When choosing your Nearshore partner, one of the key aspects to take into consideration is their geographical location. In recent years, Portugal has often been considered one of the top countries to establish your nearshoring services – here’s 6 reasons why:

 

#1 A GLOBAL TALENT HUB

Portuguese universities are internationally recognized for the high quality of their teaching programs, both in the field of engineering as well as management. Moreover, the country is in the European top 10 when it comes to English proficiency, ranking above others such as Romania and Czech Republic. We also have great levels of French and Spanish!

 

Last but not least, Portugal has long been a popular destination for expats, due to its affordable living costs, great weather and amazing food. This means the country is home to diverse talent from across the globe, which companies can harness for their teams.

 

#2 GOOD PRICE-QUALITY RATIO

Lowering non-core company operations is one of the main benefits of nearshoring, so it’s naturally one of the main aspects to consider when choosing your partner.

 

The average annual salary for a software developer in Portugal is around 22.000€ - that’s 2,1 lower than in Sweden, 2,45 lower than in Germany, and 2,82 lower than in Norway. This means you will be able to save costs in the development of your product without compromising on quality!

 

#3 ACCESSIBLE LOCATION

Portugal shares the time zone with the UK (a major global business hub) and is only one hour behind most countries in Central Europe. As such, you and your Nearshore team can work with a large window for communication, without getting stuck waiting for answers for long periods. This extra hour can also be an advantage as it can mean more time to work on your project.

 

Face-to-face meetings are not a problem either! Portugal is geographically close to most countries in Central Europe – the average flight time is around 2,5 hours with hundreds of daily flights to all business centers in the region, both from Lisbon and Porto. At ALTER SOLUTIONS we have offices in both locations, just 20 minutes from each airport. You’re welcome to visit anytime you’d like!

 

#4 A WELCOMING COUNTRY

Portugal shares the cultural values with most of the European countries, which can facilitate rapport between teams. Moreover, the Portuguese are known for being friendly, sociable, hardworking and easily adaptable people. As communication is a key part for the success in managing remote teams, you can see how we can come out ahead on this one. 

 

#5 TOP IT INFRASTRUCTURES

When talking about software development, ensuring high quality ICT infrastructure is essential when assessing potential Nearshore locations.

 

The country was highlighted in the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index Report 2021 for its high penetration of ultrafast broadband, coming second, just behind Sweden.

 

#6 SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STABILITY

Portugal is the sixth most peaceful country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index. The country has witnessed social and political stability for the past decades and is considered a symbol of EU recovery. As a EU member state, Portugal follows European standards and regulations, for instance in terms of data protection.

 

Global leaders such as Google and Microsoft have already established Nearshore teams in Portugal. Are you next? 
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