Software de Plata expects COPC certification

Argentina's Software de Plata expects to receive customer operations performance center (COPC) certification by the end of this year or early next year, sales manager Javier Gagliardo told BNamericas. Software de Plata is seeking COPC certification for its call center and corporate technical support help desk, Gagliardo said, adding that this would be the first COPC-certified call center in Latin America. The company's core business is providing call center services for telecoms and technology companies in Argentina and other Latin American countries, accounting for about 50% of revenues, chief executive Pablo Farina said. Technical support and IT services account for the remainder of the business, Farina said. Software de Plata has around 80 corporate clients, the majority of which are Argentine companies, he said, adding the company also serves clients elsewhere in Latin America and Spain, operating through foreign partners. Foreign customers are generally subsidiaries of clients for which Software de Plata has regional service contracts, he added. About 70% of Software de Plata's revenues associated with the professional services business come from remote services provided by its help desk center in Argentina, he said. On-site services, outsourcing or insourcing of IT professionals, custom software development and product and license sales account for the remainder of the company's business, he added. Software de Plata does not reveal revenue or growth figures, but Farina did say that in 2001, prior to Argentina's peso devaluation, the company billed 6.2mn pesos (then US$6.2mn). About half of the company's revenues are received in local currency, he added. The company employs about 100 consultants in the professional services business and 50 for the call center, he added.