Custom mobile and web app development requires a big team equipped with a variety of skills and experience. This means smaller businesses and start-ups often won’t have all the knowledge necessary to design and develop custom apps in-house. This is true even for growing businesses looking to hire new talent as the hiring team might not be completely up to date with the latest frameworks and development stacks.

The solution to this problem is outsourcing the custom development projects to a partner company who can design and build the apps on behalf of their client.

Nearshore custom development provides businesses of all sizes with access to a much wider talent pool where they can grow their business through the custom development of mobile and web apps. Without the need to invest in new permanent hires, you can benefit from talented developers with expertise in DevOps, frontend design and database development, APIs and infrastructure management. There will also be team members experienced with testing and security, web application maintenance and networking.

There can be challenges in outsourcing though, so let’s look at those and the solutions available.

Traditional Outsourcing Challenges

As with every aspect of business, there can be challenges with outsourcing, especially with offshore outsourcing which involves hiring a partner company on the other side of the world, often in Asia. The time zone disparity, language barrier and cultural differences make offshore outsourcing difficult. There is also the issue of your intellectual property rights being protected, as the relevant laws in Asian countries are often not as stringent as they are in the United States.

Offshore outsourcing is not the only option though, with nearshore outsourcing now one of the most popular customer development solutions for American businesses. It involves partnering with an outsourcing company much closer to home, usually in Latin America, where the time zone, language and cultural differences have a much greater overlap.

Intellectual property laws in countries like Costa Rica are also similar in nature to the United States, offering much more protection to your business and your custom apps.

Benefits of Nearshore Custom Development

Nearshore outsourcing is so named because the partner company will be much closer to the United States than offshore firms, as is the case with a technological hub such as Costa Rica. The minimal time zone difference makes communication much easier as the working days of your team and the partner team will overlap. Real-time communication is an important part of custom app development and similar time zones make this possible.

The English language is also spoken fluently by most developers in Costa Rica, as it is the most popular second language and also something of a pre-requisite for anyone seeking a career in IT or software development. This ensures there will be no miscommunication and all instructions will be accurately understood.

The cultural similarities are another interesting benefit. This manifests mainly in the similar working culture and attitudes to business relationships that Costa Ricans and other Latin American countries have in common with the United States. There is a much more straight-talking culture which makes finding solutions to issues and overcoming potential problems much simpler.

If you would like to discuss your nearshore custom development needs, please speak to a member of our team at +1 800 974 7219 ext. 202. Alternatively, complete the online form here.