Why outsource to Latin America? How many software developers are in Latin America? Why should a US company consider hiring offshore talent from Latin America? How to approach software outsourcing in Latin America?
Looking for answers to such questions? Keep reading.
From startups to multinationals, most tech companies wish to hire the best developers at affordable rates. However, with a talent shortage, hiring top talent has become nearly impossible on the home ground. So, American companies have moved to a better alternative – Latin America.
South American or Latin American countries offer less time difference, flexible labor laws, proximity to US states, and minimum to zero communication barriers. Also, most of the LATAM countries have been nurturing an impressive IT environment, making them the most sought-after destinations for software outsourcing. What’s more? Let’s find out.
Getting remote work done isn’t as much of a challenge in LATAM Countries as it is in other Asian and European countries.
Latin American countries like Argentina, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have only one to three-hour time difference from the U.S., while countries like India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ukraine, and others have half to a full day’s time difference.
Quick adaptability to new policies and regulations
When clients look at Latin America, they look for English language skills, geographical proximity, and cost-effectiveness.
For example, if you look at India and Poland, which are some of the most developed spaces in outsourcing and shared services, there is a lot of wage inflation, whereas Latin America has more stable economies.
Proximity to the outsourced teams
Hiring from Latin America means you’ll be closer to the action. If you need to jump on a plane to visit your outsourced team and participate in the development cycle, you won’t have to fly halfway around the world.
Also, software outsourcing to US neighboring countries makes participation in the onboarding, development, and maintenance easier. For example, if you choose a country like Mexico, your outsourced team will be only a few hours away.
Global support and growing infrastructure
Currently, Latin America is exploding with big techs looking to source local talent and invest in the growth and development of the overall industry.
The Latin American outsourcing industry has attracted many leading multinational companies, including Intel, General Motors, Genpact, Wipro, American Express, Citibank, and more.
Apart from building their giant offices and production houses, these companies are also investing in call centers, offshore delivery centers, BPOs, and Shared Service Centers (SSC).
What is unique about the cultures of Latin America?
Software outsourcing and hiring culture in Latin America
To hire and retain technical talent from Latin America, it is important to accommodate your hiring strategies to the cultural differences in the region. So, here are the main cultural points related to Latin American countries.
Local colleges and universities
If you wish to hire junior developers directly from the colleges, you should know the best colleges and universities. According to QS’ University Rankings, the best Latin American tech schools are as follows:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Universidade de São Paulo
Universidad Estadual de Campinas
Universidad de Chile
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Differences in engineering backgrounds
The career path of a LATAM engineer is very different from a US engineer since different educational and employment options are available to people from both areas.
The talent pool in Latin America is made up of graduate degrees, boot camps, and coding academies. These are followed by a mixture of corporate and freelancing work in tech companies.
Differences in job resume
When interviewing people from Latin America, go through their resumes thoroughly.
Latin American people’s resumes are usually very modest. They lean towards teamwork and collectivism, so the candidate’s resumes might not feature or highlight personal achievements.
Another point to keep in mind is that they refer to resumes as CVs (Curriculum Vitae).
In addition, Latin American developers’ CVs may also include personal photographs and a lot of personal information. They are also much longer than the common single-page resume available in the US.
Top destinations for software outsourcing in South America
Argentina
Most Argentinian software developers are proficient in English, which is a great strategic advantage for them.
According to the EF Education First global test, Argentinians score the highest in the South American region in academics.
The government understands the importance of IT outsourcing and frequently looks over labor laws to support related initiatives. The government is also working hard to attract more international businesses to the country.
Capital: Buenos Aires
Language: Spanish
Famous for: tango, steak, wine, and football
Bolivia
Unlike other outsourcing countries, Bolivia shares a similar culture to the United States. Lower cultural barriers mean employers experience better communication from the start and a faster connection between the outsourced team and the company’s in-house team.
Bolivia has a more cost-efficient economy than other LATAM countries, resulting better access to good talent at an affordable price.
In addition, Bolivia has had exceptional progress in the technology sector over the past few years and is now a significant innovation center in South America.
Capital: Sucre
Language: 37 recognized languages, but the most common is Spanish
Famous for: Salt flats
Brazil
Brazil is South America’s largest economy. Brazil has a lot of Fortune 500 companies, such as IBM and HP. Brazil is also the biggest IT outsourcing center in South America.
With more than 500,000 IT professionals, and approximately 23,000 new IT graduates entering the industry each year, Brazil is a great place to find software developers.
The advanced technical knowledge is supported by fantastic proficiency in English, which makes Brazil a strong competitor to Argentina in software outsourcing.
Capital: Brasilia
Language: Portuguese
Famous for: Carnival, football superstars, Amazon rainforest
Chile
Chile’s booming economy and business-friendly environment have helped it become one of the top countries in South America for software outsourcing.
Chile is also attracting interest from international corporations thanks to its good reputation and stable economic climate. Security systems, mobile banking, data processing, web design, and green technology are just a few of the fields where Chilean software engineers have excelled.
Additionally, the nation has one of the most advanced telecom infrastructures in South America, with the greatest rates of mobile and broadband adoption.
Capital: Santiago
Language: Spanish
Famous for: poets, Easter Island, wine
Peru
Peru is the third-largest country in the Latin American region after Brazil and Argentina.
Programming expertise is very diverse among Peruvians. Many Peruvian developers have worked for multinational corporations and have a thorough understanding of their operational procedures.
Due to its cultural compatibility with western workplace culture, Peru has been ranked among the top outsourcing destinations in LATAM.
Capital: Lima
Language: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
Famous for: ceviche, alpacas, Machu Picchu
Uruguay
Uruguay’s creative, superior educational system and adoption of new technology are the two key characteristics that set it apart from its neighbors.
Uruguayans frequently start working while still in college, receiving an advantage in the job market. Also, tech education starts at an early age in Uruguay.
By establishing offices and partnerships there, major corporations like IBM, Kraft, BBVA, HBO, and others have already expressed an interest Uruguay.
How to hire Latin American software developers in 5 easy steps
How to hire software developers in Latin America
Look in the right country
Finding a software developer in Latin America is a wonderful place to start, but there are 33 nations in this region. So, select a nation that is more appropriate for you.
Choose a nation that possesses the attributes you need. For instance, Panama has one of the best software technologies in the world, and nations like Chile and Argentina are renowned for their reliable developers.
Reduce your list to one or two nations. This step will save time later on when searching virtually everywhere for the ideal applicant.
Look at the talent pool of each country
This complements the previous point. However, remember that, though Latin America has many software developers, not all of them work in the same field.
In Latin America, the majority of software developers specialize in back-end development, and there is a high concentration of mobile developers, data administrators, data or business analysts, and QA professionals.
So, if you’re searching for software developers for back-end development, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, or Uruguay will be your best bet; however, if you’re seeking game or graphic developers or DevOps developers, Brazil has a larger number of workers with those specialities.
Keep the price in mind
Chile, Argentina, and Brazil have the highest earning software developers, earning over $10,000 per year, according to a StackOverflow study.
Therefore, check with other nations if you need software professionals for a little project at a reduced cost.
Remember, the key is to select a software development expert who fits your budget and does a fantastic job rather than trying to find a cheap solution.
Test their tech knowledge
The same Stack Overflow study also revealed which technologies software developers in Latin America prefer to use in their projects and which ones they find completely unappealing. Latin American developers mostly prefer HTML, JavaScript and Python.
Inquire about the technologies they are familiar with, the programming language they use, and other details. Organize virtual tests and live studies to test their knowledge and problem-solving approach.
Ask them about their experience
Finally, but most certainly not least, look into their experience. Inquire about their involvement in past projects of a similar nature, their role and responsibilities, how they managed to produce a wonderful product, and more.
Even if you decide to work with a less-experienced software developer, they should still be able to offer you an idea of how they will approach your project.
Bottom line
The advantages of software outsourcing to Latin America are numerous. However, don’t forget that it’s not just about cutting expenses when you outsource to Latin America; it’s also about improving productivity and forming alliances.
If you wish to hire experienced software developers from Latin America but don’t want to get into the hassle of screening, testing, interviewing, and onboarding, visit Turing.com
Turing’s AI-backed Intelligent Talent Cloud helps companies source, vet, match, and manage the world’s best software developers remotely.
FAQs
Why outsource to Latin America? Latin American countries offer high-quality IT professionals at lower costs than the United States. Also, cities like Buenos Aires, Argentina, Montevideo, Uruguay, and Bogota, Colombia are thriving as ‘tech hubs’.
How many software developers are in Latin America? In 2021, there were about 9,63,000 developers in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico combined, ready to offer outsourcing services.
Why should a US company consider hiring offshore talent from Latin America? Here are four reasons why a US company should consider hiring offshore talent from Latin America:
Less time zone differences
Quick adaptability to new policies and regulations
Proximity to the outsourced teams
Global support and access to growing infrastructure
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Software Outsourcing in Latin America: A Complete Guide
Description
Software outsourcing in Latin America means 1. Less time zone differences 2. Proximity to the outsourced teams 3. Quick adaptability to new policies and regulations 4. Global support and access to growing infrastructure
Ankit is a writer and editor who has contributed his expertise to Govt of India, Reebok, Abbott, TimesPro, Chitale Bandhu, InsideAIML, Kolte Patil Dev., etc.
