Bulgarian IT Industry: An Overview

The IT exports from Eastern Europe are soaring. Statista indicates the IT-outsourcing market in Europe is on the rise: From $95 billion in 2018 to $110 billion in 2022. Essentially, it means software development services exports in Eastern Europe experience a 5% growth per year. There are several IT hubs in Eastern Europe contributing to the progress. Bulgaria is at the forefront of the outsourcing boom in the area. Further, we offer an overview of the Bulgarian IT industry, pointing out its key constituents. 

Outsourcing in Bulgaria: Key numbers 

Looking at the numbers offered by the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies, in 2020, the segment presented a 10% increase in revenues. Most strikingly, the growth occurs while the nation’s GDP has fallen 5% during the same year. There are more than 60 various software brands existing on the market. The sector is seeing an annual increase in employees, counting in tens of thousands of experts. Keeping all this in mind, the Bulgarian IT industry is growing. And the fact that multinational giants like Microsoft, Oracle, and HP have offices in the country supports that statement and shows outsourcing to Bulgaria and Eastern Europe is a correct choice. 

Business environment 

Even though the nation struggles with its economy, the investment in IT exports proved to be a beneficial decision for the Bulgarian government. The country follows the path of creating attractive conditions for global companies to enter the market. That is why various multinational businesses are prone to open their offices in Bulgaria as well as willing to fully employ the nation’s outsourcing capabilities. Outsourcing in Bulgaria is a key part of its IT services. Besides, with the nation continuously improving its business climate, one can expect the country’s IT industry to continue growing.

Bulgaria has been so successful in creating an attractive business environment that in 2015 the United Kingdom’s National Outsourcing Association suggested the nation be the “Offshoring Destination of the Year.” Receiving such an accolade speaks volumes about where outsourcing in Bulgaria is heading. With its growing IT industry and developing business climate, the country receives a massive budget input and paves the way for global businesses to recognize the nation as an outsourcing and investment haven. In addition, on a worldwide scale, outsourcing to Bulgaria and Eastern Europe, in general, proves to be more beneficial than outsourcing to Asia. 

IT technologies and innovation

The best indication that a particular industry experiences massive development is practically applying its technologies and innovation. The industry of IT outsourcing in Bulgaria works with several segments correlating to its technological development:

• Big data
• Cloud computing
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Cybersecurity
• Intelligent transportation
• Smart city technologies

These are among a few sections and subsections currently developing and applied within the Bulgarian IT industry. It shows that the nation outsources its IT services and ensures new technologies are integrated within the country’s infrastructure to make Bulgaria a prosperous country. For instance, major cybersecurity projects are developed to help protect major government agencies. Also, there is a national e-health system and e-identification project bringing automation to respective industries. In addition, when it comes to technologies used by the community of Bulgarian developers, JavaScript and C# are the most common programming languages. 

Access to talent pools

As mentioned above, tens of thousands of people are entering the Bulgarian IT industry annually. The current numbers suggest more than 41,000 individuals were employed across the nation’s IT outsourcing industry in Bulgaria in 2021 alone. Within the eyes of global companies looking for an outsourcing destination, Bulgaria is considered to be a source of reputable and inexpensive IT professionals. Currently, about 100,000 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts are working in the Bulgarian IT industry in general. More importantly, about 30% of the professionals are employed in IT outsourcing in Bulgaria. 

On average a qualified professional employed in the Bulgarian IT industry earns up to $20,00 per year. While it might not sound like much for Western European or American developers, the numbers are three times higher than the average wages earned by an ordinary Bulgarian citizen. It appears that the nation has a massive outsourcing talent pool that offers high-quality IT services for reasonable prices. Bulgaria has enough IT professionals to cover the needs of any company looking to outsource its IT projects. 

A wealth of IT companies 

The industry of IT outsourcing in Bulgaria harbors more than 200 hundred software development firms. In their majority, those companies are not huge ones, with a dozen of them having around 500 employees on average. The businesses work with different domains, especially healthcare, education, and banking. Notably, Bulgarian IT companies pay particular attention to complying with existing rules and regulations. For instance, the Bulgarian IT industry puts a massive emphasis on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ensure the integration of sufficient data protection measures. 

Many Bulgarian outsourcing companies offer services to thousands of clients among which are the biggest names on the global scale. All those companies operate in four major tech hubs in Bulgaria, with Sofia being the largest. The capital houses about 70% of all IT professionals employed in the Bulgarian IT industry. 

Concluding remarks

Bulgaria is a growing tech hub in Eastern Europe. The Bulgarian IT industry keeps up with the latest technological trends and innovations within the software development market. Bulgaria offers an attractive business climate, which attracts investment and outsourcing. The mixture of access to a great talent pool, reasonable prices, and high-quality output make Bulgaria an attractive destination for IT outsourcing. 

Depending on the business needs of your company, there is a high chance you can find an excellent IT outsourcing provider in Bulgaria. 

Contact us if your goal is to build a team of Bulgarian (or Eastern European) developers.