A study by international consultancy firm Deloitte has found that Chile's IT industry could focus its efforts in the offshoring services area, and on leveraging the use of ICT among the country's various world class industries, which include mining, salmon and others.

The study, commissioned by Chile's state development agency Corfo, ICT industry association Acti and software sector association Gechs, aimed to identify a development strategy and generate a plan of action for the sector.

According to the study, the Chilean ICT industry has strong growth potential and can help to develop and strengthen other economic sectors.

"The study shows there are two ways to develop the industry, one is through offshoring, targeting countries outside of Chile, and the other is by supporting those local industries that already are world class sectors," Acti's president Miguel Pérez told BNamericas.

As an example of what ICT can do for Chile's world class industries, Pérez mentioned the case of Chilean copper mine Chuquicamata, which must soon become an underground mine, and in order to operate will need a strong robotics component to extract minerals.

Deloitte found in the study that the country's barriers to further development of the ICT industry include the lack of qualified English-speaking ICT professionals, a low level of professional development in local management, and reduced investment in research and development.

"We need to have more ICT staff speaking English, and another area to work on is to improve the quality of management. We need to become a mature industry, and in a mature environment there are more companies working on mergers and acquisitions [as they consolidate]," Pérez added.

Pérez said that companies that can be successful outside of Chile are those of relatively large size or those that tend to be innovators, and that although the only way for the rest to participate in the global market is through associations, the local ICT industry as a rule is not very willing to partner with competitors.

"Overseas, it is more difficult for a customer to hire a company that has 20 employees, because it can fail. But a 200-employee company is more reliable, with a larger structure and reputation. In a market such as ours, almost everyone is a competitor, but when going abroad, your local competitor might be the one that can help you to better deliver services outside," he said.