You could also choose to outsource to an onshore team located in the same country or region as you are. Again, this is a costly option since the hourly rate tends to be much higher, and you’re also potentially limiting yourself in terms of your access to talent. Then there are offshore and nearshore software outsourcing models. Both yield big cost savings, but the nearshore cooperation model comes with a few added bonuses.
Let’s break these down so that you could gain a clearer view of which type of software outsourcing provider might be the best fit for your business.
How is nearshore software outsourcing different to offshore?
When you work with a nearshore outsourcing company, you’re still technically offshoring your software product development but to a neighbouring country located within the same time zone. With pure offshoring, your software outsourcing provider could be positioned anywhere in the world. This has the benefit of opening up a worldwide pool of talent, but the communicational drawbacks may prove bigger than any cost savings or additional advantageous skills.
A nearshore software development company occupies a nice mid-ground between onshore and offshore development, while still enabling you to optimise your project spend. Want to dive deeper into the distinctive features of different outsourcing models? We have a blog post on this topic. Check it out here - Offshore vs Nearshore Outsourcing: What’s Best for Your Business?
Five benefits of nearshore software outsourcing
1. Flexible scaling
If you have a specific project in the pipeline and need to scale your internal resource to deliver it, it makes little sense to put the time, money and effort into building a bigger permanent team, and you might find yourself limited in terms of the talent you have access to locally. With nearshore engagement model, you can extend your in-house staff to meet project requirements or a growing development portfolio as and when needed.
Your nearhore software outsourcing provider takes on the responsibility of putting together a best-fit team of specialists, leaving you and your internal team to focus on your core day-to-day business.
2. Access to a large talent pool
Finding the right mix of skills and experience to deliver a high-quality product can be tricky. Especially if you’re scouting for a team in your local area. But with a nearshore outsourcing company, you gain access to a vast talent pool with a diverse skill set that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to tap into. ELEKS, for example, has over 1,800 experts with broad-ranging technical specialisms.
And, although you might be able to connect with an even bigger global talent pool with offshore development, you’ll run the risk of receiving poor communication and having less visibility and control and over your development project.
3. Reduction in business costs
Nearshore software development, although not as cheap as offshore, has huge benefits in terms of your business margins. When you choose the right smart development team, you’ll avoid the hefty costs associated with in-house recruitment or the higher hourly rate of the onshore team. What’s more, by enabling swift and seamless communication between your in-house team and your augmented, extended development team located nearby, you’ll mitigate any lag and speed up the project development timeframe.
The nearshore engagement model could save you up to 50% compared with onboarding your own internal team.
4. Geographical proximity for seamless collaboration
One of the biggest barriers to successful software development is poor communication, and this is the main downfall of the offshore development model. With your extended team potentially located on the other side of the globe, there can be a significant delay in team comms, which can really hinder the problem-solving process and increase your product’s time-to-market.
With the nearshore engagement model, your software team is positioned in a neighbouring country with a similar time zone, which means that there’s a good cross-over period during every working day where teams can be in touch with each other. There are also the added benefits of cultural similarities and local language skills, which both help to smooth the collaborative process.
5. Launch products to market faster
With a dedicated best-fit team of experts working solely on your software project, you can launch your product to market up to 50% faster than if you were to use your in-house team. This ensures that you stay market relevant and retain your competitive edge while maximising your product’s revenue potential.
A good nearshore development company will have a comprehensive portfolio of services to offer, including product design, application development, PoC development, application reengineering, and more. Plus, they’ll have expertise in areas like data science, QA and security, so you can feel confident that, at the end of your cooperation, you’ll have a high-quality product that you’re completely happy with.
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