Size makes a difference. Midsized businesses have different concerns surrounding IT infrastructure management than large enterprises. Among other IT solutions, CPM Braxis, a leading IT service provider in Brazil, provides infrastructure services for enterprise and midsized companies.  I interviewed the firm’s Global Clients Director, Andre Maximiano, about issues in midmarket outsourcing.  

What are some infrastructure management issues that midsized companies face?  

AM: Due to budget restrictions and growth pains, midsized companies often have to improve performance of one department at the expense of the overall business. They also are often forced to take actions that don’t optimize performance because they don’t have a dedicated team to continuously focus on productivity improvement and problem prevention. In addition, they are more likely not to have the capital resources to ensure the necessary level of security. And they often exceed budgets and miss deadlines. 

Although Remote Infrastructure Management Outsourcing (RIMO) is a common IT solution that large enterprises use, many midsized companies considering this solution are fairly new to outsourcing or new to remote (nearshore/offshore) services. How does your company help them through the decision process?  

AM: Many midsized businesses today are facing a considerable challenge to effectively optimize their IT infrastructure and operations. At the same time they have to deliver ever-improving service levels to meet and exceed the expectations of their business users without impacting the quality and security of the services. That’s exactly when we come in and suggest our “Trusted Advisor” approach. 

At CPM Braxis, we provide customers with a detailed business case / ROI analysis even before a contract is signed. This business case /ROI analysis shows companies how they can achieve sustainable, low-cost remote infrastructure management services based on delivery flexibility and intense use of ITIL-based methodologies and tools. The business case / ROI analysis also shows what kind of benefits will be harvested in the short, middle, and long terms. 

How does your company’s business model benefit midmarket companies? 

AM: We have a delivery team that’s composed of project managers, IT specialists, etc., allocated according to specific project requirements. These are skills that are often lacking in midmarket companies. 

We try to deliver above and beyond what we were hired for. We are a Trusted Advisor / Partner that can help clients minimize the changes and corrections that they need to do in the short and mid-term, with our company heavily investing in proactive prevention and management. 

We have also a dedicated customer relationship manager, which is someone on the executive level with a technical background but who is more of a business manager than technical operations manager. This manager is dedicated to a specific customer and is a focal and single point of contact for everything regarding that customer. Plus we have a dedicated delivery executive for each contract, responsible for establishing a governance and quality assurance structure, following a clear process jointly defined with the customer. 

One of our best practices is to do an assessment of the infrastructure management needs of a customer and identify potential improvements, benefits, and risks of outsourcing that operation. Many midsized companies are reluctant to take a “big-bang” approach when transitioning to RIM services, so we also offer a pilot program to prove our capabilities and show the financial benefits of outsourcing larger operations. 

How does your pilot program work?  

AM: Here is an example. We were talking to a potential customer who had some concerns about service quality. We established a contract with small scope, and we established a special warranty program pilot for this client. They tested our service for three months, and our warranty was that if they were not satisfied with our delivery quality, we would refund them the amount of the professional services. It’s a try-and-buy plan. 

Before signing the contract, we also give  the option of performing an assessment where we sit down with the customer and understand their organization and operating model. And we try to help them assess their infrastructure team so we can find where we can help them initially. In a pilot program, we engage initially with a short scope of services and that gives the customer a chance to really assess what we can do and what kind of incremental enhancement services can be provided. 

Earlier, you mentioned security as an issue for midsized companies. How does your company handle this challenge?  

AM: Security is a top issue, and midsized companies have been educating themselves about outsourcing and offshoring through reading and hearing about the experiences of enterprises that have already outsourced. We have a strong security process. When customers visit our facilities in Brazil, they see that we have secluded spaces and rooms with badge readers, cameras, entry log management, dedicated connections, and all the apparatus necessary to  the security of our customers and teams.

We also have proper security procedures and training to make sure that there are no data issues. And that includes background checks and criminal background checks, employment history, extensive interviews, knowledge tests and also continuous training. All of our employees are trained at least once a year in security procedures, and all of them are required to sign NDAs, Intellectual Property Agreements, and Business Ethics Agreements. 

Do many of the midsized companies that are considering RIMO have a Brazilian service provider on their radar screen, or are most not yet aware of outsourcers in Brazil?  

AM: We’re on the radar screen because of the increasing movement to nearshore providers. But few North Americans have been to Brazil, and most don’t realize that our Brazilian culture is very similar to the U.S. culture. When our potential customers come to visit our facilities, they are always surprised at how similar the Brazilian business culture is to the American business culture. 

How does your culture differ from other remote service providers?  

AM: The cultural thing is important. We are easy-going, but we are not afraid to speak up and push back to find alternatives to problems. We know the technical piece of what we are delivering, but we have enough flexibility to perform new, diverse, and creative solutions. Brazilians have extremely good soft skills (negotiation, flexibility, communication, cultural awareness), so we make very good outsourcing partners, because we are always trying to achieve the highest satisfaction levels. 

One of the issues that companies have had to deal with in offshore relationships is the necessary communication workarounds due to misunderstanding clients’ needs and cultural preferences.  Workarounds always add to the price of outsourcing – it’s a “hidden” cost. For large enterprises, this is not as much of a concern because they can use their business volume to pressure a lower services price. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the outsourcer won’t be able to provide services at that lower price forever. 

But midsized companies don’t want to deal with communication workarounds, and this is a big issue for them. They want to partner with outsourcers that have a similar culture to their own. 

In addition to the cost, time zone, and culture benefits of nearshore outsourcing, are there additional benefits or value that companies can achieve by choosing a Brazilian service provider?  

AM: Brazil is advanced in IT. We have one of the most advanced financial systems and most advanced exchanges in the world. We’ve had same-day clearance of checks for 30 years. We have a pool of one million IT professionals in Brazil, and we are used to dealing with changes and economic downturns due to the 15 years of hyperinflation that we had in Brazil in the 70’s and 80’s.

Most of our CPM Braxis employees have worked at large local, regional and multinational companies and are trained in processes, corporate politics, and have practical business experience. This is a differentiator from service providers in many offshore or other nearshore countries.  

Do you think the recent earthquake in Chile will make a difference to someone considering whether or not to use a Latin / South American service provider?  

AM: Our company has strong disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities. But disasters are not a problem here. Brazil is an old, old country, one of the oldest land masses on the earth. And we are far from Chile. IBM has been doing business here since 1917. They have close to 15,000 people in Brazil doing business with many multinationals. We have a well-established country and, as we say, we are more than ready for the world. 

Andre Maximiano is Global Clients Director at CPM Braxis and is based in Chicago, Illinois. He previously held various executive sales and consulting positions at Fortune 500 technology companies such as  IBM Global Services, Atos Origin, and KPMG Consulting / Bearing Point. Maximiano is a recognized expert in IT offshore outsourcing and has written white papers and articles about it. He can be reached at andre.maximiano@cpmbraxis.com.

Since 1998, freelance writer Kathleen Goolsby has studied outsourcing relationships’ successes, failures, trends, and best practices. She has interviewed more than 860 executives at buyer and service provider companies and is the author of “Critical Requirements for Building and Sustaining a Successful Outsourcing Relationship,” a chapter in Global Outsourcing Strategies: An International Reference on Effective Outsourcing Relationships (December 2006, Gower Publishing). As a freelancer, she also currently serves as the Senior Writer for  Outsourcing Center (whose parent company is sourcing advisory firm, Alsbridge) and has authored dozens of articles as well as white papers. In a past role, she was editor of Outsourcing Venture (a former print publication). You can contact Kathleen at ksgoolsby@gmail.com.

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