Business View Caribbean
5
Today, GGS has 600 employees, and is the largest
owner-managed business process outsourcing com-
pany in Jamaica, serving clients in the telecom, health
care, financial services, insurance, media, order fulfill-
ment, and travel and hospitality sectors. While about
99 percent of its clients are in North America, the com-
pany does have a global footprint with calls transacted
daily as far away as Europe, Singapore, and Australia.
Over the last ten years, the ICT (information and com-
munications technology) outsourcing industry, now,
with 15,000 workers, has become the fastest growing
employment sector in Jamaica. The government recog-
nizes it as the best source for economic growth on the
island, and has taken numerous steps to encourage
investment. Two redundant fiber networks have been
laid around the island with a connection to Miami.
Companies in the industry enjoy “free zone” status,
with tax and duty exemptions.
Global Gateway Solutions markets its services aggres-
sively and, according to Sutherland, the company has
“good partners that have operations in North America
who may have clients looking for opportunities off-
shore. And, once they come, they meet the community,
they listen to the quality of the calls that we do, they
look at the capabilities that we have, and they’re pretty
much sold on the location. I think that Jamaica sells
itself,” she says.
Sutherland acknowledges that the call center busi-
ness is very competitive, but believes that her com-
pany offers potential clients several key advantages.
She explains: “I think being situated in Jamaica has
become a great opportunity for companies to explore,
based on proximity and cultural affinity to North Amer-
ica. Jamaica is the largest English speaking country in
the Caribbean and the third largest in the Americas.
So, for those looking for a rich English-speaking talent
pool, Jamaica affords quite a bit of appeal. It is com-
petitive, but I think we’ve managed to grow based on
both the location and proximity, and the talent that I
feel we have in the organization.”
Since Jamaica is quickly emerging as the preferred
destination for near-shore outsourcing, Sutherland
