Busting the Myth: The model comparison.
My teams have been involved in IT outsourcing for a while now (over a decade!). Like every business owner, even I fall into the cliché of being successful without consuming the least possible resources. Having a reverence of experience with the most versatile technologies because I had the privilege to work with Europe based start-ups to one of world’s biggest software companies based out of USA. We can safely say that I had seen the tech transition when it comes to the Nearshore and Offshore Model.
From where I stand today, technology has become way more complex and entwined with our day-today lives then we could have ever imagined. This is also because today’s tech-savvy user has grown to expect exceptional value from every technology we use.
However, this creates a situation where enterprises, across industries, have a significant demand for top tech talent.
As supply is not even close to feeding the needs of digitally transformed industries, companies have had to explore other options like outsourcing.
While the outsourcing model was born out of manufacturing, today, as much as 60% of the entire outsourcing industry is made up of IT projects.
When businesses choose to outsource their software development projects, let’s face it, once work has gone outside your office, it’s out of your control even when it’s in same city. In the ever-shrinking world a nearby country or a country farther is not the biggest challenge. I see some common myths on offshoring V/s. nearshoring:
Myth: Less time zone difference and cultural affinity puts nearshore at great advantage.
Reality: Of course, lesser time zone difference will be more convenient. However, I’ve not seen this as the main reason of success or failure of an engagement. It starts from finding the right partner to collaborate followed by investing in the engagement to make it work. It’s a two-way process that requires high quality communication, right skills, processes and commitment.
Conclusion
With a right partner, distance will almost become an irrelevant factor. Ensure that you identify right outsourcing partner with right skills and professionalism. This must be complimented with quality communication at both ends and right level of processes to track all activities.