Remote work fuels Latin American tech growth
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a significant turn for BairesDev, a software outsourcing company founded in 2009 by two engineers from Buenos Aires.
Initially growing through word of mouth, the company’s revenue skyrocketed from $36 million in 2019 to $314 million in 2022 as businesses globally embraced remote work.
“Geography wasn’t a barrier any more — it didn’t matter if talent was located in the [U.S.] or Latin America, as everyone was working remotely,” said a BairesDev spokesperson.
This transformation wasn’t isolated to BairesDev alone; the entire software outsourcing industry saw a surge in acceptance of remote working models.
This newfound openness to remote work catapulted three companies—BairesDev, Zipdev, and Adeva—onto the FT-Statista list of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas.
Benefits of tech outsourcing for clients and workers
The model provides U.S companies access to talented, cost-effective developers in emerging markets on a flexible contract basis. Clients avoid labor liabilities while tapping a wider talent pool.
“Remote work is about everyone being able to dictate their own day,” said Adeva co-founder Katerina Trajchevska.
“For every challenge we encountered, it was like: ‘We need to solve this for us to be able to give the same value to our customers.’”
For the Latin American workers, the main benefit is much higher salaries than they could typically earn locally.
BairesDev says 80% of its contractors make $30,000 to $80,000 annually, putting them in the top 5% of earners in their countries.
“It’s almost like having that little taste of an American dream from the comfort of your own home,” said Zipdev co-founder Daniel Altenburg.
The future of outsourcing amid a shifting landscape
As U.S. tech companies cut jobs following pandemic overhiring, some are setting up their own remote teams in Latin America, increasing competition for outsourcers.
“It’s kind of like disrupting yourself over and over again if you want to stay competitive,” said Trajchevska, citing initiatives like 24-hour staffing and two-week trial periods.
Altenburg says local expertise, like knowing where to find niche experts in Mexico City, gives Zipdev an edge.
BairesDev’s Nacho De Marco feels their advantages are time zones and cultural similarities: “There’s definitely a lot that has to do with getting access to the best people, no matter where they are.”
Latin America to drive growth in outsourcing
The nearshore outsourcing industry is poised for robust growth in the coming years, on the back of robust growth in Latin America, according to Jens Erik Gould, CEO of nearshore staffing firm Amalga Group.
“You’re starting to see a phenomenon in Mexico, for example, where U.S. companies are not only looking for outsourced staff augmentation in Latin America, but they’re also going into Mexico and setting up their own business entities in order to hire dozens or hundreds of BPO and IT consultants,” Gould explained.
“Big-name tech companies are doing this, as well as consulting firms, large healthcare systems, and others.”
Gould attributes this trend to the ongoing shortage of skilled talent in the U.S. combined with the ease of engagement enabled by advances in remote collaboration technology. He described the outsourcing industry as something that is “always attractive” and “isn’t going away.”
