Benefits of building a Nearshore team

A good team is one of the key factors that you need for success, however, finding and hiring the best team for tech companies is not an easy task. From web developers and software engineers to designers, the position that you will be recruiting for are complex processes that require serious knowledge and skills, so you’ll need to be sure that the people you are hiring are up to the task. 

On that note, the question of where to find these experts becomes a pressing one, considering the increasing need for engineers in the North American market which relies on a continuous influx of professionals to fill its growing number of job demands. Just in the U.S., the tech sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, with four tech firms reaching a $1 trillion market cap by the beginning of 2020 — all of which have seen double-digit growth since achieving a 13-digit valuation pre-pandemic, making demand much higher than supply.

On that note, Latin America is a great place to start looking for talent and start building your nearshore team of remote workers. The LatAm region has become one of the main hubs for tech talent and software development becoming the perfect place to look for engineering talent due to its ever-increasing number of tech graduates and new developers.

Nearshore Vs. Offshore & Onshore

In recent years, outsourcing has become an increasingly common practice for a lot of companies. By doing it right, outsourcing developers can be a fantastic way for businesses to improve efficiencies and increase their company’s bottom line. 

When it comes to outsourcing, companies may choose to do it onshore (within their own country), nearshore (to a neighboring country or one in the same time zone), or offshore (to a more distant country). While onshore and offshore are always good options, nearshore brings multiple advantages: 

First of all, nearshore it’s cost-effective. Hiring engineering talent to help you with specific tasks will definitely be cheaper than hiring in-house. Depending on where you are based, this could mean saving anywhere from 20% to 70% of your budget.

Secondly, nearshore gives you the advantage of expanding your reach to find top talent. Some projects require strong technical expertise and there’s no reason to limit yourself to your local area. Nearshore allows you access to a pool of tech talents in your region, so you can select the best tech talent for your project.

Lastly, nearshoring with a reliable team will give you peace of mind as your tasks will be handled expertly without you having to worry about the management of the project. This will allow you to spend your time and resources on other key important tasks for your area.

Are you still doubting? Here are 5 reasons for you to start considering a nearshore model for your next IT project. 

5 Nearshore Advantages

#1 Extended Talent Pool

It is true that not all countries have great IT specialists, and as stated above, the increasing demand of talented developers is a pressing issue. Well, nearshoring has become one of the best answers to that problem. By adopting a nearshore model, companies can broaden their pool of talent by finding a more capable workforce in other regions.

For instance, Latin America has succeeded to make its mark in the IT field. Latin America is producing big amounts of engineering talent day by day. For example, Mexican universities are nearly producing as many computer sciences graduates as American ones, and outside of education, Mexico and Brazil have a combined workforce of just under three-quarters of a million technology specialists. This makes a good pool of highly qualified and very experienced workers within the reach of companies HR team’s hands. In other words, LATAM is full of attractive candidates to choose from when companies are looking to set up world-class development tech talent networks or to hire individual remote engineering talent.

#2 Shared Time Zone 

Most companies that outsource often face logistical challenges when working with firms in different continents, like Asia, due to time zone differences. For example, a recent survey shows that one-third of U.S. companies that outsourced to India considered the 10-hour (or more) time difference to be a big challenge. 

On the flip side, nearshore software developers work in a time zone similar to your company. Hiring in a region close enough to your market, enables real-time collaboration at times that work best for all parties to make projects time-efficient and easy to coordinate. In this sense, Latin America represents a great option; while the time difference between America and Asia can exceed 12 hours, the time difference between American companies and countries in South America is usually within 5 hours, which keeps exchanges within the same business day.

#3 Less Cultural and Language Barriers 

Communication is key to a project’s success. Therefore, beyond the time difference, nearshoring in countries will foster good communication and enhance your professional relationships due to many cultural similarities. For example, the U.S. is home to more than 41 million native Spanish speakers, plus over 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers, while English is the third most spoken immigrant language in Latin America, with about 5.4 million speakers, compared to the English literacy rate in China that hovers around 1%. This allows American companies nearshoring in Latin America to work easily and efficiently.

Also, the number of consumer and cultural exports from Latinamerican countries to the U.S. helps to build familiarity and solidarity between the two countries, which can only help advance a healthy relationship within the company.

#4 It’s Cost-Effective

Ok, first of all, the money…One of the main reasons American companies turn towards nearshore options for potential hires is lower costs. American tech companies can lower their operational costs by outsourcing their tasks to more affordable candidates in other nearby countries. For example, nearshore outsourcing providers in Latin America and South America boast excellent programmers with hourly rates that are much lower than programmers with the same skills in America. The region costs, although higher on average than countries in Asia and Africa are significantly less than in the Global North, plus the area is within the same time zone and has a relatively similar work culture enabling better collaboration to overall project success.

#5 Similar Laws

Besides the culture and language similarities, hiring a team that is located nearby will most likely provide you with talent more aware of your country's laws. For example, protecting your intellectual property (IP) is crucial when you are developing any kind of software, however, many IP laws in East European and Asian countries may be less protective than those in nearshore countries, such as Mexico, which has strong IP laws. As a result, you will not land into any legal predicaments that could delay your project’s launch.

If you want to protect your company’s rights while outsourcing, nearshoring is the best option out there as it allows you high control over the law is being applied for your company to be secured.

Why Latin America?

Due to its proximity to the US and Canada and its accessible prices, Latin America has become one of the hottest outsourcing destinations for Northamerican companies. The LATAM region has been changing the perception that outsourcing is risky and is becoming a primal tech provider worldwide, with thriving economies and big pools of competent talents.

Latinamerican nearshore engineers are winning the hearts of American companies and here are a few reasons why:

#1 Language

As crucial as the English language is for American companies, finding foreign partners that are fluent in it might be challenging. However, when it comes to the LatAm region, the numbers might play in your favor. As stated above, ​​nearshoring in countries will allow you to have good communication due to cultural similarities. On that note, the U.S. is home to more than 41 million native Spanish speakers, plus over 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers, while English is the third most spoken immigrant language in South America, with about 5.4 million speakers, compared to the English literacy rate in China that hovers around 1%.

#2 Location

A good location is everything, and being in a timezone that works for the hiring company and enabling real-time collaboration might be the key. But it’s more than geography, Latin America’s stable social environment and its prospects for economic and political development are also decisive factors to become an outsourcing leader.

#3 Working culture

Besides its language and location, the work culture of a country is a crucial factor to become an outsourcing destination. Latin America is full of dedicated and hard-working people ready to meet any company’s expectations.

#4 Young Workforce

A country with a young population ready to pursue a career in tech is as valuable as a gold mine. Latin America is producing big amounts of young engineering talent day by day, making it full of attractive candidates to choose from when companies are looking to set up world-class development tech talent networks or to hire individual remote engineering talent. 

From wherever you look at it, nearshore software development can bring your company many advantages such as lower costs, increased efficiency, wider access to specialized skills, resources, and top talent. 

Looking towards Latinamerica is a great option for American companies looking for affordable and highly-skilled software developers within the same time zone. Save money without sacrificing on quality, and set yourself up for rapid international expansion without most of the typical struggles associated with it. 

Don’t know where to start? Talk to our experts! At Intersog, we have been delivering success across industries for over 15 years, developing web applications customized to each client’s specific requirements by leveraging our extensive expertise and deep technology capabilities.