When outsourcing your software development process, you have three main choices: onshore, nearshore, and offshore. Each of them represents a distinct set of qualities from the other. However, because onshore and nearshore development is the most popular possibilities for outsourcing this type of procedure, we’ll concentrate on them.

Difference between onshore and nearshore development

Onshore development is built on the concept of working with a supplier or development team based in the same country as you, which means you’ll be working with people who are reasonably close to your firm. This could be pretty useful for various reasons: not only is there no possibility of a language barrier or substantial time zone variations, but you also have the opportunity to meet with the team in person.

Meanwhile, nearshore development has a slew of other advantages, which we’ll discuss later. When it comes to onshore development, however, there are no longer any benefits. Unlike onshore development, nearshore development is built on the idea of working with a supplier in a country or region that is reasonably close to you but not the same country. Consider nearshore development to be a hybrid of onshore and offshore development, in that the provider or team you’ll be working with is located outside of the country where your company is based.

When you look at the numbers, the desire for nearshore development becomes apparent. Only in 2016, the nearshore sector accounted for 67 percent of the whole outsourcing market.

Onshoring

Companies that want contractors to work in the exact office location may consider scaling their team with U.S.-based developers. This is a great option when you require specialists to inject hard-to-find expertise into in-house teams or to enhance the Agile expertise of teams offered by other service providers.

Opportunities

• Key stakeholders that prefer face-to-face communication can take advantage of on-site tools.
• When the company culture isn’t used to dealing with distant staff, onshoring enables in-person meetings.
• In the United States, you’re more likely to locate developers with unique or in-demand skills. Because of its size and longevity, the technology industry in the United States has an outstanding depth and breadth of talent.

Obstacles

• Local talent with the necessary skill set can be challenging to come by, particularly in a “hot” market. This can result in higher search costs and delays in starting your project.
• Because of the shortage of talent, others may try to grab those you’ve invested in.
• On-site employees require a workspace within your premises, which might raise overhead costs.
• Onshore developers charge high consulting fees, which might have a negative influence on your budget.

Offshoring

When your projects are simple, well-defined, and require minimal contact, crossing seas can be a viable outsourcing choice.

Opportunities

• Offshoring is adequate for maintenance work on well-defined projects that do not require strategic planning or continuous communication.
• Because offshore developers’ hourly rates are typically lower, delivery expenses can be decreased (assuming equal levels of developer productivity).
• Offshoring allows you to “follow the sun” when it comes to development. Developers in the United States can produce deliverables during typical business hours, while testing and maintenance can be done “off hours.”

Obstacles

• Extreme time zones can cause frustrating delays in communication and clearances, putting a strain on project timeframes. To be effective, agile software development necessitates real-time collaboration.
• Language hurdles and cultural differences can make it difficult for teams to communicate and collaborate effectively.
• Lower hourly rates don’t automatically imply lower costs. In some circumstances, three to four developers are required to complete the task of a single highly talented developer. This can lead to unanticipated cost overruns.

Maintaining two different applications in one codebase is substantially more challenging than supporting two applications in two codebases. Because you’re not using a cross-platform solution like Xamarin or Cordova, you’re less likely to encounter errors with native app development. Hybrid apps connect to hardware via a bridge, slowing down growth and creating a terrible user experience. When new versions of Android and iOS are launched, this problem becomes more noticeable. Native app developers can now use new software development kits (SDK) to develop apps with the most up-to-date capabilities. Users of native programs gain access to new platform capabilities whenever the operating system is updated because of this lead time.

The problem of needing to wait for the bridge to new operating system features to be implemented by the hybrid tool’s third-party developer. We rely on a cross-platform development tool like Xamarin or Cordova for hybrid app development. Every time a new feature in the UI kit is published, we must wait for the device to support it. When developing a hybrid software, there is an additional layer over which you have no control, increasing the likelihood of errors. Bugs are a significant problem for hybrid app development when dealing with the most recent features published for a particular operating system. This is an essential but often overlooked aspect of creating user loyalty.

Endnote

Whether you choose an onshore, offshore, nearshore (or blended) workforce, it’s critical to position your company’s operations and services in the regions with the most resources, quality, and cost advantages. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each model can help your team choose a partner with confidence, knowing that you’ll get the right resources in the right place and with the correct level of control for custom mobile app development.