IT consulting firm everis to expand sixfold in Argentina
Global consulting and technology firm everis are set to open a new office in the northern Argentinian city of Mendoza. The new location will act as the firm's headquarters on the continent, and will significantly contribute to the region’s economy over the next five years.
Everis, a Spanish IT consultancy firm, announced intentions to expand their base in the Andean region. The news came amid a wave of growth in the Argentinian economy which has marked the end of a multi-year recession. Argentinian President Mauricio Macri is credited with creating a business-friendly environment in the country.
Macri, after winning the election in late 2015, has been implementing policies to draw foreign businesses to the country, increase foreign investment, and reduce inflation. The president believes that his time in office should be defined by a reduction in the country's poverty levels. The poverty rate is said to have dropped from 30% to just above 25% in the year to mid-2017, while the economy expanded 2.7% in the same period. “This news gives us confidence because it confirms that we are on the right path,” commented President Mauricio Macri.
Government officials including Macri met with everis' regional chief Pablo Manzano Iglesias to discuss the firm's future plans in Argentina. Manzano believes that the firm’s presence in the country will be worth $200 million over the next 5 years, in terms of salary generation alone. For the Mendoza region, the figure will be upwards of $75 million, with the addition of 900 jobs in the technology park. The office will be located in the Godoy Cruz Technology Park and will cost approximately $75 million.
Manzano said that "the commitment to Mendoza is part of a larger strategy. In line with this, we will multiply our size by 6 in the country within the next 5 years, from 400 to 2,400 employees. Furthermore, during the next six months we will be opening new lines of knowledge and new departments that were not present in our Argentine offices. Some of which will serve the whole of the America Region, one of which has already begun its operation which corresponds to the development of Big Data technology.”
everis in Latin America
Everis has been active in the Latin America for some time, consulting on digital transformation and supporting clients through technological disruption. The firm is a subsidiary of Japan’s NTT Data and, according to a recent report, is one of the world's largest IT service providers. Everis has an employee base of over 100,000 workers worldwide and an annual revenue of roughly $1 billion (2017).
The firm's strategy in the region is to invest in, develop, and distribute IT technologies that will transform and empower their clients. The firm consults and advises on tech development areas such as digital and legacy transformation, blockchain, big data analytics, AI, and robotics.
Last year the consulting firm completed and released a report titled “A study of agile practices in Latin America’. Agile is a software development framework which streamlines project management and helps teams adapt to a constantly changing environment. In short, the process enables backend developers be more productive, increases the value of projects, and minimizes risk.
The study interviewed CIOs in countries where everis has service centers – including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. The results indicated that though Agile adoption practices are in their early stages around the region, there is significant interest. The firm is currently involved in projects around Latin America, helping governments and the private sector roll out projects using the Agile methodology.
“As well as providers of agile practices, everis faces the challenge of educating these practices on their potential in Latin American organizations towards digital transformation and greater competitiveness in the digital economy,” said Victor León Marambio, the Director of Everis’ Agile Center of Excellence Latin America.
Plans for Villa 31, Buenos Aires
The firm also plans to tackle social issues in the heart of Buenos Aires in relation to an informal settlement called Villa 31. The shantytown lies in close proximity to one of the city’s wealthiest areas and is one of 56 similar settlements in the city. Through the development of an Innovation Hub in the area, everis Argentina CEO announced the firms plan to aid the formal urbanization transition process.
"In our commitment to Argentina we are already talking with the Government of the City of Buenos Aires to analyze how we can implement an Innovation Hub, which will through of a series of transformation actions that allow Villa 31 to become an integrated formal neighbourhood of the city, and at the same time, allow us to train its inhabitants to open opportunities in the ICT field. We’re thinking of concrete solutions for that area.”