Eastern European Countries – Leaders in IT Outsourcing

The acronym SSSR (CCCP) stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soyuz Sovietskich Socialističeskich Respublik or Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) which consisted of various countries in Eastern Europe. What do some of these countries that belonged to this “block” or that were “satellite states” have in common, other than geographic location?

You could answer this in many different ways:

• sharing very difficult languages, both in terms of reading and in terms of pronunciation.
• sharing a very conflicted history, from the Yugoslavian war to the long, sad war between Russia and Ukraine that has affected all Eastern nations.

However, there is another, less known characteristic that links Russia, Poland, and Ukraine: they excel in the IT sector. Starting in school, children are encouraged to master computers, and many become those that we call web developers, project managers, systems architects or software analysts and developers. Many of them probably imagine a world where IT contributes to solving the problems of our future and where the knowledge of sector experts has a positive effect on the evolution of the profession.

Competing for IT Talents Globally

This is the vision of the World Business Association, dedicated to teachers and scientists in the IT sector. This is the vision of The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The association has more than 100.000 members, making it the biggest institution in the field. Every year the company sponsors ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest), an event that claims to be the biggest and most prestigious global programming competition dedicated to university students in IT. The competition is keenly followed by industry experts. Over two thousand universities line up future IT geniuses that the international IT sector waits with open arms. For about 20 years, from 1977 when the competition started up to 1997, the prizes for this competition were monopolized by the United States. It is no surprise since the US is home to IBM, the official sponsor of the event. Additionally, many other IT giants such as Apple, HP, Microsoft and Google originate from the US.

Eastern European Teams Leading in International Programming Contest

Most people reading this article have probably bought some software from these companies before. However, after 1997 the compass of winners spins over to the Orient and the East, with China and Russia being first and second. Both Canada and Poland won honorable mentions on two separate occasions. Russia has won every competition since 2012, and other Eastern countries dominated the most recent competition in 2016. The eight Eastern European teams – five Russian, two Polish and one Ukrainian – placed among the TOP 12.

Europe’s Capital of Outsourcing: Krakow

The results of this competition reflect the globalization of the IT market and the new direction of outsourcing IT projects. Many IT companies have decided to relocate their IT processes to these countries, particularly to Poland. Being the gem of this country, Krakow is considered the European capital of outsourcing as well as the ninth best city in the world, according to research by the American company Tholons (2016). The capital Warsaw places among the TOP 25, while Wroclaw occupies rank 58. The GDP in Lesser Poland, where Krakow is located, has doubled in the last ten years thanks to outsourcing and European funds.

The next time that you turn on an application on your smartphone, consider that the app might have been developed in an Eastern European country instead of the USA. As Marshall McLuhan said:

“Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system itself in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned.” This is one of the reasons for ITSELECTA offers BPO and why we have chosen Poland and Ukraine for places to source suitable companies and IT professionals that best fit the required skills and your business needs. Contact us now to discuss your next project with our BPO experts!

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