Nearshore software development empowers companies across all industries to accelerate digital initiatives while reducing cost. Time zone compatibility, real-time communication, availability of skilled teams, and cultural alignment are some of the most cited benefits of working with nearshore partners. However, companies within certain industries may be more hesitant to incorporate a nearshore delivery model into their software development projects due to federal regulations around information and data security. While compliance with industry-specific regulations may dictate that certain work must remain within the United States, companies within financial services, healthcare, and government can still benefit from utilizing nearshore resources strategically.
The Perficient Latin America team has extensive experience developing custom software solutions for U.S.-based companies in a variety of regulated industries. Our unique approach to custom software development prioritizes security in each phase of the project lifecycle and is designed to comply with all federal regulations so that even companies in the most heavily regulated industries can benefit from working with a nearshore partner.
Compliance Considerations
First, and foremost, it is important to understand the regulatory requirements within your specific industry. For example, the financial services and healthcare industries require that client data must remain within the United States. Government agencies take this a step further and require teams to use their specific cloud providers. SOC2 audits may also be required to evaluate an organization’s information systems relevant to security, data processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
While regulatory compliance can make nearshore software development more challenging, it is certainly not impossible. Given the significant cost savings benefits of nearshore delivery, there is value in incorporating a nearshore project team into applicable phases of the project lifecycle while still complying with federal data and privacy regulations.
What to Look for in a Nearshore Team
Security is the highest priority when searching for a nearshore partner. While data breeches are never acceptable, they are particularly devastating to organizations in financial services and healthcare. It is imperative to partner with a global consultancy that incorporates security best practices and regulatory compliance into each phase of the project lifecycle and truly understands the importance of protecting sensitive client data.
Traceability
To regulators, traceability is the most important consideration when working with nearshore teams. Full transparency built into the process yields greater accountability and enables more accurate risk detection. The software development process can be complex which is why tracking all changes to the code is imperative to the overall security and success of the project. You need to be able to see when changes were made, who made them, and why.
Restricted Access to Sensitive Information
It is important for regulators and clients to understand upfront who will have access to the most confidential data. It may not be necessary for each team member (depending on their role) to have access to this information to complete the project. Limiting the number of people with access to sensitive information significantly reduces the instances of a data breech.
Secure Passwords
While technology and infrastructure best practices are vital to keep sensitive data secure, passwords provide an additional layer of security. If even one team member is using a non-secure password, the security of the entire project can become compromised. Non-secure passwords can be easily guessed words or sequences like Password123 or Spring2021. Perficient Latin America implements secure password best practices for all team members and requires frequent password changes to provide an added layer of security for sensitive data.
Infrastructure
Just five years ago there were significant concerns over the security of the cloud. Information stored in the cloud was technically accessible to anyone if strict security procedures were not followed correctly. Today, third-party cloud infrastructure providers have shared compliance policies to keep sensitive data secure. This enables us to deploy the services our clients need on the cloud without compromising data security.
Experience
When it comes to building custom software solutions, you want to partner with an organization that has experience working with similar clients in regulated industries. The nearshore software development outsourcing industry has been steadily growing, meaning there are many new companies in the market that may not have compatible experience yet. It is important to work with a global consultancy that not only has experience working with regulatory compliance processes and procedures but can also provide you with plenty of success stories within your specific industry.
Where Perficient Has Been Successful
Perficient Latin America has over a decade of experience creating custom digital products for companies in financial services, healthcare, and government. Security is in our DNA and embedded in all of our processes. Our unique agile methodology builds confidence in our projects through traceability and transparency in each stage of the project lifecycle. Time-zone compatibility to the United States enables real-time communication with teams allowing for greater oversight and control.
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