Customers in Spain are demanding more and more specialised types of consultancy as they begin to appreciate the long-term benefits of investing in information technology. Tomas Ariceta, managing director of San Sebastian-based Ibermatica SA, says that as a result, consultancy and services in the country have been less effected by recession than other sectors of the industry. Ibermatica was set up about 20 years ago, and is said to be one of the most important national consultancy and services groups in Spain. But according to Ariceta, one of his biggest problems is multinational companies – customers in Spain still tend to regard anything coming out of the US as superior. Most of his customers have used multinationals at one time or another, but Ariceta claims that his firm’s strength lies in its experience of managing complex projects that most multinationals won’t touch. He doesn’t believe that Unix is the perfect standard, but says it gives customers ‘room for manoeuvre’ because they aren’t tied to one vendor. The group’s 1991 turnover was approximately $52m, up 10% on 1990, and is predicted to hit $54m in 1992.
