Colombia is now a strategic center when it comes to the outsourcing of IT and business services, with international investors attracted by the skills and size of its workforce, its favorable business climate, and its geographic location.

The sector has shown impressive growth, with Colombia receiving 387 new investment projects in the BPO, KPO, software, and IT services sector in the past seven years, according to fDi Markets and PRO COLOMBIA reports.

Why you should work with Colombia-based IT companies

One of the biggest draws for investors is the breadth and diversity of Colombian talent. Colombia has the second most qualified workforce in South America, according to the IMD World Talent Report 2016, ahead of countries such as Brazil, Peru, Chile and Venezuela.

Colombia's Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MinTIC) certified more than 37,000 Colombians in digital skills in the third quarter of 2017, adding to the field of innovative developers in the software development sector.

Figures suggest there are more than 4,000 software and IT service companies across Colombia. About 3% of those are large companies, 80% of which are based in the central region of the country with four percent in the north, six percent in the west, four percent in the east, and the rest distributed across the country.

What you should be aware of when working with Colombian-bassed IT companies

South America tends to be a more attractive destination for the IT market, and Colombian IT companies and web agencies are taking advantage of this opportunity. However, there are several aspects that need to pay attention to when working with companies based in Colombia. Lack of experience, underdeveloped IT infrastructure and the incapacity of competing with the US and Europe IT companies create challenges and doubts for potential clients in whether to choose a Colombian IT company as a partner for their next web project, despite the cheap hourly rate it has to offer compared to the international global market. 

How reliable are Colombian-based IT companies

Gartner Inc, an international consultancy company ranked Colombia as one of five destinations in Latin America to offer Business Process and Information Technology Outsourcing highlighting the country’s bilingual labor force and salary competitiveness within the sector. In addition, Everest Group the global consulting firm mentioned Colombia as an optimal market for finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO), legal process outsourcing (LPO), and business process outsourcing (BPO). Likewise, the company asserted the country’s strengths for its commerce. 

How does Colombian IT infrastructure relate to the neighboring countries?

As the third-largest provider of IT services in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico with US$ 2.579 million (According to the International Data Corporation – IDC), Colombia is rising to the top due to its skilled workforce of more than 1.2 million professionals in the financial and services industry, incentives provided by the government, a continuous free trade agreement platform, competitive free trade zone regime, proximity, and connectivity to North America. These features and benefits have created an ideal business environment for venture capital firms and angel investors looking to invest in innovative and attractive opportunities.

Web development is about creating, building, and maintaining websites or web applications using programming languages and web development frameworks. The main reason why web development services are popular is the need for businesses to establish their presence on the web. 

Building a website or a web application involves creating the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), including the layout, colors, fonts, and images. It also consists in optimizing these elements for mobile and desktop, making the interface accessible to users, and facilitate the interaction between the user and the application. On the back-end, it involves scripting, server configuration, and database management. At the same time, it includes testing, maintenance, and ensuring overall functionality.

According to recent studies, over 4.7 billion people worldwide have access to the Internet. So, it’s obvious that having a well-designed and developed website is essential for any business that wants to succeed online.

On top of that, the number of mobile internet users is constantly growing, with approximately 92% of internet users accessing the web through their smartphones which proves the importance of responsive and optimized websites on mobile devices.

In a nutshell, a web developer, which is providing development services is responsible for:

• Establish a company's online presence via a web application
• Improve and optimize the performance of the website or web app
• Update and maintain the well-functioning of the website or web apps

In addition, depending on the terms of a contract between a company and a web developer, the second can assist with: 

• Backup the data of the website
• Operate changes to the UI
• Migrate the website to another domain or platform

Usually, a web developer should have both soft and hard skills. The soft skills are related to communication and reporting, while the hard skills help in the development process.  

If you choose to work with a web development company, make sure to keep in mind the following criteria in the selection process:

• The company should have experience in developing websites or web applications that are similar to yours.
• A solid portfolio that proves examples of their work.
• Communication abilities enough to pass through cultural, linguistic, and time-zone barriers.
• Transparency and proven track record

Carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose a Web Development company that best aligns with your needs. There are more than 18699 companies on the TechBehemoths platform that offer a wide variety of web development services.

 Explore their detailed profiles, and client reviews, and feel free to get in touch with them. We’ve created also a powerful filter that you can use to narrow down the results based on your requirements and shortlist the companies. 

Alternatively, you can submit your project and our team will select and send you the best matching companies in about 1 hour. It’s free and there is no obligation to hire.

We also invite you to read an insightful survey conducted by TechBehemoths in order to identify How IT Companies Use Web Development Technologies - 2022 survey.