Offshore outsourcing is the controversial practice of moving jobs overseas, to countries where labor costs less. After the peso devaluation in 2002 Argentina has become more and more attractive for companies that seek to move work to offshore locations in order to cut costs and maximize profits. Especially IT companies that operate in software development and maintenance services have discovered the geographical advantages of Buenos Aires over traditional destinations in Asia and appreciate the close proximity to the US. The list of firms forming this offshore Silicon Valley in downtown Buenos Aires reads like the who's who in information technology and software engineering such as IBM, Microsoft, Cisco and Sun Microsystems.
Is offshoring a job machine or a job killer?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Offshore Silicon Valley in Buenos Aires
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10 comments:
Well, I like this photo...very striking against the blue sky...I won't comment on any of those dirty, rotten companies.
Low costs is not enough but if countries like Argentina can provide the right education then there's a skilled force ready to do the job.
I often pass an IBM building in Rochester, MN that is a hideous blue color. I prefer your IBM building - white building / blue sky. Nice pic.
Offshoring should be a wake-up call - it started with manufacturing, and now it has moved to IT, telemarketing, etc... What's next, architecture, engineering, accounting?
A trend that is hard to stop.
Fantastic capture !! Lovely shot..Thanks for sharing..Unseen Rajasthan
Apart from the cheap labour, I imagine Buenos Aires has quite a market for software. I am not surprised IBM and co want a piece of the action.
IBM is not perhaps the best logo to show for a post with Silicon Valley in the title. It has offices on the West Coast, but its headquarters are in New York.
@AB
I think the term 'Silicon Valley' has become a synonym for a region that aggregates high-tech and other information technology companies. In this context it is very rarely used for geographical determination. The importance and size of the area in Buenos Aires is rather small, almost tiny in compairison to the San Francisco Bay Area.
That's a very complicated question especially since so many of us say we believe in capitalism.
Buenos Aires Photoblog: Yes, but it makes a big difference to the Argentinian economy and self-image whether their version of Silicon Valley consists of a similar culture of venture capital and startups as in the Bay Area, or is just multinationals like IBM muscling in to mop up all the big corporate and government contracts. The latter is pretty close to colonialism. Same as it ever was.
@AB
Absolutely agreed! I think the latter is the case. May the roots of origin be quite different, the term "offshore silicon valley" fits perfectly to the situation in Argentina. Maybe you heard of all the other emerging "Offshore Silicon Valleys" e.g. in Ireland, India, South Africa, Ghana, Philippines, Eastern Europe etc. The original meaning of SV may be legendary but outside the US it stands for a hi-tech hub to cut costs.
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