Archive for the ‘Mexico outsourcing vendors’ tag
Outsourcing to Mexico
India is one of the most preferred outsourcing destinations for US-based companies, and it has been like that for years now. Highly educated personnel, 24/7 support and rock-bottom prices – Indian outsourcing vendors provide the best of many worlds to their US-based clients, so much so, that many companies are in love with their offshore workforce than they are with their in-house teams. However, the situation is changing somewhat in recent times.
The advantages of outsourcing a service to India cannot be denied. However, US-based companies that outsource services to India also have to overcome some obstacles along the way, if they want their work done in a cost-effective manner. Some of the significant problems with India-based outsourcing vendors include:
- Mainframe skills – When mainframe skills are needed, India-based providers will always remain one step back. Indian IT professionals just don’t get much opportunity to tinker around with mainframes, especially since IBM bid adieu to the country in the 70’s, under threat of getting nationalized.
- Difference in time zones – Real time collaboration of Indian providers with their US based clients usually remains on the fringes of impossibility, especially if the clients want both the best in-house and vendor’s teams to co-ordinate with one another.
- Cultural difference – Indian culture will always remain substantially different from that of their US clients. Few Indians know how to properly communicate with Americans (no, accent isn’t everything). Also, some Americans DO have prejudices against working with Indians.
That’s not all. Indian service providers have their own demons to deal with as well. High attrition among employees contributing to a high rate of employee turnover is of major concern, not just to the service providers but to their US-based clients as well.
All these reasons have led to gradual preference towards Mexico of some US-based companies in order to get their work done through an outsourcing vendor. Latin American outsourcing service providers are not less competent than their Asian counterparts in most cases. In fact, they have quite advantageous positions in the exact same fields where Indian outsourcing service providers have drawbacks. Their personnel are well-trained with mainframes. Many providers are capable enough to attain SEI CMM standards of service, while others are fast catching up.
The time zone of Mexico is almost the same as in US, with a difference of less than half an hour, at most. This makes co-ordination between lead teams of the vendor and the client a snap. Lastly, Mexicans are not that ignorant about American culture and politics. They do know the difference between the tactics employed by the Democrats and the Republicans in politics, and can talk circles around their clients about those if necessary.
The Spanish speaking, IT-savvy population of Mexico creates greater appeal towards American companies that have to deal with Spanish clients based in Europe. The Spanish of Asian professionals can seldom match that of people who have had it as their mother tongue.
The Government of Mexico has always been pretty supportive of the outsourcing service providers in the country, and it is even more so in these troubled times, plagued by recession. Besides, the excellent infrastructure laid out by the Mexican Government, consisting of well-constructed roads and telecommunication facilities. All these ensure smooth functioning of operations on both sides.
These reasons have put Mexico in the hot list for outsourcing providers among US-based companies. That does not mean India is out of the picture yet, though. Indian providers still charge rock bottom fees for their services, something that Mexican vendors simply cannot beat yet.
