The Nordic tech industry is expanding each day. No wonder, technology is playing a significant role in this region, both in private and professional life.

We are seeing more and more startups being founded in the Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland. More ideas are being born in the heads of young entrepreneurs, which are being supported by a significant inflow of venture capital.

But the technology is not only related to the young Nordic companies. Digitalization has become a more popular “word” in many large corporations, who are making sure to follow current technological trends to keep ahead of their competitors.

So, you have a vision for your new project and products. But who will build it? Well, developers of course, but then a much more significant problem starts to appear – How can you find them?

According to the Hays Global Skills Index 2016, the Nordic region is facing a serious tech talent shortage. For example, Denmark is expected to fall short of 19,000 IT professionals by 2030.

Finland currently has an immediate need for 7,000 software developers, and according to the Finnish Information Processing Association, the country will lack over 15,000 skilled professionals by 2020, causing about €3-4 billion in lost GPD per year.

And let’s not forget Sweden. Statistics Sweden estimates there will be a shortage of 30,000 engineers by 2030 and it has already outpaced the USA as the country with the highest labour market stress level.

Developers in the Nordic region are becoming a scarce resource, and most companies are already feeling it. So how can we face this challenge? One word comes to mind: Outsourcing and more specifically Nearshoring. Recently published Whitelane Research about outsourcing in the Nordic Region states that the appetite for outsourcing is growing – over 44% of respondents plan to use this service more.

Still, as a Business Developer at Setapp from Poland, I constantly communicate with clients from the Nordics and some of them still hesitate to nearshore their development to Poland.

Let me provide you with the most important benefits of nearshoring in Poland:

1. Poland has the most talented developers in the world

According to the Hacker Rank Polish developers are in third place in the global ranking after China and Russia. Considering how large those two countries are, achieving such a result is a huge success. I recommend reading the whole Hacker Rank article because it also provides a detailed ranking of the Best Developers by domain. Polish programmers also dominate various other areas.

It makes sense to develop your project with the best, right?

2. Possibility to obtain professional expertise based on industry experience

When an idea for a product is born, then you probably ask yourself the question: How should we build it to make it successful? Poland is becoming a major European Tech Startup Hub and more successful companies are being born there from industries like FinTech, IoT, Travel, Media, E-sports, Healthcare and more. This confirms that Polish developers know how to create meaningful software and they will be sure to make your product successful too.

3. Talent supply

Remember at the beginning when I mentioned how Nordic countries are facing a severe tech talent shortage? 70.6 K, is the number of  IT students in the 2013/2014 academic year, according to GUS (Central Statistical Office in Poland). Polish tech universities graduate over 15,000 new specialists annually.

More students are aware of the benefits of becoming a developer, so their motivation to learn programming languages is increasing. As a result, the number of well educated IT professionals are growing. It gives the potential outsourcing partners the possibility to gain access to such a valuable talent pool.

4. Communication and cultural fit

Communication and a good cultural fit are one of the leading concerns of many Nordic companies who seek external help. Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway share the same Time Zone CET, and Finland only has a one hour difference (EET). So there will be no need for evening calls.

Also, developing in SCRUM ensures that you are able to communicate with the development team on a daily basis. Regarding the cultural fit, Poland is an open-minded country with a lot of experience in doing international business, so communication is at a very high level. Moreover, 90% of developers speak English very well and many companies provide English lessons for them.

5. Stable economy and similar law

After the fall of the communism, the Polish economy started to grow significantly. Poland has a very stable economy in Europe. So when you want to move your development to Poland, you don’t need to worry about an economic crisis, political problems, or natural disasters. Poland also adheres to all EU copyright and IP (intellectual property) directives. Due to these updated legal matters, there are fewer risks involved.

Conclusion

You may be surprised why I didn’t mention the low costs. Let’s face it – it is obviously an important reason but these days companies more often put the value of the outsourcing partner over the costs. Having a trustworthy tech partner from Poland who is ready to share his professional expertise can be highly valuable for you and for your customers

Still hesitating? Setapp is currently in long-term partnership with Egmont – one of the leading media groups in the Nordic region. But don’t just take our word for it, listen to what Mads Donkin, Egmont’s Product Owner, has to say about cooperating with us:

Since such a well-known company chose to nearshore their development needs, do you agree it’ll help you too?

P.S. while you’re here check out our blog posts on the best practices for software development:

• Four good communication practices for distributed teams
• How to control software development costs? [5 practical tips for PMs]