Russian Technical Power

At present in Russia and other CEE countries the growth of IT is quite impressive. According to some estimates the volume of Russian IT market in 2007 was between 11,9 and 17,6 billion dollars (source: CNews). And there are still opportunities for further growth as together with the government support Russia has a chance to become Global leader in the sphere of innovative hi-tech. That was forecast at the forum devoted to the Technological cooperation between USA and rapidly growing markets of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) – "Russia, India and China – Our Partners in the New Global Economy" which took place in Boston.

Implementation of the government program of Technoparks development, the “Innovative Code of Laws" which is aimed at stimulating innovations, as well as creation of laws on copyright protection are some of the initiatives of the Russian legislative and executive branches which were highlighted at the forum. Besides, during the meetings with the representatives of the Massachusetts business community the start of Russian-American cooperation upon creating a new Technology University in Russia was discussed.

If at least 30% of the planned initiatives were implemented, Russia would have undisputable chances to become a global technology leader.

Source: Outsourcing-Russia

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Central and Eastern European IT Outsourcing Market Hits $3bln

According to the latest research, IT outsourcing market volume of CEE region hit $3 billion mark in 2007.

A number of IT associations and largest IT companies from 16 countries of the region were involved in the survey conducted in August 2007 - February 2008 by the Ukrainian Hi-Tech Initiative with the support of ITONews.eu news portal, Baltic Outsourcing Association (Lithuania), JNN Consult Ltd (Bulgaria) and Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry (Romania).

Now let’s take a closer look:
Among 16 examined countries, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic occupied the leading positions in terms of market volume. These countries stand out for the scope of final IT products produced and delivered.

Ukraine, Romania, Belarus, Poland and Bulgaria took the lead in the number of IT companies. Central and Eastern European region now witnesses a thriving period when companies undergo intensive business development and experience both organic and non-organic growth. The interest to the region, thanks to its enormous ITO potential, is unlikely to fade yet another decade, analysts say. It attracts new clients by outstanding technical competencies and high professionalism of the experts, lower labor cost, and friendly legislation as well as by geographical vicinity and excellent nearshoring opportunities for customers based in Western Europe.

When calculating the number of IT professionals involved into IT services and software outsourcing, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria are singled out by the survey as having the greatest human resource pool.

Attempts were made to calculate also minimum and maximum annual cost per service of one IT professional for the end customer in each of the countries. The most "expensive" ones include Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Estonia.

Main indicators of IT Outsourcing industry development (market volume, number of ITO providers, number of IT professionals, cost of one professional for the end customer) take Central and Eastern Europe to the level of such global outsourcing centers as India, China, and Russia.

Source: ITONews.eu

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