COSTA RICA : A REAL ALTERNATIVE FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES (IT).

In the early nineties, the software outsourcing industry evolved in all aspects with the purpose of buffering and mitigating the problems predicted for the year 2000. The continuous demand for products and services on United States, Australian and some Western European companies, along with the reduced cost of labor in countries like India, led invariably to offshore software outsourcing.

Recently, many of those companies that sub-contracted outsourcing services in various locations of the Orient are now looking to minimize the perceived risk caused by socio-political and cultural situations as well as global terrorism. The concept of "nearshore outsourcing", referring to companies located in Latin American countries that provide IT services, suddenly appears as the ideal solution to those which, in addition to mitigating the risk, also wish to have greater control and proximity to their software services provider.

For several decades, Costa Rica has invested to improve the technical capability of its human resources. Its cultural, social, political conditions and legal framework grant it very favorable conditions for software development/outsourcing. Some of the key factors are:

Highly educated population.

A leading software industry in Latin America.

Good telecommunications infrastructure.

Worldwide recognition as a highly democratic country.

More than five decades of political and economic stability.

A mature legal system with established and enforced copyright laws.

English widely spoken.

Physical proximity to the United States.

Same time zone as the U.S. (1-2 hour time difference at the most).

Recently signed free trade agreement with the United States.

Culturally friendly environment for North Americans.

Wide recognition as a desirable tourist destination.

 

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