Hildebrando

Mexico-based 'nearshoring' tech firm expanding to Northwest - 11/06/2010

After nearly 24 years at Microsoft, most recently as a general manager in the company's retail operations, Felipe Sanchez Romero is now working as an executive in the Seattle area for Hildebrando, responsible for building the Mexico-based technology outsourcing company's business in the Pacific Northwest.

In an interview, he answered questions about his background, Hildebrando's plans here, and the company's focus on the "nearshoring" of technology work. Continue reading for excerpts.

Why did you leave Microsoft? Microsoft was a great ride for me -- I learned a lot, and I'm grateful for all the experiences, different countries, different geographies. But I wanted to do my next step. I have been very fortunate to be in technology for 25 years or so. I wanted to continue in technology, and I have a passion for Mexico, for my country. I saw the opportunity to combine the entrepreneurial aspects of my career, continue in technology and leverage what I have been doing, and also stay here in the (Seattle) area, which I like a lot. We moved here almost three years ago. My family, my wife and my kids are enjoying it, and it's a great combination.

Everyone is familiar with the concept of offshoring, often in India or China. Hildebrando says it specializes in "nearshoring." What does that mean? We believe nearshore provides the highest productivity when you combine the proximity of Mexico and the time zone -- there are some areas where we don't even have a time zone difference. We can provide very competitive costs, and good quality. Cultural affinity. Mexicans and Americans are very close, very familiar, very strong business partners. In terms of visas, that is easier for us to fly back and forth. I'm not suggesting that we're eliminating offshore work, but there can be some projects where there's a combination of nearshore or offshore, or some projects that are dedicated to nearshore. That can work pretty well. And that's what we have been experiencing.

Where are the Hildebrando IT workers based? We see a combination of people. Here locally, I see Hildebrando hiring good-quality, talented individuals, well-paid jobs, because we see here a lot of the self-engagement, the project management. I firmly believe that those jobs are required here locally to serve the Northwest market. In addition to that, in order to be competitive, we will be using resources that we have in Mexico. We have five delivery centers in Mexico, including Tijuana, Monterrey, Aguascalientes, Mexico City. That's where we have the bulk of our technical staff who will actually be providing the complement for the talent that we will have here. We already do that in some cities in the U.S., but I will be developing the Northwest, which encompasses even Vancouver (B.C.), Seattle and also I believe we will be able to serve Portland through here.

Do you envision Hildebrando becoming one of the companies that serves Microsoft locally alongside its existing contract agencies? Oh, definitely, that's definitely my aspiration. We have to earn the right of being a vendor of Microsoft, it's not going to happen overnight. Because I am ex-Microsoft, I know that the company has to find a good business proposition in the offer that we have. But yes, I aspire to that, and not only Microsoft, but also other companies here, world-class companies like Starbucks or Amazon, Expedia, Costco, to name a few.

What kinds of savings could companies expect, if they were to choose a "nearshoring" option over a local contracting agency where all the work is done in the Seattle region? It depends on the mix of resources, but I feel pretty confident that if we compare with a 100-percent local solution, I can see a 40 or up to 50 percent cost reduction.

Is that primarily because of the cost of labor? Pretty much. The reality is that the cost of that labor is a lot cheaper than in a city like Seattle.

Do you foresee any backlash from local workers? Could they be concerned about losing work to cheaper labor in Mexico? I see that that could be a way of looking at it, but the way that I would invite people to see it is that this is an opportunity to be more productive. We are not doing everything, and I see that there are still high-quality jobs required to be here locally, with talented individuals. I see that this is an option, an alternative, for companies to use if they believe there is a business process that is not core to what they do, or legacy system that they have to maintain but is not a leading-edge technology they are investing in. We are part of a world economy nowadays. There is no company who can survive just buying local stuff if they want to compete worldwide. Nearshore makes it, in some cases, more effective.

How far along are you, in terms of building up your business here? Well, imagine how far I could be in two months. We have an office, we are talking to different prospects. We do business in the U.S. already, but we're definitely just starting here in the Northwest.

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/06/qa_mexican_it_outsourcing_company_building_northwest_business.html