8 Nearshoring Trends to Watch in 2022

Over the last decade, staff augmentation has become widely accepted as a valuable staffing solution for organizations looking to quickly and smoothly add capacity or specialist skills to their in-house IT team. It enables companies to connect with tech talent from all over the world, drive down business costs, and respond to a rapidly-changing marketplace all while maintaining control over the teams working on key projects.

Within this trend, nearshoring has emerged as the preferred option for many companies who want the cost benefits of offshore staffing solutions without the workflow problems caused by having teams distributed across radically different time zones and cultures. For US-based companies, Latin America is an attractive region for nearshoring due to its convenient time zones, strong English proficiency and cultural overlaps. Moreover, major cities in Ecuador and Colombia - where Jobsity is based - as well as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are turning into exciting innovation hubs full of young and high-skilled tech talent.

Nearshoring in the post-pandemic world

There’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitization and forced us to rethink business strategies and working practices across all sectors. Some of the changes implemented over the last two years are set to become part of the ‘new normal’ in the post-pandemic world. This includes hybrid workplaces and distributed teams, which are being adopted as permanent solutions by some of the world’s largest companies.

With global IT outsourcing also set to grow quickly over the coming decade, nearshoring is likely to become a key pillar of business operations as more companies embrace new ways of working. With this in mind, here we’ll look at some of the top trends in the nearshoring industry as we head into 2022.

1. ‘You Get What You Pay For’: One of the main benefits of outsourcing and offshoring work is reduced costs. This is why Asian markets such as India and Vietnam, where labor costs are still very low, become such important hubs. However, as the market matures, cheap prices won’t be the only factor companies look for among offshore/nearshore providers. More companies will realize that the old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ also applies here. As this happens, other nearshoring benefits like work-friendly time zones, English skills, and better cultural understanding will become more highly valued.

2. Company Culture & Integration: As organizations are adapting to hybrid and remote working models, they must also rethink how to support employee well-being and motivation. As staff augmentation and nearshoring become more mainstream, organizations will need to set up frameworks to ensure new team members are seamlessly integrated into the local company culture, avoiding any “us and them” dynamics between in-house staff and external workers or teams.

3. Increased use of Remote Work Tools: The age of Zoom and Slack is only just beginning. The pandemic forced many organizations to quickly download collaboration software and tools to keep functioning during lockdowns. While this may have originally just been a temporary ‘band-aid’ solution, many companies are now depending on these tools for project management, videoconferencing, and client communications. And some are turning to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) collaborations to get people ‘in the same room’ and work together on projects. These are some of the top tools to optimize productivity in the remote work era.

4. Focus on Customer Experience (CX): Businesses are increasingly dedicating time and resources to improving the customer experience (CX) - and with good reason. A recent PWC report showed that 73% of people rate CX as an important factor in purchasing decisions, while around a third of customers are willing to walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience. This can be an important area of growth in the nearshoring sector as smaller businesses seek cost-effective solutions to key CX issues.

5. Incorporation of New Technology: Companies across the world have accelerated the adoption of cutting-edge technology to improve business operations. This includes cloud computing, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), the Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This implies growing demand for specialist developers and engineers to help companies implement and benefit from new tech.

6. Specialization and Flexibility: A growing talent shortage means that US companies will start to consider offshoring more and more aspects of IT operations and software development. They will seek to partner with companies that can offer specific services, or augment their in-house IT team with developers that have specialized skill sets. Companies will also demand flexibility from nearshore providers as their client needs and trends change.

7. New Destinations: As the nearshore industry continues to grow, new locations will emerge as competition to the more traditional venues. On a global scale, this implies a growing interest in nearshoring to South America (for North American companies) and locations within Africa (for European organizations). At a regional level, new centers of innovation will challenge traditional business hubs. For example, take a look at six ‘under the radar’ Latin American cities staking a claim as alternatives to Silicon Valley for US companies.

8. Enhanced Cybersecurity: One of the main risks associated with a switch to distributed teams is increased threats from cybersecurity attacks. The reasoning is simple: as the number of team members connecting remotely increases, so do the potential entry points for hackers. Ensuring all external staff are well trained in cybersecurity and use the latest tools/software to shield against attacks will be a priority for organizations. In addition, companies without the internal capabilities to set up enhanced cybersecurity protection will likely seek out specialist offshore/nearshore providers offering this service. You can read more here about some ways to help protect your business against cyberattacks.

Thinking of taking advantage of new nearshoring opportunities? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Jobsity to find out how we can help your organization prepare for the new normal.

--

If you want to stay up to date with all the new content we publish on our blog, share your email and hit the subscribe button.

Also, feel free to browse through the other sections of the blog where you can find many other amazing articles on: Programming, IT, Outsourcing, and even Management.