Software developers from sunny South-Europe deliver benefits beyond affordable code

Reaching out to international talent pools can be a smart way to optimise development costs. Instead of just stomping prices, smart companies aim at hunting for skilled experts for a relatively lower price tag without sacrificing quality. 

There are several growing tech hubs in the coastal Mediterranean area. The combination of happy talent, deep technical know-how and affordable price levels creates a good opportunity for companies to optimise cost and secure the quality of software development. Several Fusion companies offer their companies the possibility to optimise cost without compromising quality and talent experience.

There are three Fusion Ecosystem companies who deliver quality code from sunny Malaga. Nieve’s ambition is to ensure their developers are some of the best in class but more affordable than, for example, in Finland. For Wunderdog, the key value proposition is also the ability to attract senior talent and also offer possibilities for our existing staff to work from a warm climate with proper premises.

Software Sauna in turn has built developer teams in Croatia and North Macedonia. From the very beginning, Sauna’s idea and focus has been to attract the very best local talents in Southeast Europe. Create them a place where they can make an impact and work with highly talented international peers. As they operate remotely, they are able to offer more attractive costs for Nordic customers, for example.

While outsourcing and nearshoring has existed for some time, the requirements for what good development collaboration and outcomes are like are increasing. Companies should see collaboration not just as sets of code delivered, but more like a partnership that helps in-house employees grow along with the external talent. That said, nearshoring should not be seen as a code factory. In many cases, experienced individuals and teams, no matter location, can really make a huge impact on the inhouse team, their way of working and technical expertise as well.

By collaborating with competent partners, companies can elevate their in-house teams’ language skills, streamline remote ways of working and build agile competencies. In this way, in-house employees are also better equipped to respond to future software development. These competencies are all essential for companies and individual employees to keep up with digital development and remain relevant in the future. Therefore, international distributed teams can really be a true dream team that can thrive the client’s development. 

Nieve, Wunderdog, Polar Squad and Software Sauna are all experienced in remote or multi-location project delivery. The companies are dedicated to bringing in more than just technical expertise. They are constantly finding ways to grow as a team and improve ways of working with their customers. While Nieve, Wunderdog and Polar Squad have teams is Malaga, the operational reach is international. The same applies to Software Sauna and its teams in North Macedonia and Croatia.

A shared understanding of agile ways of working, sustainable working culture and experience in remote delivery are essential to ensure smooth development collaboration and quality outcomes. Thus, companies should choose their international partners wisely. What kind of partners can deliver up to the qualities that match your company?

The Nordics stand for reliability, trustworthiness and quality, which are some qualities to look for in an international development partner. This is why South European companies that have Nordic roots and share Nordic values can become valuable go-to partners.

Nieve, Wunderdog, Polar Squad and Software Sauna see that the combination “Nordic and international” make it easy for many companies to build collaborations with them. While the companies’ talent is international, their roots make the Nordic mindset, culture, and way of doing business undivided part of their customer work. This is crucial to succeed in building smooth international collaboration. By combining this with superior technical competencies, the companies can make both customers and employees happy.

Customer companies’ in-house development teams are increasingly international. Still, some companies struggle to give up local language requirements when expanding the teams with external consultants. It is crucial to have a shared language to communicate efficiently. However, some language requirements can be counterproductive. 

Firstly, when setting these requirements, companies should ask themselves what potential issues they are solving with the cost of blocking access to the international talent pools. What skills are the most critical ones from the outcome quality point of view?

Secondly, decision makers could see international collaboration as an opportunity to strengthen in-house teams’ language skills and improve modern development capability. Furthermore, international forums and online stacks are often the primary places for developers to seek advice. The world of coding extends beyond the physical world and certain national languages. Why not leverage these opportunities in the in-house teams as well?

To give some successful examples, Software Sauna’s team works mostly with the clients from Finland, other Nordic countries, Germany and the Netherlands. The team is at the moment located in Croatia, Finland and North Macedonia. Being international is part of their everyday work and they are experienced in coping with different languages and cultures. 

Similarly, Nieve’s working language is English, because they want to ensure their developers are deeply connected to the international software development ecosystem. The company’s developers are fluent in various coding languages and have broad technical expertise in building modern digital solutions. Wunderdog’s customers in turn give positive feedback about how the company is able to provide professionals with good talent and cultural fit regardless of the remote setup and spoken language. 

So, quality should not necessarily depend on the spoken language. Those organisations trying to fight against remote working culture in the tech sector will eventually lose the battle for talent. Meanwhile, those who are open to go beyond country borders will benefit greatly from the global talent pool.