More and more often, when an IT company makes the decision to go global, it is not so much a choice as a necessity. In order to remain competitive, companies are practically forced to utilize offshore locations to cut costs. Unfortunately, the business often suffers as a result.
When discussing global project management with other tech companies, the conversation inevitably leads to them sharing their outsourcing horror stories: thousands of dollars wasted; burned out managers; poor work quality. These are just some of the problems facing global IT companies today.
When the conversation heads in the direction, we always ask one question: "Have you considered Argentina?"
Over the past fifiteen years Argentina has experienced an economic transformation, marked by fiscal and monetary discipline, an opening up of the economy, deregulation of economic activities and privatization of public services. Furthermore, Argentina is distinguished by a very strong educational system, with many universities offering advanced programs in computer-related technologies. Having such a well trained pool of programmers has led to the demand for software in Argentina to become a billion dollar industry.
Of course, Argentina is not alone in having experienced an economic transformation over the past decades, nor is it alone in having a large supply of outstanding engineers, so while these factors do make Argentina a good candidate for outsourcing, other factors contribute to making it the best candidate.
Companies that outsource often find that mangers are forced to work across multiple time zones. Depending upon the length of project and offshore location, those managers must either completely alter their works schedule (maybe working from 3 in the morning to 12 noon) or simply add many additional hours onto their day. Because these mangers rarely deal exclusively with offshore personnel, they are most likely forced to do the latter and must be available nearly 24 hours a day. These long days combined with the other frustrations that come with managing global teams lead managers to become less satisfied with their jobs. Often the project suffers because of this, and the company may end up losing a valuable member of its team.
Having your offshore location in Argentina can help your company avoid these issues, as Argentina is in approximately the same time zone as the Eastern United States. Because Argentina is not located half way around the world, the managers in our New York office are able to easily communicate with our Argentinean developers during fairly normal business hours. Furthermore, unlike many European countries where employees often refuse to work outside normal business hours, Argentineans have a more American attitude towards work life and home life, and do generally not have a problem working longer hours when necessary.
Just as cultural differences impact what is deemed an acceptable work day, so to can cultural differences impede the free exchange of ideas. For example, Americans are more likely than either Indians or Asians to raise potential issues and question each other. This can lead to problems when an American manager assumes that project requirements are well understood simply because no questions are asked. In the IT world, good communication across departments is crucial to the ultimate success of a project, and indeed to the company itself.
In our experience, Argentinean culture is more compatible with American culture. Our developers are constantly asking questions to seek clarification, as well as making suggestions that they believe will help improve the project. The result is that our Argentinean team and our New York team truly function as a single entity. This is aided in part by the fact that we are in constant contact with one another, sending emails, instant messaging, and having video conferences.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to look to Argentina for offshore development is that Argentineans are truly distinguished by their entrepreneurial spirit and pride in innovation. It is this that makes them not only willing, but excited to work hard on projects, take risks, and offer their opinions. Our team never blindly tackles a project, and they are always looking for ways to improve their own skill sets. There is a level of excitement and enthusiasm in our Argentinean team that is difficult to find anywhere else
Time zone, work ethic, and cultural similarities all contributed to making Argentina the best outsourcing option for Vyllo. Just as it did with us, outsourcing to Argentina really can make your business life easier and insure that your work quality remains consistent. In fact, we would be surprised if it didn't improve.