Tag: nearshore

Tijuana Leads Innovation with Borderless Business Congress

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 2 Comments on Tijuana Leads Innovation with Borderless Business Congress

Tijuana is Mexico’s closest city to Silicon Valley, and its location has turned it from a border maquiladora city into a natural hub for innovation in tech. Tijuana city is on a fast track to positioning itself as a hub for innovation, software engineering, and nearshoring technology— so much, that during this month of October the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation held their annual Borderless Business Congress there. The conference aimed to strengthen and explore the steady-growing economic development and investment opportunities that have been on the rise in the Cali-Baja region. Business leaders on both sides of the border have identified the region as an appealing infrastructure, technology, and investment opportunity across industries. 

“We have companies that have decided to establish their manufacturing plus design centers here and this is a great opportunity for these companies,” said Carlos Higuera of the Tijuana Economic Development Council. Representatives from leading global companies such as Amazon, GE, Pfizer, Prime Wheel, and Deloitte were present during the virtual event.

The Borderless Business Congress is dedicated to sharing trends, challenges, technology, and business opportunities from experts in the area. Under the slogan GO GLOBAL: The road of tomorrow, this year’s Congress focused on highly competitive and globally connected industries, like manufacturing, BioMed, and tech innovation. 

“The Cali-Baja region is a unique bi-national location recognized globally for its strong business infrastructure, technology, tourism, and investment opportunities,” said Baja California Secretary of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (SEST) Mario Escobedo Carignan “This is an opportunity for professionals and industry leaders across a variety of sectors to come together and collaborate on ways to make this region even stronger.”

Thought leaders working directly with the Binational Region key industries, like Maritza Diaz, are helping to strengthen this global integration. The ITJ CEO gave a panel speech alongside LunaDNA president and co-founder Dawn Barry on the BioMed-Tech Valley Initiative on the investment and growth opportunities for Life Science companies seeking talent in the bi-national region.

Governmental aid has also impulsed this positive synergy between American companies and Mexican talent. According to ITJ CEO Maritza Diaz, “The Government in Tijuana and Baja is committed to developing STEM talent from a very early stage as 64% of high school graduates receive technical education resulting in being #3 in the country for academic research infrastructure.” Companies like ITJ have leveraged connecting Mexican STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) talent with San Diego Life Sciences companies that were previously struggling to add talent fast enough to meet their growth needs.

“Baja California has become a powerhouse in industries such as semiconductors, medical devices, aerospace, electrical equipment, and audiovisual and communications equipment,” said ITJuana CEO Maritza Diaz during the conference. “These high-growth industries have attracted more than $5.6 billion of foreign direct investment to the region since 2012.”

The annual Borderless Business Congress is a timely opportunity for investors and global companies to learn and connect with change-makers in the growing Tijuana-San Diego region.

5 Reasons to Nearshore with ITJuana

5 Reasons To Nearshore with ITJ

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | Leave a Comment on 5 Reasons To Nearshore with ITJ

Here’s a fact that will surprise no one: The tech industry is one of the fastest-growing in the US— worth 1.6 trillion dollars and is on a path to reach $5 trillion by the end of 2021.

However, it has one clear obstacle: a serious shortage of tech talent. In a recent survey, 76%  of US company CIOs have recently said they struggle to find, hire and retain software engineering professionals. The job application success rate between being interviewed and getting hired is between 2% and 3.4%. For a tech company with a timely project at hand, recruiting processes with such a low retention rate can make the difference between staying on top of the competition and losing a precious window to launch a new feature or product.

Nearshoring is a proven way to remain competitive by hiring qualified talent within the same time zone, but residing in locations with lower costs of living. ITJ serves fast-growing and high-value market sectors by creating qualified teams, saving companies precious resources in time and recruiting by creating large, low cost, high performance centers for software engineering.

Haven’t heard of us yet? Here is a list of 5 reasons to nearshore with ITJuana.

  1. We specialize in MedTech

For the past three years, ITJuana has been serving fast-growing market sectors with a particular focus on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). ITJuana has been working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. This specific sector is one of the fastest-growings in the tech industry, predicted to reach $176 billion by 2026. 

  1. Faster Hiring Processes

In the US, finding, filtering, and hiring the right talent can take months. The average time for ITJuana to hire engineers is 37 days. We only hire the best bilingual talent from Mexico, as well as from elsewhere in LATAM, and are totally committed to developing the next generation of engineers through our partnerships with top educational institutions and the ITJuana trainee program. 

  1. Better qualified teams

ITJuana enables companies to create world-class software engineering centers of excellence in Tijuana, MX. Our services assist companies of all sizes to access purpose-built, fully managed, lower cost, and innovative software development, testing, and operational support teams. These hubs integrate seamlessly with our client’s resources and align with their business strategies. Our unique Nearshore model works with the highest quality software engineers, data scientists, and creative designers from across Mexico and Latin America. 

  1. Continuous Growth

We care passionately about both our clients and our staff, so the professional teams we create are purposefully only composed of full-time client-dedicated employees, allowing us to attract and retain the best engineering talent while reliably delivering the highly productive, quality services our clients seek. Understanding your company culture is important to us, because we know you may need to further grow your staff in the future. We want to make sure that the people that continue to join your team are not only fully qualified, but aligned with your values and goals. This is why we maintain ongoing relationships with our clients and take extra care to immerse our talent in their company culture.

5. Lower staff turnover

Our stance against subcontracting shows our team where we stand and allows our clients to plan for the long run. As a result, we hold a staff turnover rate of less than half the industry average.

Unique to the industry, we firmly believe in our mantra of “our team is your team” so much so that our clients have the option to transition the engineering teams we build for them into their own organizations when they are ready and choose to do so. 

Write to us at keith.ryland@itj.com to know more about what ITJuana’s Centers of Excellence can do for your team.

About ITJ

ITJ is a trusted partner in building the finest software engineering teams in the Americas. For more information, visit www.itj.com.

How to Choose Your Nearshore Software Provider?

Posted on | by Paula Diaz | 4 Comments on How to Choose Your Nearshore Software Provider?

Along with its social isolation, the Pandemic changed the way we work and do business, making it essential to maintaining productivity while working remotely. On that note, Nearshore Software is a great way to expand your team remotely, achieve scalability, and stay competitive, making it a game-changer for your company. Nearshore is nothing more than hiring a remote team located geographically close to your company. This guarantees several benefits for your business, including cost reductions, easier logistics, and cultural proximity to your employees. 

How to choose your nearshore software provider?

It’s important to keep in mind that the best partners need to have similar values, culture, and a genuine interest in helping you achieve your goals. But how do you find that within the wide offer of providers? Well, as complicated as it might sound, searching for the right nearshore software provider can be an easy and straightforward process. Here are some useful tips to do so.

  1. Define requirements and goals.

Start by figuring out what you hope to achieve by engaging in a nearshore software strategy. Consider what your goals are, and how your future project fits into the big-picture plan. It will be also important to define what technologies will be used; ensure that both in-house and external teams have access to the same technologies, especially if they’re collaborating closely on the same project Finally, you need to always keep in mind your estimated deadlines and ensure that the potential team has the capacity and time to deliver before you commit with them.

2. Evaluate your nearshore partner for cultural fit 

Is the nearshore partner suitable for your company’s success? What channels do they typically use? How do they communicate with other clients? What tools do they use? Can they adapt to your organization? These are all important questions to answer while looking for the right nearshore software partner. A great way to answer this is by looking at the team’s motivation for working on specific types of projects or product lines.

In the end, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to “how should a company select an outsourcing provider.” Instead, our advice is for you to examine all your options and evaluate your potential nearshore partners based on what’s most important to your company, both in terms of goals and cultural fit.

When is the right time to start considering nearshore for your company?

The best way to determine whether it makes sense to outsource is to analyze the current state of your business. Here are some helpful questions to identify if you need some outside support: 

  • Are you falling short of your business objectives?
  • What barriers do you face in achieving specific goals?
  • Are you trying to cut costs? If so, which expenses are costing your organization the most money?
  • Are you able to source your talent with your specific need in a timely manner?
  • What skills does your internal team lack?

Ultimately, it’s about figuring out what your company needs and deciding how to achieve your goals through a nearshore strategy. Figure out what kind of partner you’re looking for and how to engage them to maximize your ROI.

Where to look for Nearshore software partners? 

The Cali-Baja MegaRegion might be a great place to start looking as it’s a place full of opportunity. Located only 35 minutes south of downtown San Diego, Tijuana is a strategic location allowing companies to expand within the thriving border economy and strengthen communications among Mexican and U.S. companies. With more than 7 million people, the Cali-Baja region has one of the largest population concentrations along the U.S-Mexico border, and thanks to its unique cross-border integration and IT/Software development, the area holds a unique quality for the relocation of global and bi-national business investments, as well as its transnational culture and high-end binational pool of talent.

Nearshore software it’s not just about reducing costs by sending work abroad, it’s about accessing the best talent for the job and keeping those assets that know the regional market and pass the knowledge onto the team, making it easier to succeed when designing and executing strategies. That is why the Cali-Baja region is what your company might need to keep growing strong while adapting to the new normal we are living in now.

About ITJ
ITJ is devoted to serving fast-growing and high-value market sectors, particularly the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), working with innovative medical device companies looking to improve people’s lives. With a unique BOT (build, operate, and transfer) model that sources only the best digital talent available, ITJ enables companies in the US to create technology centers of excellence in Mexico. For more information, visit www.itj.com.