Nearshoring Guide Part 1: Choosing Romania as the desired destination
Today’s software development market is moving extremely fast and with it, the expectations and demands are increasing considerably. With a constant need to always stay up to date with the latest technologies and solutions, companies nowadays are facing an extremely tiresome development process. The demands are always changing and it is getting more difficult to keep up financially with all that’s needed. At this point, most companies turn to external help. It’s cheaper than hiring in-house and a lot quicker.
But how can you choose the right provider and still get good quality services? Moreover, how do you know what the right practice is for your business? This is where most companies struggle and making the best decision takes a lot of courage and determination.
When seeking external help, most of us are considering our budgets first. So naturally, we’re considering the cheapest solution. When it comes to outsourcing, this usually means going overseas, Asia being the top destination for this kind of practice. Cheap labour, cheap solutions, tons of outsourcing companies to choose from. But at what cost? You guessed it, at the price of quality and delivery.
So let’s bring this matter closer to home, to a fast-growing region in terms of outsourcing and because of its proximity to the western world, it received its own name — nearshoring.
Nearshoring is the practice of searching for external help, but much more close to your home country, usually somewhere in the same region. For Europe, the most accessible nearshoring region is the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe). Countries like Romania, Poland and Hungary offer top-quality software development services at very affordable prices. Due to its closeness to the western region, the work culture is very similar and everyone’s in the same time zone
We’re going to explore today what it means to nearshore projects, why should you choose this and not offshoring and why the CEE and Romania, in particular, is a top destination for this type of business move.
Join our newsletter: 250+ tech leaders receive quarterly inspiring positive news, insightful tech stories, and updates from our work. Learn more.
Geography & Culture
Located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Romania has a rich and vibrant history that has affected its development over the past centuries. Transylvania, for example, has been part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until the beginning of the 20th century. These historical influences generated a strong impact on the country’s current development and similarity to western culture. People here are growing up with a well-formed linguistic heritage that allows them to easily learn languages like English and German. They learn this from a very early age and by the time they start their careers, Romanians usually speak at least one or two foreign languages. And who doesn’t like to work with people who can hold conversations in your native language?
Economy
The economic development in this region is constantly growing. With an economic growth rate of over 4.1% in 2019, Romania strives to keep up with its western neighbours and maintain a solid position within the EU. The IT industry accounts for more than 6% of the country’s GDP, and not to mention that more and more people are shifting their careers in this field mainly because it’s becoming one of the most stable and profitable sectors. In Romania, IT professionals are exempted from paying taxes on their incomes in an attempt by the government to encourage as many people as possible to choose a career in IT and attract businesses looking for a high number of highly-skilled software professionals
Safety & Security
The country is quite safe and people here enjoy a nice quiet lifestyle that is strongly family-oriented. But safety can be translated into many other things, from national security risks, road safety, to personal security. As we’ve mentioned before, Romania is generally a safe place to live. Being part of the EU and NATO provides a very peaceful environment, without international conflicts. Travelling inside the country can be a concern sometimes because the transportation infrastructure is still quite old and so there are more accidents than in other parts of Europe. Personal security is not a big concern. Like in every country on this planet, there are less friendly areas, and if avoided, Romania is a very nice place to travel to and to live in.
Join our newsletter: 250+ tech leaders receive quarterly inspiring positive news, insightful tech stories, and updates from our work. Learn more.
Travel & Time Zones
But what about travel distances and time zones? How can you make sure you’re on the same working hours as your nearshored team? Well, good news on that part, because Romania is extremely close to western countries such as Germany, The UK and The Netherlands. Flight time is maximum two, two and a half hours and the time zone is GMT +2, which is very convenient. With only two hours ahead of the UK and one from continental Europe, Romania is gaining significantly more points in this field than any other offshoring destination.
One of the most important aspects to consider when choosing a nearshoring destination is time, for sure. We live in a world where time is money, and who can afford to spend either one of those? No one, of course. Choosing Europe as a destination for externalising certain services or projects will have a great impact on the quality of the overall outcome. There are many more aspects other than travel and culture but more on those later.
Choosing a neighbouring country like Romania ensures a better involvement in the whole development process from your part. In other words, you can be part of the project, guide the remote team and work together towards the same goals.
European Union Benefits and Regulations
Choosing Europe as a desired destination for augmenting your team has its many perks, especially from a regulatory point of view. Choosing to work with a company located in a country that is an active member of the EU will give you the liberty and safety to conduct that business operation without hidden costs or money-draining taxes.
Since 2007 Romania has been a member of the European Union and has a deep understanding of its laws and regulations, especially concerning foreign partnerships. You can rest assured that a high number of legal and financial aspects are conducive to a great partnership with zero surprises down the road. Being under EU laws, Romania has adopted and implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in all its industries and processes. This means that all the legal aspects are well protected and you can keep your focus on the most important aspect of the partnership — getting that project going.
More and more western companies choose Romania as a nearshoring destination and the reasons for its attractiveness are due to its vibrant culture, rich heritage and highly skilled professionals ready to tackle any challenge they may encounter. So you will not only get a western-like quality work done at much lower costs, but you’re gaining also a team of experts that can guide you through this whole process and be of great value to your overall business.
Join our newsletter: 250+ tech leaders receive quarterly inspiring positive news, insightful tech stories, and updates from our work. Learn more.
Qubiz has been the technological partner of choice for many Western European companies in countries such as The Netherlands, The UK and the DACH region. We’ve worked with both big and small companies from different industries and managed to successfully deliver cutting edge IT solutions for businesses that are on an ascending path towards innovation. That is what a true technological partner should look like.
Qubiz can act as a one-stop-shop, by providing services that cover the whole application lifecycle, including functional design and consulting, software architecture design, UX/UI design, software development, QA, and finally maintenance.
Need more information? We’ve got you covered! Just take a look at this guide we’ve put together to help you choose the right course of action for your nearshoring needs.
Jump to the other parts:
