Sector-specific Dossier IT and Software Development Sector 1 | 3 Sector-specific Dossier 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. 2 | 3 Sector-specific Dossier 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 3 | 3 Sector-specific Dossier 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. 4 | 3