Having an abundant talent pool, geographical proximity and time zone and language compatibility, are just some of the benefits that the Latin American region learned to take advantage of to win over the position previously held by India and China in the IT outsourcing services ranking. This way the region-- with Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia leading the way-- has become an avid competitor that learned how to capitalize on its differentials to achieve outstanding performance.
One of the IT outsourcing companies that has clearly stood out from the crowd and works continuously to build on the Latin American technology revolution is BairesDev, selected 4 years in a row by Clutch as the fastest growing software development company in the region. The company focuses on hiring only the Top 1% IT talent in the market. Its exponential growth has also been recognized recently in the United States in two of the most prestigious industry rankings: Inc.5000's and Silicon Valley's Top Ten Fastest-Growing Private Companies.
Latin America is certainly positioned as a leader in the IT outsourcing industry. This is due to the region's high-level professionals and factors like English proficiency and cultural and geographical proximity which set it apart from its competitors. "This is a clearly distinctive factor if we take into consideration that neither China nor India can compete in this sense. In the first place, thanks to the region's geographical location we share the same time zones as North America. This allows for seamless communication in real-time, fostering collaboration between teams and avoiding delays. On the other hand, in-person meetings become a possibility given that the main cities in South and Central America are easily accessible from the United States," states Nacho De Marco, CEO and founder at BairesDev. Knowing that India has between a 9 and 12-hour difference with certain regions of North America, and that China is between 12 and 15 hours ahead of them, it becomes clear that the time factor hinders real-time exchanges and causes unnecessary delays that reduce workflow efficiency.
"Likewise, the region's cultural similarities with the U.S. are unachievable for Asian countries. In Latin America, there's a great percentage of citizens with high English proficiency, adding to the fact that in the United States there is a considerable part of the population that speaks both Spanish and Portuguese. This lessens the language barrier and diminished the event of misunderstandings and communication short-circuits", continues Azorín.
When analyzing possible competing countries, it can be observed that China has an extremely low English proficiency: less than 1% of its population speak it fluently. Besides this, the country does not have thorough training on agile methodologies and its development processes are frequently vulnerable to security threats.
Meanwhile, there are some countries in Eastern Europe, like Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, that also offer technology outsourcing services. Still, they are not able to overcome the advantages brought to the table by the Latin American region, as their time difference is never less than 8 hours away from their clients. Therefore, those who decide to work with them are faced with slow processes and a reduced production rate caused by their team's inability to communicate on the spot.
All of the issues discussed above have placed Latin America at the industry's top choice. According to a report by the World Trade Organization, in 2015 Argentina was already amongst the ten countries with the highest technological services export rate on a global scale. For BairesDev's Chief Executive Officer, this is a result of the region's innate advantages and the fact that its leaders were able to capitalize on its growth opportunities. "Education in Latin America has incorporated technology in its platforms, and it is possible to obtain various internationally recognized technological certifications. This way, developers can access world-class training and education making the region known for its excellent professionals in the IT industry," concludes De Marco.
Latin America has capitalized on its benefits and stood out amongst the rest of the countries that offer IT services, becoming a major player in the industry, and the chosen region for U.S. and European clients.
