Each model offers its own balance of cost, collaboration, and control. Understanding how they differ can help you build a scalable, high-performing Salesforce delivery model that fits your business needs.
According to Grand View Research, the global outsourcing services market reached USD $3.8 trillion in 2024 and is forecast to hit USD $7.11 trillion by 2030, growing at 11.3% annually.
The market is expanding fast, driven by cost optimization, digital transformation, and rising demand for specialized skills across IT and CRM systems like Salesforce.
The main difference between onshore, nearshore, and offshore outsourcing comes down to geography and how teams collaborate across time zones.
Onshore: Working with partners in the same country.
Nearshore: Partnering with teams in neighboring or similar time zones.
Offshore: Engaging teams in distant regions, often across continents, to access unique skill sets, to serve overseas markets, and/or for cost advantages.
When applied to Salesforce, these models shape how you structure your delivery teams - whether for development, support, or managed services.
Onshore outsourcing remains the top choice for projects that demand tight communication, regulatory alignment, and high accountability.
The onshore outsourcing segment held the largest market share in 2024, driven by organizations prioritizing proximity, shared culture, and compliance.
Onshore vendors typically deliver better communication, fewer time zone challenges, and higher quality control, making them ideal for high-stakes Salesforce programs like enterprise migrations, CPQ implementations, or healthcare data integrations.
The trend toward customer-centric innovation and faster delivery cycles is also fueling onshore demand. Businesses value the ability to collaborate in real time and adapt quickly without the friction that sometimes comes with remote models.
Nearshore outsourcing strikes a balance between cost efficiency and collaboration.
A Salesforce nearshore model is particularly effective for agile projects that need frequent iteration and feedback. Shared working hours make collaboration smoother, and cultural alignment helps bridge communication gaps.
As hybrid work and distributed teams become the norm, nearshore outsourcing is emerging as the preferred middle ground, especially for companies that want to maintain daily interaction without the higher price of onshore delivery.
Offshore outsourcing remains the most cost-effective model and continues to dominate global delivery for Salesforce and broader IT services.
According to Grand View Research, Asia Pacific accounted for over 39% of the total outsourcing market in 2024, led by India, China, and the Philippines.
These regions provide deep technical expertise and large-scale delivery capabilities across development, QA, data migration, and automation.
A Salesforce offshore team can operate 24/7 across time zones, enabling continuous development cycles and faster project turnaround.
For many organizations, this model makes the most sense for cost-sensitive or long-term engagements, like managed services or legacy platform modernization.
That said, the offshore model requires strong communication frameworks and governance to offset time zone gaps and cultural differences.
When comparing offshore vs nearshore outsourcing, the decision often hinges on cost versus collaboration.
Offshore models can reduce total project costs by up to 60% but may require additional communication overhead. Nearshore models offer better alignment for agile teams but at a higher price point.
Many organizations now mix the two, keeping strategy and architecture onshore, nearshore for daily collaboration, and offshore for development or testing.
This hybrid outsourcing structure allows companies to scale efficiently without sacrificing communication quality or control.
With headquarters and delivery teams throughout North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, FortéNext often combines onshore, nearshore, and offshore delivery to optimize Salesforce outcomes.
The following two projects highlight how a hybrid model can deliver cost efficiency, agility, and around-the-clock progress.
A U.S.-based manufacturer partnered with FortéNext to build a self-service portal powered by Salesforce Experience Cloud and automation tools.
The onshore team in the U.S. defined business requirements, user journeys, and security protocols. Nearshore developers in Latin America implemented integrations with the customer’s ERP and payment systems.
Offshore engineers in Eastern Europe managed automation scripting, QA, and performance testing.
The result was a unified platform that improved order visibility, reduced manual intervention by 45%, and delivered 24/7 service capability for the client’s B2B customers.
This project showcased how hybrid delivery can enable continuous progress: while the U.S. team finalized specifications, the nearshore team built features, and the offshore team handled testing overnight.
For Shorr Packaging, FortéNext implemented a Salesforce B2B Commerce portal designed to simplify purchasing for enterprise customers.
Onshore specialists worked directly with Shorr’s internal stakeholders to design a customer-first experience aligned with their sales workflows.
Nearshore teams in Latin America built front-end components and integrated pricing logic. Offshore developers in Eastern Europe handled automation, product data migration, and regression testing.
The project enabled faster quote generation, reduced order errors, and delivered a seamless online purchasing experience for thousands of B2B customers.
The hybrid structure cut total development time by 35% compared with a traditional onshore-only model.
Before deciding between onshore, nearshore, and offshore outsourcing, consider these four questions:
In most cases, the right approach is not one-size-fits-all - it is a combination of the three.
No matter which model you choose, success depends on how well your outsourcing relationship is managed. Based on FortéNext’s experience delivering Salesforce projects across continents, here are key best practices:
Companies that follow these principles tend to see faster deployment cycles, better adoption rates, and fewer post-launch issues.
FortéNext, a certified Salesforce partner based in Boca Raton, Florida, operates across all three delivery models.
With more than 20 years' experience handling B2B Salesforce implementation, FortéNext enables clients to scale teams flexibly, leveraging onshore leadership, nearshore agility, and offshore efficiency.
Our Salesforce outsourcing service spans the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, ensuring that every project has the right mix of expertise, cost balance, and delivery speed.
The global outsourcing market is expanding rapidly, nearly doubling by 2030. For Salesforce teams, the right outsourcing strategy can make the difference between incremental improvement and sustained transformation.
Whether you choose onshore collaboration, nearshore co-development, or offshore scalability, success comes down to fit. The best approach is one that aligns with your business goals, project needs, and pace of innovation.
Outsourcing is no longer about finding the cheapest resource; it is about building the smartest, most flexible Salesforce delivery model for long-term success.