US-based companies are increasingly turning to nearshoring as a strategic approach to accessing top-tier IT and development talent, while optimizing costs and accelerating digital transformation projects. But among the dozens of technical roles that could be outsourced to a nearshore provider, which roles should be strongly considered? And which roles should enterprises keep in house if at all possible?
Below are five technical roles EVERY enterprise with digital transformation projects on their roadmaps should consider nearshoring. In the interest of balance, we also included three roles that often stay in-house. And if you’d like to discuss bringing any of these individual roles—or an entire team of IT or software development experts—into your organization, please be sure to schedule a conversation by completing the Contact Us form on our website. Here goes:
5 Technical Roles Your Company Should Nearshore
1: Technical Project Manager
Technical Project Managers play a pivotal role in orchestrating and overseeing the successful execution of projects from initiation to completion. By outsourcing this role, enterprises can gain near-immediate access to experienced professionals who not only possess the desired level of technical expertise, but also extensive project management experience—and even specific Agile-based certifications.
2: Software Engineer
Responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining software solutions for specific business objectives, Software Engineers will be the backbone of your digital transformation projects. And the benefits of nearshoring these roles are significant—and include not only access to large pools of talented Engineers with diverse technology and programming language backgrounds, but also onboarding times that are measured in weeks and not months.
3: Mobile Developer
As mobile technologies continue to take center stage, the supply of skilled Mobile Developers in the US remains at an all-time low. But in nearshore regions like Costa Rica, experienced Mobile Developers are not only much easier to find but also significantly less expensive. If your enterprise is finding it difficult to source technical talent that is well-versed in iOS, Android, Flutter, ReactNative, Xamarin and other mobile frameworks, nearshoring may be the best strategy for accelerating your digital development initiatives.
4: Data Engineer
For as long as databases have existed, Data Engineers have played a critical role in architecting, managing and optimizing them for search. Nearshoring this role in particular allows US firms to quickly and inexpensively add specialized skills in data modeling, ETL processes, and data warehousing to existing technical teams—as well as extensive experience optimizing data workflows, ensuring scalability, reliability, and security in handling massive volumes of structured and unstructured data.
5: Cloud Engineer
It is no secret that in the last 20 years, cloud computing has revolutionized the way businesses operate. Unfortunately, it has also made Cloud Engineers difficult to find, and nearly impossible to afford. That said, outsourcing this role to a nearshore provider offers US-based companies easy access to high-end expertise in areas like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—without long, drawn out and expensive talent searches.
3 Technical Roles Most Firms Keep In House
1: Chief Information Officer (CIO)
CIOs play a strategic role in shaping an organization’s IT vision, strategy, and governance framework. While certain aspects of IT leadership may be outsourced, the role of the CIO is often deemed critical to internal alignment, decision-making, and organizational culture. With this in mind, most enterprises typically retain CIO positions in-house to maintain control over long-term strategic direction and alignment with business objectives.
2: Product Manager
Product Managers are responsible for defining product vision, strategy, and roadmap, as well as aligning product development efforts with market demands and customer needs. Given the strategic nature of this role, most companies opt to keep Product Manager positions in-house to ensure close collaboration between product teams, stakeholders, and customers. This fosters a deep understanding of market dynamics and enables agile responses to evolving market trends.
3: Chief Architect
Chief Architects are pivotal in defining the technical architecture and design principles that guide software development initiatives. Their strategic insights and technical expertise ensure scalability, interoperability, and maintainability of complex IT systems. Because of this, companies typically retain Chief Architect positions internally to retain control over architectural decisions, technology stack choices, and long-term technical roadmap alignment.
Wrapping It Up
The decision to outsource (or not) specific technical roles in a nearshoring model is driven by a combination of factors—including skill availability, cost-effectiveness, scalability, speed of hire and strategic importance. But if strategically leveraged for the right talent acquisition processes, nearshore partnerships can offer global organizations the ability to augment their technical capabilities, accelerate innovation, and gain a competitive edge within their digital transformation projects.
If you would like more information on nearshoring an IT or software development team, please feel free to contact Excel directly by calling us any time at (612) 208-7465, or by completing the Contact Us form on our website. We look forward to hearing from you!