Adapt. Or? Drift?

I was at the Gilbane Conference in Boston last week. Well attended, some interesting topics and lively discussion around the coffee breaks. So, when I raised the question of “how was 2009 for you” there was a lot of shaking of heads. Yes, it’s been a tough year for many companies and the phrase “getting by” came up time and time again. So the next question “what about 2010?” was met with slightly more enthusiasm, although many companies are still cautious, as opposed to being cautiously optimistic. So when it came to the last question “so, if you’re still concerned about the US market, have you looked at other markets with potential growth?” there were a lot of blank faces and glazed eye expressions.

It has been a tough year. But it has been less of a tough year in some parts of the world [China still has good growth rates, Facebook has seen huge adoption rates in countries like the Czech Republic and Bulgaria]. The costs of translation and related localisation services are always coming down [or at least negotiable]. According to the World Bank, Denmark ranks higher than Canada in terms of the ease of doing business.

Ok, so a smaller market, but you get the point – there are opportunities out there.  And if you’re considering outsourcing to Eastern Europe or South America, have you checked the potential to sell to there as well?

There’s The Boat. What Will You Do With It In 2010?

We’re in the holiday season. Take some time out to check out the markets, do the ROI calculations, and maybe it won’t be that hard to turn the boat in a different direction and get ahead of the competition in 2010.