Satyam Opens Software Development Center In Sao Paulo, BrazilSatyam Opens Software Development Center In Sao Paulo, Brazil

Satyam Computer Services said last week it's headed for Brazil, with plans to build a software outsourcing and development center in Sao Paulo that initially will house 100 tech workers.

That's a small employee base, but it may be only the start. With 180 million people, Brazil is turning out a good number of technologists from several universities. It also has a well-developed infrastructure and a cost base that Satyam says is as much as 40% lower than in the United States. And for U.S. customers, Brazil's time zone is more comfortable than India's or China's.

Satyam 18 months ago set up a small marketing office in Sao Paulo that now counts Caterpillar, General Motors, and Nestlé as customers. "The biggest limitation is lack of proficiency in English," says Ram Mynampati, president of Satyam's commercial and health care business, who also oversees the Americas. That may not make it suitable for certain types of IT services.

But Mynampati expects the center will serve other parts of Central America, the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions of Europe, and Brazil itself. "What we're seeing and hearing," he says, "is there is a huge untapped potential here for the economy to grow."