Nearshore software development in Colombia, in sync with your US team
DataLab builds custom software for US and international companies from Bogotá: fintech cores, SaaS platforms and internal systems, shipped in Scrum sprints by a team that shares most of your workday.
Why choose nearshore software development in Colombia with DataLab?
DataLab is a Bogotá-based software company that offers nearshore software development in Colombia for US and international clients. Bogotá runs on UTC−5 all year, so your team and ours share most of the workday. You get discovery, UX/UI, Scrum development, cloud deployment and ongoing support, under an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system.
In Bogotá
Working with our Bogotá team: sectors, time zones and meetings
Bogotá is Colombia's capital and largest city, and home to much of the country's financial system, including its financial regulator, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. That's why much of our software work is for fintech, lending, insurance and payments companies: products where every transaction must be traceable and every record protected.
Health, education and construction add their own demands: diagnostic centers moving images and results, schools collecting payments online, engineering firms that need traceable technical reports. Our Bogotá team has shipped platforms in all of these, from fintech cores to a SaaS for construction supervision.
In Colombia, personal data is governed by Law 1581 of 2012. For international clients, we also work under your own security policies and can sign your NDA before you share sensitive details.
Most US clients work with us remotely: standups in overlapping hours, a shared board and a demo every sprint. When a kickoff or a key workshop is worth doing in person, we meet in Bogotá by appointment.
Bogotá time vs. US time zones, and industries we serve
Eastern: same time, 1 h behind in DST
Central: 1 h ahead, same time in DST
Mountain: 2 h ahead, 1 h in DST
Pacific: 3 h ahead, 2 h in DST
Fintech, lending and payments
Insurance
Healthcare and diagnostic imaging
Education and edtech
Construction and engineering
B2B services
The problem
Problems we solve
✕ 01
Offshore time gaps
A question asked at 4 p.m. gets answered the next morning. Across a half-day time difference, every sprint loses days to handoffs.
✕ 02
Hiring takes longer than the roadmap allows
Recruiting senior engineers in-house is slow and expensive, and your product can't wait for a full hiring cycle.
✕ 03
Vendors that go dark
No demos, no documentation, and code that lives on one developer's laptop.
✕ 04
Security as an afterthought
API keys and business rules readable from the browser console. In fintech or healthcare, that's a breach waiting to happen.
What's included
What we deliver in a nearshore software project
Discovery and requirements
Workshops with the people who will use the system, process maps, user stories and a prioritized MVP.
Architecture and security
Monolith or microservices, data model and role-based access control. Sensitive logic runs server-side, never in the browser.
Product UX/UI
Clickable prototypes tested with real users before a line of code is written.
Sprint-based development
Working software at the end of every sprint, with a demo, a shared board and code in a versioned repository.
Integrations
Payment gateways, ERP, CRM, third-party APIs and the systems you already run.
QA and security review
Functional testing and a security review before every production release.
Cloud deployment
AWS, Google Cloud or Azure, with separate environments, backups and monitoring.
Support and evolution
Bug fixes and new features from the same team that built the platform.
How we work
Project phases: from discovery to support
Kickoff
Discovery
Remote workshops, or on-site in Bogotá, to review your current systems and define the MVP and its success metrics.
Sprint 0
Product design
Architecture, data model, UX/UI prototypes and a sprint plan your team signs off on.
Sprints
Build
Development in sprints with a demo at the end of each one. Your team tests and sets the next priorities.
Launch
Go-live
Final testing, data migration, user training and hands-on support through the first weeks in production.
Post-launch
Evolve
Support, improvements and new features driven by real usage and business metrics.
Stage timings are estimates: your project's schedule is set in the proposal.
Measurable results
Client case studies with real numbers
80,000+successful transactions per monthEducapitalIn 12 months, DataLab built the SaaS transaction core for Educapital, a Colombian edtech and fintech company that works with schools, covering issuance, payments and portfolio risk. The platform serves 50+ schools, processes 80,000+ successful transactions a month, and helped the company raise more than USD 5 million.COP 1B+a month in loan processingStarkapitalIn 10 months, DataLab built the SaaS core for Starkapital, a Colombian fintech that finances taxis and other public transport vehicles. The platform covers every loan from origination to portfolio management and now handles more than COP 1 billion a month in loan processing.600+shopkeepers served+TenderoIn 12 months, DataLab built the core banking system for +Tendero, a Colombian fintech that offers short-term loans to corner-store owners. The system runs weekly-cycle microloans designed around how neighborhood stores actually operate, and has served 600+ shopkeepers and issued more than COP 3 billion in loans.
Bogotá is on UTC−5 with no daylight saving time: aligned with US Eastern in winter and US Central in summer. Standups happen in your morning.
Proven in regulated products
We built the transaction cores behind Educapital, Starkapital and +Tendero, and UTMédica's diagnostic imaging platform.
Security built server-side
Secrets, tokens and business rules never reach the browser. We follow OWASP practices, role-based access and audit logging.
Method and quality management
Scrum, a demo every sprint and an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system: you always know what shipped and what comes next.
Platforms and tools
React
Angular
Vue.js
Node.js
TypeScript
Python
PHP
Laravel
PostgreSQL
MongoDB
React Native
Flutter
Amazon Web Services
Google Cloud
Azure
Engagement models
Ways to engage and how pricing works
Fixed-scope project
An MVP with defined scope, timeline and deliverables. A good fit for validating a new product or operation.
Dedicated squad
A cross-functional team (product, UX, back end, front end, QA) working only on your platform, for a monthly fee.
Staff augmentation
DataLab engineers who join your in-house team, your tools and your rituals.
What drives the cost?
Every proposal is built around your goals, scope and timeline. We send you a detailed quote at no cost.
Number of modules, user roles and business rules.
Integrations with existing systems and third-party APIs.
Security, audit and compliance requirements in your industry.
Platforms: web, mobile or both.
Cloud infrastructure and expected transaction volume.
Engagement model: fixed-scope project or dedicated team.
Why Colombia works for US software teams
Time zone is the practical reason. Bogotá sits on UTC−5 all year, so a team in New York, Chicago or Miami shares most of its workday with ours. Daily standups, sprint reviews and quick unblock calls happen in real time instead of overnight.
Distance is the second. El Dorado International Airport has direct flights to several US hubs, so an on-site discovery workshop or a quarterly planning session is a short trip, not a major expedition, and your product owner can meet the engineers in person when it matters. And Bogotá is Colombia's business capital: its financial sector, health networks and education institutions give local engineers hands-on experience with regulated, high-volume products. We run meetings, documentation and demos in English or Spanish, whichever your team prefers.
What we have built from Bogotá
For Educapital, an edtech and fintech company serving schools, we built a SaaS transaction core for billing, payments and portfolio risk in 12 months. It now serves 50+ schools, processes 80,000+ successful transactions a month and helped the company raise over USD 5 million. For Starkapital, which finances taxis and commercial vehicles, the origination-to-collections core handles over COP 1 billion a month in loan processing.
The +Tendero microcredit core runs on a weekly cycle, serves 600+ neighborhood shopkeepers and has issued over COP 3 billion in loans. UTMédica's platform handles 5,000+ diagnostic imaging transactions a week, and an insurance agency uses our software to manage 25,000+ policies and the commissions of 300 sales reps. For Tovar Arquitectura, we built a SaaS platform for construction supervision in 12 months, giving the firm full traceability across its inspection work.
How to evaluate a nearshore software partner in Colombia
Ask every vendor for five things: software in production with real usage numbers, not just screenshots; a delivery method with frequent demos you can test; a clear answer on where secrets live and how access is controlled; a plan for after launch, with support and evolution; and a chance to meet the engineers who will build your product, not only the sales team.
Then check the basics: a registered company with a verifiable tax ID, real certifications and working hours that overlap with yours. DataLab is WE ARE DATALAB S.A.S. (Colombian tax ID 900.480.799-9), headquartered in Bogotá, with an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system. Ask for a pilot sprint or a paid discovery phase before committing to a long contract: it's the fastest way to see how a team really works.
Frequently asked questions
Nearshore software development in Colombia: frequently asked questions
01
Is DataLab based in Colombia?
Yes. WE ARE DATALAB S.A.S. is headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia, and holds in-person meetings there by appointment. We've been in business for 10+ years, have delivered 200+ technology projects and have a presence in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile and the United States.
02
Do Bogotá developers overlap with US business hours?
Bogotá is on UTC−5 all year, with no daylight saving time. That matches US Eastern Standard Time in winter and US Central Daylight Time in summer. Our team works on Bogotá time, so standups and reviews fit inside your workday.
03
How much does nearshore software development in Colombia cost?
It depends on the number of modules and business rules, integrations, security and compliance requirements, platforms and the engagement model you choose. We don't publish rate cards: after a discovery call, we send a proposal with scope, team composition and timeline, so you can compare options on real numbers.
04
How long does custom software development in Colombia take?
It depends on scope. An MVP can go live well before the full system, which keeps growing sprint by sprint. For reference, the Educapital, Starkapital and +Tendero cores were built in 10 to 12 months, and we built and evolved the UTMédica platform over 18 months.
05
How do you protect our IP and data?
We can sign your NDA before discovery, grant access by role and keep API keys, tokens and business rules on the server, never in the browser. Personal data is handled under Colombia's Law 1581 of 2012 and your own security policies. Code lives in a versioned repository from day one.
06
Do you work in English?
Yes. Meetings, documentation, sprint demos, code comments and support tickets can run in English or Spanish, whichever your team prefers. Many of our clients are in Latin America, and we also serve companies in the United States from our Bogotá headquarters.
07
Can we visit the team in Bogotá?
Yes. Kickoffs, discovery workshops or quarterly planning sessions can be held in person in Bogotá, by appointment, at a venue we agree on together. Most of the day-to-day work stays remote, with standups in overlapping hours, so a visit is worth planning when you need to align on scope or meet the engineers.
08
Which engagement models do you offer?
Three: a fixed-scope project for a defined MVP; a dedicated squad that works only on your platform for a monthly fee; and staff augmentation, where our engineers join your in-house team. You can start with a project and move to a squad after launch.
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