Nearshore Software Development in Latin America: Top Trends

With a growing software development industry, Latin America has emerged as a prominent player in the global technology landscape. The number of foreign companies hiring from Latin America increased by 156%, in 2022. This impressive number illustrates the growing popularity of Latin America as one of the most popular software nearshoring destinations in the world. No wonder the countries from this region are among the global leaders in terms of their contribution to tech progress. This post explores the reasons behind Latin America’s rise in the software development sector. It also outlines the main trends and opportunities stemming from the development of the Latin American software development market. 

Why nearshore in Latin America?

In 2022, Brazil was the beneficiary of over $45 billion in total IT investment. While this rapidly developing country is South America’s leader in terms of IT growth, it also has many significant competitors. For example, Argentina, Uruguay, and Colombia are also becoming increasingly popular as offshoring destinations. What factors stand behind the growing demand for nearshore software development in Latin America? Let’s briefly outline the main foundations of the region’s rapid growth as a promising IT nearshoring destination. 

The most attractive things about software development in Latin America include: 

• A large population pool of tech-savvy individuals with strong educational backgrounds in computer science and related fields. 
• Competitive pricing makes Latin America a very attractive destination for digitized businesses from a great range of wealthy countries. 
• High levels of English proficiency across the region, which allows developers in Latin America to easily communicate with customers from English-speaking countries. 
• Time zone proximity with the U.S. and Canada, countries with significant demand for software development nearshoring. 
• The fact that many governments in the countries of Latin America have been actively promoting technology and innovation, providing tax incentives and funding opportunities to nurture the growth of the tech industry.

Top software development trends in Latin America

Now that you know about the main factors making Latin America so attractive for software nearshoring, let’s discuss the main trends embracing this market. In general, Latin America doesn’t have any special technology trends that are not pertaining to other parts of the world. All trends on our list are also relevant for the U.S., Canada, Europe, and many other countries as well. However, this is the list of technology trends that, according to Latin American developers, are especially applicable in their region. So, keep the following in mind when searching for help from Latin American software development outsourcing teams. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)

AI and ML have become game-changers globally, and Latin America is no exception. Local developers actively research AI and ML trends to use these technologies in solutions for various industries. This, in turn, leads to enhanced customer experience across different industries. Some examples of AI and ML solutions that are often implemented by developers from Brazil, Argentina, or Colombia include AI-powered chatbots, software for predictive analytics, and image cropping software. 

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things is a very popular trend across various industries, including healthcare. From smart cities and connected healthcare devices to industrial IoT solutions, Latin America is leveraging IoT technologies. Technologies of this kind are common among users in the region. However, software developers in Latin America are also experienced in implementing IoT technologies, which means that they are ready to step in as flawless outsourcing teams. 

Blockchain 

Latin America has seen an increased interest in leveraging blockchain. This technology is widely used for secure and transparent transactions, supply chain management, and digital identity solutions. Surely, it is immensely popular when it comes to software development in Latin America. Governments and private enterprises are exploring its potential to combat corruption and enhance data security. That’s why the implementation of blockchain-powered solutions has become strategic for many Latin American countries. 

DevOps

DevOps practices are becoming increasingly widespread in Latin America. They are often leveraged by foreign organizations that strive to bridge the gap between development and operations teams. The region is embracing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. These practices help local software development teams streamline software development and deployment processes. This means fast time-to-market and error-free application development. As a result, the rapid development of DevOps technologies in Latin America means an excellent quality of services delivered. 

Cloud computing

Cloud computing has revolutionized how software applications are developed, deployed, and maintained. Latin American businesses are moving their infrastructure and applications to the cloud to leverage the benefits of this technology. These advantages include scalability, flexibility, security, and manageability. Many Latin American specialists are certified experts in using tools from AWS, Azure, and GCP tech stacks. But, surely, they can also implement solutions based on private clouds or rely on solutions from outside “the big three” of cloud computing. 

Latin American software development market: Risks to consider

While Latin America is a lucrative destination for software development outsourcing, there are numerous risks to consider. First of all, many countries in the region are known for rather strict taxation policies. While relying on a Latin American software development team, you are fully taxed as if your company had a branch there. The salaries in some of the region’s most advanced countries are also growing very rapidly. According to some projections, in a few years, Latin America won’t be regarded as a “relatively cheap” outsourcing destination. Finally, the region’s general political instability distracts many investors from Latin American countries. 

Conclusion

With its skilled workforce and the rapidly growing number of software development teams, Latin America is a hotbed of IT outsourcing. Embracing top trends like AI, IoT, blockchain, DevOps, and cloud computing, the region is proving its capability to innovate and cater to the needs of the global tech market. While there are some risks associated with this region, Latin America continues to grow as a tech hub. All things considered, the right decision would be to build the best remote team in Latin America. 

Contact us, and let’s build your flawless nearshore team in Latin America together.