Benefits of nearshore outsourcing
There are many benefits to nearshoring. For example, it is much less costly than hiring and maintaining an in-house software development team while the quality of work exceeds expectations. The developers have already gone through the selection process by their outsourcing company, so that’s one less thing you should worry about. The personnel you would be bringing in is a team of experienced specialists. In this way, you would also have a direct communication channel with your team, whether remotely or in person.
When working with a nearshore IT provider, the time and cultural differences are significantly less than when opting for offshore. This will certainly make working with them easier and smoother, mainly when it is time to organize a meeting or discuss specifics of your project. Furthermore, IT experts from Eastern European countries are also highly skilled in the English language, so no communication barriers may arise.
What should one look for when choosing a nearshoring partner?
Experience
When you decide to look for a nearshoring partner, there are undoubtedly many things you need to be on the lookout for. The first, and maybe the most important thing, is the team’s experience. Many IT companies boast their portfolios on different online partners, so that is something worth looking into. Similarly, on companies’ websites, case studies are usually prominently displayed, which can be a good starting point for your research. But do keep in mind that there are privacy agreements in place that may prevent some examples of their work from being shown.
On that same note, you should check how the IP rights transfer has been handled in previous cases and if that is something that could cause potential issues in your cooperation. Although it is crucial to peruse the companies’ portfolios and case studies to gain insight into their IT expertise, be wary of their nearshoring experience as well.
Reviews
Similar to how reading case studies can help in deciding on a nearshoring partner, reading reviews can provide you with even more valuable information. Companies sometimes display testimonials and reviews on their profiles; however, everyone indeed tends to choose only the positive ones. There is a way around this. It would be best if you direct your attention toward third-party sites and forums that focus on more objective customer reviews. You can also find comparisons between different companies.
Communication
As with every other aspect of business, communication is vital in nearshore outsourcing. You need to consider the time zone factor: it is easier to communicate if it is approximately the same time for you and your IT providers. The channel through which gives directions and through which your developers can ask questions and give updates needs to be direct and straightforward, or else easily avoidable misunderstandings might jeopardize your project. Ask your potential partners which modes of communication they usually use and how often they communicate internally: will your project be discussed in weekly/daily meetings, or are they more prone to exchanging information during the process?
Presence
When contracting a nearshoring company, it is preferable that it is all completed in a Western or Central European country. It is also significantly easier to cover the basics of the project verbally and in person. For those reasons, the nearshoring company will have a representative physically present in the host country. Their job is to ensure that all procedures run as smoothly as possible and to assist in communication and project management. The availability of this representative is of great importance – so you need to pay special attention to this factor when looking to hire a nearshoring service.
Questions you should ask
Below, you can find an assortment of questions that you need to have an answer to before you commit to a specific team of nearshore software developers. It would be best if you answered some of these before starting the selection process, while others are more oriented toward the interviewing process.
- What are my company’s specific needs for this project?
- What are my company’s expectations from the developers?
- What is my company’s budget?
- Have we looked into enough companies, and have we definitively narrowed our options down?
- Where is my ideal company from?
- In which field do they need to have expertise?
- Does this company have enough experience?
- Do they provide high-quality results promptly?
- Do their positive reviews outweigh or outnumber the negative ones?
- Have they dealt with security restrictions and IP transferring prior to this project? How was it handled?
Conclusion
Nearshoring is the perfect solution for you if you are looking for a cost-saving way to work with IT experts without factoring in cultural and time differences. There are many things you need to consider during the process of deciding on one particular company to cooperate with. You need to define your technical needs, budget, and expectations. Then, you must make sure that the ones you hire are experienced in the field you are working in and that they can deliver results that are both presented at a set deadline and of the highest quality.
Valcon is a nearshoring company with plenty of experience working with remote teams, specifically from Eastern Europe. With experts in various IT fields, Valcon boasts the possibility for you to hire different agile teams specific to your company’s needs. Book a meeting today and meet your perfect nearshoring match!
Want to learn more? If you would like to learn more about how we can help your organisation leverage nearshoring, please reach out to Managing Partner SEE, Sonja Meijerink, at [email protected].
