Karen Liedl
Since the legendary Santa Fe Trail trade route between Chihuahua and Missouri prior to 1846, neighbors Mexico and the U.S. have forged close cultural as well as economic ties. In fact, Mexico is the U.S.’s 2nd largest export market, after Canada. And interestingly, 40% of all goods imported into the U.S. from Mexico is actually produced in the United States through a concept called production sharing.
And as neighbors, that trade has carried on to the modern era. We’ve seen the exchange of technol
ogy products and services explode over the last 20 years with the rise of the computer industry and the nearshore outsourcing phenomenon. Softtek pioneered the concept of “nearshore,” spearheading the movement of technology services from South to North by providing technology consulting to U.S. companies, both remotely from offices in Mexico, as well as on site across the U.S. Today, Softtek is creating digital business solutions for Fortune 1000 companies across the globe.
Good Neighbor Award
In recognition of “leadership in IT,” the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (USMCOC) just honored Softtek with the “Good Neighbor Award” at its annual Binational Conference, which took place at the Organization of American States Headquarters in Washington, D.C. May 24th-25th.
What Softtek has achieved with nearshore services in today’provided to U.S. companies has not only benefited Softtek and Mexico economically, but has benefitted the U.S. and its economy. In a way, Softtek’s efforts have carried on a tradition started on the Santa Fe trail, and continues to this very day within the spirit of the “shared production” concept.
Softtek CEO of US & Canada and member of the Binational Board of Directors for the USMCOC Marcos Jimenez (featured at right) led a panel discussion at last week's conference on “Cybersecurity and IT Innovation,” which brought forth topics of relevance for the U.S.-Mexico relationship in regards to its bilateral innovation of digital economies.
The Future of Digital Borders
The U.S. and Mexico will continue to be inextricably tied together, both culturally, geographically and economically. There are 6 million U.S. jobs that depend on trade with Mexico. And Mexican investment in the U.S. has grown to $17.6 billion.
That number will continue to grow, especially as businesses transform themselves digitally – and Softtek, as well as other technology providers, both in the U.S. as well as in Mexico, will be there helping to usher in the digital strategies and platforms that will enable this transformation, helping to erase digital borders.
