These days, it seems like everyone is outsourcing some aspect of their business. But it’s no longer just to cut costs. According to the most recent Deloitte outsourcing survey, company leaders saw outsourcing as a fundamental way to inject innovation into their organizations, and maintain that competitive edge. However with so many partners worldwide, where should companies begin the search for software developers?
Look no further than Argentina. The South American nation’s software industry has made significant strides in recent years. With reputable developers, similar time zone to the U.S., and high level of English proficiency, there are plenty of reasons to work with Argentine talent. Plus, the country’s European architecture, tango scene – and yes, parrilla – might actually make you want to take a business trip for once. Here’s how Argentine developers can take your company to the next level:
They have a great reputation globally
Citizens of Argentina are highly educated, partly due to the fact that undergraduate degrees at public institutions are free-of-charge. Moreover, the country boasts a total of about 40 universities and 30 research centers. University of Buenos Aires is the country’s top institution, and stands as the alma-matter of five nobel prize laureates. It’s also where much of the country’s tech talent graduates from. STEM education starts early for kids in Argentina too – the country is home to a government program called Contectar Igualidad, which guarantees access to technology and digital education, with a focus on disadvantaged sectors.
And evidently, Argentina churns out some world-class tech talent. Argentina scores higher than India and China in terms of Average Reputation of Top Users, according to Stack Overflow. It also boasts the majority of tech unicorns within Latin America – including travel giant Despegar, worth $1.7 billion when it went public last September, and MercadoLibre, valued at $9.3 billion.
Argentine companies are getting recognized by world renowned accelerators and competitions, as well. Transcription service Atexto and software management company GestarCoop are some of the newest companies in 500 Startups’ portfolio. Fintech company Increase was named the winner of the Visa Everywhere Initiative Latin American competition, designed to encourage the next big thing in payments. Even more, Fundación Ecoinclusión – an Argentine company that makes eco-bricks out of plastic water bottles – won first place in Google’s Desafio competition for social innovators. The company was awarded nearly $1 million.
Simply put, Argentine companies are cleaning up. And well, that goes to show just how strong a force the tech talent is in the nation.
Argentina has a similar culture to North America and Europe
Yes, working with remote teams can be difficult. But having a similar work culture can make things easier. Argentina was influenced by waves of immigration from Europe – in particular, from Italy and Spain – during the 19th and 20th centuries. Consequently, many aspects of the culture are similar to North America and Europe. It also has a significant population of Jewish, Lebanese, Syrian and indigenous people. The country is culturally diverse – and diversity makes for smarter teams in the workplace. According to studies cited in this Harvard Business Review article, diverse teams tend to focus more on facts, process the facts more carefully, and are more innovative overall.
And in similar style to North American and European cultures, Argentine developers are more assertive. We promise you, that’s a good thing. Argentine developers tend to tell their business associates if they don’t agree with a change being made. This is because they see the business relationship as more of a partnership, and will speak up to offer another alternative if they feel a project they care about is being compromised.
So while developers in eastern cultures might shy away from challenging their superiors on a topic, Argentine talent will not. As a result, the project is bound to be stronger.
Argentina is close to a U.S. timezone, and shares languages with the states
While outsourcing teams in India or Eastern Europe may have to work odd hours (2 am meeting, anyone?) or be offline in the middle of the U.S. workday, Buenos Aires has just a one hour time difference with New York City. This is crucial to engage in DevOps and an agile development approach, as it enables companies to be in constant communication with their development teams, and fosters greater collaboration.
Another great bonus is that Argentina shares languages with the U.S. The country boasts the highest level of English proficiency in Latin America, making it likely for a development team to have a good command of the language. And as the Spanish language grows more important in the U.S. – the country has more Spanish speakers than Spain – working with a development team with knowledge of this market doesn’t hurt either.
Frankly, Argentina has it all. With a similar time zone and culture, great English skills and incredibly talented engineers, partnering with an Argentine team might just be what your company needs to take a step up on the innovation ladder.
Mariano Stampella is a business developer for intive and co-founder of Argentina-based intive-FDV.
