Software Development Outsourcing to Argentina: Guide 2021

An impressive amount of IT hubs have grown exponentially over the last few years, becoming sought-after outsourcing destinations. Argentina is one of them, being a LatAm tech leader. The country has a vast and thriving pool of skilled software developers who are qualified enough to develop superior products. Besides, Argentina boasts an impressive infrastructure, a growing number of startups, low attrition percentages, and attractive service rates. 

Argentina software development can become a lifeline for companies looking for ways to enter the market and become competitive but don’t want to spend all their money on software developers’ salaries. 

When IT outsourcing to Argentina, you can work with qualified programmers in real-time, evaluating the projects on the go and introducing changes right away, and get the results delivered within the deadline. 

Argentina’s IT industry has shown remarkable growth in recent years, so choosing it as your outsourcing destination is a forward-looking and safe solution. Besides, the investments in this sector are high and local specialists are known for excellent back and forth communication. 

In this article, Qubit Labs will explain the main advantages and specificities of Argentina outsourcing. We also went through Argentina developer salaries and compared them to those in other Latin American countries.

An Overview of IT Outsourcing to Argentina

The US is one of the largest markets for Argentina IT firms because 50% of their exports are to this country. Furthermore, being a nearshore outsourcing destination, it offers the advantages of cultural and geographic proximity, which allows for lower travel expenses, more efficient cooperation, and lower total cost of engagement. 

According to HackerRank, it’s on 39th place among the countries with the best developers:

Although there’s massive competition from Brazil and Mexico, the Argentina software development center works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CESSI, enabling it to receive substantial financial support and heavy promotion.

Besides, in 2020, the spending on IT in Argentina increased by around 24,1 percent and is expected to grow by another 10,4% by the end of 2021. The country’s software and IT services industry is growing several times faster than its economy as a whole, being a key driver of productivity. 

In addition, Argentina is in 6th place among the countries which are less likely to give up, which gives it a competitive advantage:

IT outsourcing Buenos Aires has the right IT talent, research, and development capabilities, and convenient partnership agreements for both startups, SMBs, and global companies. 

What are the Advantages of Outsourcing Software Development Argentina?

1. Education is the top priority, and tech skills—a necessity

Argentina outsourcing is an exceptional opportunity for accessing top-notch talent because the country provides excellent opportunities for professional growth. As of 2021, Argentina takes 34th place among the best counties for education. 

The government is providing a free college education for anyone to foster the students to get their IT degrees. 

Also, there is a multitude of IT-related courses because software engineering is one of the most popular spheres among local students. The country has around 115,000 tech specialists, so plenty of seasoned professionals can boost projects of any complexity level. 

Since the country treats its education with seriousness, outsourcing software development Argentina is thriving, attracting companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft with its local talents. Global tech leaders have their own recruiting events in the country and establish a partnership with some Argentina universities. 

2. Policies stimulate and support Argentina IT sector 

As per U.S. News Best Countries Ranking, it has 64,9 points out of 100 for not being bureaucratic and 39,6 points for being connected to the rest of the world.

The government is providing tax incentives for IT companies to train and hire new employees. This bill has a long-term economic scope and is expected to double employment and increase tech service exports by $4 billion within the next 10 years. 

Argentina perceived the pandemic as the opportunity to strengthen its foreign investment and turned the challenges into opportunities. In fact, the country’s employment boosted by almost 30% in five years. 

Additionally, Argentina has an Entrepreneur’s Law aimed to reduce registration times and costs for entrepreneurs, enabling them to set up businesses online in one day. Also, this law gives 75% tax deductions for tech startups. 

3. Focus on innovations

According to Coursera Global Skills Index, Argentina takes 25th place in the Business domain and 1st place in the Technology domain in both the region and the world. It boasts strong performance in software engineering (100%) and operating systems (95%), resulting from Argentina’s strong tech community and tech-savvy government. It has an ambitious goal of becoming the center of the 4th Industrial Revolution.  

The CESSI launched the Federal Strategic Plan 2018-30 for the local software industry. It implies that Argentina will create 500,000 new jobs in the sector by 2030 and increase its software exports revenue up to $10 billion. 

Besides, Argentina is home to several world-known startups, including:

• OLX (connects people buying and selling second-hand goods)
• Duolingo (a platform for learning languages and crowdsourcing texts translation)
• MercadoLibre (eCommerce website, analog of eBay)
• Globant (software developer for big companies that focuses on using emerging technologies)

Some of these tech businesses are valued at over $1 billion.

Besides, the country hosts various tech events, like international conferences, symposiums, and startup weeks. It also has several startup communities and programs that help tech companies find sponsors and enter the market; such examples are SUBA and IncuBAte.

The country also has some technology poles located in Buenos Aires and other major tech hubs. The most popular groupings of technology enterprises in the country are Pole IT Buenos Aires, Technology Park Córdoba, Pole ICT of Mendoza, and Cluster Tucumán Technology.

4. Reasonable costs

When comparing the US dollar to the Argentinian currency, its low value allows American companies to receive top-notch services for competitive prices. In addition, local developer salaries are several times lower than in the US, so Argentina outsourcing is a cost-efficient solution. Besides, many global companies outsource technology in Argentina, which stimulates engineers’ qualifications advancement. 

You shouldn’t be worried that the affordable cost of Argentina software development implies poor services’ quality because it mainly comes down to the comparison. Salaries are affected by several factors, including geography (living costs), experience, and tech stack. Since the cost of living in the US is much higher than in Argentina, programmers’ salaries are also higher. 

Average Argentina vs USA Developer Salaries for the Most Popular Programming Languages

• Python software developer salary in Argentina is $13,600 on average
• Mid-level Java programmers in Argentina earn $12,110 per annum
• The annual wage of an average Argentinian JavaScript software engineer is $14,825
• PHP developer in Argentina makes around $12,850 per year
• The average salary of a Node programmer in Argentina is $15,690 per annum
• The annual salary of a mid-level Go developer in Argentina is $14,824

Argentina vs US Tech Specialists’ Salaries

• iOS developer salary in Argentina is $11,335 per year
• The average Android programmer in Argentina earns $14,580 annually 
• Full Stack developers in Argentina are paid $21,660 on average
• Argentina pays $23,380 to cybersecurity engineers per year
• The average UX/UI designer in Argentina earns $12,640
• Argentina game developer salary is $9,805 per year

5. Advanced tech stack

The technology in Argentina is oriented towards the future since its software developers are proficient in several globally required programming languages. The country has the most inquiries about Java and C programs. According to StackOverflow, local developers prefer Python and JavaScript over other languages, as well as JS frameworks, such as Angular.

Outsourcing Buenos Aires is favorable for businesses of any size because the country has a significant experience of working with foreign clients, which are mainly from the US and the UK. Besides, there are large numbers of professionals who are actively looking for jobs, which is a prerequisite for success for businesses considering Argentina software development.  

6. Convenient time zone

Since any Argentina software development center is located in UTC-3, remote local employees can easily adapt to your company’s schedule, no matter whether you’re located on the Eastern or Western coast. When it comes to outsourcing Buenos Aires, having eight overlapping hours is a silver bullet because it facilitates communication and allows sticking to the deadlines.  

Also, Argentina is highly compatible with the US, and local developers quickly adjust to American business culture thanks to a long and successful history of business relationships between them. 

7. High employee retention

Since technology in Argentina is among the flourishing industries, the attrition level in this sector is low because there’s competitiveness between developers, and once they find a good job, they’re likely to stay there for a long time. 

This is great for foreign companies because you can be sure that you’ll work with the same development team throughout the project. Moreover, it decreases the chances of miscommunication and the time newbies require for adaptation.

So, when opting for outsourcing software development Argentina, your products will get completed within the mentioned deadline while providing a hassle-free experience of cooperating with local programmers. 

Why Choose Argentina over Other South American Countries?

As you can see, Argentina boasts the largest number of global companies’ offices. Besides, local software developer salaries are a happy medium, being $14,850 on average. 

Comparing Argentina outsourcing to Colombia, it’s notable that the second country has lower programmer salaries. However, it’s a questionable advantage since it’s ranked 49th in the global ranking. 

As for Brazil, the price for local software outsourcing is costlier than in Argentina due to the higher developer salaries, namely $17,290 per year. Besides, fewer global companies opted for Brazil as their software development partner. 

Puerto Rico has the highest programmer salaries in this comparison, namely $20,750 per annum. Also, it’s not included in the global index and has fewer offices of the leading tech companies than Argentina. 

Strengths and Weaknesses of Argentina IT Outsourcing

• The main advantage of Argentina software development is reasonable costs, especially when compared to prices in the US. You get superb quality and competitive products while paying several times less money. However, there are countries, like India, where software development rates are lower than in Argentina. Although this might sound like a more profitable decision, you can’t be sure about the adequate quality of delivered services. 
• Argentina invests in education more than any other country in the region. Nevertheless, there are certain inflation risks that might lead to ceased operations among tech companies.
• The Argentina government works hard on improving its legal ecosystem by introducing laws that allow for facilitated business activities and lower taxes. However, there are concerns about these laws’ reliability because they can be canceled at any time. 

Key Takeaways

Argentina outsourcing is a hotspot for numerous companies from all over the world. It’s easy for American clients to find common ground with Argentina programmers and understand the project’s objectives. Besides, outsourcing Buenos Aires allows for increased productivity because there’s a slight difference between local and Eastern/Western time zones. 

Despite the crisis and pandemic, Argentina managed to boost its IT industry, increasing the number of tech specialists, vacancies, and contracts with different-sized businesses.

In a nutshell, the main advantages of outsourcing software development Argentina are the following:

1. High-quality education and attention to skills’ development
2. Government’s attention to the IT sector and stimulation of foreign investments
3. Opportunities for development and flexibility
4. Affordable software development outsourcing prices
5. Focus on cutting-edge technologies instead of the traditional ones
6. Overlapping time zones and cultural similarities
7. Low employee attrition

Qubit Labs has been in the tech industry for quite a while, so if you have any questions regarding outsourcing, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. 

Besides, if you still aren’t sure about your software outsourcing destination, feel free to check out our Guide to IT Outsourcing to Ukraine, IT Outsourcing to Romania, Outsourcing to Turkey,  Software Outsourcing Poland, IT Outsourcing to Kazakhstan, IT Outsourcing to Mexico, IT Outsourcing Philippines, Outsourcing to Costa Rica. It’s always better to have alternatives, right? 

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