On Tuesday, November 5, the Uruguayan IT industry welcomes its North American peers in a day of inspiration, business, learning and exchange at the Cuti Business Forum 2019.
Key players land from Canada and the USA (North America), and join local leaders at the Latu Event Center to share their experience, data and the minor details needed to continue growing as the technological beacon of South America.
Among the speakers will be Nicolás Amarelle, CEO and founder of CódigoDelSur, who in dialogue with Montevideo Portal explained what are the main objectives of the company for this year, the expectations of the Cuti Business Forum and the growth of the industry.
Montevideo Portal: What is the present of CódigoDelSur? What goals have you set for this year?
Nicolás Amarelle: Our present is a reflection of the work we have been doing for the last 12 years, and I personally consider it to be very satisfactory: we are working with companies from many areas around the world, although we are mainly focused on the North American market, and we are going through a process of growth both internally, in terms of number of collaborators, and externally in terms of the number of projects we are involved in.
In terms of objectives, our raison d'être is always to aim for growth, to train our team more and more and to work on projects that contribute to us from a professional and human point of view.
MP: How did CDS come about?
NA: Although CodigoDelSur formally emerged as a company in 2007, back in the 1990s I was already giving private lessons online to students in the US. The business grew and in 2007 I founded the company, when I had the need to hire the first employee.
At the same time, that was the year the first iPhone was released, which would later open the doors to the expansion of mobile application development, one of our main areas of work in which we saw great potential at that time.
MP: What kind of companies do you work with and from which countries?
NA: We work mainly with startups, helping entrepreneurs to develop their products from the basis of an idea, as well as providing development services for large companies. The two are very different, mainly because working with a startup tends to be much more personalized, and requires our team to really get to know the logic behind the business in order to bring value to the client.
On the other hand, we also work with large clients to whom we provide developers depending on the technologies they handle and the size of the teams they want to form. Many of these companies began their journey as startups, to later transform into sustainable businesses, so we can say that we have the ability to accompany our clients throughout their journey.
Regarding the geographic distribution of our clients, most of them come from the United States, although occasionally we work with a client from Europe or Latin America.
MP: How many employees and customers do you have?
NA: We are currently a team of almost 100 people, although we are still expanding. In terms of the number of clients, the number tends to vary, but we are currently working with around 20 clients at different stages.
MP: How do you attract customers?
NA: We have several ways of attracting clients, but one of the most important is the fact that we have a 12-year reputation in the business, which leads us to receive many referrals from previous clients who recommend us to acquaintances who are looking for services like the ones we provide.
We also have a network of partners that connect us with potential new clients, in addition to conducting our own research that allows us to access new opportunities, and part of our strategy in this regard is to participate in major events within the tech scene, in order to consolidate the CodigoDelSur brand in the U.S. market.
MP: What advantages do you have over your competitors?
NA: We have two big advantages over our international competitors. Firstly, the relationship between our rates and the quality of the service we provide is highly beneficial for the clients we target, who are always looking for lower costs in terms of development, but maintaining certain quality standards, which they could not maintain with companies that provide similar services in other geographic locations.
For example, India is a huge market with many companies working for the same type of clients at more competitive prices, but the differences in culture, time zones and performance in general make it much more comfortable and efficient for a North American company to work with us.
Also, development costs within the US tend to be considerably higher than ours, so that also gives us an advantage over the domestic market.
On the other hand, and as I mentioned before, the fact that we already have an established reputation in the market makes many potential clients contact us already having certainty about how we work and the quality of the services we provide.
MP: What are your main strengths as a company?
NA: Our flexibility when dealing with clients, and the importance we place on the wellbeing of our team are two things we see as advantages to our business. We take it upon ourselves to really understand the client's needs in order to deliver as much value as possible, which means being in constant communication and aligned throughout the process.
Likewise, we would not be able to aim for such high standards if it were not for our team. We give high priority to the professional satisfaction of each of our collaborators, and we encourage them to grow and excel in the different challenges that our company takes on with its clients.
MP: How fast is the company growing?
NA: We have been growing steadily since the creation of the company, and our plan is to continue on this path. We can say that we are doing very well, and that we have the potential to grow even more.
MP: How important is an event like CUTI?
NA: The CUTI Business Forum is, in our opinion, an excellent initiative to put the focus on Uruguay as a quality service provider, highlighting it through the industry in general and not only through the presence of individual companies.
In addition, it is a great opportunity for the dissemination of knowledge and experiences of those who have already had the opportunity to enter the U.S. market. The growth of the industry is the sum of those who are part of it, so this type of instances are always beneficial to all who participate.
MP: What are the main guidelines or guidelines that you will carry out in your talk?
NA: The talk we will be giving together with 3 other companies will be focused on early stage companies and tell, from our own experience, how it is to work for the North American market selling IT services.
Tell a little of our history, how we faced the different stages of growth and current challenges.
MP: How do you see the industry today and what future do you foresee?
NA: Our industry is an industry in constant growth and change. And I think it will continue in that direction in the coming years. Obviously we are going to have the challenges that any company has in a world that is already super globalized, competition, economic ups and downs, etc. But undoubtedly the search for more and better talent (which is ultimately our business) will continue to increase.
MP: Where do we need to improve in relation to other countries and where are we doing well?
NA: I think Uruguay has always been characterized by having an excellent relationship with the whole world, always playing a moderate role and generating beneficial relations for all parties. I think that attitude has made Uruguay a reliable country and that is fundamental when it comes to generating relations between countries.
Source: Montevideo Portal
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