South America: the hot spot for finding tech talent

Now that the Covid pandemic crisis is starting to fade away, the IT industry is returning to its continuous growth pattern of 5%-6% yearly growth, which means the industry worldwide is expected to surpass the US$5.3 trillion mark by the end of 2022. For example, currently, there are about 1.35 million tech startups around the world, and by 2030, 500 billion devices will be connected to the internet. 

Just in the U.S., the tech sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. The country still represents the largest technology market in the world, and the IT industry is expected to reach $1.8 trillion dollars by the end of the year. As the global tech industry keeps booming, it relies on a continuous influx of professionals to fill its growing number of job demands.

On that note, Latin America has become one of the main hubs for tech talent and software development for companies that are looking to find affordable talent in a shared time zone yet don’t want to compromise on quality. The region has become the perfect place to look for engineering talent due to its ever-increasing number of tech graduates and new developers.

However, it’s not by chance that companies look at Latin America as a talent gold mine. Here are some advantages to look into:

Benefits of Nearshore in Latin America

Even though a relatively new region to nearshore from, Latin America has kept a good track record of passionate IT developers that are eager to work. Therefore, building a solid team of South American developers has several advantages:

Proximity to the U.S. 

One of the main difficulties of working with partners halfway around the world is trying to manage work within huge differences in time zones. This problem when working with people in countries from Latin America. Latinamerican countries are within (if not in the same) time zones as the US and Canada. This allows real-time collaboration and eases project development and communications.

Less Culture Clash

Latin American countries share several similarities with the U.S, and the work culture is close enough for companies to feel comfortable working with remote developers within the region. Plus, most students in LatAm learn English from a very early age; English is the third most spoken immigrant language in South America, with about 5.4 million speakers.

These cultural shares between North American and South American countries may make their IT professionals and companies a better fit for your team.

Industry Growth

The technology industry in Latin America is booming rapidly. Growth can be traced back to ever-increasing better education in technology and improvement in the South America technology infrastructure. The region is full of a young population ready to take on new challenges. Also, young people bring fresh perspectives, enthusiasm, and energy, making them more flexible and creative potential workers. Plus, they are tech-savvy and, therefore, excellent web development candidates.

Cost-effective

Another advantage of outsourcing Latinamerica development talent is the cost efficiency for American and Canadian companies. The average wage for top talent in the region will vary, but Latin America will still provide quality IT work for significantly less than their North American counterparts.

Best places to Nearshore in Latin

Argentina

Argentina is one of the best options to outsource IT talent, as it offers cost-effective software solutions with a large pool of industry experts within a convenient time zone and almost cero cultural barriers. The country has been developing its IT talent for about 20 years, as the Argentinian government understands the importance of IT outsourcing businesses and has passed laws that support and attract more international businesses. 

Also, Argentina has the highest level of English in the region, so it’s easy to find software development talent proficient in English. 

Another plus comes from the country’s economic development and its affordable prices; since 2002, the Argentinean software development market has become very cost-competitive.

Chile

Chile has one of the most business-friendly environments and advanced infrastructure facilities in the Latinamerican region. Its developed business environment is positioning the country as a key supplier of IT and software development services to the western market.

Also, the country's BPO and IT industry is thriving and provides high-quality services to local and global clients. Another great advantage of Chile is its high-quality workforce. As of 2021, the literacy rate in Chile is 96.4% — higher than the Latin American average of 93.9%. The country also has a well-developed telecom infrastructure, counting the highest broadband and mobile telephony penetration rates in the south American region. 

Finally, by staying on top of digital innovations, Chilean outsourcing companies are well-equipped to handle projects of any scale and size on top of their affordable prices. Chilean software developers are known for their solid programming skills and consistently rank in various coding competitions, making software development one of the most outsourced services to Chile. 

Colombia

Thanks to all the hiring and investment benefit from the government to attract foreign IT leading companies worldwide, Colombia has earned the status of the software development outsourcing hotspot in South America. Plus, with one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, Colombia’s economy is among the strongest in Latin America, ranking as the fourth largest and making it a stable and reliable region for companies looking to outsource IT services. 

Also, Colombia’s developer communities are active in all the country’s major cities, including Medellín. For example, it holds the largest JavaScript community in Latin America, as does the largest Spanish-speaking JavaScript community in the world.

Now, when it comes to location, Colombia is situated in the Eastern Standard time zone, making it easy for software developers based there to collaborate with teams, U.S.-based teams. Colombia is also close enough to the rest of Latinamerica, allowing all team members to work on the same business day and communicate smoothly between them.

Lastly,  its world-class infrastructure makes Colombia a solid option when it comes to outsourcing IT engineering talent. 

Mexico

Mexico has been an attractive base for manufacturing for decades, but data indicates that more U.S.-based companies are focusing on “nearshoring” operations in Mexico than ever before. This way, the Aztec country has slowly risen as an outsourcing destination when it comes to Information Technology (IT) and Human Resources (HR), and similar to Canada, its strong IT education has become one of the best assets the country has when it comes to outsourcing web developers. 

Plus, language and cultural proximity with the U.S. makes it a great choice for American companies looking to hire nearshore freelancers. The number of consumer and cultural exports from countries like Mexico to the U.S. helps to build familiarity and solidarity between the two countries, which can only help advance a healthy relationship within the company.

Now, there are some things to keep in mind before you begin your quest to find the best remote IT team in Latin America. With limited knowledge of a region, it is complicated to understand the tech landscape and how the foreign hiring processes work. Also, it is crucial to know which universities are producing the best tech talent for you to know what to look for in your potential hires CVs and start building a solid network. 

As a foreign company, it might be difficult to find and hire talent in an unknown region; however, it is not impossible. Having a local partner that it’s established in the region can save you lots of time and resources. This will help you spot the right talent that aligns with the cultural, social, and business values that benefit your business operations. 

Building an IT team in Latinamerica will only bring advantages to your company. Don’t know where to start? Talk to our experts! At Intersog, we have been delivering success across industries for over 15 years, developing web applications customized to each client’s specific requirements by leveraging our extensive expertise and deep technology capabilities.