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The software developed by Colombians is not bought by neighboring countries only interest has escalated to the United States and the United Kingdom, given its increasingly renowned reputation.
Some banks in these countries use a Colombian security system that prevents identity theft fraud, and some schools in Costa Rica and Panama have implemented an interactive board, also developed in Colombia, which is changing the way in which classes are given.
"It is projected on any wall, and the computer is managed from the wall. It also offers a series of content and support information to the teacher", explained Fabián Torijano, from Eumedia SAS the company that recently engaged a client in Mexico during Softic 2012, where 46 international buyers participated from 14 countries, invited by PROCOLOMBIA, which created U$ 18.8 million in business expectations.
These are some of the examples that evidence the potential of Colombian industry, which went from generating revenues for US$175 million in 2003 to US$ 698 million in 2011, according to information issued by the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The industries with the highest demand include e-government and finance, especially with the development of custom-made software - that is, with specific features required by the client", indicated María Claudia Lacouture, President of PROCOLOMBIA Colombia. "To a lesser extent, but yet important, we may mention the packaged software, which is highly accepted in Peru and in Central American countries", added Lacouture.
The offer is based on the development of technology, integration and technical services, application development and upgrading, technology infrastructure outsourcing, support services and data center management.
Furthermore, Colombian entrepreneurs are placing all their bets to globalization. Iván Darío Tovar, General Manager of Azuan Technologies, explained that its company was sold, and part of its working capital comes from the United States.
"We export to Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom and United States, which is our target market. In fact, we will participate in the business round that PROCOLOMBIA is organizing at Silicon Valley, where three meetings with potential investors are in the agenda to strengthen our operations in the country", affirmed Tovar.
Another entrepreneur who is placing his bets on international markets is Mauricio Rodríguez, Commercial and Marketing Director of SoftManagement SA. "21% of our invoicing is derived from exports but our strategy is to reach 50% by 2015. Therefore, we are getting ready by obtaining international certifications such as CMMI, which we already obtained", he affirmed.
Competitive factors and new opportunities
PROCOLOMBIA identified three fundamental factors that allow the country to consolidate as global technology vendor trained work force, quality and competitive prices.
Colombia is the third economy in the Latin American region with the highest number of Business and Engineering graduates, as indicated in the Euromonitor 2012 report. To provide further details, according to data issued by the Ministry of Education, 21,593 engineers in the Electrical, Electronic, Industrial and IT areas of expertise graduated between 2001 and 2011.
Furthermore, the sector has been classified as world-class player in the Government Productive Transformation Program and, therefore, increased growth and better positioning on international markets are expected, specially in the North American and in the European markets.
"I used to buy from countries like India and the Philippines, but prices went up. In Colombia, legal safeguards are more stringent doors are open to the Free Trade Agreement prices are good, and so is talent and people are starving to gain access to new market and do business", affirmed Daniel LeBlanc, US buyer.
On the other hand, José Carlos Aguilar from Peru, indicated that his "country still requires significant development and Colombia is by far more advanced in this area and, therefore, a significant part of the demand can be covered by Colombian companies. As example, from the financial and corporate standpoint, you can find lots of resources to help in process development, custom-made products and software manufacturing".
Both United States and Peru are countries where opportunities for Colombian companies are evident, as well as in Central America and the Caribbean.
Other business opportunities
Chile: PROCOLOMBIA has also initiated that the southernmost country offers further possibilities, as its software market is one of the most active in Latin America, especially that focused on education, trade, industry and financial services.
Mexico: there are medium and small-sized companies that seek to become technologically updated to be more efficient and respond to the needs of their clients, who seek for software solutions adapted to the new regulations of the Mexican financial system to prevent asset laundering, promote hospital management and institutional e-learning programs, among others.
Panama: they seek solutions for banks, points of sale and inventories. Furthermore, since the target for the Panamanian Chamber of Information Technologies by 2018 is to consolidate this country as regional leader in the IT and communications technology sector, a new interest has been expressed by companies to acquired finished products abroad, thus achieving maximum complementarity.
Germany: country that imports products from the sector in question. Companies that export to Germany must be sure that their products are certified by CE, which identifies a product that meets the health and safety standards of the European Union. Likewise, products must be modified based on the customs of the country and the language there of.
