Summary: There are many locations to consider when outsourcing software development. Learn more about why Latin America should be at the top of your list!

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The world of software development moves at an increasingly rapid pace. Agile development means being responsive to the marketplace with increasing speed and complexity while not sacrificing quality. As the queue of never-ending projects grows, you may find that it strains your development resources.

How can you meet constant demands for new and better products? You could hire more developers, but good developers come with high salary requirements. It can also take months to onboard a new developer with your existing team.

Another option is outsourcing development. As you consider the best way to scale, you’ll want to ensure your existing team can effectively collaborate with your outsourced team. This is where outsourcing to Latin America has several advantages over outsourcing to other locations.

Why Choose Outsourcing?

Outsourcing has a number of benefits. You can hire an experienced team of developers to meet that need without a long-term increase in overhead.

1. In general, software development costs can run significantly higher with onshore developers. There is also the time involved in finding developers. On average, it takes about 66 days to hire a developer. If you need multiple developers, this can take even longer.
2. Having the right staff at the time you need it is only one benefit. Outsourcing your development can have several other benefits.
3. Save Money: Outsourced development staff are often located in countries with lower costs of living. You’ll pay less in development costs than you would hiring additional resources. You can also save in not needing to provide equipment, insurance, 401K contributions, etc.
4. Experienced Talent: Outsourcing companies have a range of talent at their disposal for different types of projects. If you are taking on something new, you may not have any internal expertise to meet the requirements of your project. Working with an experienced outsourcing partner allows your company to leverage their extensive recruiting process and significant talent pool.
5. Scale Your Team: You can grow without needing to hire. One project may require a team of five developers, and the next project could need ten. You’ll have the ability to only bring on the amount of bodies you need when you need them.
6. Target Your Industry: Do your projects need specific business knowledge? If you hire, you may find a skilled developer who lacks experience in your field to really hit the ground running. With outsourcing, you can find developers that work specifically in your industry.

What is Nearshore Development?

Outsourced development has been increasing in popularity over the past few years. Thanks to changes in technology, it has become far easier for developers to work remotely.

1. You have options when it comes to outsourced developers. Offshore development is a concept that has been around for a long time. However, people often have hesitations around offshore development due to the following challenges: time zone differences, language barriers, poor quality, and low productivity.
2. An “in-between” solution to hiring your own developers and offshore developers is hiring a team of nearshore developers. Nearshore development is like offshore, but the development team is located within your time zone. The minimal time zone difference makes collaboration much easier. With an offshore team located anywhere from 6 to 12 time zones away, meetings are limited, and responses delayed. This ends up costing money and time in your project. With a nearshore development team, you are located in the same time zone or have only a 1-3 hour difference. Teams can work and communicate in real-time.
3. Agile software development is fast and requires tight communication. Conversations about requirements and iterations are ongoing. That communication can’t happen if time zones mean that one team is working while the other team is asleep.

Latin America: A Growing Hotspot for Nearshore Development

More than any other region outside of the United States, Latin America has been rapidly adopting agile software development. And as a global market for outsourced developers, Latin America is growing at the fastest rate. This makes it a strong competitor in the IT outsourcing world.

Latin America has also caught the attention of several big profile companies. Amazon Web Services has operations in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Other big companies that have turned to nearshore development, include Google, Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen, and IBM .

In addition, according to Stack Overflow, a site for software developers, reputations are higher for top users in Latin American countries than many other popular outsourcing location. For example, even though India has more users, the quality of Latin American users is higher.

Education and Experience

Latin American universities have been strongly influenced by U.S. academics. Agile is being pushed as the preferred method for software development and many Latin American countries are graduating a significant number of students with degrees in computer science and engineering.

Additionally, children in Latin American countries learn English at a very early age. Other offshore countries may have equal experience but also have a communication barrier. Latin American developers will have proficiency in English, making it easier to work with your team.

According to Stack Overflow, developers in Latin America include web, mobile, back-end, and full-stack developers. Latin American developers use programming, scripting, and markup languages similar to the rest of the world. This includes JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Python among pretty much any other modern tool or technology.

Cultural Fit

Working with offshore teams in Asia can have challenges when it comes to the teams working together. Latin America’s culture is close to that of the United States. When you are working on a project, you want the developer to be engaged and mindful of the outcome. Passive team members can result in costly mistakes.

Developers in Latin America have the confidence to push back or raise red flags when something isn’t going well. Nothing will delay a project more than plugging along and ignoring issues.

You also want your software development to match what your own developers would produce. The United States and Latin America also share similar views on aesthetics. This means that GUI and UX designs will be familiar and seamless.

Latin America also shares similar business practices and work ethic with the United States. The environment and people skills of nearshore developers will be a good fit.

Lastly, the region has workers that are optimistic and have a can-do attitude. The developers know how to meet deadlines. Open communication, attentiveness, and quality are valued.

Less Turnover

Turnover is disruptive to a project. You have to bring in new resources and get them up to speed quickly. This is time-consuming and has increased costs.

Offshore development teams often have very high turnover rates. For example, India has turnover rates of 25-30%. Resources are not loyal or dedicated to finishing the project.

Latin America has an employee churn rate that is about the same as the United States for software developers. Your project will have more stability with a Latin American team. This leads to greater productivity and lower costs.

Finding a Latin America Outsourcing Team

Whether you are looking to supplement your existing team, become more agile, or develop a new product, a nearshore team can help you get there quickly. You need a team that is familiar with your technologies and can collaborate easily.

number8 has provided U.S. companies with access to experienced Latin American talent since 2008. Our offices in Costa Rica and Honduras ensure we get to know our consultants and only recommend the best developers for our clients. We are extremely flexible and work with companies of all sizes. Whether your organization is a small startup looking for just one experienced developer or a Fortune 100 company looking for any entire team, number8 can build a custom engagement for you.

Interested in learning more about Latin America outsourcing?

Connect with us today or continue exploring all of our custom nearshore software development and remote staff augmentation services.