Berlecon study confirms that nearshoring is relatively simple
Nearshoring, the outsourcing of IT tasks to nearby countries, has been around for some time in the IT industry. Analysts at independent Berlin-based Berlecon Research have confirmed in a detailed report what customers of ameria GmbH have known from the start: setting up and integrating nearshore resources is relatively simple.
Heidelberg, 11/15/2008. Heidelberg-based software house ameria is the subject of a current study by independent Berlin-based consultants Berlecon Research. Under the heading “Nearshoring as a Managed Service”, the study presented various approaches to outsourcing IT orders to partners in the “near abroad”.
It highlighted two aspects above all: First, that nearshoring is now a generally accepted line of action, and second, that it “can manage just about every challenge with rational project and personnel management.”
“It is a fine thing to know and experience this in our daily business with our customers,” says Albrecht Metter, CEO of Heidelberg-based ameria, “but what’s even finer is to have this confirmed by a respected consulting firm!” Dr. Andreas Stiehler, in charge of the Berlecon Research study: “The partnership must be fun for both sides. In fact, cooperation is considered absolutely vital by all surveyed companies, and nowhere more than in international software projects.”
Joint efforts are only possible if they are approached in a clearly defined and structured way, something stressed by the studies in the report. As a provider of managed nearshoring, ameria GmbH was selected by Walldorfer Realtech AG in a complex multistage procedure covering a range of conceptual and pilot phases. Since then ameria has been providing manpower both in software development and testing, drastically cutting production times in both areas.“A complex process like this one does not mean that you can't also just call up and book us,” says Metter, “but it does mean that we are able to present in a consistent and highly detailed manner how we supply competent and professional developers and which requirements we can meet.”
In the global IT market, “nearshoring” has become a practicable alternative to “offshore outsourcing” or “offshoring”. The geographical proximity of customer and supplier minimizes the disadvantages of offshoring an order to Asia. Ukraine, for example, is just a two-hour flight from Germany, with no time difference to speak of and far less in the way of cultural differences. “That’s a further element that promotes friendly cooperation,” Metter stresses.
The Berlecon report confirms this view: Not only the hard criteria, but also the gut instinct must be right – and this is easier to bring about in the neighborhood, as it were, than it is far from home.
