nearshore development

Offshore development gets a lot of publicity these days. Some good and a lot bad. The top offshore locations have traditionally been India, China and Russia and there are others cropping up all the time. One of the problems with these option are that they are half the way around the world in time zones that are incompatible with ours. Other problems include cultural differences and language barriers that make communicating difficult. In spite of this, outsourcing software development continues to be viable simply because of the perceived cost savings. In these cases, I would argue that the cost saving are not realized (at least not to the extent promised) because of the additional analytical work required as well as the rework required due to some of the problems mentioned earlier.

At AEG, we evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of the typical off shore outsource model and developed an alternative model that maintains its strengths and resolves its weaknesses.

This model was put into action when we created AEG CR, our Costa Rica application development company. This group specializes in Java and .NET web applications and software development as well as UI design . Utilizing our near-shore development company allows us to provide programming and program testing services at reduced cost while maintaining the quality of the deliverables. This model is superior to the other offshore models for a variety of reasons. These reasons include:

Costa Rica is within the CST zone
Competitive with other offshore destination rate structures
Culturally similar to the US
English is second language
6 hour flight from the Midwest
Strong infrastructure (ie. internet, telecom, etc.)
Top technology country in Central America and South America
Universities emphasis technology degrees
Government sponsored technology incubators
Significant presence of large US companies
Stable geo-political climate

We've maintained the benefits of offshore outsourcing while addressing its challenges which makes this a great option for customers that are considering offshore as a way to reduce cost and/or improve quality.

Java and .Net are the principle technologies that we support in AEG CR. Other services are UI design and development. By utilizing our nearshore company, our clients can manage their own projects while taking advantage of our highly experienced and capable Costa Rican developers and architects. This is what we refer to as “Nearshore contracting”. This service also enables our customers to employ real-time project development methodologies such as the Agile methodology. The location of AEG CR within the Central Standard Time zone makes this approach possible.