Talent shortage in the tech sector is affecting companies across the world. And the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem with increased demand for digital transformation. Can nearshoring save the day?
The IT skills disaster
According to the BBC, the UK is heading towards digital skills shortage disaster with fewer students taking IT subjects at GCSE while the demand for AI, cloud and robotics skills is rising sharply.
The situation in Germany isn’t great either. German digital association, Bitkom, revealed that at the end of 2020, there were 86,000 vacancies for IT experts across all sectors – the second highest value ever measured since 2011. So what is the answer?
In search for IT talent
In difficult times like this, corporations have traditionally gone to popular offshore outsourcing destinations like India or China. The offshoring is considered to be the cheapest way of outsourcing, however, it may not be for everyone, not least because of varying time zones, tax and legal challenges, or cultural differences. Also, the cheapest hourly rate does not equal the cheapest software, as time difference means delayed communication, which in turn impacts the schedule and results in a higher Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Many medium to large-sized companies, on the other hand, have used nearshore services for their IT needs to countries like Poland, or Ukraine. Using IT nearshoring is a great option as you can still benefit from the more advantageous price (compared to using onshore services), while, at the same time, avoiding the difficulties mentioned earlier. And there are many more benefits.
Nearshore outsourcing sounds like the perfect balance, doesn’t it? But what about large corporations and their large needs?
Is nearshoring an option for large global businesses?
Yes, it is. From our experience, at Future Processing, companies – large and small – can considerably benefit from nearshore outsourcing. Our clients span from medium-sized businesses to corporations employing thousands of people and generating billions of € in revenue.
Large businesses typically have large needs, but nearshore outsourcing could be just what they’re looking for.
First, quite often, not all projects happen at the same time. There may be many smaller projects, which a quality nearshoring partner could slot in efficiently. Good nearshore companies will also have a solid partner network which gives them more leeway in terms of additional resources. This means an opportunity to use a broad spectrum of competencies – IT engineers specialising in a variety of frameworks and languages, Quality Assurance, and security experts, UX specialists, Business Analysts, you name them.
For nearshore companies unable to deal with your long list of needs, another option to consider is multisourcing. A good idea is having two or more IT partners in different nearshore countries which will make you more resistant to political changes or market turmoil. Apart from broadening the skills pool and extended scalability, multisourcing will exert competitive pressure over your providers, and give you many interesting perspectives and insights on a given idea or challenge.
Another benefit of working with a smaller nearshore company, as compared to a large offshore provider, is that you are likely to form a real partnership with them. When working with a smaller company, you really are treated like an individual, and not just another client, one of hundreds.
But still, nearshoring will not be right for everyone. Let’s investigate:
Nearshoring is not for you if:
- You want the cheapest.
You, or your procurement believe price is the only factor to focus on when selecting a nearshoring company. - You need hundreds (or perhaps even thousands) of people to add to your team.
But, as we established, multisourcing is always an option to consider. - Quality is not your priority.
You want scale, you don’t worry who your team members are, and work quality is a secondary matter.
Nearshoring is for you if:
- You’re looking to hire roles difficult to fill, such as:
– Programmers, developers (e.g. in .NET, Java, React, Angular, C++, Python, etc,),
– Cloud experts,
– Quality Assurance (QA) specialists,
– Data scientists, data engineers, data technicians,
– Security experts. - You need to design and develop a new digital product or develop your existing software.
A quality nearshoring partner will offer software design services, including workshops with Business Analysts and UX experts, as well as software development services. - You need to add specific competencies to your technology team.
You have an existing team, and you need to spice it up a bit to make it just that little more innovative and creative through new skills. With a good nearshore partner, new team members will be handpicked to address your needs. - You value high quality of work.
You would like to work with a company that has a proven track record and is able to demonstrate the quality of their work through client testimonials and case studies. - You don’t want to waste time searching, recruiting, and training people.
You want a well-rounded team of experienced professionals quickly as you don’t have time and energy to search, review, interview candidates and then wait for them to become adept at their work. You’d prefer them to hit the ground running.
Conclusion? Start nearshoring!
So, to answer the question – yes, nearshoring could be a great option to tackle the IT skill demands for large companies. And, if you’re looking for a true partner, rather than just a supplier, we invite you to consider us – Future Processing to show you how easy-going and efficient your nearshore projects could become.