Software, and the “apps” and platforms (cloud, mobility, IOT) it enables, is becoming a driving force in today’s economy. Companies depend on software to serve their customers better and gain competitive advantage; cities with intense focus on digital technologies---Austin, Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Seattle-- are becoming entrepreneurship magnets.
How is LATAM’s software development sector? The answer: Doing very well and growing rapidly. The growth is fueled by several trends that should continue fostering the software development marketplace for many years in the future:
Open Source and Freemium offerings that lower adoption barriers
- Young population: 50% younger than 30 years
- Big adoption of new apps: Brazil and Mexico rank 2nd and 5th in WW Google Play downloads; Latin America makes up 20% and 38% of Facebook and What’sApp globally.
- Fast growth of mobile internet access with penetration going from 7% to 58% during the last 5 years
- Innovative companies delivering on the expectations of technology-savvy users
- Economic and social alignment to the US high-tech industry trends
- Lower software developer salary than one in a developed economy.
Obviously, software development is not new for companies in LATAM, but the trends described above, drive fast growth. And the challenge to meet these more complex business requirements are being fulfilled by a growing business ecosystem of software companies and developers:
- Pioneers like Softek in Mexico and Stefanini in Brazil have become large multinational companies with software development practices
- The region position itself as a software outsourcing development alternative to India, but with a better time-zone alignment
- Cities like Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Medellin, are becoming important software development business cluster.
- New high-tech start-ups are being created and VCs are investing:
- Brazil and Mexico represents two of the three VC hotbed to watch based on the EY Global Venture Capital Insights and Trends (2014) report
- The Latin America Venture Capital (LAVCA) 5-year Trend report (2016) presents that 82% of the $ 2B investment from VC investment in the last 5 years went to fund Information Technology companies
Overall an exciting time to be a software development professional in Latin America!