Nearshore: - What does this business buzzword mean?

The industry is rife with buzzwords, jargon, shorthand and confusing vernacular that are regularly bandied about. With so much going on, it can be difficult to hear through the noise and decipher what it all means and more importantly whether it's relevant to your organisation. In an era of continued globalisation, integration and networking, the world has been getting closer and closer. You will hear that companies take advantage of offshoring and outsourcing; common enough terms that have been well-established in business. However, recently, and most poignantly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have been increasingly turning to a “near-shore”, model for service - a new and nuanced way of working that businesses have begun taking advantage of. But what does it mean?

The COVID-19 pandemic can help provide a clue.

Has the pandemic influenced the nearshore/offshore culture?

In the last two years, work culture has transformed dramatically, demonstrating the power of remote working and forcing companies to adopt cloud and distributed technologies to maintain their business. In the aftermath, companies have also found just how productive these processes have become, in comparison to traditional offshoring practices. In the wake of the ensuing Great Resignation, businesses scrambled to retain and hire staff while implementing technologies for a new age in work culture that was changing all at once. To the present day, these hires and practices have become ingrained in employee and employer expectations and permitting an entire cohort of employees the opportunity of remote working.

What is nearshore?

Nearshoring refers to the practice of contracting skilled and like-minded pools of talent from nearby countries, taking advantage of remote working and collaborative technology to catapult a businesses’ capabilities. Instead of offshoring with an organisation halfway around the world, which businesses seldom connect with, a nearshore proposal involves seeking an organisation or talent, closer to home, that teams can interact with and benefit from shared timezones, culture and collaboration. It offers myriad solutions to issues that businesses face at home, such as being able to tap into a new talent pool to address skill shortages, allowing for true integration/optimisations with local teams and unlocking avenues to pursue business transformation. 

Nearshore: the multifunctional tool of large companies.

Nearshoring has quickly become a multifunctional tool in the box that businesses can leverage to address ever-changing business conditions. From short-term hybridisations to long-term business transformations, cost savings and talent acquisitions - nearshoring has introduced countless efficiencies that might not have been immediately apparent or even possible for traditional business practices/hiring models.

The good news is that the practice is only getting easier, simpler and more prevalent as employers and employees accelerate the acceptance and adoption of remote working. Talent pools worldwide continue to grow closer and closer to each other as businesses increasingly free themselves from traditional geographic limitations that have typically kept them apart, whether that is borders, oceans or timezones. 

Has the pandemic brought a new perspective on the job market?

The pandemic, despite its disruptions to the global business landscape, has fundamentally rewired modern working expectations, which in turn, has given rise to new workplace policies and the adoption of innovative new practices and proposals. And there’s still more to come. With new technologies in place, workplace innovations will only continue to develop. Communication and collaboration will become the cornerstones of business practice in a way that has not been limited by distance, bringing nearshore closer than ever for businesses that fully embrace the modern working environment. In an increasingly connected and closer business landscape, those that are able to take advantage of technologies to support nearshore operations will see their prospects accelerate, while those that choose not to will see their opportunities continue to be limited (and even shrink) as competitors and talent evolve. 

Nearshore is a key component of CI&T’s offering. Unlike other client-service businesses, CI&T support a diverse team of professionals with an equally diverse range of skill sets, cultural understandings and specialisations, located across the world. Unlocking this growth potential is just a video call away and available on-time. In your language and in your time.

Learn more about nearshore from the experts at CI&T here.

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