Brazil

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Brazil has been showing signs of becoming a serious contender in recent years. Aware of the opportunities of tapping into offshore demand, in 2004 the big national players in the IT service industry in Brazil (CPM, Datasul, DBA, Itautec, Politec and Stefanini) created BRASSCOM with the main objective of promoting the export of IT services among its current roster of 3,265 IT firms. The Brazilian Association of Software and Services Export is a clear attempt to emulate the Indian success story (though, if the organization’s Web site is any indication, the effort is an anemic one).

 

The global outsourcing service providers and software firms have a strong presence in Brazil and many are already serving their global client bases. Companies such as IBM, Unisys, HP, EDS, Accenture, Deloitte, Motorola, Intel and Nokia all have offshore centers in Brazil. In addition, TCS, the largest of the India offshore players, has plans to create a new global development center in the state of Sao Paulo, in addition to an existing center in Brasilia.

 

As the offshore market continues to evolve, Brazil appears to be well placed to compete. It won’t provide the lowest prices, but in an increasingly sophisticated marketplace, this is no longer the only assessment criteria. Brazil has a mix of capabilities that, in particular, position it to provide nearshore services to the US. It also has the beginnings of a track record in ITO and BPO. It appears unlikely they’ll ever displace the current market leader, India, but by the time of the next World Cup in 2010, Brazil may well be one of the leading runners up.