Everything you need to know about nearshore outsourcing

If you are planning to build a software product for your company, you should know that there are more options available than you can probably imagine. In-house software development is only one of the options available at your disposal. You can choose this option if you have enough resources available.

However, if you have a limited budget and can’t afford to hire in-house developers for your project, outsourcing gives you a great alternative. 

There are three different types of outsourcing that you can choose from depending on your development needs and budget. These are onshore outsourcing, nearshore outsourcing, and offshore outsourcing.

Onshore outsourcing is when you delegate the entire software project or a part of it to a software development company that is located in your own country. On the other hand, when you hire a nearshore outsourcing company, you outsource the development work to one of your neighbouring countries. Lastly, offshore outsourcing involves outsourcing the development project to a company that is located on another continent altogether. Offshoring companies are mostly located in developing countries like the Philippines and India. 

We won’t discuss anymore onshore and offshore outsourcing in this post. Our focus will be on nearshore software development services. To begin with, let us understand what nearshore software development really is.

What is nearshore software development?

Nearshore outsourcing of software development projects involves the delegation of these projects to outsourcing companies that are located close to your own country. There are several reasons why businesses choose nearshore software development services. Amongst them are low cost, access to great technical talent, and the ability to focus more on important tasks.

The best thing about nearshore outsourcing is that it doesn’t make you change your working schedule. In most cases, there is no difference between the time zones of both the parties involved. This not only makes communication easier but also ensures that you are just a Skype or phone call away at the time when the actual work is happening. And as you know, communication is the key to a successful software development project. Better collaboration between you and your outsourcing company would lead to better results.

Benefits of nearshore software development:

The proximity of the location: Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation when you need to communicate your idea through to another person. As nearshore companies are located in a nearby country, you can schedule face-to-face meetings to initially communicate all your expectations regarding the software project, and later on, to give inputs. These meetings can also be used by your outsourcing partner to tell you about different aspects of your project and make suggestions based on their experience. These meetings are much better than video calls.

Availability of talent: You don’t have to travel continents to find the talent you need for your project. It is also likely that you already have the talent available locally. It is just the work and cost associated with hiring and managing them that is keeping you away from considering this option. Nearshore outsourcing frees you of all that work. You will be able to work with people with the right technical expertise and other skills without having to manage them or search beyond your area of operation. This is a great option for companies that don’t have the time and money to put together a development team for their project. 

Time zone alignment: One of the biggest benefits of working with a nearshore outsourcing company is that you will not have the development team that is located in a different time zone than yours. Your working hours will either be exactly or with a little difference. Nothing that would require extra effort on your part. This means that you and your company will have little problem in collaborating with each other. The development process will function smoothly from both sides and there won’t be any employee fatigue that comes from working during odd hours. Time zone alignment makes nearshore software development the best option for companies that are looking to save costs and time but are not ready to go too far away from their own country.

Why is nearshore outsourcing such a great option?

Outsourcing your software development project to a company located nearby offers you a way to achieve great results. You can use nearshore development to fill in the skill gap. You can leverage the expertise to build a product from scratch or complete the development of the product that your in-house team failed to deliver.

In a nutshell, nearshore software development services allow you to work with the right technical talent for your project, collaborate seamlessly, and get your product built in a cost-effective manner. Nearshore outsourcing is the ideal solution for your needs for agile software development, frequent communication, and collaborative development.