A few days ago, the CoMantis team made an interview to us that we will share below:
Crossing oceans, bridging hemispheres. How an argentinian IT company expands globally and links quality delivery across Latin America and Asia to European and US customers
When and how did you make the decision to go beyond the frontiers of Argentina?
MyTaskPanel is headquartered in Spain, Valencia since 2018. Prior that, the company has over 25 years of history in Argentina and Latin America. We have always been betting on high quality and genuine customer care. When these statements are deeds, not just words, the business world opens to you. This is the reason we decided to cross the ocean and bring the highest IT engineering quality from Latin America to Europe.
There is always demand for highly skillful software engineers who, beyond excellence in technology and accumulated expertise, pay attention to what the business really needs and wants to achieve. This has been our attitude – responsibility, professionalism, teamwork, efficiency, innovation. Yes, we are relatively a small core team, though delivering quality and efficiency are much more valuable than counting numbers.
How do you find the Spanish market and competitors?
Our company is well-perceived in Spain due to our hands-on presales approach, rather than bragging about past victories. Certainly, it is extremely important to prove experience, and it is usually a prerequisite in the procurement evaluation process. On the other hand, when you can show in a concrete tender how you´d approach in a professional way the customer case, 90% of the deal is won. There is little room for doubts, uncertainties, risks. Our background is the credibility card. Though the winning strategy is paying personalized attention to each new client.
So, there are lots of opportunities at the Spanish market and we have the advantage of speaking the same language. There are lots of local competitors – same-size and bigger organizations. Quite often we are the chosen supplier due to rate leverage (by using engineers across Latin America (primarily) or Asia (ad-hoc basis)), and due to a very transparent, light, risk-mitigated engagement process. Always trying to avoid overcomplications in an already complex world.
Are there differences working with customers in Latin America and Europe?
Yes and no. We approach each client case as a unique opportunity. Yes, we step on solid foundations, though there are always nuances and details to be meticulously considered. There are general cultural differences between Latin America and Europe. Even in Europe, you do business one way in Spain, compared to the Netherlands or Germany, for example. If I must generalize, in Latin America the pace is slower. And the market in Europe is much more mature in terms of technology adoption.
There are hundreds of thousands of IT services companies like yours on a global scale. Moreover, the low-code/no-code approach is gaining strengths. Don't you consider all that a serious threat to the future of your business?
True quality will always be needed and demanded. It is a matter of approaching and engaging with the right partners. Moreover, we are following the trends and adapting quickly. We are using low-code for some MVP projects, where time-to-market is critical. It is not a threat; it is an opportunity.
In addition to offering quality IT services, we are also commercializing a bespoke project management tool – MyTaskPanel. That is the diversification we bet on for a SaaS-driven, recurrent income that ensures growing, predictable, and sustainable revenue.
CoMantis – how did you engage and where does the relationship stay in your international business development?
CoMantis was very attractive to us with their sales referrals program. They were able to quickly evaluate our business through questionnaires and interviews, give general feedback and advice on our positioning and we jointly decided to try out working together. MyTaskPanel was impressed by the flexibility and result-driven approach. CoMantis liked our speed of reaction and identified in us an agile partner for highly demanding clients, where time is of key importance.
Working under a general referral contract, CoMantis exposed our company to their broad professional network in Europe and opportunities came our way quite quickly.
And how does that help in your expansion?
We are being introduced to new firms, mainly in the UK and that gives additional visibility to the brand. That is always great. Moreover, we are receiving practical advice on-the-go on how to do things better and be sharper when engaging with prospects. There is no upfront financial investment. The investment comes in terms of time and preparation. We give our best to win the business, as the joint success depends on it.
So, what would you highlight from the experience with CoMantis?
International and knowledgeable team; savvy and genuine; meticulous and “no-time-to-waste” approach. We highly appreciate the focus, details, transparency, respect, and hands-on approach.
How do you see this relationship in the future?
Now that we have worked on several opportunities together, believe we have built stronger bonds between the teams. The level of trust and mutual support has increased. Both companies have tested each other “on the ground”. That creates only positive expectations for the months and years to come. CoMantis are heavily relying on their reputation, so having seen the MyTaskPanel team in action has reassured that we are a reliable partner.
Where would you like to go as a business?
The team is growing, the same as the customer base. We are aiming at a stronger footprint in Europe and the USA, and more long-term, end-to-end projects, delivered from Latin America or Asia (India) with Project Managers and Product Owners in Spain. MyTaskPanel has the methodology to deliver across different time zones and this way we ensure cost leverage and a flawless development process. Western Europe has great potential for us, given that Latin America is still underutilized and “unknown” as IT delivery location.
Our vision is for increased efficiency in delivery and keeping the quality of our services. Aiming at a growth that comes naturally (not growth for the sake of it at any cost), with expanding customer engagements and lasting, quality relationships.
Read the original interview here.
