Nearshore Portugal: 10 Reasons to Choose This Country to Establish Your IT Nearshoring Team

There are endless reasons why Portugal is a great place to spend your holidays, to live, to make business… but have you thought about establishing your tech team in a Portuguese city? Portugal is a great IT nearshoring choice for startups and tech companies and, in this article, we’ll give you 10 reasons why.

When outsourcing, businesses can choose among three models according to their location: onshoring, offshoring, and nearshoring. The main difference between the three is the geographical distance between the outsourcing service provider and the client.

Onshoring means hiring outsourcing services within the same country. Offshoring pairs clients with companies located in completely separate parts of the world. And nearshoring is an outsourcing option where clients and workers are in similar time zones and nearby countries.

Some nearshore advantages include better team communication, lower costs, and easier onsite visits whenever it's necessary. In this article, we'll go over 10 reasons to choose Portugal to establish your IT nearshoring team.

10 Reasons to Choose Portugal to Establish Your IT Nearshoring Team

1. Talented professionals

Portugal holds a highly-skilled, experienced, and driven workforce. IT professionals in this country are well educated, extremely qualified, and able to adapt to any situation. This is, in part, due to the fact that 6 of Portugal’s tech universities are among the World’s Top 500.

In the World Talent Ranking of 2021, Portugal ranked 26 when evaluated in categories like investment, development, appeal, and readiness. Portugal ranked higher than countries like France, Spain, and Japan.

This touristic country might be small, but it’s filled with talent in every corner. It’s estimated that Portugal has 9 professional developers per 1,000 inhabitants.

2. Exquisite location

Yes, Portugal is an amazing place for vacations, but that’s not all its location has to offer. Besides the great weather and beautiful beaches, Portugal shares a time zone with Ireland and London, one of the most important global markets.

Plus, we’re only one hour away from other European countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Portugal is also the closest European country to the US, with direct connections to San Francisco, New York, and Boston.

This prime location is a great nearshoring advantage, making Portugal a convenient option for outsourcing IT services. It facilitates teamwork and communication between the clients and the working tech teams. 

3. Rates your business can afford

Saving money is a priority in any business when considering IT nearshoring. When considering the rates/benefits ratio, Portugal is an excellent place to choose. Along with talented professionals, you’re also getting communicative workers, a strategic time zone, and more at affordable rates.

According to PayScale, the average software developer salary in Portugal is €20,282, per year. This is a very affordable rate, in comparison with what other professionals in the same field from other EU countries earn, on average, per year.

4. Great infrastructures

In 2018, Portugal ranked 19/138 in quality of infrastructures by the Global Competitiveness Index Report. This is a direct measure of the quality of the roads, telecommunications, and internet access. Portugal has one of the best internet velocities in the EU.

Portugal is also a leader in fiber technology access in Europe. Almost 90% of the Portuguese territory is covered.

5. English proficiency

The Portuguese have a knack for learning new languages and adapting to them. That being said, it isn’t a surprise that Portugal is counted among the countries with the highest English proficiency in the world.

This means that companies won’t have any trouble finding great talent with strong language skills. Nearshoring in Portugal guarantees that your international tech teams will communicate without any issues.

6. Social and political stability

Portugal is the 6^th most peaceful country in the world. And in current times, there's nothing more valuable than peace. This ranking acts as a good predictor of this country's economic future.

Over the years, Portugal has become a symbol of recovery. The GDP continues to expand over time, and there's also been a steady increase in the labor market.

7. Low-cost office facilities

We’ve already seen that you can get great Portuguese talent at amazing rates but living and investing in office spaces in Portugal is also incredibly affordable. One of the first things your company can start saving in is office rent.

If you don’t want to rent an entire office for your IT team, you can also try out some of the many coworking spaces scattered across the country. Choosing Portugal for your IT nearshoring ventures, you’ll easily find spaces for your outsourcing team that are pretty cheap.

8. Little bureaucracy

If bureaucracy is a concern for you when it comes to nearshoring, you can rest assured that it won’t be a problem if you choose Portugal as your outsourcing destination. It has a very transparent law system, with little to no bureaucracy.

Most permits and necessary documentation can be ordered online. If you want to open a company in Portugal, you only have to wait three days for the registration to be complete. If you’re running away from bureaucracy, Portugal is your best bet.

9. Government benefits for businesses

The Portuguese government is prepared to help new businesses with many government-issued incentives. One of them, for example, is that new companies don’t have to pay taxes during their first year in business. This is also a great advantage of IT nearshoring in Portugal. 

10. Cultural mindset

Portuguese people are extremely social, adaptable, and friendly. We are always ready to have contact with and embrace new cultures, as we are able to introduce newcomers to our own. This is something that nearshoring companies might want to consider.

When it comes to business culture, Portuguese stand out for being hard workers and collectivists. This cultural trait means that they look after each other, work together to get better results, and are fair team players.

Nearshore Portugal: 10 Reasons to Choose This Country to Establish Your IT Nearshoring Team - Final Thoughts

As you can see, Portugal is one of the best places to consider for your nearshoring ventures. This country is full of IT talent that is very skilled - both in terms of hard and soft skills. Here you can get incredible professionals and a strategic geographical placement at incredibly low prices.

The Portuguese people are highly educated, great at learning new languages, and especially proficient in English. This is why big companies like Cisco, Google, Microsoft, and Nokia already have highly successful nearshoring operations in Portugal.

Count on KWAN's knowledge and experience to help you get the best of nearshoring in Portugal and set up your tech team in this amazing country.

Talk to us, and let's start assessing the needs of your project!