Why Choose Nearshore Staff Augmentation
When you can get your own top-10% nearshore software development team in 2 months?
Basically the same, but better:
- Your tech team hired from scratch
- 30+ elite engineers in 3 months, 100+ in a year
- Up to 40% cost savings
- No need to set up a legal entity
- Fully managed back-office
- No buyout costs or hidden fees
- Your direct management and corporate culture
Mexico
Colombia
Argentina
Chile
Poland
Romania
Ukraine
BulgariaNearshore Staff Augmentation Can’t Compare to Your Own Software Team
Can a Nearshore Staff Augmentation Provider Guarantee
2.5 years
average tenure of developers
Cultural alignment
with your company values
Pricing transparency
no hidden or buy-out fees
Legal & compliance
and other needed operational support
Exceptional dedication
it’s literally your own team
Long-term partnership
shared responsibility & commitmentKey things about Nearshore Staff Augmentation
Advantages
Nearshore IT staff augmentation is a gainful short-term solution because:
- you engage top-tier engineers in your project through an IT outstaffing partner without the need to set up your own legal entity
- there’s no need for recruiting: it’s a quick temporary fix to supplement your team capacity
- with team extension, you can replace developers on the fly and maintain control over team management
- you can optimize software development timeframes enjoying 1-2 hour time difference with Latin American countries like Mexico or Colombia
Challenges
Challenges
However, beware of nearshore software team augmentation pitfalls:
- when it comes to tech team’s augmentation as a model, remote software developers don’t see you as their real employer, but rather as another passing client; as a result, they are not as loyal to your product as in-house or R&D devs
- if you decide to hire the tech gems in your team, you will have to buy them out from your nearshore team augmentation vendor
- the staff augmentation model poses IP rights risks and may cause data security issues due to the data shared with the third party
- with no onboarding envisioned in nearshore staff augmentation services, integrating the augmented team within your in-house squad is no mean feat; besides, work culture mismatch is still likely
Comparison with alternatives
To sum up, nearshore software staff augmentation is ideal for short-term projects, especially if you don’t require perfect team loyalty and don’t mind delegating some control to your provider. Besides, you should already have a small in-house team to augment it. In this regard, outsourcing is more suitable for non-tech companies with no development teams onboard, although it does lose to staff augmentation regarding client involvement.
Managed services and a dedicated team are comparably a long-term cooperation, although managed services, unlike IT resource augmentation, are focused on consulting and demonstrate higher loyalty levels. A dedicated team, on its side, has the same client-control approach as IT resource augmentation services but is more suitable for long-term projects and provides moderately loyal software engineering specialists.
Another viable alternative to nearshore IT staffing is a software R&D center. It is ideal for a long-standing partnership, offering a flexible budget, tailored specifically to your product, and comes with full client control and team commitment.
What is your own nearshore software development center
Your own nearshore R&D center is a turnkey solution for building development teams from 0 to 100 Silicon Valley-caliber programmers within a year, in vibrant locations like Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, or Chile.
Your software R&D team building starts with full-cycle tech recruitment. Our 40 tech headhunters make the process sleek and smooth by guiding you through the tech hiring market, crafting ideal candidate profiles and appealing EVP, pre-screening and interviewing applicants, and working with offers/counteroffers. Here is how we ensure perfect fits:
- 15% chance of closing the vacancy from the first CV
- 2-6 weeks to close a vacancy
- 8 CVs to get to 1 accepted offer
- 80% of candidates are approved by clients
- 98.6% of our hires pass probation
- 2.5 years — the average tenure of our hires
Beyond tech recruiting, our team provides Employer of Record services to make your nearshoring to Latin America stress-free. Skip the hassle of setting up your own legal entity and dealing with compliance—we manage everything from onboarding/offboarding and legal navigation to monthly payroll and benefits management.
Need operational support? Alcor’s R&D all-in-one approach has multiple cherries on top: we take care of your nearshore office lease, equipment procurement, IT infrastructure setup, employer branding, and even WFH support,—every operational detail managed on your request.
Better than a Third-party Nearshore Staff Augmentation
- From 0 to 100+ engineers in one key talent pool
- Employer of record – no entity compliant employment
- Comprehensive in-country support
- No buyout or other hidden fees
- Your team from day one. Your management. Your culture.
Own R&D Center vs Nearshore Staff Augmentation
Own R&D Center
- Silicon Valley-caliber talent We recruit 30+ elite senior developers in 3 months. All decisions regarding the team are up to you.
- Transparent pricing Detailed invoices help you be in control of your finances. Plus, your tech R&D team is x2 more affordable than an external one.
- Your team & branding You get a tech team with shared values for innovation and growth – 90% retention rate & an average tenure of 2.5 years.
- No setup & buyout fees No setup fee is needed to start building your software R&D team. Plus, there is no buyout process – your team now, free insourcing after.
- Intellectual property under control With direct agreements, you fully own your product and its source code, keeping unique expertise in-house.
Nearshore Staff Augmentation
- Junior/middle-level talent You can’t control the quality of talent. Plus, with planned moves to new customers after 1 year, your A-players will be snatched away.
- High markups Some providers charge up to 50% of talent compensation to earn more without the client knowing about it.
- Not your brand & practices Developers work under your provider’s brand. Thus, there’s no room for your corporate culture, policies, and direct oversight.
- High setup & buyout fees Most vendors require contractual & financial obligations first. Then, you pay 20% of a developer’s annual compensation in buy-out fees.
- Intellectual property risks IP rights over your product initially belong to developers of your provider. You get minimum security and a tedious transfer process.
Companies Scaling with Alcor
Alcor is a reliable partner that meets our hiring needs. We finally hired experienced software engineers in Eastern Europe with strong tech skills and business acumen. Account Managers are awesome!
With Alcor’s all-in-one solution, we got a software R&D office with 15 senior PHP devs and a compliant operational coverage. I really appreciated their transparent pricing structure and deep expertise.
We interviewed a lot of EoR platforms and companies, but Alcor was the only one that provides a combo package of EoR and Recruting offerings. Alcor helped us build a full stack team in 1.5 month.
We wanted to switch from our outsourcing provider, and Alcor has become really game-changing for us. Within a mere 6 months, we got a fully-fledged team of 30 engineers in our own R&D office.
Alcor’s R&D solution eclipses full-cycle recruitment, EOR service, and operational support for our offshore team. Their ‘all-in-one place’ approach is far more cost-effective than I could’ve imagined.
I value their commitment to going the extra mile. We evolved from an outstaff project into an independent company, and Alcor’s support was crucial. They hired and ondoarded 15+ professionals for us.
Thanks to Alcor, we hired four engineers and a designer that strengthened our team. Beside stellar recruitment, Alcor flawlessly handled our payroll. Their approach was seamless and swift.
Alcor closed our 4 QA positions in a month and more than doubled the team in a year! We chose Alcor because of their communication style, cost, scope of services, and ideas to help us be successful.
Expanding our engineering team outside the US with Alcor was a game-changer! They found 15 talented developers and provided seamless EOR & operational support. Great responsiveness to our needs!
Alcor’s flexible model helped us scale from 0 to 30 devs in a year first, and then to 50! No buy-out fees, seamless hiring, and top-tier talent. A hassle-free way to grow without setting up a subsidiary!
Alcor helped us hire the top 5% of tech talent while building our employer brand. They were proactive, never compromised on quality, and delivered. Three years later, our hires are still thriving!
FAQ
Is it beneficial to use nearshore staff augmentation services?
You will benefit from nearshore staff augmentation services in Latin America if you seek to boost your team’s tech expertise for lower costs. However, this model is short-lived, so if you’re looking for long-term product-based models, consider other options, such as a software R&D center.
What are common challenges or pitfalls of using nearshore team augmentation?
The main flaws of IT staff augmentation lie in cooperation through a third party. Since a nearshore augmented team works for your provider, they may see your project as a passing one and not feel loyal to your particular task. This may result in a mediocre product quality and potentially higher expenses. Besides, you’re less engaged in team management and will have to pay buyout fees should you decide to hire developers.
What are the alternatives to nearshore staff augmentation?
A software R&D center is your all-in-one solution to hire Silicon Valley-caliber tech talents, manage payroll & accounting, navigate legal & compliance, get equipment procurement, and lease an office with your reliable partner like Alcor.
Other models include software outsourcing, managed services, and a dedicated team that come with their pitfalls. All of the mentioned cooperation models can be performed in both nearshore and offshore locations.
Which location is the most ideal for nearshore product development?
If you’re an executive of the tech business in the US, Latin American powerhouses are worth a look. For instance, Mexico offers access to 700,000 tech specialists, ranks 3rd in the region for data science and tech skills, boasts advanced tech infrastructure, an A4 business environment, and overlapping time zones with the US. In general, nearshoring to Mexico or other LATAM countries can slash your labor expenses by up to 50%, making it a cost-effective approach to scale your tech team and optimize budget.
Why is Alcor a better long-term alternative to outsourcing or generic EOR platforms?
Our solution is designed only for the tech industry:
- hiring in top tech talent markets,
- benefiting from tax incentives for tech, and
- managing all the necessary contracts for tech (NDAs, IP rights protection agreements, etc.).
Alcor lets clients easily track and manage payroll, benefits, and more via its cloud platform, AlcorOS.
However, unlike other global payment platforms, our clients don’t just get robotic support; they work with a dedicated human Customer Operations manager.
Our solution is 50% more affordable than hiring in the US or tech outsourcing, and we offer custom pricing and volume discounts for even greater savings – no setup or hidden fees.
What services does Alcor provide to clients?
- hardware procurement,
- office/coworking leasing,
- insurance provision,
- employer branding,
- HR services,
- remote/office/hybrid strategy support,
- sysadmyn support,
- business/travel visa support,
- stock options & IP agreements – you name it.
What do you get with our tech-focused EOR service?
First of all, you don’t have to spend 3.5+ months on setting up your own legal entity and other infrastructure like a bank account, a local team, etc., in a new tech market. We’ll hire talent on your behalf right away.
Secondly, our EOR service covers everything: payroll, compliance, benefits, onboarding, offboarding, and other services. We commit to onboarding talent in 10 business days and provide free offboarding.
Last but not least, you’ll hire talent in top talent markets for tech – across Latin America and Eastern Europe – with 3.5+ million IT specialists and fast-growing tech industries.
But our solution is not just another HR payments platform – with us, you get EOR, plus tech recruitment from scratch with full operational coverage in one place.
How do you handle compliance, risk, and data protection?
Alcor acts as a legal shield, ensuring 100% compliance with labor laws in the countries of our operations and IP protection. We protect clients from risks related to worker misclassification, social security, and tax obligations while providing GDPR and CCPA solutions.
We also provide a background check service for our clients upon request. Moreover, Alcor has a mature policy set consisting of a publicly available Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Terms of Use, Security Policy, and Code of Ethics.
Does Alcor provide a full-cycle tech recruitment service?
Yes. With the help of our 40 in-house tech recruiters and researchers, we hire Silicon Valley-caliber talent from scratch. You can get 5 developers in the first month, 30 in 3 months, and 100 in a year.
You get the first CVs of pre-vetted candidates in 5 business days, while one vacancy is typically closed in 2-6 weeks. These are your people from day one who become part of your in-house team and culture, with no buyout process and fees if you later insource.
Which geographies and seniorities can you cover?
We hire top-10% engineers across Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and Bulgaria – with a focus on senior, lead, and C-level talent. To ensure you get the best talent on the market, we prepare a location strategy and consultation from the start.
What is the quality of Alcor’s candidates?
To present you with the best candidates, we use an internal database of 253k software engineers and external resources. 80% of the CVs we send to clients are approved; 8 CVs are needed to secure an accepted offer; and 15% of vacancies are closed with the first CV.
If a client wants to further improve the quality of the candidate pipeline, we offer an Engineering Manager screening service. As a result, 98.6% of the developers that we hire for clients successfully pass probation.
How long do software developers that Alcor hires stay with clients?
90% of the talent we hire for clients stays with them long-term, while the average tenure of developers is 2.5 years. In case you’re unsatisfied with our hire or vice versa, we offer a 3-month free replacement warranty.
What’s more, you can increase the retention rate among your R&D team with the talent retention strategy developed for you by our HR professionals.
Is Alcor’s pricing transparent?
We don’t have setup fees, tricky rate cards, or expensive pricing wrappers. Also, our model doesn’t presuppose regular cost increases with no visible returns. Instead, we have custom pricing for each client, set and revise individual compensations, and give contractual volume discounts.
Who owns the team and assets, and can I insource later?
You own everything from day one – the team and all procured assets (hardware, software, office/coworking arrangements, and related records). You can insource the team at any time for free, with no buyout or lock-in.
Who manages the team day to day?
You do. We act as the official employer of record (EOR) for compliance and payroll, while decision-making, roadmap, and performance management remain on your side.
What documentation and visibility do I get?
You get full transparency – employment contracts, SLAs, and supporting documentation are shared with you from the start.
How is IP handled, and who can access our code?
IP remains 100% yours, protected by compliant IP rights agreements from day one. Alcor does not access your source code, product docs, or other sensitive materials.
Who bears compliance and other employment-related risks?
Alcor bears 100% of employment and compliance risk in each country by acting as your legal shield for labor, tax, and regulatory matters.
Who are the clients of Alcor?
Our clients include tech product companies from the US and EU – People.ai, BigCommerce, Grammarly, Sift, Ledger, Pindrop, Chartbeat, BIScience, ChargeAfter, Tubular Labs, and Teladoc – from domains like AI/ML, ecommerce, cybersecurity/fraud prevention, crypto/fintech, media & marketing analytics, and digital health.
Does Alcor have any industry awards, or is it featured in ratings?
Alcor has earned top rankings in the IT & business services, HR outsourcing, and legal outsourcing categories on Clutch, become the #1 HR Services Agency on SuperbCompanies, and won The Legal 500 EMEA Awards. We are also featured on Clutch, TrustPilot, G2, and GoodFirms.
What is the team behind Alcor?
We’re a 100+ in-house team with deep bench strength – 40 tech recruiters and 60 back-office specialists across 8 key locations, with 93% CSAT and a 93% Net Promoter Score. Leadership is hands-on and accessible: Founder & CEO – Dmytro Ovcharenko; COO – Viktoriia Keliar; Director of Technical Recruiting – Kassandra Ruiz; Head of Customer Operations – Oksana Petrus; Head of Legal – Oleh Danylchenko.
Supporting leaders include Head of People & Culture – Hanna Koval; Senior Legal Adviser (LATAM) – Gilda Orozco; Country Manager, Mexico – Javier Preciado; plus regional recruiting leads in Poland, Romania, and LATAM for on-the-ground execution.
How does Alcor make cross-region collaboration work – overlap windows, English proficiency, and executive availability?
We run teams across the USA, Latin America, and CEE – covering GMT-7, GMT-6, GMT-5, GMT-4, GMT, GMT+1, GMT+2, and more. That footprint lets us engineer reliable overlap windows: typically 5-8 hours within the Americas or Western Europe, and 2-5 hours between US time zones and CEE with modest schedule shifts.
English proficiency runs from intermediate to native, with customer-facing roles staffed at advanced/native levels. To improve leadership accessibility, we align recurring exec-level touchpoints within overlap windows and keep async updates flowing so decisions don’t wait on the clock.