Why Mexico Nearshore App Development Is Here to Stay

Outsourcing is, of course, not a new concept to the American people, whether you’re talking through politics, casual conversation, or straight business. As a point of interest, however, outsourcing in of itself is more of an umbrella term, as there are a few different examples of where the work will be sent to, depending on who a company decides to partner with. You’ve got offshore, nearshore, and onshore outsourcing categories to sort yourself into, but the crux of what we want to talk about revolves around nearshore opportunities.

Just as outsourcing has been increasingly been taken advantage of, nearshore app development in particular has seen its own rise in popularity, especially among its peers. This is primarily due to the low costs, ease of communication, and the thriving population of IT professionals in Mexico. These same reasons provide the same credibility for nearshore outsourcing being the best option for companies to choose from, making nearshoring with Mexico a popular alternative and ensuring it will continue to grow as such.

Nearshore is cheaper.

The U.S. has been experiencing a severe drought in fresh developer talent for years, increasing demand by necessity. Due to this, onshore software developer have raised the cost of their services to account for a shallower talent pool. With a low amount of IT professionals for software development companies to choose from, workers in turn become more valuable and expensive, even if they don’t have the skills to back up the price tag.

Nearshore has more software engineers to choose from.

The talent pool becomes an issue again, except now you’re just having difficulty finding the right workers for your project. The lack of an extensive array of capable software engineers means that you’re going to need a little luck to find the right person who fits your criteria. Nearshore companies, by contrast, have an enormous talent pool, making their surplus of workers ripe for the picking.

Nearshore has reliable experience.

There’s no easy guarantee anymore that opting for an onshore option is going to net you a quality employee. The shallow talent pool means that, if you’re looking for a qualified software engineer to hire, you’re going to have to sift through the top layer first. Inexperience is a trait that is overcome with time, but the drive to gain recognition means those engineers will make themselves easily seen. Many of the potential candidate you find will likely fall into this category: affordable and easy to find. Just because you find them, however, doesn’t mean they’ll be a good fit for your team or be qualified to handle your project expectations.

Think of it this way: you’re getting just as high a quality of service outsourcing to Mexico as you would aligning with an onshore company without the shortcomings. No extra expenses, no worries about securing a competent worker, no fussing over just finding the right partner. Nearshore outsourcing companies are pre-packaged deals with ideal costs for ideal team members.

Nearshore App Development Compared to Offshore Outsourcing

But what about offshore in this instance? While it may appear that we’re unfairly disparaging the worth of a decent offshore company, we want to make sure to give them their own fair reflection. If offshore outsourcing companies were actually that terrible then no one would ever use them. A nearshore outsourcing company is much like the happy medium between offshore and onshore, absorbing their best qualities.

For instance, we’ve already discussed the shortage of software engineers the U.S. is experiencing, as well as the troubles associated with that predicament. Offshore and nearshore opportunities are in place to fill that demand. China, India, the Ukraine, Mexico, and more have been churning out competent software engineers in increasing numbers for years. Not only that, but an offshore team, like their nearshore peers, sports a cheaper price as well for the costs of their services.

However, though both an offshore and nearshore company may boast lower prices, nearshore will always win in terms of cost-effective value. What’s more important than that, however, is the distinction between communication availability.

A project will fall apart if there is no communication, and that’s going to be the biggest stick in the mud when it comes to an offshore team. The hours of overlap between working hours gets shorter and shorter the further east you go. Without being readily available for communication, any issues that may arise may have to wait until the next day to be addressed, and then even further into the next day for the solution to be provided to your overseas team.

A nearshore team doesn’t have the time restraint, period. Being in the same time zone means work hours perfectly overlap, enabling active, responsive communication. This means you’ll be saving time, money, and effort while your project is underway, excelling in efficiency. Furthermore, with Mexico being right across the border, the time and money sunk cost for an in person meeting is negligible by comparison to an overseas meeting. That ‘s not even mentioning suffering through jet lag.

Why Nearshore Is Becoming More Valuable

With the ongoing rise in disparity between software developers and jobs, we can only ascertain that something’s got to give or it will break. We’re already starting to see examples of that future now, evident in the lowering of quality and raising of costs. Without major change in our own nation, it’s inevitable that the future holds steady with how things are progressing now. The gap between the need and supply of engineers is only going to become bigger as time passes.

This negligent space between supply and necessity breeds an ongoing unsustainable system for outsourcing. Onshore software engineers, judging by the state of the job market, will find that without the supply meeting the demand, they’ll be able to charge higher and higher fees. However, they won’t necessarily have the skills to deserve those prices, but what other option is there in the nearshore scene? Not only will you be paying more, the average quality of work will still decline.

It’s going to be a bit of time before the software engineer talent pool is saturated again. There are future software engineers on the horizon, sure, but despite more degree being churned out, the overall health of the job market won’t necessarily improve. That’s due to the fact that these new engineers are green around the gills, without the portfolio and work experience to guarantee decent work. Inexperience will further water down the market.

The technology market isn’t going to wait for new engineers to garner the experience needed to reach acceptable measures for the American software engineer pool. Our world is becoming increasingly technology based, and that’s not going to change. With a growing technology market for the foreseeable future, U.S. companies need to be prepared to meet the tide favorably. In that regard, nearshoring is perfect for helping to bridge the gap.

Another important note to make in favor of nearshore outsourcing is the presence of the USMCA, a trade agreement binding Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to the same standards. Once you go overseas, the expectation that you’ll be receiving a high quality product in exchange for the time, effort, and funds you spend on the venture isn’t guaranteed. You’re more or less bound by reputation, vim, vinegar, and trust that your offshore outsourcing partner will be capable of delivering.

With the USMCA, your worries can be lifted at least a little off your shoulders. While it hasn’t actually been fully ratified by all three countries yet, the USMCA provides a measure of protection and guarantee for products between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. With its introduction, nearshoring usefulness, especially compared to offshoring, will see a sudden jump as per credibility and reliableness. The greatest results to be gained from the USMCA agreement are three-fold: increased IP protection, simplified visa procedures, and protection from tariffs and trade barriers.

Increased IP protection is what saves you the worry of your projects not winding up to snuff. The USMCA provides legislature that unites data privacy laws and security across three nations. With all three being held to the same standards, you’ll be left with reasonable expectations of secure coding and the completion of a high quality project. Offshore outsourcing companies are now bound by the same laws, and therefore cannot with confidence be held to the same agreement.

Simplified visa procedures make work travel less of a pain in the neck. Every now and then, you made need to send your employees across country lines to work with your outsourcing team, or vice versa. Within the grounds of the USMCA, that visa process makes work visas for Mexican professionals attainable at any time of the year without date constraint. Essentially, they’re free to travel as needed. It’s not quite that easy or simple when dealing with an overseas team, that much is certain. How often do you really want to trap your team members in bureaucracy?

Finally, let’s talk a little about the protection the USMCA offers from tariffs and trade barriers. Without excessive expenses on just getting your product back from Mexico, the feasibility of taking advantage of nearshoring services is not only more convenient, it’s also more cost-effective. Outsourcing to Mexico is fundamentally cheaper is essentially every aspect due to adding on these tariff and trade barrier protections on top of already low-cost services.

Among other reasons to choose outsourcing to Mexico, also of note is the state of Mexico’s educational system. Mexico prides itself on having one of the fastest and largest growing number of STEM majors in the world. This level of educational prowess and productivity provides a constant refresher to the labor pool, ensuring a continually growing and improving selection of software engineers.

Conclusion

We’re not here to pass judgment on anyone that’s decided to go onshore or offshore when it comes to finding an outsourcing partner. Our goal, however, is to enlighten and expound on the virtues and qualities of the nearshore outsourcing scene. We want to plant the seeds of success, and we’re excited to provide the opportunity to help these seeds grow for any company.

In summary, nearshore has the upper hand in virtually every category over both onshore and offshore outsourcing. It’s cheaper, closer, easier to work with, and easier to communicate with, providing you with access to a nation full of incredible software engineers ready to work. The benefits nearshore outsourcing offer are virtually destined to increase in value, ensuring that Mexico nearshore app development is going to be a valid pursuit for years to come.

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