Three Key Takeaways from Nexus Miami

We have run the Nexus conference for 14 years now. That’s a pretty  stretch of time to gain some perspective on the evolution of the Nearshore services’ model. (Check out the launch announcement from 2010).

The recent Miami edition of Nexus seemed to land, timing wise, at a very opportune moment. Everywhere you turn there is disruption and uncertainty.

Yet when our guests started arriving in Miami two weeks ago, instead of somber resignation there was a sense of triumphant optimism. Over the course of the next two days I began to see why a deep sense of confidence continues to undergird this industry. Where does it come from? Let me lay it out:

• The Nearshore ‘golden age’ is already upon us and shows no sign of fading away. Five years ago, the era of “Nearshore 3.0” began. This of course is when the jet-fuel propulsion of Covid rapidly moved Nearshore from its previous (2.0) status as a second-choice consideration to a full-fledged first-class global option. The industry benefited from years of understanding that the capacity to scale is essential. Covid showed up and the ripple effects of that demand – especially in higher-end software engineering – continues to be visible to this day. Evidence of the continuation of Nearshore 3.0 showed up throughout Nexus.

• AI is not about laying the industry to waste. Much of the discussions at Nexus centered on the re-orientation of the roles Nearshore partners need to fill to power the bigger steps coming in the world of Ai. In the “Operationalization of AI’ panel, much of the discussion was around aligning talent with new ‘higher-order’ specialization requirements. Dave Caldwell, a senior IT exec at PetSmart emphasized the need for adaptability, building greater strengths in business logic and system architecture as the Ai evolution takes shape.

• Latin America means more, not less, to the economic future of the United States. Among the many insights shared by Keynote Speaker Eric Farnsworth, for me one of the most important is the fact that the US is putting Latin America higher on the radar in terms of driving economic alliances and ensuring diplomatic stability. In other words, there is now clear signaling coming from Washington that the success of the United States in part hinges on the quality of the partnerships we as a nation have with Latin America.

Of course, the confidence observed at Nexus was also tinged with a healthy amount of pragmatism. Both customers and providers are approaching this new, evolving era with their eyes wide open, wanting to be better positioned to not just survive, but to flourish.

And that observation is what is especially rewarding about hosting a conference that is going strong well into its second decade. Nexus is the only conference fully dedicated to the Nearshore community, and that sense of closeness and trust was apparent everywhere.

For an industry as distributed and diverse as Nearshore is, bringing people together may be a greater logistical challenge, but being Nearshore such challenges are never hard to overcome.

Finally, Nexus 2026 dates were announced at the show: Hope to see you there Oct. 7-8th in Miami next year!