The Benefits of Nearshoring Software Development and Data Engineering in LATAM with DevEngine

The global business landscape is always competitive and ever-evolving – this is true today and will be true in the future. Because of this, staying ahead of the curve is tough, essential, and exciting! To maintain your competitive edge, it’s crucial to make unconventional decisions, and nearshoring software development and data engineering services in Latin America (LATAM) with DevEngine might be one of those moves. 

Oftentimes, when you hear “nearshoring,” outsourcing to large consultancies like Accenture or Tata immediately comes to mind. However, nearshoring is not and should not be exclusive to big corporations. Companies of any size with substantial technology and software development components should also explore this option to enhance their competitiveness.

In this article, we’ll give you a rundown of what nearshoring entails, including reasons it’s increasingly gaining traction and tips for optimum business outcomes. We’ll also highlight the benefits of nearshoring software development and data engineering in Latin America, discuss solutions to potential challenges, give real-life examples, and outline how to vet prospective developers.

The Benefits of Nearshoring Software Development and Data Engineering in LATAM

While nearshoring software development has recently been a forefront topic in the global IT space, several companies in Canada and the US are yet to embrace its benefits. If you’re an ardent follower of our blog, you know that we’ve discussed the benefits of outsourcing to this region a million times. However, for the sake of first-time visitors, below is a summary:

• Time zone alignment and geographical proximity: One of the gravest concerns for most organizations outsourcing tech talent from overseas is geographical and time zone disparities. Fortunately, when outsourcing to Latin America, you’ll be working with professionals who are in almost similar time zones as North America and Canada. For example, Houston in North America has a meager one-hour difference with Mexico. This timezone alignment will enable you to collaborate with LATAM professionals in real time.
• English proficiency: Developers from offshore locations like Asia and Africa often lack a firm grasp of English as native speakers. Sometimes, this might cause communication and collaboration challenges. Comparatively, several Latin countries speak English as their first or second language. So, you don’t have to worry about language barriers when working with them.
• Cultural similarities: Latin American countries share several cultural aspects with North American countries. As a result, developers from this region are more likely to grasp your work ethics, quality benchmarks, and timeline anticipations better than offshore alternatives.
• Cost-effective talent: The primary advantage of outsourcing software development and data engineering processes to LATAM.is cost reduction. For example, while a software engineer in the US takes home about $8,352 per month, you’ll need only $6,613 per month to hire the same specialists from Mexico.
• Fast Internet to ensure real-time collaboration: Reliable software development and data engineering require stable Internet, which might not be available in some African and Asian countries. Comparatively, most LATAM countries have robust tech infrastructure and fast internet. For instance, studies estimate that fiber optics will account for over 53.2% of the region’s broadband market by the end of 2023.

Popular Latin American Destinations for Nearshore Software Development and Data Engineering

Below is a summary of a few countries you can consider when nearshoring software development and data engineering to LATAM:

Potential Challenges of Nearshoring Software Development and Data Engineering to Latin America

Of course, nearshoring your software development and data engineering to LATAM is not a bed of roses with no thorns. Below are a few challenges you may encounter and how to resolve or avoid them:

Higher rates than offshoring

While LATAM has significantly lower rates than most parts of North America and Canada, the region’s developers charge slightly more than several offshore destinations. However, when it comes to tech, cost is not just about the service fee. It also entails the quality of service, convenience, reliability, ease of communication, and so on. If you consider these factors, LATAM is far more cost-effective and convenient than offshore countries.

Challenging to find 24/7 support

Sometimes, organizations prefer hiring from countries with different time zones to ensure they have eyes on their systems as regular in-house staff sleep. However, this type of arrangement might be difficult to find in this region because Latin America has a time zone alignment with most parts of the US and Canada. Because of this, it’s crucial to ask prospective developers and engineers if they offer 24/7 support before listing their services.

Difficulty in identifying qualified professionals

Another challenge is the difficulty of distinguishing qualified engineers and developers from quarks, especially when conducting online interviews. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about this when outsourcing through a trusted hiring company like DevEngine. We have stringent screening processes to ensure all our software experts have requisite academic credentials and industry experience.

How to Vet Potential Software Developers and Data Engineers from Latin America

As previously mentioned, sometimes identifying the right nearshore software developers and engineers can be challenging. When you find yourself in this situation, here are a few tips to help you during the vetting process:

• Define clear project requirements: What are the project’s objectives and scope? When do you want to complete it? Which technology stack do you need? What’s your budget? Answering these questions beforehand can help you define the project’s requirements and identify suitable candidates.
• Assess prospects’ expertise and experiences: Software development and data engineering are delicate projects that often directly impact organizations’ day-to-day operations and baselines. Because of this, you cannot afford to have lackluster developers or engineers. Therefore, before listing the services of these specialists, it’s crucial to thoroughly evaluate their educational and professional backgrounds. If possible, ask for references from a few of their past clients to corroborate their expertise.
• Deploy extra security measures: Hiring nearshore data engineers means trusting third parties with your sensitive logins, files, and information. Therefore, you should conduct in-depth due diligence to ensure they’re ISO-certified and have no history of mismanaging client data. You can also deploy role-based and need-only access policies to limit the number of people accessing your sensitive credentials. It might also help to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the nearshore partner to gag them from divulging company secrets.
• Make collaboration official: Before starting any software development project, ensure you’ve signed a contract with your nearshore partner to safeguard you from liabilities in case anything goes wrong. It’s also crucial to create a scope of work (SOW) and professional services automation (PSA) to define the project’s technology stark, requirements, and deliverables.
• Establish clear communication guidelines: Find an agreeable channel that you can conveniently use to reach the nearshore developer and agree on when you expect project updates and how often you will be communicating. Also, ask them for their estimated response times to ensure they don’t keep you waiting when you have urgent concerns about the project.

As you can see, vetting and hiring software developers and data engineers from LATAM can be quite tedious. Why go through this back and forth when DevEngine can handle everything as you focus on other core tasks?

Meet Your Nearshoring Partner – DevEngine

DevEngine’s founding principle is a commitment to partnering with a select and limited number of clients. Your project should not be just a cog in the wheel of a big management consultancy. We deliberately target companies with roughly between 20 to 150 employees to build enjoyable and productive working relationships, maintain mutual respect, and gain a deep understanding of your businesses. This approach allows you to work with a company of a similar size, which is crucial for everyone’s success, including comparable challenges, pace of growth, team management style, tribe size, and more. 

You can expect a highly tailored approach to meet your specific needs and a nearshore strategy developed to align with your unique business and technical requirements. Ideally, your nearshore team will represent 5% to 10% of DevEngine’s book of business, this will command special attention from the DevEngine team – exactly what your business deserves.

Below are other reasons we are the best software developers hiring company in Latin America:

1. Your team is your team, no split-time

At DevEngine, we do not believe in ‘keeping developers on the bench.’ This means we don’t maintain idle developers waiting for assignments, a strategy that often results in hiring engineers who may not align with your specific needs, leading to unnecessary costs. Instead, we take the time to understand your organization’s skillset and personality requirements and source the best talent within your budget across LATAM. We then oversee and support this team, ensuring they work together seamlessly to meet your goals. We regularly survey the team, identifying potential challenges, maintaining a healthy and enjoyable work environment, fostering the sharing of constructive ideas, and rewarding initiative. Additionally, we can provide you with annual or semi-annual reports about your team, including retention rates, costs, and levels of job satisfaction, among other key metrics.

2. Language proficiency and cost efficiency

Our engineers typically have full working proficiency in English, enabling them to communicate effectively with your in-house team and customers. For clients seeking even greater cost efficiency, we can provide client-facing team leads or managers with strong English communication skills and a team of solid software and data engineers, whose English skills are still developing. This approach helps lower overall nearshore team costs while tapping into a vast pool of technical talent.

We can assemble your team based on your specific budget or prevailing local LATAM market rates, ensuring that engineers are compensated fairly, and reducing the risk of them becoming a flight risk for your project. We track hours worked, vacation, and sick days taken, and provide detailed timecards with every invoice. You receive a single invoice for the entire team at the beginning of the month, based on Net-30 payment terms.

3. Geographic flexibility

DevEngine’s broad network allows us to find engineers throughout Latin America, prioritizing technical expertise and team fit over the location. Currently, the majority of our engineers are based in Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica, and we also have a strong presence in other countries like Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama. If you prefer, we can build a team in a specific location, although this is rarely necessary.

Nearshoring software development and data engineering in LATAM with DevEngine provides you with an opportunity to access a wider network of IT talent of various levels of seniority, reduce costs, and maintain high service quality. This approach allows you to stay competitive, and accelerate product development, all while retaining control over your projects and product. Don’t let your competitors outbid you or outpace you in product development; partner with DevEngine to harness the power of nearshore talent and thrive in the ever-evolving tech landscape.