In 2020, COVID-19 slowed some industries' growth but accelerated digital transformation initiatives for others. There is a rise in opportunities for outsourcing as businesses cut full-time IT teams or rush to hire extra talent to speed digitization.

 

As the pandemic recovery period continues to evolve, businesses in every sector partner with development teams outside the U.S. — but they are increasingly looking closer to home these days.

 

What Is Nearshore Software Development? 

Nearshore Software Development refers to hiring developers from outside your home country but not from across the world. In this way, nearshoring is like offshoring, just closer to home.

For example, suppose a business in California wants to hire a software development team to help clear its backlog. In that case, it might look for potential partners in Mexico or Central America. A Caribbean nearshore company could be a good fit if the company is located in Florida.

 

Why Nearshoring Works?

There are several reasons why businesses hire nearshore software developers. The company may need to scale quickly to keep up with demand. It may not have the budget to hire a permanent development team, or the company may struggle to find the specialized talent required to complete a project.

 

But in today's late-pandemic business environment, new organizational pressures and disruptions motivate IT managers to seek out nearshore development partners. It turns out these teams are well-equipped to handle those pressures and disruptions.

 

4 Ways Nearshoreings Excel in Today's Business Climate

Businesses weren't prepared for the impact COVID-19 had on everything from supply chains to staff meetings. Many organizations are embracing that things won't return to their pre-pandemic status, so it's time to adapt to the new normal.

 

Nearshore development teams are uniquely positioned to help businesses overcome some of the most common pain points caused or exacerbated by the fallout from the pandemic. Here are four reasons why.

 

Nearshore developers can solve your skilled labor shortage.

Many organizations struggle to hire enough skilled people to complete projects on schedule and keep the backlog manageable. Nearshoring software development can reduce deployment time on business-critical projects. It can help your team reduce the backlog so you can work on other priorities.

 

Nearshore teams are used to remote work.

In cases where employees didn't have prior remote working experience, employee productivity, collaboration, and motivation were severely impacted. Nearshore software development teams have considerable remote work experience, so there is no lag time in onboarding new developers to existing teams.

 

Geographic proximity means that your team and the nearshore team share time zones — or there's significant overlap between them. This facilitates real-time communication resulting in better collaboration and the ability to address issues immediately.

 

Nearshore developers can help evolve your workflows.

Many nearshore development teams are experts in several software development methodologies and workflows. They can help your team become more efficient and increase productivity.

 

Nearshore developers come at low costs and deliver high value.

One of the main reasons companies partner with nearshore development teams is the potential cost savings. Working with outsourced software development teams can reduce expenses and overhead — such as salaries, taxes, acquisition fees, and HR costs — incurred if you build in-house teams. It can have a positive impact on your company's bottom line.

 

What to Look for in a Nearshoring Partner

When vetting potential nearshore outsourcing partners, due diligence is essential. Here are a few key considerations:

What kind of training and certifications does the nearshore talent have?

Are there any local or international laws that will affect the partnership?

What is the nearshore company's policy on intellectual property rights and protection?

What security protocols are in place to protect both parties?

Partnering with a nearshore software development team can reduce or even eliminate many of the challenges organizations face in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

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