentina so attractive to these large international companies?
Connaxis has ten reasons for outsourcing activities in Argentina:

1. Proven location:

In the past years many multinationals have established in Argentina or outsourced their activities in this country, including: Teleperformance, Teletech, Apex America, Atento, EDS, Sitel, ActionLine, Arvato, Multivoice, Microsoft, Dell, Sony, MCI, Vodafone, AOL, Motorola, HP, Telefónica (Spain), Citibank, Repsol, Nextel.

2. Geographical location:

In Argentina it is 1 hour earlier than in New York and 4 hours earlier than in San Francisco. The time difference with Europe is 4-5 hours earlier. That’s why Argentina is suitable for 24/7 operating hours for providing support during the European evening. Different from Asia, when it is evening in Europe, it is day in Argentina. That’s why during the European evening support can be delivered at a common price.

3. Salary costs lower than in East-Europe and a little higher than in Asia

After the devaluation salary costs have decreased until below 25%, compared to Europe and the USA. Also costs like rent, electricity and telecommunication are low. Buenos Aires is one of the cheapest capitals in the world. Salary costs in Argentina are 60% lower than the average salary costs in East-Europe, whereas these are 15% higher than the average wages in Asia.

4. Argentineans have character

Argentineans are expressive, spontaneous, passionate and creative and tend to be a little philosophical. Argentines lay emphasis on the physical aspect and have much feeling for design. They are always learning, discussing, going out, and having dinner with family & friends. They are proud of their European descent.

5. Availability of qualified staff

Historically, Argentina has the best educational level of South- America. Argentineans are professional experts abroad. In Argentina there is great availability of highly skilled professionals. The IT sector is well developed. Since the crisis at the end of 2001, many highly skilled professionals find it difficult to find a job. Due to the salary differences between Argentina and Europe, there still exists a great possibility of arbitration in this field. Generally, Argentineans prefer to work for a foreign company.

6. Deep employment market

Argentina has a population of 39 million people, of which 15 million live in the three great urban centers, namely Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario. 3.5 million people have had higher education or achieved a university degree. Buenos Aires and Cordoba jointly have 23 universities counting with 870.000 students, of which 170.000 study business administration and 50.000 informatics.

7. Availability of all the important European languages

Argentina has a large group of people speaking three languages. These people often have a European passport. Apart from Spanish, students generally speak English fluently. Contrary to India and China, a relative small number of employees speak other languages than Italian, French, German and Portuguese.

8. Interesting culture

The Tango is just an example of Argentina and its culture. Argentina is the place to be for cabaret, theatre, cinema and TV productions. Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of South-America. Visitors are unanimously enthusiastic about this cosmopolitan city with its architecture; night life and cultural activity.

9. Excellent IT infrastructure

In the nineties there has been a total liberalization of the Argentinean telecommunication market. The market offers an excellent IT infrastructure for attractive prices.

10. Interesting local growth market

In the past four years the Argentinean economy has shown an average yearly growth of 9%. Argentina offers an interesting internal market of 39 million consumers and is a trampoline to other countries in the region, such as Chile (15 million inhabitants) and Brazil (186 million inhabitants).
For a perfect combination between a highly educated population, European culture and low costs, Argentina is the right option. From here both the European and American market can be focused on. Argentina is the perfect fit for the outsourcing of the following business processes:

Service and Support;
Telesales;
Information Technology;
Creative work as design and marketing

In the next years, Connaxis expects a boom in outsourcing creative activities in Argentina. Better be there on time!

About Connaxis

Connaxis is an Outsourcing Consultants and Service Delivery Company based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our services include Captive Centers and Managed Solutions. The Connaxis Service Delivery Center provides Web Development; Internet Marketing and Multi Lingual Support & Translations. Connaxis helps companies stay competitive and operates as an extension of the client organization.

For more information on Connaxis: http://www.outsource-argentina .com – US: +16468108783 ARG: +541152465987 NL: +31208080017

Peter van Grinsven Peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com Managing Director

Will India price itself out of the market?

2007-08-11T17:54:00.000-03:00

Over the course of the last 7 months we have seen two effects. The first is that the USD devalued sharply compared to all mayor currencies like the Euro and the Yen. And the second effect is that the Chinese Yuan and the Indian Rupee appreciated their currencies against the USD. However, not so for the Argentine Peso. The Argentine Peso has followed the road downward with the USD and even devalued a bit over July to keep its competitive edge.

Please see the following overview:

The combined effect makes outsourcing locations like India, China and Eastern European countries less competitive and outsourcing to Argentina more competitive. The wage rate gap between India and Argentina is thereby closing. When you add that Argentina is in the same time zone as the USA and that it has equal cultural bearings then you can make the calculation yourself. South America, specifically Argentina, increased in attractiveness.

We then look at the average wage rate differential between Argentina and India over 2006. When you deduct 11 % (8 % appreciation Rupee + 3 % depreciation of the Peso) from the 27 % ITO wage differential over 2006 you come to a differential of 16 % over 2007. We see that the gap between Argentina and India is closing.

When we consider the future we see that the Indian economy is seriously overheating which puts even more pressure on the Indian government to appreciate the Rupee against the USD. The government of the United States is also putting a lot of pressure on the Chinese government to appreciate the Yuan against the USD to narrow the current account deficit the USA has with China. Both situations are good news for Argentina that is actually getting more competitive in the face of appreciations of the currencies of competing outsource locations. The Argentine government has given a firm commitment to keep the Peso cheap compared to the USD.

About Connaxis

Connaxis is an Outsourcing Consultancy and Service Delivery Company based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our services include Captive Centers and Managed Solutions. One of the activities of the Connaxis Service Delivery Center is its Internet Solution. The Internet Solution offers Web Design; Programming; Internet Marketing; Translations and Multi Lingual Support Services. Connaxis helps companies stay competitive and operates as an extension of the client organization.

For more information on Connaxis

http://www.connaxis.com/outsource-argentina │+54 11 4807 6908

Peter van Grinsven

Peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com│ Managing Director

Google choose Argentina for good reason!

2007-06-18T20:22:00.000-03:00

After the devaluation at the end of 2001 many internationally renowned companies chose Argentina as one of their worldwide offshore centres. Blue chip companies including IBM, Intel, AOL, Motorola, American Express, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, BT and Microsoft installed themselves in places like Cordoba or Buenos Aires. This April it was the turn of Google to set up shop in Argentina. Google could have chosen any city in South America to base his regional hub but it chose Buenos Aires. It is planning to employ some 1000 young professionals with further growth down the road. Argentina is very proud of Google`s choice since it places Argentina amongst other successful offshore locations for outsourcing such as Ireland and Poland. Argentina figures that it must therefore have the appropriate potential for a talent factory like Google. The Google office is planned to serve as a regional centre for South America and furthermore it is expected to handle Spain. Clearly Google is confident that is able to serve a mature market like Spain from Argentina.
Of course, you can expect a company like Google to undertake thorough research before making such an important decision. Unfortunately Connaxis was not given access to this research so we have to make our own assumptions based on what is in the news, the speech given by CEO Eric Smith during the inauguration of the office and what might not be in the news.

The reasons mentioned in the news:-

Costs. Buenos Aires is one of the cheapest capitals of the world.
The entrepreneurial spirit of the country. Argentina has always prided itself of having a large middle class.
Capacity of the country to develop high quality software and technology.
Quality of Argentina’s universities where Google hopes to recruit its personnel. Argentina came out best compared to other countries in South America. Google depends on the quality of the universities for its staffing. Argentina leads in the region in terms of human resources and software & IT development.
Argentina has most ISP’s, most internet users, most broadband connections and most phone line connections of all countries in South America. Argentina is also the country with the most growth and volume in e-commerce. In short, the best connected country in South America.
Google also believes that Argentina is at the forefront of explosive growth in internet e-commerce.
Argentina is a Google country in the sense that Argentines use Google in 80% of the cases that they look for information.

When living and working in Argentina; traveling within various countries in South America Connaxis also concludes that Argentina is the right choice:-

Costs / Quality ratio. Argentina is far better then the rest of the countries of South America.
Argentines are addicted to learning. Many work and study at the same time. Argentines start new courses to enrich their lives at any age.
Opening a customer support centre from Buenos Aires can be very efficient. Connaxis learned this when we implemented a call centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It started servicing Europe early in the morning. It then followed the sun doing support for the New York area to around 11:00 pm until it completes its path with San Francisco and then open up again with Europe at 4.00 a.m. Clearly Google is looking at the obvious efficiencies of working with Spain and the Americas at the same time. Google might also be thinking of having Argentina target the large Spanish speaking community in the USA.
At lot of outsourcing is already done from Argentina to serve Spain. Telesales to Spain is mostly done through Argentina because Argentines have proven to be excellent sales people.

When other renowned companies have been able to deliver world class service from Argentina and Google recently decided that Argentina is the best location in South America, then it might also suit your needs. Maybe you want to think about it? Connaxis is already convinced and ready to help you become more competitive by lowering your costs and increasing your quality. It is possible. Google can do. So can you!

About Connaxis

Connaxis is an independent consultancy agency that helps companies outsource activities. Activities can be established abroad in the client’s name or they can be carried out by the Connaxis Service Delivery Centre. One of the activities of the Service Delivery Centre is its internet solution, offering a complete package with full website maintenance for very reasonable prices. We offer web design, programming and internet marketing. Connaxis helps companies stay competitive and operates as an extension of the client organisation.

For more information on Connaxis

http://www.connaxis.com/outsource-argentina │+54 11 4807 6908

Peter van Grinsven

Peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com│ Managing Director

Why outsource to Argentina?

2007-02-11T14:45:00.000-03:00

Why outsource to Argentina?

Two and a half years ago a Dutch call centre asked Connaxis to investigate the possibilities of the Argentine market. On my arrival there I was constantly impressed by the advantages of outsourcing to Argentina. For a job advertisement I had placed in a major newspaper I received 300 responses. The applicants all spoke two or three languages and requested salaries of just 800 Argentine pesos (€220) per month. Moreover, the country turned out to have an excellent technological infrastructure. When I met my future wife during a trip to Uruguay, it really was the icing on the cake.

My client gave me the order to set up a subsidiary in Argentina. This subsidiary has grown significantly over the past two and a half years. From an initial base of eight staff in August 2004, by the end of 2006 the subsidiary was employing over 150 people.

Another client wanted to start up a company in the tourism sector. We helped this company set up a business in Argentina, creating the website, renting an office and hiring the first employees. The company is now Argentina’s number two in motor home rentals.

After these successful experiences, I decided to help more companies globalise their activities.

“Why Argentina?” you probably wonder. First of all because of the wage costs. To give you some examples: an English-speaking call centre employee costs €2,25 per hour, a designer €4,50 per hour and a senior programmer around €9,50 gross per hour. In short, wage costs are comparable to those of India. Wage costs in Argentina are less than a fourth of the norm in the Netherlands. Furthermore, Argentina has a highly educated labour force. 98% of Argentines have European ancestors and many speak a second language. A large proportion of the population attends bilingual schools from an early age. These are major factors for Dutch entrepreneurs considering outsourcing.

The following table gives a further analysis of the advantages of investing in Argentina:

Criterion	Description	Score	Details
Personnel	Labour costs	++	€9,50 P/H Senior Programmer. €4,50 P/H Designer. €2,25 P/H Call centre employee English/Spanish.
	Skills/ availability	++	Languages: Spanish, English, Italian, French, Portuguese. Strengths: Design, Marketing, Advertising, Programming.
	Labour law	+	It is relatively inexpensive to dismiss an employee.
	Time difference	++	Approximately the same time zone as the USA and 4 or 5 hours time difference from Europe.
	Culture	++	Argentine culture has a strong Euro-centric focus.
	Work ethos	+	Highly-skilled and hardworking labour force.
	Unions	--	Since President Kirchner took office the labour unions have become more powerful.
Infrastructure	Proximity/ Accessibility	--
	Business tax	o	Business tax is comparable to most European countries. No tax holidays for foreign direct investments.
	IT Infrastructure	++	Good, stable and modern infrastructure.
	Bureaucracy	o
Stability	Political stability	+	Stability has returned to Argentina after a turbulent period at the time of the devaluation.
	Macro-economic stability	o	A risky recovery has been achieved since 2002 by boosting consumer spending and placing price controls on consumer goods.
	Legal and regulatory	--	Sluggish legal procedures. Good framework for software through the privacy protection law and through a special software law.
	Corruption controls	o	Needs improvement.

+ + Beneficial; – – Disadvantageous; o Neutral:

Moreover, Buenos Aires is a very cosmopolitan city with thirteen million inhabitants and it is the fifth-cheapest capital city in the world (Mercer, Cost of living report, 2004). Aside from its numerous advantages Argentina does have some drawbacks, such as increasing inflation, red tape and some corruption issues. Nevertheless, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Ten years ago companies started outsourcing to Ireland, five years ago to India and it is now South America’s turn, with Argentina leading the way.

How does Argentina stand out from other low-cost countries?

Argentina is distinguished by its vast group of available and highly-educated staff pool, its European culture and very attractive costs. In Argentina you can outsource high-quality work at competitive prices, including web-design, translation, desktop publishing, technical drawing, medical studies and, of course, programming. Any job that can be done in first world countries, can be done in Argentina for a far lower price. In addition, South America as a whole, and Argentina in particular, is an appealing growth market. Argentina had an impressive growth rate of 9.2% in 2006 and an expected growth rate of 7.8% in 2007.

About Connaxis

Connaxis is an independent consultancy agency that helps companies outsource activities. Activities can be established abroad in the client’s name or they can be carried out by the Connaxis Service Delivery Centre. One of the activities of the Service Delivery Centre is its internet solution, offering a complete package with full website maintenance for very reasonable prices. We offer web design, programming and internet marketing. Connaxis helps companies stay competitive and operates as an extension of the client organisation.

For more information on Connaxis

http://www.connaxis.com/outsource-argentina │ 0054 11 4807 6908

Peter van Grinsven

Peter.van.grinsven@connaxis.com│ Managing Director