Plenty of Swiss firms are in need of software developers, whether they’re a new player on the market or an already-established enterprise. Choosing an IT provider is associated with in-depth research, evaluation of quality, and competencies and cost analysis.
Swiss IT costs
Switzerland is one of the quickest-developing countries in the world. Zurich, the capital, is a massive financial and technological hub, and countless companies emerge in other Swiss cities such as Zug, Bern, Basel, Geneva or Lausanne. Switzerland is among the most expensive countries in the world in terms of software development services topped only by the United States (1). In Europe, Switzerland actually heads the ranking of the highest paying countries in the software engineering sector. Let’s take a closer look at the 2022 statistics below.
Why is it profitable to nearshore IT services for Swiss companies?
It may seem that outsourcing IT services is an unstoppable trend in Switzerland nowadays. This is the case possibly not only because of the substantially higher prices of domestic IT services, but also thanks to the constant improvement of the quality of nearshoring services offered by software houses and consultants in Europe.
According to the Swiss Software Industry Survey 2022 (2), the growing “war for talent” which results from the shortage of skilled workers means that Swiss software and consulting businesses are planning on more outsourcing to nearshoring destinations. In fact, consulting companies (21.3%) and standard software manufacturers (12.5%) source the highest share of their value added from external service providers. On the whole, Swiss software firms draw 13.6% of their value added from onshoring, nearshoring, and offshoring services.
The same report reveals that one of the main reasons why Swiss software companies decide on outsourcing is to compensate for labour shortages (61.9%) and gain access to new labour (85.8%). Similarly, availability of qualified workforce is the major determinant of selecting a particular outsourcing destination. This reflects the general trend in the IT sector, which is a consequence of talent shortage in the Western world.
Out of all the available outsourcing options, nearshoring is becoming an increasingly popular choice among Swiss companies. More than a third of the analysed companies indicate that they are likely to outsource to nearshore providers and 23.9% are likely to hire staff in nearshore subsidiaries. However, only 10.6% are likely to outsource to offshore firms and even fewer (9.4%) are likely to hire staff in offshore subsidiaries.
What is more, the Swiss businesses which felt the impact of staff shortages most acutely are also more likely to outsource to nearshore service providers, the mentioned Swiss Software Industry Survey 2022 says.
Benefits of nearshoring IT services to Poland
The above findings mean that IT outsourcing is getting increasingly profitable and desirable for Swiss companies, especially when it comes to IT nearshoring to Eastern countries such as Poland. Here are a few reasons why:
Flexibility
Nearshoring to an experienced IT partner from Poland makes it possible to easily scale up or down. IT companies from Poland offer an agile approach combined with experience and well-tested processes that help them react quickly and flexibly to your changing needs.
Excellent quality of service
Poland is the fifth best country in Europe in terms of skilled IT professionals (3). Polish IT service providers hold on to universal, modern values and ensure trouble-free collaboration based on the latest technologies. Polish developers are well-organised, have great management skills, and follow established coding guidelines associated with testing, scalability, and reusability. Besides, they adhere to the idea of lifelong learning: apart from their solid higher education foundations, they regularly hone and update their skills. As Poland is a member of the European Union, polish companies abide by the EU legal standards.
Large talent pool
The number of software developers in Poland is relatively large. As of 2022, there are more than 400.000 IT professionals available (4). Most of those specialists are high-educated, experienced professionals who graduated from the top technical universities in Poland. This is a great opportunity for Western European countries suffering from talent shortage and searching for nearshoring providers in Eastern Europe.
No barriers
Last but not least, another great benefit of nearshoring to Poland is the lack of communication barriers. Poland is culturally quite similar to Switzerland, there are no time zone issues, and the business culture in Polish IT companies corresponds to the West European standards. Moreover, Poles are exceptionally proficient in the English language (5), which makes the collaboration seamless and comfortable in terms of communication.
IT nearshoring as a beneficial solution for Swiss companies
For Swiss companies looking for a cost-effective, top-quality solution for their IT projects, nearshoring is the way to go. This approach may support Swiss businesses in dealing with IT talent shortage, as it provides them with an opportunity to draw from the abundant and experienced talent pool available in other countries, such as Poland. This is not just a cost-saving solution but one that helps generate more profit and accelerate growth based on the extended and far-reaching access to the latest technologies and novel perspectives on software development.
For more information about nearshoring with a Polish partner and the profits of such cooperation read this article.
Sources:
(1) https://codesubmit.io/blog/software-engineer-salary-by-country/
(2) https://www.swico.ch/media/filer_public/01/42/0142922c-42e0-4a0b-9c1f-390cd1eb0636/report_2022.pdf
(3) https://www.pentalog.com/blog/it-outsourcing/best-developers-in-the-world-pentalog-report-2022/
(4) https://www.ideamotive.co/it-outsourcing-poland
(5) https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/reports/2022/ef-epi-2022-english.pdf