The Case for Offshore or Nearshore Cloud Services Outsourcing

Before we dive into the benefits of offshore or nearshore technology services firms, let’s first define what these terms mean. Offshore refers to outsourcing services to a company located in a different country, often on a different continent, while nearshore refers to outsourcing services to a company located in a neighboring country or region. In the U.S., nearshore would include Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and other South and Central American locations. Offshore for the U.S. would extend to Europe, Africa and Asia. For European clients, nearshore might include development centers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Middle East, Africa and so on.

When it comes to outsourcing cloud services, organizations can choose to work with onshore, nearshore, or a combination which might require working with more than one tech services firm (though there are many firms with global options). Should you choose nearshore due to its proximity to the organization’s home country, which can help mitigate some of the challenges that come with working across different time zones and cultural differences? Or should you consider offshore to a more remote location but at lower rates? Or a combination? There is no right answer for all use cases – we often have to help our clients choose.

There are several cloud services that organizations can outsource, including DevOps/cloud engineering, migration, managed services, cloud security, and more.

DevOps/Cloud Engineering: DevOps & cloud engineering are related disciplines which both focus on the design, deployment, automation, and maintenance of cloud infrastructure. DevOps also seeks to bridge the gap between software development, engineering, and management in order to speed up the software development process. Organizations can outsource their DevOps and cloud engineering needs to gain access to top talent at much lower cost than onshore firms (or even internal teams).

Migration: Migrating to the cloud can be a complex process that requires expertise in cloud architecture, data migration, and application development. By outsourcing their migration needs, organizations can ensure a smooth and efficient migration process, without the need to invest in specialized resources that are only needed during such migration. Think of these service firms as providing flexible capacity to scale up and down as needed for your migration program.

Managed Services: Managed cloud services can help organizations optimize their cloud infrastructure, monitor performance, and ensure maximum uptime. Outsourcing managed services to remote firms can provide access to highly skilled professionals in time zones aligned to your clients, and at a fraction of the cost of building an in-house team.

Cloud Security/DevSecOps: Cloud security is a critical aspect of any cloud computing initiative. Outsourcing cloud security services and DevSecOps (the security automation cousin of DevOps) to offshore or nearshore technology services firms can provide organizations with access to highly skilled security professionals who can help identify and mitigate security risks.

Now that we’ve explored the opportunities for outsourcing cloud services, let’s take a closer look at the generally-accepted benefits that offshore or nearshore technology services firms can offer organizations that are looking to leverage the power of cloud computing.

Access to Top Talent: By outsourcing their cloud services needs to offshore or nearshore technology services firms, organizations can gain access to a global talent pool of highly skilled professionals. This can help ensure that organizations have the expertise they need to support their cloud initiatives, without the need to invest in expensive in-house resources.

Cost Savings: Outsourcing cloud services offshore or nearshore would provide significant cost savings due to the lower wage structure vs. the US or UK/Western Europe. There are trade offs based on location, time zone, etc. as discussed above. However, even in the higher cost centers in Latin America the rates would be typically less than half the cost of equivalent onshore full-time hires.

Increased Scalability: Cloud computing initiatives often require a flexible and scalable workforce. Working with offshore or nearshore technology services firms can provide the necessary scalability to accommodate the changing demands of your cloud computing initiatives. You can quickly ramp up or down your workforce as needed without the worry of having to terminate employees.

Risk Mitigation: Working with offshore or nearshore technology services firms can help mitigate the risks associated with cloud computing initiatives. These firms are experts in their field and have extensive experience working with cloud computing technologies. They can help you identify potential risks and provide the necessary solutions to mitigate those risks.

Cloud computing has become an essential tool for many organizations, but finding the right talent to support cloud initiatives can be challenging. Outsourcing to offshore or nearshore technology services firms can offer several benefits and cover a wide range of activities.

SquadGurus can help our clients find the right partner for their remote cloud services needs, balancing quality, scale and cost.