Nearshore Outsourcing, or NearSourcing, is when a business or government uses IT contractors in another nation “near shore” or in a “near time zone” to meet IT needs. This article discusses the most basic concept and benefit of nearshore or nearsourcing.

Question: What happens when project nearsourcing successfully occurs in the IT framework?

Answer: Companies with IT needs effectively connect up-with complete confidence and satisfaction-with companies offering off-shore IT resources, within the same workday time windows.

This article will look at understanding your technology needs, problems with some local technology companies, and the exciting opportunity offered by nearshore outsourcing, or nearsourcing, provided by outsourcing partnerships.

Understanding Your Technology Needs:

• Rapid Research, Development, and Deployment – Whatever your IT needs are, you need them met as quickly as possible. Every week and month your project deadlines are not met, you fall behind in your production, sales, communications, and profits. Time is money, and failure to get all necessary deadlines met means lost profits.
• Accurate, Lasting IT Relationships – There are few things more frustrating than to know what your IT needs are, pay out for them, then be left with insufficient, bug-filled, improperly designed applications. You end up in a duel, finger-pointing, and perhaps, legal action. You want your IT needs meet with the quality assurance expected in any customer service engagement, as you expect them met. Quality assurance with your outsourcing partner means accurate, measurable results, and long-lasting relationships.
• Minimally Invasive Process – You are not the expert, so you need professionals in the initiation and planning phase. Extra time is needed during the collaboration phase to communicate your needs. Yet you need an IT outsourcing company that knows how best to use your needs-knowledge, then goes to work with little interruption to your existing processes. Every interruption for clarification should focused, relevant, and needed.
• Cost Factors – As in everything else, cost-for-quality is vital. You know already that “bargain rates” are dangerous. Don’t sacrifice communication or quality for low-cost IT resources. You need best-cost, high-quality, reliable partners not only that meet your IT needs, but stand behind their work. You will always be looking at the bottom-line, but keep in mind that what you invest in the project is liable to define the quality of your outcomes.

Limitations of Local Technology Resources:

• Knowledge and Experience – Your needs are special. You must find an IT resource with the knowledge and experience ready to meet your needs. You do not need to invest in a company with a “learning curve” at your expense. The global marketplace is open for business. You will consider IT resource companies anywhere, if they have the right knowledge and experience to get you where you need to be, with a proven track-record, and at the right price. If your local IT contractors don’t have the skills or knowledge, look for an IT outsourcing partner that specializes in your needs.
• Reliable Infrastructure – You may have local IT provider, but their infrastructure does not allow safe investment. They need more hardware, software, staff, and financing, already in place, at your ready disposal. Their project management groups lack the flexible scale, capacity for your scope, and prove insufficient for your expanding needs, and strategic plan. If local resources do not meet your infrastructure requirements, get ready for local headaches. You need to be working, not worrying, if the project is going to be on-time. It may be time to look to an offshore provider and outsource those IT needs to a specialized partner.
• Timely Results – The local IT company might be close but they could be understaffed and over-committed to other projects. They may not respond in a timely manner, though geographically near you. Online, available, clear communications ensure a faster, smoother project. You cannot afford to use a local provider if they are not solely focused on you as a paying customer. Find an outsourcing partner that fosters open communication, and responds with results.

Nearshore Outsourcing: Accessing the Global Technology Marketplace in Your “Backyard”

You know your time zone and hours of operations. You do business with local companies only a few hours away for that reason. You want to contact your contractors by phone, email, teleconferencing, if not in person and on-site. You naturally accept that your business partners need not be right in the room with you, but they need to produce the same results. You always calculate distance, time, and related costs, when making decisions for business partners. This is your “preferred communications time window” for selecting partners. Risks lower when they are in your window, so look for a nearshore partner in your time zone.

When addressing complex IT needs, it’s possible you can lose your multimillion dollar contact if things go wrong–you simply cannot afford to make big mistakes. If your local IT resources does not guarantee capacity and satisfaction, you had better go elsewhere. Yet, you still do not want to go to India, China, or places with too many communication and cultural barriers. They are acceptable for small inexpensive projects, but when you have valuable clients depending on you, you need a nearshore partner that understands and values your own success.

Now stop thinking geographical distance or “locality.” Start thinking time zones, productivity, and quality assurance. That is really what matters most to you-being at work at the same time, the same day, and ready to respond with decision-making authority on critical ventures. This is what some call, the ‘death of distance.” Off-shore is irrelevant, for practical business purposes if your nearshore partner is working when you are. This ensures your U.S. based teams are working together with your nearshore teams, focusing on the same outcomes.

Your IT outsourcing partners are all in your “real-time workday back yard.” The following cities-among thousands more-all are working within 1-3 hours of our U.S. hours of operation: Ascension, Braslia, Bogot, Caracas, Jakarta, Kingston, La Paz, Lima, Nassau, Ottawa, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Santiago, St. John’s, Tegucigalpa, and Toronto. Add in all the cities within 4-6 hours-just to leave a 4-2 hour response “cushion”-and there are tens of thousands of companies with the kinds of IT needs only we can serve “better than geographical locals.”

Nearsourcing your infrastructure or staffing needs, regardless of your corporate size, can easily be achieved by selecting the right Nearshore Outsourcing partner. Nearsourcing your IT needs has become a valuable business practice within the technology community, and the benefits of nearsourcing can have a positive impact on your local contractors productivity, while maintaining your bottom-line. By outsourcing to experts in areas of Latin America, Canada, and Puerto Rico, your company can adopt an agile method that promotes team-work, collaboration, and exceeds project expectations.