Today’s job market is competitive, particularly in areas like IT. While there is a lot of IT talent that can be found domestically, many businesses don’t have the budget to make a full-time hire who would require a competitive salary and benefits. Of course, IT needs can’t be ignored, with cybersecurity and network optimization being key elements to keep just about every business running smoothly.
Because of this, nearshoring has become an important method for handling business IT needs, with Latin America serving as a standout location for nearshore talent. Colombia, in particular, stands out as a country that can provide quick and effective IT solutions for your business. Here’s a closer look at why nearshoring IT talent from Colombia is a wise move for your business’ IT needs.
Growing Tech Scene and Skilled Workforce
While Colombia may not be the first place most people think of when they think of the tech field in general, the country’s tech industry is booming. As a report from Nucamp explains, the country’s tech industry is expected to contribute $35 billion to Colombia’s GDP in 2024 — a 25% increase from 2019.
As part of this growth, the country has seen a high number of tech startups launch in recent years, particularly in the fintech, e-commerce and health tech spaces. Much of this growth in the tech space stems from government policies specifically designed to fuel innovation in tech, such as favorable income tax policies that promote entrepreneurship. These investments have resulted in Bogota, Colombia being ranked as the third most prominent city in Latin America for entrepreneurship.
Of course, growing investments in the tech space are also dependent on a skilled workforce to support this growth. For businesses in need of qualified nearshore IT talent, this surge in tech professionals in Colombia — and with employment backgrounds in a diverse range of industries — is well worth noting. The sheer volume of talent makes Colombia an attractive option for finding skilled workers.
Time Zone Compatibility
Colombia uses Colombia Time (UTC -5) as its time zone year round. This means that depending on the time of year in the United States, the time in Colombia is the same as either Eastern Standard Time (EST) or Central Daylight Time (CDT).
For businesses in need of tech talent, this is an important consideration when trying to find an IT fix. After all, your domestic team is most likely to experience IT challenges that require third-party support during business hours. Offshoring to Europe or Asia can make it difficult to receive the level of support the business needs simply because there isn’t as much overlap for the work day.
On the other hand, when you hire IT talent from Colombia, you have near-total (if not complete) overlap with your own business hours. This creates a more favorable environment for you and your nearshore talent, as it facilitates real-time communication and collaboration, which improves productivity and ensures your team gets timely support for their IT needs. With time zone compatible IT support, you can keep your domestic team working effectively.
This setup is also more favorable to IT talent based in Colombia, who can work on a more standard schedule that allows them to maintain a good work-life balance so they can stay healthy and avoid burnout.
Cost-Effective Hires
Finally, it’s worth noting that hiring IT talent from Colombia can be a much more cost-effective solution than making a full-time domestic hire. Much of this stems from the lower cost of living in Colombia. According to an analysis by My Life Elsewhere, Colombia is 53.1% cheaper than the United States, with housing, entertainment, and food being the areas that have the greatest difference in costs.
The lower cost of living in Colombia means that businesses can also take advantage of more affordable salary options. This can help your business access qualified IT talent at a much lower cost, which can be especially beneficial for smaller businesses with limited budgets.
At the same time, IT talent in Colombia is still paid a fair wage in accordance with their local economy. In fact, domestic employers can use this to their advantage by offering more competitive salaries in comparison to what a professional might be able to earn in Colombia, which will help attract and retain top-tier talent.
It’s also worth noting that finding English-speaking talent in Colombia isn’t as hard as you might think. English has official status in the islands of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. For the country as a whole, 10.7% speak English at home, ensuring that communication shouldn’t be an issue.
Don’t Overlook Colombia for Your IT Needs
With a burgeoning tech scene, time zone compatibility and cost-effective hires, nearshoring IT talent from Colombia could be the exact solution your business needs to keep its technology running smoothly. This is particularly true with a notable proportion of the population that speaks English, further facilitating the process of working with Colombia-based nearshore talent to manage your IT needs.
Prosource IT can help you every step of the way.
With well-screened and highly experienced candidates from Colombia and other parts of Latin America, a technical screening tool that ensures candidates have the right technical skills, and employer of record services to help you manage your contingent workforce with full compliance, we make it easy to utilize top IT talent. We’ll help you source qualified talent and scale your IT operations according to the specific needs of your business.
Why Colombia Could Well Be the Quick (and Effective) IT Fix Your Business Needs
