Why Hire Developers in South America?

Historically, US companies have turned to India for outsourced tech talent. Now, times have greatly changed in regards to the ideal locations to outsource developers. More IT jobs and developers are being outsourced from South America. Here’s a look at why the trend has shifted:

1. Cost-effectiveness

Compared to those in North America, the prices to hire tech talent in South America and Latin America is significantly lower. Typically, in relation to US salaries, offshore employees provide the best hourly rates, making offshoring IT talent more cost-efficient than hiring in house. According to the 2018 Guide to Global Software Outsourcing Rates by Accelerance, nearshoring and offshoring, in general, save US firms 40 percent in costs.

For instance, according to FullStack Labs, seasoned professional remote workers who have been developing software for a long time, know multiple programming languages, and/or have worked on a large number of custom software projects will cost between $50 and $75 per hour in the U.S. The same article showed that an offshore or nearshore remote software developer’s salary is more in a range of $25 to $50 per hour, due to a much lower cost of living.

2. Similar time zones, more suitable for business

While outsourcing tech talent and IT work to countries such as India and China is a viable option, there is one major drawback to outsourcing to such areas—the 10-13 hour time difference. Of course, having a similar time zone as that of your employee is much more compatible for business for various reasons.

The minor or non-existent difference in time zones between South America and the US—when compared to countries like India and China—significantly reduces response time between teams and workers, allowing for more highly synchronized communication. Because of this, if an issue were to arise, businesses with developers in South America are able to resolve problems more quickly and before they snowball. Additionally, synchronized communication allows for real-time collaboration among teams.

3. Plenty of tech talent to choose from

Another benefit of hiring developers in South America is that you’ll have a large pool of options to choose from, as tech talent numbers are higher than ever for South America. Both the quantity and quality of tech talent in Latin America has significantly risen over previous years. Now, and with the number of experienced developers still on the rise, the abundance of tech talent is one of the most prominent reasons to outsource to South America.

Additionally, over the past decade, the quality of tech talent in South America has improved as well, as the education systems have dramatically developed and strengthened. Hubs in Latin America such as those in Quito, Medellin, Bogota, and Buenos Aires are all filled with highly educated, tech-savvy workers and prime candidates for developer roles.

A popular site for programmers, Stack Overflow, reported that the average reputation of top users is higher for Latin American countries such as Peru, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.

4. Higher English proficiency

A number of South American and Latin American countries have surpassed China in English proficiency, as reported by the EF EnglishProficiency Index 2015. Countries including Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil are all more proficient in English, making Latin and South America more suitable locations to hire offshore developers for US companies.

According to EF, Latin America has been on that positive trajectory since 2007.

“In recent years, policymakers and economists in Latin America have made education reform a top priority for advancing economic development. In 2014, several countries launched national initiatives for improving English language teaching in public schools,” EF reported.

Now, roughly 800,000 people in South America speak English natively, according to Babbel Magazine.

5. Fewer cultural differences

Because the cultures of the US and South America were both strongly influenced by European civilization, there are fewer cultural differences than those found between US and Indian or Chinese culture. Although there are certainly strong cultural differences in some areas, there are also particular similarities in the work styles and business approaches between the US and South American countries. These similarities make collaboration easier among in-house and outsourced tech staff.

Looking to hire only the best developers from South America for your team? Contact us! We’d love to help you find your next developer.  

Jan 04, 2019


Staffing & Hiring