For most businesses, 2020 will be remembered as the year of massive transformation, when executing quickly and effectively against a digital strategy became a business imperative. The wave that crashed over companies without a plan in motion shows no signs of receding even today. And for most businesses, the digital innovation that was born out of necessity is only going to go top-notch in 2022. The challenge is how to ride this unexpected wave, rather than drown in it. Companies that simply cut costs are the next to be pulled under. To be successful and outpace the competition, you need a software development partner that excels in exactly the type of digital projects you are now faced with accelerating, and in the most cost-effective and optimized way possible.

Gone are the days when cost savings were the key driver for software development outsourcing, but now it doesn’t even make it to the top three. According to recent research, some of the compelling reasons why businesses opt for software outsourcing includes:

  • Catalyst for innovation
  • Increase speed to market
  • Enhanced productivity and efficiency
  • Business agility and resilience
  • Scalability
  • Access to new tech

Hence, while cost reduction might not be the direct primary goal anymore and has been replaced by innovation and efficiency, the end result is still a better bottom line and an increased competitive advantage. However, all these benefits of software outsourcing can be futile if the business is not following an agile software development approach.

Most businesses believed they were employing agile practices through various forms of outsourcing but for true agile development. Nearshoring is the most ideal approach. Many companies are recognizing the substantial benefits associated with nearshoring their operations, especially to Latin America. Seen as an increasingly promising outsourcing strategy, some of the benefits of nearshoring in a nearby country like Mexico include lower costs, multilingual professionals, time zone and culturally aligned dedicated IT teams, closer proximity to the US, and so much more.

Nearshoring and Agile Software Development

Agile software development employs a very key principle that traditional methods don’t, namely adapting the product to customer needs and desires. Agile is about iterating on a product multiple times and making changes and improvements based on customer feedback, among other things. With traditional waterfall development, this is impossible to do, which is why a product created with this approach will never be able to compete with one using Agile.

Real-time communication is key to successful agile software development. The teams need to have access to the organizations (client), and the other way around, throughout the workday so that you can work through issues immediately. Hence, time zone compatibility is critical.

Another key advantage of nearshore outsourcing is that cultural differences aren’t quite as extreme, thus preventing a cultural shock when interacting with teams and stakeholders.

Nearshore outsourcing has thus become the only way to remain Agile today. Agile software development can be achieved with minimal or nonexistent time differences. Moreover, the benefits of cultural similarities aren’t to be overlooked, especially when innovation is a key driver of your IT outsourcing endeavors.

Capitalize on top IT talent without increasing costs by nearshoring your software development to Latin America with ShoreWise. We can empower your business by helping you scale operations by building, growing, and managing remote tech teams in Latin America. Through remote staffing and direct placements, we ensure that your business finds high-quality talent to continue developing your technology teams, fill skill gaps, and respond to scaling needs.