The long-awaited record harvest, which promises to bring with it the necessary relief to a battered economy, is not the only "green shoot" that the country can cling to to put in order the farrago of its accounts.
Far from the fields full of grains and the routes crossed by trucks loaded at the top with valuable commodities, Argentina makes its way in international trade with products of high added value, which do not know customs and have no growth ceiling .
In 2018, US $ 1.7 billion were exported in software and knowledge services linked to high technology (total invoicing of US $ 3,283 million), which positions this branch of activity as one of the most important in the increasingly oscillating trade balance.
If to this we add other verticals of the so-called "Knowledge", such as legal and advisory services, research and development and publicity, among others, the figure amounts to US $ 7,000 million in exports; volume that, depending on the calculations, even exceeds that of the automotive sector.
Proof that times have changed is the growth of Mercado Libre, which has a market value of over US $ 23,000 million, while YPF, once the jewel in the crown, is worth "just" US $ 5. 000 million.
With terms such as "fourth industrial revolution" or "digital transformation 4.0" in the mouth of specialists, it is no coincidence that the productive apparatus has set its sights on a business that grows towards the five continents. Reasons, of course, are left over.
However, despite the apparent bonanza, this industry has not been unaware of the ups and downs of the Argentine economy in 2018 - to which has been added the 12% export duty to the provision of services that has been in force since January. , although the commercial balance is still positive.
According to the Permanent Observatory of the Software and Computer Services Industry (OPSSI):
- Sales of the Argentine Software Industry increased almost 45% in 2018 compared to 2017 (measured in current pesos)
- This generated an increase in registered employment of 5.6%
- In absolute values, they represent about 5,400 new jobs
- The total number of people using this activity exceeds a whopping 435,000, according to INDEC
- In a climate of strong labor instability, it is one of the few areas in which the generation of employment continues to rise sharply
"In this sector there is a lack of qualified personnel, despite the problems that are common to all branches of activity, such as high interest rates, there have been no layoffs or breakdowns of companies," says Aníbal Carmona, president of the Chamber of Software Companies and Computer Services of Argentina (CESSI).
As a result of a greenback that continues to rise, "outside borders" sales already account for 52% of total industry dollar revenues.
The executive indicates that those companies that only operate in the domestic market find it more difficult to transfer their higher costs to prices. "That makes them lose profitability and makes it difficult for them to retain qualified personnel," he stresses.
The OPSSI data, based on the information provided by more than 200 companies that employ some 20,000 people, account for some market remuneration:
- For inexperienced personnel (junior), the monthly gross salary exceeds $ 30,500, without including the improvements planned for the current year
- Those who already have some experience (semi-senior), receive an average salary of around $ 45,000
- Those who have greater expertise (senior), get a compensation that starts at $ 60,000 (not counting the 2019 increases)
In comparison with the data disseminated by the CESSI in March 2018, there was an average increase in salaries of just over 40%, one of the segments that least "lost" against inflation in 2018.
A storm-proof sector
Andrés Vior, CEO of Intive-FDV, assures iProUP that 2018 "was a very good year, with a 55% growth in turnover, measured at constant change".
However, he clarifies that this did not necessarily happen because the market interned helped. Rather, it was the product of greater sales abroad.
In the context of a dollar that jumped from $ 18 to more than $ 40 in just 12 months, predictability and medium-term planning became high-demand tasks.
"We saw a very slow exchange rate in the middle of last year, that was left behind and now we went to the other side, we went from being happy to being worried, because the devaluation has been so extreme that it left the continuity of inflation sitting." emphasizes Vior.
Companies engaged in "manufacturing" software or developing technology agree that the impact of the crisis has been less violent in their industry. For Vior, "it is not easy for anyone to plan in such changing conditions, but if you see the 'excel' the results were good."
For his part, Carlos Lizarralde, co-founder of 7Puentes, a firm specializing in data analysis and machine learning, establishes a double analysis regarding the performance of his business in 2018.
"As for foreign sales, for us it was a very good year, whereas on the domestic level we have noticed that many firms had more problems paying," the executive points out to iProUP.
Given this panorama, Lizarralde explains that "the outside compensated, since our strategy focuses on having one leg inside and one outside, and because of inflation the renegotiation of contracts became more complex".
Vior adds that, at the local level, "many projects stopped and in others the budgets disappeared before time, due to the devaluation." Nobody imagined that a situation like the current one was going to happen.
Today, budgets are made in pesos and are tied to the price of the dollar; They also depend on the customer and their needs. The CEO of Intive-FDV clarifies that, in Argentina, they work with the financial sector, large industrials and agriculture, in which "there was not so much impact of the crisis".
The market demands a passport a day
Aerolab, Argentine studio dedicated to the design and development of digital products, is another of the companies that went out to expand its portfolio of clients from abroad. Agustín Linenberg, director of New Business, reveals to iProUP the focus is on increasing the number of startups with which it operates.
According to Linenberg, focusing on attracting customers from abroad implies the same challenges as looking for an internal one. "It is key to maintain a fluid communication and to give transparency in the progress of the project," he says.
"You have to be side by side with the team to work in conjunction with the client and with those who consume your product or service," says the entrepreneur.
The level of human resources and the large number of talents with which the country has positioned the Argentine workforce as one of the most valued in the world. This, of course, opens the doors to all kinds of markets.
"There is room for all players, there was always competition and we maintain a level of production and quality that makes us not compete for price, since we can not fight in countries like India or Pakistan," confesses Vior.
Unlike nations that have strong software industries because of the scale effect (quantity), in these lands what stands out is quality.
Lizarralde refers to the place that Argentina occupies in the world map of the knowledge industry: "Today we are well positioned, we have the advantage of our time zone and we have a good number of professionals who speak English."
2019: same precautions, equal optimism
An investigation of the OPSSI reveals that, if there is sufficient trained talent in the country, companies can increase their average professional staff by up to 15%, which would imply the creation of some 15,000 registered jobs.
Along the same lines, the entrepreneurs of this branch of activity project a growth of 32% in local currency and a rise in exports of 16% in dollars by 2019.
For Carmona, "these numbers reflect the importance of debating and promulgating the Law of the Knowledge Economy, surpassing the current Software Law that expires at the end of the year, and dispelling all the doubts that arise in the continuity of promotion of the sector" .
This project includes, in addition to the Software industry, the Audiovisual, Biotechnological, Geological, Professional Services of Export, R & D, Nanotechnology, Aerospace and Satellite, AI, Robotics, IoT, Sensors, Additive Manufacturing, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality and Industry 4.0
The president of the CESSI considers that his sanction will generate the "Dead Cow of the people", since the economy of the knowledge in general and the industry in particular are, by their potential, "more resistant to the crises and generate the works of the future , today".
The ball is now on the state side, which should confirm in fact the support that was guaranteed in words.
At the risk of being blown by the wind, the software industry is committed to a ratification that consolidates a business vital for the future of the country, with less tailwind in a horizon that requires urgent changes so as not to lose footprint to the most developed nations. .
