Over the past few years, Portugal has established a prosperous relationship with the IT industry through nearshoring, where companies leverage the benefits of the country's location and resources to outsource their operations.
The country’s popularity in the IT world grew up rapidly and Portugal is quickly becoming a leading destination for nearshore development and a thriving tech hub that has drawn attention from all over the world. Conveniently located and with a highly skilled workforce at competitive rates, Portugal is at the top of the list of the most desirable locations for nearshoring and it may turn into the heart of the world IT community.
In short, nearshore in Portugal has become a popular and effective solution for businesses looking to streamline their operations and reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
How Portugal's Nearshore Capabilities Boast a Skilled Workforce Ready for IT Development
Portugal has a long history of producing skilled and dedicated workers in various industries and it is becoming increasingly known for its software development sector in recent years, making it an attractive destination for nearshore software development.
An extraordinary talent hub, Portugal has a well-educated workforce thanks to their strong focus on education and training. Among the 80,000 annual graduates, 30% are in the technology or engineering sphere. Furthermore, the country has 6 universities among the top 1,000 universities in the world.
This explains why Portugal is ranked 26th in terms of talent quality and availability and why it has a large pool of talented IT workers, with a range of expertise in all types of IT nearshore.
Nearshore in Portugal: The Cost-Effective Solution Drawing Businesses
Portugal wins for its weather and location, but those are not the only reasons that make the country a top choice for nearshore services. Big investors from Europe choose Portugal hoping to reduce expenses and receive a product with equally excellent quality. If you are thinking of setting up a nearshore development team, Portugal is definitely an option to keep in mind to save costs.
Portugal ranked 66th place in the Cost-of-Living Index, favourably comparing UK, France, Germany, or Spain, which translates into lower labour costs of IT and nearshore services compared with other European countries. Companies can easily save costs from rent since finding an office for an outsourcing team is extremely cheap and easy.
Time Zone: One Hour Away From The Rest Of Europe
Proximity is key when it comes to nearshoring. Closer time zones facilitate teamwork and communication between the clients and the development teams since it allows teams located in different countries to work at the same time.
Portugal is an excellent time zone for nearshore work with European countries. It's one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which puts the country in the same time zone as London and a similar time zone as Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, and many more. Companies based in the UK, one of the most critical global markets, have the extra advantage of sharing the same time zone as Portugal and benefit from several daily direct flights, which facilitates teamwork for multi-site teams.
Nearshore in Portugal: The Gateway Location to European Markets
Portugal’s location is ideal for business. Located near major markets like the UK and Germany, Portugal is an attractive option for companies looking for a nearshore partner to establish an outsourcing team.
The country is easily accessible from the main cities in Europe and international countries, such as the United States. Portugal is the closest European country to the US, with direct connections to American tech hubs like San Francisco, New York, and Boston. Currently a hot point for technology development, Portugal is also close to Latin America, with direct flights to Brazil. This superb location makes nearshoring Portugal the most convenient option.
Multilingual: Top Proficiency In English
With a long history of English language learning and Portuguese-English bilingualism, it isn’t a surprise that Portugal is among the countries with the highest English proficiency in the world. According to the English Proficiency Index, Portugal ranks 9th globally!
English is critical in a multicultural business environment. Since more than 90% of Portuguese techies consider their English to be professional, companies won’t have trouble finding great professionals with strong language skills, making it easier to work in international IT teams without obstacles.
Portugal: A Tech Hub For Success
For the past years, Portugal has been an example of the European startup ecosystem. Homegrown startups such as Farfetch, Feedzai, Talkdesk, and Outsystems have international operations supported by IT delivery centers in Portugal. Like Cloudflare or Revolut, international startups and scale-ups also count on Portuguese talent to foster their growth.
Established industry giants, like Siemens, Google, Microsoft, and Nokia opened centres in the country, joining other multinational companies such as BNP Paribas, Cisco, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen that place their startup projects in Portugal. Just like other nearshore companies, these organisations quickly realized that outsourcing to Portugal is a great way to give their business a boost.
Gonçalo Mousinho, International CEO of Prime Nearshore, explains that “Portugal is rising as a European Tech, and I believe it is now one of the best countries in Europe to invest in. We have a large pool of high-skilled professionals eager to work, and last year we were considered the 2nd best country in Europe for business innovation. I think these are just two of the core factors of attraction for the hundreds of companies choosing to nearshore in Portugal”.
How Understanding Cultural Background is Key to Successful Nearshoring Portugal
Social and cultural background differences play an important role when it comes to choosing nearshore outsourcing partnerships. Portugal has a cultural alignment with Western Europe and the United States, so it shares the same cultural background and values as most European countries, making it easier to communicate and cooperate with development teams.
Portugal is known for its hospitality, tolerance, and adaptation skills. Allied to Portugal’s coastline, daily sunshine, great food, and rich cultural heritage, these are the main reasons why the country was listed 4th in the top destinations for expats and the 6th most peaceful and safest country in the world, which can be a good predictor of this country's economic future.
Nearshore Services: What Portugal Has To Offer
Nearshoring in Portugal can unlock your organisation’s innovative potential through key solutions that go from software development services to IT infrastructure. With a wide range of services designed to answer your business’ needs, Prime Nearshore can be your ideal partner.
- IT managed services: By managing people, processes, toolsets and infrastructure, this solution unburdens your team from the daily workload so they can focus on strategic initiatives.
- Team extension: If your project calls for the support of a reliable IT partner with top-notch expertise for a limited time, but you still need to control the project, team extension services are your best answer.
- End-to-end solutions: This service is designed to help you succeed in the long term by helping you manage data across your internal structure. Through a global delivery network, all your technology processes are covered from the very first step until the final one.