The tech hubs of tomorrow

The pandemic catalyzed the shift to a digital working interface, and remote working opened the door to a world that many companies had not yet considered – recruiting across borders. Companies, especially when recruiting for tech roles, now have access to an unlimited pool of highly qualified technical talent from hubs across the globe. 

A key factor that companies assess when choosing a country to migrate over a digital-run economy, is its readiness. More importantly, the existing infrastructure should be able to withstand the bandwidth-intensive spike in traffic.

Some additional factors taken by businesses when hiring globally include:

• Existence, robustness, and resilience of platforms key to business continuity
• Digital payment solutions in use to ensure seamless transactions

Research conducted at Tufts University’s Fletcher School measured the readiness of 42 countries in this regard. This data is important because it shows which locations have the required infrastructure and resilience to accommodate the needs of companies. The findings showed that advanced economies were usually better prepared and a better choice, but such was not always the case. The EU, for instance, was found lacking due to archaic infrastructure and many limitations.

So, which locations make the cut for ideal tech hotspots in a digital world? More importantly,  can any of these locations emerge as tech hubs of tomorrow? Read on to find out.

Argentina

Among Latin American locations, Argentina is a hotspot for tech companies looking to find remote workers in the industry. Its IT sector has seen tremendous advancement over the past years, but its appeal to industry leaders is due to its talent pool.

Per Coursera’s Global Skills Index Report 2020, Argentina secured Rank 22 globally for Data Science Skills. Some of the categories in which it outdid other Latin American countries were:

• Cybersecurity
• Cloud computing
• Application Programming Interface
• Convolutional Neural Network
• Web development
• UX design
• Internet of Things

That’s not all. The same year, Argentina also secured 1^st place in the global ranking in technology. The Argentinian government is also actively involved in the development of this sector, with one of its campaign goals centered around increasing the number of women in technological fields. As per a report, this has proven effective and is expected to grow to include 40% of females by 2024.

The wages for such professionals are another reason why tech companies are likely to jump at the opportunity to set up remote teams here. The average monthly income for software developers is about $1000, and can go up to double the amount based on seniority.

Poland

Nearly a quarter of the 1 million IT professionals in the Eastern and Central European regions live and work in Poland as per data published by Stack Overflow. For a country in the heart of the EU, the sheer numbers alone make it a tech hub for the world. Teams working in this region enjoy easy collaboration benefits, and their stable economy reduces the risk of attrition. 

From an employer’s standpoint, Poland is one of the ideal locations to set up a remote team for a number of reasons:

1. Ranked 3^rd globally on the HackerRank challenges.
2. Nearly half, 43.5%, of the population has a tertiary level education across STEM fields.
3. Salaries in Poland can be up to 50% lower than the average salary in the US or Western Europe. In fact, the average salary is around $25,800, which is nearly 3X less than the salary offered in the US for the same quality of service. 
4. Professionals often work with international companies and are proficient in English. Communication problems are few, and this is key for a remote team.

Brazil

With over 450,000 developers, Brazil has steadily become one of the locations that tech companies choose when hiring or setting up distributed teams. Much like the other Latin American powerhouse, Argentina, the IT infrastructure in Brazil is booming. Tech parks, accelerators, and high-density research centers churn out some of the most talented professionals, most of whom are sure to be assets.

A key reason why Brazil is soon to become the go-to in the future is because of its proximity to the United States. Collaboration is much easier, and top tech companies located in the valley won’t have trouble with the time difference and can work in real-time. Lastly, Brazil offers cost-effective talent that is reliable with high retention rates. The average yearly salary here is $18,043 and as the market isn’t as competitive, the risk of attrition is negligible.

India

India has always been known to be one of the most cost-effective locations for technology-related services. The country has more than 2 million people working within the IT sector, meaning that companies have a rich vein of talent to choose from. 

Besides this, tech companies looking to set up remote teams in India also benefit from the fact that it is a cost-effective option and that it has a booming IT market. The average hourly wage for IT professionals in India is between $25 and $49 per hour, and it is possible to work with experts at a significantly cheaper rate. Communication is another plus point as English is a primary language. Combining the largest talent pool with the evolving IT sector, companies looking to set up efficient remote teams needn’t look any further.

According to Gartner, as many as 51% of knowledge-intensive workers like engineers and writers will work remotely by the end of 2021. This seems more than likely considering the vast pool of talent spread around the globe and tech companies are sure to leverage them to the maximum. However, choosing skilled workers from the tech hubs is just one-half of the battle. The other is extracting true value from the exchange. Oftentimes the price-to-quality ratio isn’t all that favorable. This is especially the case with remote software development teams and fixing issues could easily cost twice as much.

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