GFT Technologies AG (GFT), a leading international provider of IT services to the financial sector, has today announced that it is expanding its operations in Brazil, confirming its commitment to the region and its banking sector.
Having outgrown the office it opened in Sầo Paulo in 2005, GFT is now adding a new development centre, extending the workforce and looking to grow by 300% within two years. The company has taken a strategic decision to expand into a market which has a flourishing economy and great opportunities. Brazil's economy is boosted by its geographic and cultural position, making it ideal for offering services to the banking industry in New York, as well as integration into a European delivery structure.
GFT's announcement comes as Brazil receives its first investment grade credit rating from Standard & Poor - triple B minus".
A logical extension of GFT's near- and farshore outsourcing offering to the global financial services sector, the new Brazilian development centre is not just another software factory. The team will be an integrated extension of GFT's southern European development capabilities and will also be looking to develop opportunities in the local market.
Graham Underwood, GFT UK's MD commented, "we first identified the increasing importance of Brazil to this sector a few years ago, when we managed a project to bring work back from India to Europe for a European bank. Having assessed and stabilised the project, we then shared the work, as appropriate, between Sầo Paulo, Barcelona and London. This ultimately resulted in cost savings of 35% for the client, but we had also discovered the strategic significance of Brazil. The country's geographical location in an appropriate time zone for Europe and the US, its booming economy, political stability and highly-educated workforce, make it an ideal expansion opportunity for GFT".
"This expansion in Brazil also fits in with our 4Ps approach to outsourcing," he continued. "GFT looks at the project, people, place and then the price. We believe it's all about considering the needs of the project first and then identifying the riright people to complete it. After that the various places and the price become obvious".
Marika Lulay, Chief Operating Officer of GFT Group, added "we intend to remain in Brazil for the long run and are very interested in the Brazilian market, as well as the services the centre can offer other markets. In fact, we are already working with clients in New York, London and Frankfurt and recently won an integration project for a European bank, which will involve GFT's offices in Brazil, Spain and the UK".
GFT's announcement comes shortly after Morgan Stanley Capital International proclaimed Brazil as "the world's largest emerging market", as a rally for Brazil stocks combined with a falls in China left Brazil with a slightly larger market value: "now accounting for 14.95% of the MSCI emerging markets, it is also bigger than Korea, Russia or India".