Outsourcing IT Key Reasons for Outsourcing IT to Bulgaria

The fast pace of technology developments combined with the current challenging global circumstances lead to a complete change in the way businesses operate. In line with that, it is worth exploring a partnership with a technology provider who can get you quickly up to speed while taking into consideration your goals. One of the things to consider before selecting a partner is the destination to which you want to outsource your IT services. In this blog post, we will look at the factors that define the best sourcing location, and why it is worth outsourcing IT to Bulgaria. The country’s skilled IT experts and engineering professionals, cultural proximity to Western Europe and fluency in multiple languages guarantee that you can focus on your innovation projects without exhausting your whole budget. There are even more benefits that can assure one excellent outsourcing partnership. Just keep on reading.

WHY IT OUTSOURCING IS FOR YOU?

According to research by BusinessWire for the state of the global IT Outsourcing industry (2020–2027), its value is expected to reach the amount of $410 billion by 2027. The world pandemic proved not only that the sector is quite resilient to changing circumstances of a global scale, but also that it is quick to adapt to business needs for mass digitalization and modernization of processes and frameworks. It is not difficult to identify all of the benefits of outsourcing your software development or other services. The right sourcing partner can support your business in becoming more flexible to scale solutions as needed. In addition, outsourcing helps you reduce recruitment time by tapping into an international talent pool of highly skilled and experienced software developers. Lastly, it can help you reduce costs by finding a location with a lower cost of talent or provided government help.

READ OUR FREE WHITEPAPER TO LEARN HOW TO SELECT THE BEST SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT OUTSOURCING PARTNER

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST IT OUTSOURCING DESTINATION FOR YOU?

When deciding to outsource, you first need to look at the macro factors such as political and economic conditions and their influence over certain regions offering outsourcing services. Where should you start? Here are several pointers that can help you out:

• Get to know the outsourcing growth areas, a.k.a regions in which it is invested heavily in the development of skilled professionals. Such is Europe, identified with good rates and qualified developers;
• Confirm that the region is internationally recognizable for the quality of delivered software solutions for the outsourcing models of interest to you. In case you are looking to outsource ITO and SaaS services, both America and EMEA are desirable options. If it is IaaS you want and it involves cloud services such as Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, then you can consider EMEA or Asia-Pacific;
• Identify the country’s tech proficiency rank — that helps you decide how good your partners are in custom development with particular technology frameworks. You can use as a reference for your research Coursera’s Global Skills Index which ranks the total skills in the most prominent technologies for the last 12 months.
• Check the ranked development partners by country and by location — Clutch, Toptal, and Aciety can be your tech fellows here.

Need more reasons to select a sourcing country? Below, we share with you the “why” factors for outsourcing your IT services to Bulgaria.

WHY IS OUTSOURCING IT TO BULGARIA WORTH YOUR TIME AND DIME?

Outsourcing software development to Eastern Europe is a decision preferred by the majority of leading businesses around the world. According to research from Clutch, there are over 2500 IT outsourcing companies in Eastern Europe with a tech talent pool of 1,3M developers. It does not come as a surprise then that big tech giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and IBM have decided to open branches in the region.

Several leading international rankings point that Bulgaria’s IT Outsourcing market is proliferating. According to AT Kearney’s 2019 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) Bulgaria takes 17th place in the world, based on factors such as financial attractiveness, people skills, and availability, as well as business environment and digital resonance. Bulgaria may be way smaller than its Asian counterparts or any of the surrounding outsourcing locations, but it challenges their scale with skills. It has traditions in Computer Science with the first International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) being held in the country back in 1989. Furthermore, it tops the rankings in International Olympiads in Mathematics (IOM), IOI, and others, way ahead of more developed countries such as UK and Germany for example.

In AIBEST’s annual Report 2020, the sourcing market contributed EUR 2.9 bln to Bulgaria’s real GDP in 2019. What is more, the industry’s growth is faster than the national economy and by 2022 its value is forecasted to expand to EUR 4.7 billion and its share of the economy to 8.9%. The industry’s operating value also continues to grow exponentially as a consequence of accelerating transition towards more complicated solutions, “knowledge-intense and value-added activities”. As an example, the new EuroHPC supercomputer was assembled and launched at Bulgaria’s Sofia Tech Park in the last months. It will increase considerably the computing power in Bulgaria and Europe. It is expected to be the most powerful in Eastern Europe and to support researchers, industry, and public users in the development of optimized solutions to complex issues from the health, energy, agriculture, material design, and other sectors.

Bulgaria has become one of the top software development outsourcing services destinations in Europe. This is majorly due to its skilled professionals that continue to deliver quality innovative solutions and to exceed business expectations as indicated in many rankings.

THE QUALITY OF THE BULGARIAN TECH TALENT

Not by accident, Bulgaria is named the “European Silicon Valley”. More than 5,000 students major and graduate with a degree in ICT in over 38 academic institutions across Bulgaria. National data shows that during the last five years, more than 10,800 Bulgarian students graduated in computer science, software development, mathematics, and statistics. Specially developed academies such as Telerik and SoftUni support the fast-tracked but quality education of future developers in full-stack, back-end, front-end, and quality testing tracks. Furthermore, in 2019 AIBEST worked in collaboration with Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” to launch a master’s program in sourcing. It is an effort to meet the business needs of the outsourcing industry in Bulgaria.

Nowadays, apart from learning to speak a second and third language, many young people in high school gain proficiency in several programming languages and frameworks. According to national statistics, 220 high schools offer Information and communications technology curricula combined with high-quality English language courses. There are whole high schools dedicated to ICT education. They, together with the technical academies work in close collaboration with different foreign and Bulgarian IT services companies to provide quality internships or first workplaces for graduates. All these parameters indicate that Bulgaria can deliver on its promise for an agile, highly-skilled, and qualified IT workforce.

Imagine having them as an extension or a part of your team. What do you think? Here is what our clients say on the matter:

We have developed a very professional working relationship with Accedia over the years and they continue to offer technical consultancy and apply best practices across both our development and operational environments. Their dedicated support and engineering skills have led to improved performance and scalability to serve our expanding user base.

Brad Eliot, Group CIO, MultiChoice Group
Africa’s leading video entertainment company

Other factors that help it get to the top of the list involve both macroeconomic and industry-specific characteristics, such as:

LOCATION

The country’s strategic position has been an advantage since the past. Being located close to Central and Western Europe, as well as the quickly evolving Middle East, makes it a strategic choice for foreign investors planning to outsource their software development. Its location also assures minimal differences in cultural views and work ethics. Being a 2-hour flight away from anywhere within Europe is certainly helpful, but benefits in fact spread globally — Bulgarian IT outsourcing companies have proven success rate in delivering quality services to US organizations, making the country a top choice for lots of them.

BULGARIAN IT INFRASTRUCTURE

According to the Netindex Internet coverage and speed index, Bulgaria is in 11th place in the world for mobile speed. Since 2010, the country has started to heavily invest in IT and tech hubs in strategic locations around the country. Such is the Sofia Tech Park, funded in full by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Economic. Existing since 2016, it is one of the most modern in the country and is usually the location for significant science and tech fairs and events. Apart from that, the major investments of tech giants such as IBM and Microsoft are drawing prominent tech speakers to IT and technology events.

LOWER COST OF DOING BUSINESS

The Bulgarian Lev, the country’s national currency, is pegged to the EURO which makes it a reliable destination for outsourcing. This factor is also applicable for US companies, as the rates of doing business in America still stay much higher than those across the EU and Asia. According to Indeed, the average base salary in the US for 2020 was $127K. At the same time, Payscale indicates that the average salary for a software developer in Bulgaria ranges from $25K (junior developers) to $75K (senior developers) per year.

LOW TURNOVER RATE

Bulgarian development companies are popular with their perseverance, dedication, and willingness to surpass client’s expectations. This consequently results in a higher retention rate with businesses extending professional relations with outsourcing partners and even entrusting them with bigger and more complex projects.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bulgaria ranks ahead of the rest of the SEE countries in terms of competitiveness, innovation, and globalization. The stable business environment, outsourcing associations support, and economic freedom are still key factors for outsourcing IT to Bulgaria. Not only that, but the business gets to tap into a talent pool of highly skilled software developers with a proven success record of delivering quality solutions.

It is a difficult process to choose both the best sourcing location and the best service provider, but the gains, in the end, are worth all the research. Are you still having doubts about whether to outsource IT services to Bulgaria?

BOOK A FREE TAILORED IT OUTSOURCING STRATEGY DISCUSSION WITH OUR BUSINESS EXPERTS!

This article was originally published on accedia.com.