Nearshore outsourcing: Top 25 companies with strong tech portfolio

Nearshore IT outsourcing is a proven way to boost your engineering capabilities. But many companies struggle to find reliable partners. So, how to choose a tech vendor you can trust?

There are some criteria you should definitely consider when looking for potential nearshore software development partners:

• Location of the company;
• Its portfolio and client references;
• Expertise in your domain and technology;
• Size of the partner-to-be and years on the market;
• Available resources to scale your team if needed.

When contacting and shortlisting the vendors, we also recommend you take into account such aspects as:

• What pricing and cooperation models they offer, and their ability to adjust these models to your specific needs;
• whether they have a strong employer brand to attract the best specialists in the local market;
• if they offer professional development programs to grow and retain their talent;
• do they have many long-term partnerships under their belt;
• how they ensure a clear company structure and transparent communication;
• how they set up Agile processes.

In this article, we will cover two major markers famous for nearshore outsourcing – namely, Europe and Latin America. Also, we will take a look at 25 top nearshore companies that have established their presence in either one of these regions or both of them. Let’s dive in. 

Nearshore outsourcing in Europe: market overview

The European IT outsourcing market is far from homogeneous: different countries have different states of the tech industry. In this article, we will focus primarily on the major players, such as Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, and others. So, what is nearshore outsourcing like in Europe? Let’s find out together. 

Main IT outsourcing hubs

Poland

Poland is one of the most popular European locations for nearshore IT outsourcing. The country is well-recognized in the IT market for its high-quality engineering services. Poland appears in the top position of numerous international rankings, including TopCoder and SkillValue lists, where it takes the seventh and third places for first-class development quality. Local engineering vendors establish long-term cooperations with enterprises from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and many other Western European countries.

Learn more about software nearshoring in Poland

Ukraine

Over the last twenty years, Ukraine has earned a reputation as one of the most alluring outsourcing destinations in Europe. 900+ local software development vendors and almost 300,000 software engineers are ready to bring your solution to life. Ukraine is a large hub of professionals that apply their tech expertise to finance, healthcare, and real estate industries. In addition, local IT specialists continue to deliver amidst war: up to 90% of Ukrainian developers have already resumed work on their projects.

Romania

Another outstanding spot on the European nearshoring map is Romania. This destination is home to around 29,000 professionals that dedicate their efforts to outsourcing projects. Many international market leaders entrust the development of their solutions to Romanian developers. Among the most famous vendors that outsource software development to Romania are Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle.

Keep reading about IT outsourcing to Romania

The Czech Republic

It is one of Europe’s top locations for tech outsourcing. There are around 199,000 professionals employed in the ICT sector. Every year approximately 4,000 graduates with tech degrees enter the market, bringing new expertise in-house. Such leading companies as Google, Microsoft, Oracle, CA, RedHat, Skype, NetSuite, Tieto, and IBM chose the country for both direct investment and outsourcing.  

Time zone alignment

Nearshore providers and their contracting organizations are the same or close regarding the time zone. All European countries are separated from each other for a maximum of three hours. What’s even more convenient about Europe as a nearshore destination is that all the countries are just a short plane ride away. That makes in-person meetings all the more possible if you want to get to know your team face-to-face rather than simply through a video conferencing platform.

The size of IT companies

When choosing a nearshore software development company, you should pay attention to the size of your potential partner. Midsize and large nearshore companies usually have optimized development processes and available tech talent. Therefore, we recommend looking for an engineering company with 250+ tech specialists on board. 

As of February 2023, Clutch lists over 6K European companies that offer custom software development. Almost half of them are smaller vendors with up to 50 employees. At the same time, the number of larger vendors is over 300.  

Expertise

Nearshoring to Europe allows you to access tech experts of all specializations and qualification levels. The local labor market is diverse, so you will be able to quickly find a candidate for a managing or technical role in your team. According to LinkedIn, more than 120,000 Technical Leads in the region have expertise in driving engineering projects. Moreover, Senior specialists make up a considerable share of developers in Europe. There are over 200,000 Senior software developers in the region. 

Many local tech professionals have expertise in Cloud services and DevOps. In fact, one-third of the region’s DevOps experts reside in Poland. Ukraine and Romania follow the country with talent pools of 9,000+ and 5,000+ DevOps engineers, respectively.

Read more about building a nearshore software development team 

Key industries

Many industries outsource their IT operations to Europe because of a highly skilled IT workforce and a favorable business environment. Some of the industries that commonly outsource to Europe are:

• Finance: Many banks, investment firms, and insurance companies nearshore to Europe, as the European IT industry has expertise in financial software development, regulatory compliance, and risk management.
• Healthcare: Healthcare companies often outsource to Europe for medical software development, data analysis, and telemedicine.
• Manufacturing: Manufacturers outsource to Europe to gain access to expertise in industrial automation, supply chain management, and product design.
• Energy: Energy companies often seek expertise in energy management, smart grid technology, and renewable energy solutions in Europe.
• Telecom: Usually, telecom businesses look for expertise in Cloud computing, Big Data, and Data Analytics. 

Learn how to partner with the best developers 

Nearshore outsourcing in Latin America: market overview

Main IT outsourcing hubs

Colombia

Colombia is a vibrant hub you should consider if you want to outsource to Latin America. The number of tech graduates has doubled in the past decade and grown its IT industry by 38% in the past five years. So, now the country boasts the fourth-largest tech sector in the region. To foster continued growth, the government is invested $6.5B into science, technology, and innovation in 2018-2022, aiming to train 100,000 tech experts. Such a fast-developing market attracts new investments – many businesses choose this country to scale.

Read more about software development in Colombia 

Mexico

Mexico is the LatAm country with the most significant number of top IT outsourcing companies in Latin America. It is on track to provide its tech industry with the talent it needs to meet growing demand with a strong flow of qualified graduates. For example, the state of Jalisco is building a reputation for its tech smarts, with 85,000 students graduating each year from its 12 universities.

Brazil

Brazil is the richest destination for IT outsourcing in LatAm in terms of the talent pool. It has the largest population in the region and the most significant pool of experts. Brazil’s technology sector is growing rapidly, as it is fueled by strong IT higher-education programs that produce over 100,000 graduates annually. The city of Florianópolis is frequently called “Brazil’s Silicon Valley” because of the number of universities and research institutes that produce talent in both software and hardware.

Time zone alignment

As mentioned above, nearshore software development companies are aligned with your time zone. So, it is a perfect solution for businesses that require on-time communication: the time zones across South America almost perfectly coincide with those across North America. For instance, Medellin, Colombia, is located within the same time zone as New York, US. 

The size of IT companies

Clutch lists more than 500 midsize and large nearshore outsourcing companies in Latin America. Rather than small vendors, larger nearshore companies usually have optimized development processes and available resources to scale.  

Expertise

Latin America has a strong base of software development experts who excel in areas like web and mobile app development, software testing, and quality assurance.

Also, in recent years, cybersecurity has become a top priority for businesses in Latin America. There is a growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals to protect their networks, data, and applications. Besides that, local professionals have strong expertise in Cloud computing, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and the Internet of Things.

Key industries

There are several industries that outsource to Latin America more than others, including:

• Healthcare: The healthcare industry outsources Data Analytics, medical record management, and telemedicine services.
• Retail: This industry typically entrusts LatAm nearshore software development companies with e-commerce, supply chain management, and customer relationship management.
• Education: Education institutions outsource to Latin America for e-learning platforms, student management systems, and academic data analysis.

The best nearshore outsourcing companies in Europe and Latin America 

To compile the list of the best nearshore outsourcing companies, our researchers have reviewed numerous vendors in Europe and Latin America. We have analyzed multiple sources, such as their profiles on platforms like Clutch, Manifest, as well as companies’ websites and LinkedIn profiles. 

1. N-iX 

N-iX is a nearshore software outsourcing company with 2,200 expert IT specialists that helps tech companies (including Fortune 500) and enterprises boost their software development capabilities. The company has helped 100+ clients implement and scale solutions in Big Data, Data Science, BI, Cloud, Embedded, Enterprise VR, DevOps, and many more.

With more than 21 years in the market, the company has built long-term partnerships with businesses from the USA, UK, Germany, Nordic countries, and other locations. Headquartered in Valletta (Malta), N-iX also has offices and delivery centers throughout Europe, as well as Latin America (Medellin, Colombia) and the US.

2. Sigma Software Group

This nearshore development company employs over 1,000 professionals. With offices in Europe, the USA, and Latin America, the company offers nearshore IT services, software product development and support as well as consulting to businesses of different sizes. This vendor has domain expertise in transportation, gaming, real estate, finance and banking, healthcare, telecommunications, and other industries. Also, this nearshore software outsourcing company develops web and internet portals, advertising, and mobile solutions. 

3. ELEKS

Headquartered in Lviv, Ukraine, this company has founded offices and R&D centers throughout Europe and beyond. The provider has sales offices in the USA and Japan. This provider offers a wide variety of nearshore outsourcing services, such as QA and testing, developing IoT solutions, technology consulting, and others. Moreover, the vendor has UX/UI expertise and experience working with AI. The majority of the projects the company works with are related to the finance and retail industries.

4. Lohika

This provider specializes in nearshore outsourcing, software engineering, blockchain, Cloud consulting, custom software development, mobile app and IoT development, and others. The engineering centers of this nearshore company are located in Ukraine: in Lviv, Odesa, and Kyiv. The company has a proven track record of cooperating with global businesses in the automotive, security, manufacturing, and other industries. The company has helped over 100 clients improve their products and bring them to the market.

5. Intellectsoft

With a presence in Europe and the US, this vendor specializes in the development and support of web applications for emerging startups and established enterprises. The provider also offers the development of Android, Windows, and iOS applications. 

The nearshore software development company has been operating since 2007 in the global tech market. Their professionals have domain expertise in cognitive computing, blockchain, IoT, VR, AR, etc. The vendor provides nearshore IT services primarily to businesses in hospitality and finance.

6. Future Processing

This nearshore development company with a presence in Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and Switzerland, offers tailored solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Their professionals can help you with product design, IT security, Cloud services, AI and Machine Learning, and many other services. Moreover, their nearshore software developers have expertise in Microsoft tech stack, Java, PHP, C++, and NodeJS. This nearshore software outsourcing company develops solutions primarily for the finance, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing industries. 

7. JCommerce by Inetum

This midsize Polish vendor has over 400 IT professionals on board. The company offers software engineering, BI&Big Data consulting. They also provide managed services, QA, and testing. With over 15 years in the global IT market, they have extensive expertise in developing solutions for primarily mid-market companies in finance, media, medicine, manufacturing, and trade. Apart from this, the company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

8. STX Next

This company offers full-stack web app solutions to organizations across various industries using Python’s Django, Angular, ReactJS, and more. The company works with customers from all over the world, including the USA, Canada, and Scandinavian countries. The vendor has over 300 IT professionals on board. With over 14 years in the market, they have established their presence in Europe, the US, and Latin America.

9. SoftwareMill

With over ten years of experience in the tech market, this nearshore outsourcing company from Poland develops solutions for companies in fintech, energy, telecommunications, and e-commerce. They primarily focus on partnerships with midsize businesses, but they do have experience working with startups and enterprises as well. Their nearshore developers have domain expertise in distributed systems, Big Data, blockchain, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics. 

10. Vates

This is a software development company with 30 years in the market located in the USA and development centers in LatAm. With years of experience advising entrepreneurs on how to apply exponential organization concepts for their growth and with participation in more than 50 startups, they can offer you services including MVP Development, ExO LaunchPad MVP, software scaling, ExO LaunchPad Mentoring, and Testing-as-a-Service. 

11. Profinit

For over 20 years, this nearshore company has been offering the development of custom software and applications, Data Science, and BI development. Their professionals develop solutions for banking, insurance, and telecommunications companies. Moreover, they develop and maintain internet banking systems and other bank applications, insurance policy management systems, B2B and B2C portals, and many others. The vendor has offices in several European countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany. 

12. Webtown

This small nearshore outsourcing company from Hungary also operates in Austria and Poland, so their specialization is the European market. It has 15 years of experience in nearshore IT services and software engineering. Their professionals specialize in Liferay DXP, Liferay Commerce, eZ Platform, Java, and PHP custom software development. The company helps clients in financial services, government as well as energy and natural resources, education, and other industries.

13. Apriorit

This particular vendor operates within the European market with offices in Poland and Ukraine. They provide dedicated development team services for cybersecurity vendors and innovative startups. This company was founded in 2002 and specializes in software development, quality assurance, DevOps, reverse engineering, business analytics, and project management.

14. evozon

With over 15 years of experience, this Romanian company serves different industries, such as healthcare, e-commerce, telecommunication, and others. The vendor has over 500 professionals who can help you create the concept and architecture of the product, design, test, and support it. The company specializes mainly in software and web development. This nearshore software outsourcing vendor has developed solutions for companies like Adobe, BMI Research, Henkel, and others.

15. InCrys

This Bucharest-based nearshore outsourcing company has been operating for almost 20 years. They have extensive experience in providing dedicated development team services, software development services, IT&C infrastructure, and IT consulting services. Their nearshore developers are skilled in Java, PHP, Cobol to Oracle Business Intelligence, IBM DB2, and Ab Initio. Apart from custom software engineering, this vendor also offers nearshore staff augmentation as well as IT managed services.

16. Dreamix

This vendor specializes primarily in custom software development and caters to the European market. Their professionals deliver end-to-end solutions to businesses in aviation, finance, insurance, and other industries. Developers of this company are highly skilled in Java and JavaScript. This vendor also offers web development, enterprise app modernization, managed services, QA and testing, Big Data engineering, and BI. 

17. Upnetix JSC

This nearshore software outsourcing provider offers software engineering and IT consulting services. The company has over 120 experts on board. Their nearshore developers help the customers with the full cycle of software development: from business analysis and design to development, QA and testing, deployment, and post-project maintenance and support. The vendor’s portfolio includes over 80 projects for companies in transportation, e-commerce, fintech, telecommunications, and other industries. 

18.  Qulix Systems

This nearshore development company offers a wide range of services, such as the design, development, and implementation of bank systems such as portals, mobile applications, and more. With almost 20 years in the global tech market, they have extensive experience in delivering solutions for clients from different industries, including banking and finance, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, e-commerce, IoT, and others. Besides, this company cooperates with both small and enterprise-level companies.

19. Niji

This nearshore software outsourcing company is based in Cesson-Sévigné, France. The vendor focuses primarily on the digital transformation of enterprises. Their professionals specialize in software development, mobile app development, consulting in digital strategy, engineering and technological consulting, service design, app design, digital marketing, and more. The majority of their projects concern telecommunications, banking and insurance, automotive, retail, and other industries.

20. *instinctools

This Germany-based nearshore outsourcing company has been developing tailor-made solutions for all sizes of businesses since 2007. Their primary focus is, however, mid-sized European companies.e vendor offers a wide range of services, such as custom application development, mobile development, blockchain development, DevOps, Big Data, Cloud computing, and more. The nearshore software outsourcing company has proven expertise in education, healthcare, online media, e-commerce, and other industries.

21. SaM Solutions 

Headquartered in Germany, this nearshore development services provider offers IT consulting and custom software engineering services for European companies. With over 20 years in the tech market, the company has established facilities in the Netherlands, Latvia, and Ukraine. The nearshore outsourcing company cooperates with global international organizations and private companies in industries such as telecommunications, IoT, automotive, healthcare, and more. 

22. BairesDev

This software outsourcing company helps technology leaders from companies of all sizes deliver their tech roadmap. The company operates primarily in Latin America: with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. With over ten years of experience in the global tech market, they specialize in staff augmentation and software development outsourcing. Their professionals are proficient both in English and Spanish. 

23. 10Pearls

With its headquarter in Washington DC, the USA, this vendor has also scaled their presence to Latin America, namely Colombia and Costa Rica. Their professionals have a strong tech background and can help you develop solutions in Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, voice and language processing, chatbots, data, and insights, as well as Augmented and Virtual Reality. 

24. Unosquare, LLC

This vendor has established its presence on three continents: North America, South America, and Europe. Their specializations are custom software development, web development, and application testing. They cooperate with businesses of all sizes, but the lion’s share of their clients are mid-market companies.

25. Waverley Software

The software engineering company has offices in the US, Australia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. Their dedicated development teams build software products for both startups and enterprises across industries. Their main specialization is developing solutions in robotics, smart home, fintech, healthcare, and other business verticals.

Why choose N-iX as your reliable nearshore software development partner?

1. N-iX has built long-term strategic partnerships (5+ years) with businesses of all sizes, including industry leaders and Fortune 500 enterprises.
2. For over two decades, N-iX has worked with American companies – from our first client Novell, a large tech company we partnered with back in 2003, to dozens of established US industry leaders. We also have a long list of European and UK clients.
3. N-iX has delivery centers in different spots in Europe and Latin America which allows us to access a talent pool of over 2M professionals for your nearshore outsourcing. 
4. N-iX is well-recognized by the global tech market: the company was listed among the top software development companies by Clutch, in the Global Outsourcing 100 published by IAOP, recognized by GSA UK 2019 Awards, and included among the top software development companies by GoodFirms.co, and others. Moreover, Software Magazine ranks N-iX among the world's 500 largest software companies.