You’ve been outsourcing for a while now, but slowly you realize that it is becoming burdensome. You remind yourself why you agreed to outsource in the first place. Maybe it was to expand your access to a broader talent pool? Maybe it was to accelerate productivity? It was definitely to reduce costs. But why are things looking different than you expected? Why are productivity or velocity gains elusive? Is the effort to manage offshore teams greater than anticipated?
So, what’s wrong with outsourcing? Nothing. Nothing is wrong with outsourcing. What is wrong is time-zone misalignment—causing you more work and returning less benefit. So, while geographic distance has become irrelevant with online technology bridging all parts of the world together, the time zones remain immovable. Time zone differences are not only real, but they can also create challenges to productivity and create greater overhead costs. So, how can you have everybody aligned and collaborating in real-time during “normal” business hours again? Simple. Outsource closer to home.
Countries in Central and South America are today’s most convenient technology hubs for outsourcing. Beyond having technical graduates from universities with identical skill sets as those of their North American colleagues, these countries also utilize the same technologies, methodologies, and platforms as here in the States. Colombia, for example, is known as a technical resource engine. The country’s infrastructure is modern, robust, and highly reliable with 10 Internet fiber optic cables connecting Colombia to the world. With English widely spoken within the technical field, the nearshore advantages that Colombia offers overcome the challenges offshore technology centers struggle to overcome.
There are many reasons to consider nearshore countries—particularly Latin American ones such as Colombia—for fulfilling outsourcing needs. The decision you made to outsource originally was sound, but maybe you need to look for resources that are a little closer to home and sleep better at night.
