APRIL 2010
A Report on Chilean IT Perceptions and U.S. Needs
A New Strategy for Chile iT Exclusive Interviews with U.S. & Chile IT Professionals Your Future with Chile iT
ISSUE 1, VOL. 1
CONTENTS
CONTENTS Globalization & Technology IT Through the Eyes of Chileans IT Through the Eyes of Americans The America’s IT Partner- The Right Strategy Chile iT Your Partner of Choice
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INTRODUCTION
Globalization & Technology
W
ithout a doubt, the aspect most influenced by globalization is the emergence, integration, innovation and widespread use of technology across all industries. Whichever sector of economic activity your business is involved in, it is most likely influenced by technology and globalization. The possibilities are truly endless: you can develop software, have a call center, develop best practices, house your servers, make transactions, etc… all from across the globe!
Technology outsourcing – meaning: customer service centers for software development, maintenance or repair; purchasing software as a service; purchasing software as a product; and partnerships for projects or product development – has become incredibly common in today’s marketplace. And why not? It has opened up markets and partnerships for businesses that were a dream a mere fifteen years ago.
Embracing technology outsourcing not only offers tremendous commercial opportunities in markets across the globe, but can also have a positive effect on the bottom line (expenses) and product/service development. There are incredibly talented engineers across the globe, and at prices far more reasonable than what you would pay for the same work in-house.
It became an exploration of two business cultures to see where they overlap and could join together to increase mutual opportunities. The answers came out of meetings and interviews with more than one hundred IT business people and journalists from each side.
Before making the jump to start outsourcing your technological needs, there are several basic questions you need to ask, among them: 1. Where do I outsource? 2. Will my intellectual property be safe? 3. Can I trust their performance? And, most importantly, have you thought of Chile as your technology outsourcing destination? We were asked to answer that question with regard to the U.S. market by the IT Association of Chile. Accordingly, we began a comprehensive evaluation of the state of information technology in Chile and how it might match up with the unmet needs of the U.S. and other markets of the Americas.
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CHILE IT
CHILE
AMERICA’S IT PARTNER
IT Through the Eyes of Chileans
L
ike the old exploradores from Spain, we embarked on the adventure of discovering what opportunities the technology sector in Chile has to offer. So off we went, taking the flight Saturday night from JFK and arriving in Santiago Sunday morning. The first thing we noticed upon our arrival was the hospitality and warmth of the people. But we weren’t there to mingle and be tourists. We were there for a purpose: to learn exactly why U.S. businesses should partner with Chilean IT companies… And we had a week to find out.
A week of hotel rooms, boardrooms, taxicabs, subway rides and fifty meetings with top IT executives in the country led us to two conclusions: 1. We definitely need to go back, and; 2. it’s clear why companies should partner with Chilean IT companies. Some call Santiago “Sanhattan” and others, “Chilecon Valley,” but whatever terms you use, there’s a lot going on in tech in this country that Chileans often refer to as “Island Chile.”
What we heard in Chile -In the words of Chilean CEO’s: BIG PUSH TOWARD INNOVATION AND VALUE-ADDED SERVICES Over the past five years and toward the future, Chile has been making tremendous strides in innovation in every sector – from agriculture to mining. Entrepreneurs and R&D centers in the country and its universities are facilitating new innovations and the monetizing of good ideas. Chilean companies understand the importance of offering valueadded services versus one-time or one-dimensional solutions. “There is more investment in R&D and monetizing R&D.” “Chile is a great alternative in the development of software, hardware and firmware.” “We’re converting global services into IT innovation.”
Chile has trade agreements with almost every nation in the world, allowing for easy access to almost every market. Not only that, but immigration laws, visas and policies are much easier, clearer and simpler than in neighboring countries. The fact that we share a similar time zone and can travel from Chile to the US (or vice-versa) in one night is extremely attractive. Chile’s many Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) mean that virtually any company in the world can use Chile as a gateway to the Americas. “We are very open commercially – we have trade agreements with almost every nation in the world.” “Chile is an excellent global platform for business.” “It’s an open and competitive economy without many restrictions.”
TREMENDOUS COMMERCIAL OPENNESS There was tremendous consensus and emphasis on the commercial openness of Chile.
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CHILE IT TOP-NOTCH ENGINEERS We were able to visit and interview various professors who run R&D and innovation in their respective Universities. Again, we were impressed with the quality of the engineers. Granted, the quantity of engineers is less than one would find in larger countries. But it’s the timeless question of quality versus quantity. If you’re looking for software or hardware development, we were left with no doubt that Chileans are accustomed to providing top-notch solutions. “The capacity to develop quality technology is here.” “The talent in Chile is superb… Besides political and economic reasons, it’s the reason why people choose Chile.” “We have an abundance of tech skilled people at reasonable costs.” THE LINK CONNECTING SOUTH AMERICA Stand on any street corner of Santiago for five minutes and you’ll see the largest variety of car brands you’ve ever seen. Why? Because car companies use Chile as a “testing ground” for new brands.
They know that if a brand is successful there, it’ll be successful in the rest of Latin America. At heart, Chileans are consumers. They like to experiment with different products and services, with curiosity being a big part of their personalities. It’s impressive to see a country with so many early adopters – a cultural sign that’s always good for business. “Chile is like a laboratory, a guinea pig for new products.” “If it’s successful in Chile, it will be successful in the rest of Latin America.” “We market ourselves as the preferred Latin America destination.” ADVANCING IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Chile still has some way to go in the development of intellectual property. The process is still pretty bureaucratic and can take some time. The good news is that the government knows this and they’re making huge strides in improving laws to protect IP and encourage its development. After all, intellectual property is what fuels innovation.
“To grow, we’re reinforcing protection of intellectual property.” “We’ll show the difference by developing more intellectual property.” “Intellectual property is the area of growth.” GROWING VENTURE CAPITAL CULTURE Today, there are three good-sized IT venture capital funds in Chile and a large community of angel investors with many more to come in the near future. With only two years in this area, it’s quite impressive to see how a venture capital environment is developing, too slow for some but much faster than many countries further developed than Chile. We were also able to meet some young entrepreneurs who have started spin-offs from larger companies and are in early stage funding. It’s going to be interesting to watch this sector grow and see it’s impact on entrepreneurialism and innovation. “Venture Capital Funds are growing.” “Spin-offs will begin happening with the growth of success stories.”
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CHILE IT
LOCAL-MINDED, GLOBAL AMBITION Pretty much all business that goes on in Chile passes through Santiago at one point or another. Chileans have a great reputation for business with their Latin American neighbors. What became evident through our conversations was that, though very locally minded, Chileans aspire for more. Chileans want to be known for their quality and engineering throughout the world. It’s this global ambition that truly impressed us when conducting our interviews. “In order to be successful, we need to be connected with the local market here.” “Local awareness will create commercial awareness in massive markets.”
“We should be proud of the develop ments we have and have created here.” GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES, PRIVATE SECTOR PUSH From a time when Chile made some dramatic transitions, it successfully installed democracy as a stabilizing force in the country. The government has engendered a tremendous amount of trust with the people. As seen by the recent response to the earthquake, Chileans and their government are adapting and getting to work. The country has grown economically and politically at speeds unknown to the rest of its neighbors. This is also clearly seen with the many incentives that the government has put in place to stimulate business.
Working in tandem with the government is the private sector, which makes for an ideal working environment. It’s a partnership that increases transparency and makes it easy to do business in Chile. “We feel like the government is always helping out.” “Innovation is led by the private sector.” “The private and public sector work together quite often.” SUCCESS STORIES When speaking to the IT executives, it was clear that they were not just talking the talk. Everything they said was backed up with an anecdote or example. Instead of, “Oh, yes, entrepreneurism is growing at a fast pace…”
these executives would tell us, “You should speak with Carlos from company X, he’ll be able to tell you how 5 years ago he was a nerdy engineering student… Today, he has almost raised all his funding necessary to take his company to the next level.” Stories like these were not uncommon. Though the venture capital sector is still relatively young, more and more success stories are allowing young and old alike to develop and achieve their dreams. “Success stories create a cycle in venture capital and entrepreneurship.” “These success stories will help us grow as a country.” “We have success stories in Venture Capital, innovation and entrepreneurism.”
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CHILE IT
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY A common discussion in Chile is about the need for more English speakers. Only about 4% of the population can speak the language proficiently. Training more English speakers has become a priority of both the private sector and government. The government even keeps a database of English speakers so it can help businesses wishing to do more work in the U.S. A lot has to be said about a nation that is willing to put money and emphasis on something that they know take a long time and be arduous, but will pay for itself in the end. “Though more English speakers are definitely needed, the government is working towards improving this.”
“Our engineers are very talented, and they’re beginning to understand English is very important.” “More and more English speakers are going to surface.” MEETING SECURITY STANDARDS One of our biggest concerns and questions for these executives was regarding security – web security, information security, transactional security, servers, and the like. These concerns are a priority for any company concerned about protecting intellectual property or operating in a foreign country We can report that Chileans are way ahead in this regard. Before doing business in the United States, Chilean IT firms are meeting all necessary security standards and certifications.
It’s common to see that Chileans will do whatever is necessary to meet or exceed security standards. “We are working towards meeting the high web security standards in the U.S.” “We will meet all of the certifications needed to do business in the U.S.” “The security standards will be met when entering the U.S. market.” SUCCESS IN EDUCATION Though a lot has already been done in terms of raising an army of quality engineers, Chileans want more: they don’t just want engineers, they want industry leaders.
A lot of emphasis is being placed on more business courses and management style courses in conjunction with systems engineering degrees. It’s not enough to just be able to develop software, hardware or firmware. Chileans are recognizing that they need to develop those leadership skills that will allow them to be competitive in the marketplace – a sentence often repeated during our stay. “We are generating more management-style courses.” “Professors will begin working with companies and Venture Capital funds.” “There are big improvements taking place in the integration between the universities and the industry.”
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INTERVIEWS
Who We Spoke To: U.S.
CHILE
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AMERICAN IT
IT Through the Eyes of Americans
A
fter an eye-opening trip, which revealed the competitive advantages and capabilities of the IT industry in Chile, it was time to go to work in the U.S. – we needed to find out what the needs and opportunities are. We already knew what Chile IT could do, but the challenge is marrying the two together. Using a combination of phone interviews and online surveys, we gathered information from 70 IT influentials and leaders of industry. So as to not have a bias towards the responses, we made sure not to mention Chile explicitly. This assured us that during our research, responses would not be made simply based on name recognition. Questions covered IT brand value, technology outsourcing, key factors in choosing a country to partner with, previous experience, and pockets of opportunity in the marketplace.
What makes an IT brand valuable? Whether it’s a consumer product, a b2b product or even a country, creating value begins with innovation (see Figure 1). No surprises here. Technology and innovation are synonymous with each other, and the industry can’t grow without it. But innovation is not the only thing the market is looking for: functionality and the developer are key. Nobody wants an innovative product that breaks down more often than it works. There have been many examples over the past 5 years – we won’t name any, we’re sure you can name them too – of “innovative” products that failed to deliver on functionality, thus never making it in the marketplace. The company or country that develops technology is also very important. And this makes a lot of sense, as established and successful brands are, well, established and successful for a reason.
FIGURE 1 More than the quality of engineering or the products/services themselves (which are also extremely important), political and economic stability are top of mind when choosing a country to work with (see Figure 2). Place is important.
FIGURE 2 Here, we were told that both pragmatic and practical considerations trump technology for three key reasons: .14
AMERICAN IT
1.Global IT means global travelers. A venture capitalist told us “I want to know and my family wants to know that I’m traveling and funding ventures in safe places.” He added, “I, and people like me, also want to travel to places that we enjoy. Countries like Chile work in both categories” 2.Time and again, we heard that intellectual property must be protected and secure. One web developer said, “I don’t want to see my software for sale under some other name in the local market.” 3.“Does the government want me there?” was a top of mind question. In the global, competitive marketplace for IT work, the company offering is always the first consideration but governments can make a difference by making it easy for foreign companies to do business and also repatriate profits.
Not surprisingly, those that have experience in outsourcing technology to other countries usually had a good experience (see Figure 3). Outsourcing has become such a big revenue stream for countries and such an expense-saver for companies that having a good experience is key. As more and more countries become “experts” at technology outsourcing, successful partnerships are going to become very important in edging out the competition.
An IT executive who is in the business of advising large companies both where to outsource for internal operations and who to work with to develop new software said, “The labor arbitrage advantage has, at most, a two-year life. There has to be something else. It could be incentives but it’s likely to be IP. I don’t care whether I’m looking at a country or company, what’s the R&D environment?”
FIGURE 3
Those that are looking for technological outsourcing prefer to build longterm partnerships rather than one-off solutions (see Figure 4). A large gain was forseen in long-term cost savings. If you find a company to partner with for the long-term, you only need to train once, communication will become more streamlined, quality will go up, a wider array of services can be provided and business opportunities will grow.
Quality and trust are key in forming these relationships. Again, with so many countries joining the outsourcing and global IT revolution, quality and trust are creating competitive advantage.
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AMERICAN IT FIGURE 4
Regarding Chile, the country currently is known for wine, mining and fruit and produce (see Figure 5). Not surprisingly, these are all industries that have been directly influenced by technological innovations. However, whereas there’s been a myriad of information to the public and trades regarding these industries, technology and engineering in Chile have gone relatively unknown (see Figure 6). That’s about to change. From our interviews and surveys, we believe the IT world is showing some significant signs of change • Both costs and benefits are being more closely evaluated for the longterm. • As global economies advance, labor arbitrage is short-term and of limited value.
• In the global services arena, outsourcers are asking whether a country can provide the scale they need but requirements for personnel and infrastructure security are introducing factors such as long-term partnerships and locating management teams and servers in a low-risk country allowing large-scale work teams to reside in another. • IT sophistication and training will always be important but IT decision makers tend to emphasize business cultural factors such as following through with commitments, a shared sense of work ethics and a willingness to persevere through the complexities of global business challenges.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
In Frank Baum’s famous children’s story, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, the young protagonist named Dorothy finds herself in a mythical kingdom that is nothing like her home in Kansas. Along her travels, she beseeches the Good Witch of the North to help her, to which she is asked “I do not know where Kansas is, for I have never heard that country mentioned before.
But tell me, is it a civilized country?” And there you have it. Dorothy was certainly not an IT executive but like her, IT executives are looking for a place like home where they can do business in a way that is familiar, safe and comfortable for them.
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STRATEGY
The America’s IT PartnerThe Right Strategy
D
etermining the right strategy can be equated with finding the best direction to reach your objective. Again, Dorothy, of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” provides a lesson in strategy. Her objective was to return to Kansas and, with the information she had, the strategy she chose was to follow the yellow-brick road to find the Wizard of Oz. Along the way, she picked up associates with specific implementation skills.The Cowardly Lion brought defense, The Tin Woodman provided empathy and the Scarecrow assisted with an analytical mind. However, her strategy had its challenges and costs. Witches, goblins, flying monkeys and ultimately a fake wizard all took up valuable time and energy.
In the end, Dorothy learned from a valued external advisor, the Good Witch of the North again, who she met in the very beginning and learned that a different strategy existed, one which was much faster and achieved her objective at a very low cost. All she had to do was tap together her magic slippers. Why, she asked, hadn’t the Good Witch told her of this in the beginning. The Good Witch replied, “Because you wouldn’t have believed me. You had to discover it for yourself.” In other words, Dorothy had to become a leader, along with learning leadership’s inherent skills, and achieve the confidence to believe in herself.
Overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges taught her leadership skills that made strategic execution and achievement of her objective possible. There is an intrinsic link between effective strategy and leadership. The magnitude of the challenge and strategic gap between where a company or industry is now and where it wants to go will determine the number of leaders required and their skill set. In Dorothy’s case, each of her three associates took their turn in providing leadership and ensuring that the strategic objective could be achieved. It also helps to have a Good Witch on your side who can intervene when necessary. Moving a technology industry or entire country forward is a different story. Many leaders are needed to work together matching their skills as a team if the objective is going to be achieved. In their 2005 article “Leadership as the starting point of strategy,” McKinsey consultants Tsun-yan Hsieh and Sara Yik note “Even the best strategy can fail if a corporation doesn’t have a cadre of leaders with the right capabilities at the right levels of the organization.”
After all, the best strategy in the world is meaning less without the ability to implement. What we saw in Chile is a range of attitudes regarding skills and confidence levels toward the present but widespread bullishness about the future. Asking themselves whether they now have the skill sets, business culture, focus, and leaders to achieve global distinction was commonplace. Yet so was the absolute confidence that their objectives would be met over the long-term. Hsieh and Yik note three planning horizons and considerations for leaders to select the right strategy:
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STRATEGY
1. Long term: Position Are the technology sector’s leaders positioning themselves to meet their strategic objectives during the next three to five years? What we heard in Chile is a leadership group that recognizes the potential and need for change and a plan to achieve it. Chile intends to position itself to become the most competitive IT country in the Americas and is taking the steps today to do so. What is particularly impressive about Chile and was noted by many Americans we spoke to is the cooperation and coordination between the private sector and government. It’s more than lip service. Four years ago, the government set out a goal of building a Global Services sector from scratch. Today, some seventy U.S. and other foreign companies have more than 20,000 highly trained employees servicing software from glistening technology parks and glass walled office buildings in Santiago’s modern suburbs. It’s a remarkable transition that could not have taken place without the right public and private leaders. Now, the country’s IT leaders are setting out to bring business home from the U.S. and other parts of the Americas. 2. Medium term: Cultivation Dorothy conquered the Wicked Witch of the West with her team’s newly acquired skills and bravado. Chileans need to add expertise in areas such as operating under unfamiliar conditions, adapting to a different set of rules and expectations, developing alliance partners and building networks of affiliated communities. The opportunity is there. We heard IT leaders from American companies asking for long-term partnerships with people who are of serious purpose and can be counted on to follow through. Chileans currently have many of the process skills that U.S. companies are seeking. Experience and networking can make things happen over time. One IT executive noted, “I need to be convinced that they’re coming here to stay and that they intend to be a part of my professional community.”
3. Short Term: Alignment A new strategy isn’t viable until people start setting themselves to moving in the right direction. It’s that first step down the “yellow-brick road” followed by successive steps that starts to make a strategy real. Proper alignment will match Chilean IT company capabilities with right-sized and best-niche opportunities. Each successful engagement allows for a building process until sufficient momentum is achieved to make the overall position accepted in the market. Both an industry and country need to find their “tipping point” to become an intrinsic part of the market.
With these considerations in mind, what is Chile’s “yellow-brick road”? Many countries have content skills that are comparable. Chile has companies with world-class technology in a number of areas: systems integration, financial and network security, mobile functionality, application development and remote management to name a few. Yet, it’s process skills that set Chile apart. The idea and execution of “partnership” is one that comes easily to Chileans. Chileans think and plan long-term. They set up systems and structures that are familiar to Americans and, in many cases, feel just like home (calling all Dorothies!).
Geographically remote but conceptually nearby, Chile is an ideal gateway for U.S. companies to enter Latin America and with which to partner to develop opportunities in the United Sates. A U.S. or other international company can count on Chilean IT companies to be natural partners for all of the Americas. This idea has caught notice in India as several of their top IT companies have already located in Chile.
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STRATEGY
What’s the right strategy for Chile then? We believe it’s this: Chile is the hub from which any country in the world can do business in the Americas. It is the gateway for U.S. companies to Latin America and the place to develop IT partnerships with Chilean technology companies for projects in the U.S. and abroad. Chile’s positioning as The Americas IT Partner fits well and both the strategy and positioning utilize the country’s current and future capabilities, skill sets and leadership.
A closer look at six key factors shows how well suited this is to be Chile’s city of Oz. 1. Political and Economic Stability 2. Infrastructure 3. Quality of Engineering 4. Innovation and Modernity 5. Flexibility 6. Culture 1. Political and Economic Stability Out of all the countries in Latin America, Chile is, by far, the best suited for business due to its political and economic stability.
- Consistent 5% growth per annum for the past decade. - Access to 86% of the world’s GDP through an extraordinary regime of free trade agreements – Chile is among the world leaders. - Poverty has been diminishing at an incredible rate – from 38% in 1990 to 13.7% in 2006. - Chile is the most transparent country in Latin America and is 22nd worldwide (International Transparency ranking). - Chile’s debt rating is AA2 and will most likely rise to AA3 by mid-2010 ( Moody’s country-risk rating) - Chile is currently an A and will likely climb to an A+ by mid-2010 (Fitch’s country-risk rating scale). - The Chilean economy is the 30th most dynamic one in the world (International Monetary Fund). - Chile is the safest country in Latin America (Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Peace Index 2008) - Chile is the country with best business environment in Latin America (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009)
2. Infrastructure When it comes to technology, there is no better indicator than infrastructure. As one U.S. CIO told us during an interview, “who cares where your team is as long as your infrastructure is in a place you can count on and is managed by people you trust.” It is no secret that Chile has made it a priority to stand out for its efficiency in modern infrastructure and network of telecommunications. In fact, during the recent earthquake, there were no major mishaps with com puter servers servicing businesses in the U.S. or other foreign countries. - Chile places third in connectivity rankings among the economies based on resources and efficiency, surpassing Russia, India and all the countries of Latin America (2009 Nokia Connectivity Scorecard). - Chile has 16 million inhabitants and 14.8 million subscribers to cell phones – that’s 93% cellurlar penetration!
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STRATEGY - 32% of Chileans have broadband at home – a rate that is rapidly rising. - Electronic transactions surpassed $400 million in 2009. - Foreign exchange surpassed $129 billion in 2008 (69% of GDP) - Santiago’s airport is considered second best in the region, surpassed only by the Miami (AméircaEconomía magazine). - Nearly 20 international airlines operate from Chile with more than 30 direct flights around the world. - In Santiago, there are 96 miles of modern highways with a free flow system of automatic tolls. - The Santiago subway system transports 2.5 million people per day, through five lines and 90 stations. - With the exception of Santiago, all regions have important marine terminals, administered by the state or private corporations. 3. Quality of Engineering What makes a country or a business ideal to partner with? The quality of education and leadership skills is a key differentiating factor when forming business decisions today and for the future. After all, one is not only making a partnership with a country or company, but also with the people behind them.
Over the past ten years, the private and public sector have been investing a substantial amount of money and resources in education. Now, Chile can proudly state that they have some of the best college and education programs not only in Latin America, but in the world. - The Catholic University of Chile (UC) was ranked second in “The best Latin American Business Schools - 2009” (AméricaEconomía magazine). - Since 1990, there has been a boost of University enrollment from 10% to 40% of young adults. - In the 2008 QS World University Rankings, several Chilean universities ranked among the 350 best in the world (Times Higher Education). - In Information Technology, companies that relocate their operations to Chile can reach cost savings of up to 60% on gross salaries alone. - Extremely low absenteeism and rotation of personnel. - Government-created National Registry of English speakers to be used by potential employers. - In 2008, 35% more students chose technology related careers over business.
- 52% of technology graduates studied computer science/software or electronic/electrical engineering – as opposed to civil/industrial, mechanics, biochemistry. - Studies from the World Economic Forum, UBS and CB Richard Ellis Global Research & Consulting have continuously positioned the capital of Chile, and Chile in general, as one of the most competitive locations to establish international corporations in terms of cost of doing businessincluding taxes- availability of office space, workforce, telecommunications, and transfer costs. 4. Innovation & Modernity Technology is synonymous with innovation and modernity. A modern and innovative country will have a thriving technology sector. We can see examples of innovation and modernity in architecture, infrastructure, the early adoption of new technologies, and the application of these in all sectors of the economy. This is precisely what we found in Chile. - Digitization of Health Care, connecting five hospitals internally in ValparaĂso. - 98% of the population’s taxes are filed online.
- Very Large Telescope (VLT) in the Observatory Cerro Paranal have allowed international astronomers to uncover the mysteries surrounding the Great Big Spots of Jupiter. - Solar power will redefine the Chilean copper industry in 2011 by cutting the use of petroleum by 30%, saving nearly $300 million. - Pioneer in the use of sea water for its copper productive processes and in producing potable water for human consumption. - The Fog Catcher is an innovative device used to catch the humidity of low clouds and transform it into potable water. - Chile is one of the few countries that produce avocado oil without solvents or additives (currently producing 20,000 liters/year and exporting to five countries). - Development and use of SRS (Salmon Rickettsial Syndrome) vaccine which prevents the disease in the salmon population. - Rosa mosqueta, once considered a weed, is nowadays an internationally certified organic cultivation whose oil is being exported to 34 countries and used as a basis in the manufacturing of cosmetics, tea, jam, yogurt and vitamin C tablets.
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STRATEGY
5. Flexibility Every company is different – your needs, ideas, goals and challenges are very much your own. Your partner in business needs to be able to adhere to your exact needs and specifications. You don’t just want solutions that only go halfway – you need customization. Through our conversations with Chilean IT executives, we found this advantage to be unique: the ability to work with you extensively to customize solutions specifically for your needs. - The virtual hard disk is a remote backup system solution for PCs and laptops created after findings that 30% of data stored in computers are erased by human error. - Secure portal that allows the Government to purchase through electronic systems and catalogues in 2006, more than $3.4 billion in transactions.
- One day after the earthquake, a platform was already created for the convergence, integration and systematization of information to search for survivors. - After the International Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) warned of diminishing IP addresses, the IPv6 was implemented to prevent credit card fraud and speed up transactions. - The Ecuadorian IRS service has reduced times of endorsement of 40% after a Virtual Tape Library was created by a Chilean systems integration company. - Implementation of software and process were created in order to prevent credit card fraud and speed up transactions. - Derco, a company who commercialized automobiles such as Suzuki, Mazda and Renault, used a Chilean company to integrate and manage all of their IT and communication needs wonderful country in which to live. Chileans’ quality of life rivals the best in the world.
- Chile’s life quality ranks 30th in the world and is only 10% behind the top ten (Economist Intelligence Unit’s Quality-of-Life Index) - Chileans have a passion for the arts and an integrated network of sports (soccer is the most famous and the Dakar Rally races are held in Chile). 6. Culture Whether you live in the U.S. or Chile, you’ll find you have more in common than you thought. Chile is both a great place to do business and live.
- Chile ranks as the 20th most peaceful country to live in (Global Peace Index Rankings (GPi)). It’s a short list that could go on for many pages. But it’s clear that Chile is an IT leader in Latin America and poised to have a competitive impact on all of the Americas.
- 7 out of 10 Chileans are homeowners. - Educational expenditure is 7.4% of the GDP. - 96% adult literacy - Santiago rents rank as the 10th least expensive among 112 cities (Global Property Guide study of 112). .28
CHILE IT
Your Partner of Choice
C
hoosing the right partner is crucial in achieving your business goals. As we’ve seen too often, the right strategy does not always yield the desired result. The company, and most importantly, the people that you associate with are as important as having the right strategy. And the people and company that you associate with need to have the leadership skills, the competitive skill set, the ability and the commitment to help you succeed. Who hasn’t heard the old saying, “You are judged not just by your actions, but by the company you keep”? It holds true in everyday life and in business.
After our review of the Chilean IT industry and the market needs and wants in the U.S., this partnership seems, well, like second nature. As more and more companies opt to outsource their technological needs, Chile is to be seen as a world-class competitor for all the reasons we’ve described throughout this report – political and economic stability, infrastructure, quality of engineering, innovation and modernity, flexibility and culture. One thing is for sure: we will be following the growth of this industry in Chile for years to come.
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makes companies, industries and countries more competitive in the global marketplace.
We help you better understand b2c and b2b markets so that you can increase your share of trade and inbound investment. We provide planning and strategy to increase brand loyalty and return on investment. Our approach combines marketing experience, common sense and proprietary technology to grow and better understand your customer base; in selecting the best approaches and technologies to reach your goals; and, to achieve success in the competitive U.S. market. We ensure budget efficiency, operational consistency and high productivity. We have worked with companies, trade associations and governments in more than twenty countries on a wide range of products, marketing and positioning challenges. We are particularly known for country and industry branding and understanding how to use world events to achieve national or industry goals. Our innovative thinking ensures results.
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For information on Chile IT or tech opportunities, please write to: information@chile-it.com