Spotlight on Brazil: Why the Time is Right

For years, Accelerance bypassed Brazil as an outsourcing destination because its economy and in-country demand for services were strong. Software development rates were relatively high and the motivation for local companies to assemble the right talent to serve clients outside Brazil was low. 

Now, that’s changed. In recent years, the USD has strengthened against a weakening Brazilian Real. And with a strong dollar to spend in a country that has great software talent, it’s time to turn the spotlight on Brazil.  

A cosmopolitan melting pot, São Paulo is the capital and financial center; it’s also a busy and expensive place to live and do business. Rates for software engineers are up to 30% higher than in some of Brazil’s smaller cities, such as Curitiba, Maringá, Campinas, Porta Alegre and Florianópolis, where tech companies are flourishing as skilled developers relocate from São Paulo for a better quality of life.

Curitiba, Maringá and Florianópolis are easy to access from most US cities for face-to-face time with an outsourcing team. In your time off – and you should definitely take some time off – explore the history and architecture of Curitiba; swim at the beach or visit a sea turtle conservation project on Floripa’s Santa Catarina Island; or hike in rainforests just a short drive away.  

"Hailed as a top country for software development, Brazil has the largest population of Java developers in the world. For legacy systems and enterprise development, the country ranks second (after the US) in mainframe developers with an experienced pool of COBOL professionals. You’ll also find software developers working in strengthening technologies – especially in mobile and IoT."  -Angelica Mari, ZDNet

We’d heard Curitiba compared to Toronto – and it didn’t take long to understand why. A short flight due west of São Paulo, it’s a modern city with an expanding software development industry, deep pools of talent, top universities with strong technology programs, and experienced professionals specializing in Java, .NET, Microsoft, Python, IoT, system migrations and system integrations.

We were more than impressed with the companies we connected with in Curitiba, from their leadership and senior developers to project management processes and deep experience with successful outsourcing. 

An hour’s flight north, we met our first Accelerance software development partner in Maringá, a planned urban area founded in 1947 and now a vibrant city of some 400,000 people. The company, with 600 developers on staff and still growing, is truly an amazing find. We were given a tour of their impressive new offices, which include a helipad! 

Our hotel was just a block away from the city’s most famous landmark, the Cathedral of Maringá. Made of concrete and rimmed with exquisite stained-glass windows, it’s the tallest church in South America and looks like an inverted ice-cream cone (its modernist design was apparently inspired by the Soviet Sputnik satellite). 

Our last stop was Florianópolis (aka ‘Floripa’), a coastal city south of Curitiba known as the Silicon Valley of Brazil. Since the 1990s, Floripa – the capital of southern Brazil’s Santa Catarina state – has emerged as a center of technological development. Sapiens Parque, one of two cyber and innovation parks, was backed by the Brazilian government as part of a massive investment in science and technology.

Both the growth of tech industries in Floripa and the standard of living make the city an attractive location for outsourcing. The software development company we visited has a hip, open-plan workspace where dogs are welcome; there’s a Segway staff can use, a ping-pong table and even an in-house rock band. No wonder the business has tripled in size over the past few years. 

We spent two days with the company leaders, grilling them on due diligence and other key issues to make sure there’s substance beneath their uber-cool exterior. They did not disappoint. Nor did our last night in Florianópolis, as we sat by the sea at sunset, sipping caipirinhas and raising our glasses to Brazil. 

Outsource with Confidence with Accelerance

Accelerance travels the world to simplify your search for the best offshore companies – and we’re impressed with what Brazil has to offer. If you’re interested in outsourcing your software development, contact Accelerance to find out more.

For the latest analysis on outsourcing opportunities throughout Latin America, check out our 2022 regional guide.