Will digital adoption in the country be affected by the rise in the dollar?

With a presence in 41 countries, including Colombia, the company of Brazilian origin Stefanini Group seeks to become a strategic ally in the digital transformation of local companies. Marco Stefanini, global CEO of the firm, spoke about how he sees the country in digital adoption and his plans.

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What is the balance that they can make of their operation in the country?
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We are a global company of Brazilian origin with a presence in 41 countries on five continents, with an annual turnover of more than one billion dollars. Today we are listed as one of the leading global consultancies in transformation and innovation solutions with global recognition from Gartner, ISG and Forrester.

Particularly in Colombia we have completed 21 years, in which we have built a robust history of growth and expansion. Eleven years ago we made an important acquisition that allowed us to multiply the company six times its size, leaving us with an important position in the local market.

What are the solutions offered in the country?

The main solutions we offer in Colombia are related to technology (automation, strategic design, agile squads, next gen applications, cloud services, BPO & Workplace), banking, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, industry and marketing.

All this under a close model of ‘made to measure’, which allows adapting the solutions for each company, making it easier for each company to face the particular challenges of transformation.

How many clients have you been working with in the country and how many do you expect to close this 2022?

We work with around 110 companies from sectors such as banking, insurance, retail, pharmaceuticals and government. We are not talking about a goal for each country, but globally the challenge is to reach a turnover of US$1,200 million and reach 32,000 employees and continue with this growth trend in dollars that is equivalent to 30%.

Thus, the objective would be projected growth of 25% by 2022 and 30% in 2023, according to the economic and political panorama of Colombia.

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How do you see the digital transformation in Colombian companies?

Colombia, like other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, is a little behind other countries in the area of ​​digital transformation, but this becomes an important opportunity for companies specialized in the subject. We have managed to bring large clients from other countries to Colombia, showing that great things can be done and support the growth of many companies, improve the lives of citizens and Colombians, but also add value to society at a very interesting moment in history. of the world.

How do you see the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics by companies?

My vision is that the new business models will be supported by technology, artificial intelligence and analytics. The challenge is that in general, Latin Americans, including Brazil, are not very focused on data, and issues such as data marketing are incipient. Therefore, a glass-half-full look is needed to improve history throughout Latin America. Not only in Colombia.

Do you think that with the rise of the dollar, technological solutions will be affected?
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Not so much actually, because our structure is very local and basically represented by the workforce. In fact, it is the other way around, since it allows us to see the glass as half full, creating more of an opportunity, even to export given that the Colombian peso loses value, therefore the services of Colombia are much more competitive for other countries and thus the solutions technological companies would not be affected as such by this issue.

What would be affected a little is the software and hardware, but it is a minimal proportion if one takes into account that it represents a small part of the costs. So there is no major negative impact.

What are the trends that are coming?

It depends a lot on business monitoring, but several trends have been taking place in the digital world. One of them has to do with a crossing of business lines. For example, you have a bank and you can set up a marketplace, if you have a retail store you can create financial services.

What are the plans for 2023?

We have several fronts to continue contributing to Colombia, such as expanding digital marketing much more in the country, also excellent offers in the field of automation solutions for the industry, and in the financial part, the challenge is to continue growing in digital solutions of stature. as well as in cybersecurity.

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