[VIDEO] Nearshore Software Outsourcing: Interview with Matías Bergengruen

[VIDEO] Nearshore Software Outsourcing: Interview with Matías Bergengruen

How has nearshore software outsourcing helped businesses recover from the pandemic and digitally transform? Watch our interview with one of our partners, Head of Hexacta at Uruguay, and learn more about it.

Nearshoring is an outsourcing model that many companies worldwide have chosen thanks to the perks they get from working with a software development company near to them.

In a recent interview with Matías Bergengruen, one of Hexacta’s partners, he revealed the importance nearshore software development has, especially in times of pandemic, and shared with us some qualities businesses should seek in a nearshore partner. Do not miss this video!

How does nearshore software outsourcing can help businesses recover from the pandemic and digitally transform?

Matias Bergengruen: “COVID-19 has changed the way companies perceive remote work.

Before the pandemic struck the Globe, IT companies, such as Hexacta, were already very used to working remotely. Almost 70 to 80 percent of their revenue came from abroad projects, and we considered it their “day-by-day operation”.

However, this was not the case in other industries, where digital transformation advanced at a very slow pace, and they kept working on a more “traditional” way. Within these customs, physical presence was considered a must,and perhaps not even challenged, and outsourcing their needs, for example, software development needs, was not considered, or at least they were not very keen on it.

Nowadays, companies from very different industries have tested remote working, and accelerated their path to digital transformation. Though this happened by the “hard way” and surely with not much planning, companies forced into this new way of working had very promising results, and most certainly, this new practice is here to stay.

With this “new scenario”, nearshore software development outsourcing is a great instrument for companies that have to increase their IT workforce, introducing capabilities and skillsets that they do not necessarily have within their teams. Nearshoring also provides other benefits, such as very competitive rates (especially when compared to the US IT market or other European countries), compatible time zones, cultural affinity and bilingual resources with great IT expertise.”

What qualities should businesses seek on a nearshore partner?

Matías Bergengruen: “There are many articles written about this matter, mentioning the considerations to be aware of when searching for a nearshore software development partner; you might even find a few entries on Hexacta’s blog. I would resume these in three key aspects.

First of all, Cost & Quality ratio. When IT decision-makers start evaluating alternatives for nearshore partners, usually there is an important component regarding budget and costs reduction. This is a very important matter to address, but not necessarily sufficient.

When evaluating a nearshore Software Development Company, you should not only focus on costs but also consider the quality of the service or product they provide to you. In the long-term, these two attributes will provide the real cost-benefit ratio.

If you just focus on price, you’ll end up spending more on the long-term, this is not just a matter of pricing. This evaluation process has no big difference from any other non-technological product or service, you actually purchase.

So, how do we measure the “quality” of software development companies? This is not an easy metric to obtain before you can actually test a nearshore software partner performance, but you should rely on certain verifiable information, such as QA certifications, analyze and understand their processes, their recruitment process, their training process, their career plans; focus on the methodologies they use to manage their teams and the projects, and, if possible, get to talk to some clients’ referrals.

The second aspect to consider in a nearshore software development company is Talent: Nearshore services are provided by individuals within an organization.
Under this perspective, getting to know your partner’s company is, almost as important, as the individual talent and skillsets you are looking for.

A company that cares for their employees, not only lowers its attrition rates (which in the long-term is essential), but it also keeps highly motivated teams that increase the efficiency and the quality of their work.

Given the actual demand scenario for IT Talent, I would dare say that people care, especially on SW development companies, is as essential as clients’ are themselves.

Your nearshore SW development partner should provide their employees with a challenging professional path, and appropriate environment, balancing their personal and professional life, defining and agreeing on goals, taking care of their continuous training, providing them with equal opportunities within the firm.

We are convinced that quality and excellence of human capital ends up translating into better quality of results.

For last, you should take into consideration the Experience in Outsourcing:

For more than two decades, there has been a never-ending boom of software development companies, as well as software development needs for IT resources. We have freelancers, we have small companies, we have boutique companies, we have mid-size companies, we have very large companies.

So, how do we choose the correct partner? When evaluating a company’s experience in outsourcing, you should try to get objective information that can help us in this decision. Useful information, such as: the amount of years the company has is in the market and particularly how much in the outsourcing business, their workforce and capability to ramp-up teams, industries they have worked for, size of their clients and projects, and finally, but not less important, the methodologies applied to engage, manage and implement their projects. With this information, and a clear knowledge of our own needs, you will have a much better understanding of whether a partner is a good fit for your firm, or not.”

How do you think nearshore software outsourcing is contributing to a real digital transformation within businesses around the world?

Matías Bergengruen: “As we mentioned before, for the past 20 to 30 years, there has been an incredible boom in the use of technology within companies. This has also affected IT companies, needing to deal with an overwhelming amount of alternatives within the technological stack. We now have been working for web and mobile applications, cloud computing, Security, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Big Data, Machine Learning, and so on.

This incredible and extremely challenging path of digital transformation has created a globalized software development services environment, particularly in the business of nearshore software outsourcing.

Nearshore software outsourcing provides business all around the world access to a huge amount of new talents in the area of digital transformation; highly educated professionals with expertise in multiple industries and technologies, within a necessary time zone, and, usually, at very competitive rates, at least for highly developed countries where talent acquisition is extremely expensive.

This talent availability, summed up to the need of real digital transformation companies have to keep standing, have made nearshore software outsourcing a real contributor, and facilitator, to business all around the world.”

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