Sector-specific Dossier
IT and Software Development Sector
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IT and Software Development Sector
SUMMARY
In the Dominican Republic, software development companies are mostly small and
medium, with a high sector diversity: They provide solutions to the tourism, trade,
manufacture, health, telecom, banking, government, education, construction and
advertising sectors, among others. Nevertheless, the largest markets for specialized
companies are in the resource management and inventory category, banking and the
public sector.
Sector Distribution
Software Development by Area of Specialization
The country is currently home to more than 70 software development companies; some
have international experience and many potential exporters. Among them, Orpheus
Mobile, NAP del Caribe (Terremark) and Schneider Electric, as well as some partners to
globally renowned brands such as Microsoft, Oracle and Hewlett Packard; others have
received international certifications such as CMMI, ISO 9001, IBM Rational and Nortel.
SECTOR GROWTH AND OTHER TRENDS
Our country is the ideal destination for nearshore service companies, which can identify
IT service providers with local and international experience and seize many outsourcing
opportunities.
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IT and Software Development Sector
This sector benefits from the availability of highly qualified personnel in several IT and
Software Development areas, from the many facilities to facilitate the establishment of
operations, such as the Unified Investment Window (VUI-RD), and the existence of an
ecosystem of institutions and companies linked to the software industry and promotes
the development of the sector, such as the Dominican Software Cluster, ClusterSoft.
clustersoftrd.org
Also, the Dominican Republic has a large population of bilingual, professional youth, as
well as IT programs in more than 14 academic institutions. These programs include:
o Software Development
o App and Website Design
o Business Intelligence (BI)
o Mobile Device Apps
o SQL Server Administration and Programming
o Database
o Software Development Life Cycle Management
o System and Quality Model
Our human resource is experienced in high-ranking platforms and programming
languages, such as Java, .NET, XML, C#, C++, PHP, HTML, Centura, Delfis, Open System,
AS/400, ILE/RPG 400 and Delphos. Also, these companies provide staff with Microsoft
(SQL, VB, Dynamics), IBM Rational, CISCO, LabView, OlikView, PMP and SCRUM
certifications.
More than 95 percent of our software programmers have completed university-level
studies, and most have a basic understanding of English —87 percent has working
knowledge of the language.
TESTIMONIALS
“When we set out to open an I+D center in Latin America for our mobile and
geolocation apps, we thoroughly studied the options in the region. Thanks to the CEIRD, we chose the Dominican Republic as our headquarters in Central America and the
Caribbean, with two very advantageous elements: our location inside the Santo
Domingo Cyber Park and the creation of ClusterSoft.” — Arturo Aranguren, President of
Orpheus Mobile
“The CEI-RD has played a vital role in the development of the Dominican Sofware
Cluster, ClusterSoft: They’ve played a large part in its conceptualization and have
acted as a catalyst in developing its strategic vision with several companies within the
sector. Also, as members of the Contact Center and BPO Cluster, the CEI-RD has had a
parallel importance in the advancement and support of concrete initiatives for the
development of the sector, such as training and recruiting.” — José Luis Del Río, CEO at
Newtech SRL and ClusterSoft President
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IT and Software Development Sector
WHY THE DR?
The Dominican Republic has the following competitive advantages:
• Positive business climate, political and economic stability, a solid legal framework
and a strategic geographic location
• Cultural affinity with the United States
• A developed telecom infrastructure with competitive costs
• Technically skilled bilingual personnel
• One of the region’s most advanced interconnection centers (NAP del Caribe),
along with a scientific and technological park (Santo Domingo Cyber Park) and
a tech institute (ITLA)
• Technical programs offered by local universities and technical institutes
• Full tax exemption for businesses under the free zone regime
• Preferential access to more than 882 million consumers worldwide, via several
free trade agreements, such as DR-CAFTA with the United States, an Economic
Partnership Agreement with the European Union and a Free Trade Agreement
with the Caribbean Community
• A current law proposal for the Dominican software industry, in order to promote
the industry’s development, create a special incentive regime and form a
specialized organization to outline a general strategy for the sector. Said
proposal is currently pending approval from the Dominican Congress.
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