7 reasons for IT Outsourcing to Serbia

IT Outsourcing to Serbia. It doesn’t seem like something tempting, but in the last few years, Serbia has become one of the countries that many companies turn to for IT outsourcing.

There are a number of reasons for this, but here we will list 7 that are the most important:

• Great education base and English language proficiency
• Best value for money
• Western business approach
• Licensed professional and wide range of IT services
• Location and favorable time zone
• A fast-growing IT industry and a large number of MNC
• Good legislation combined economic stability and safety

So, let’s start explaining one by one. 

English is the key

In today's business world, knowledge of the English language is very important.

All international agreements are written in English. Most terms and expressions are in English.

That is why it is vital that your next partner is a company whose employees have excellent knowledge of English.

In Serbia, English is taught from the first grade of primary school and continues until college. This means that those who graduated from college in Serbia have 16 years of learning English behind them.

Serbia is a country of rich culture and scientific heritage. Great world minds like Nikola Tesla, Mileva Maric Einstein, Milutin Milankovic and Mihajlo Pupin were Serbs.

With such a rich history of great minds, it is no wonder that many Serbs are turning to science. 

Software engineering has a special place here. Serbia currently has over 3,000 software development companies and over 40,000 developers.

Taking into account the population of just over 6 million, this places Serbia at the very top of the countries with the largest number of developers per capita. 

Programming and the basics of computer science are learned from elementary school as well.

With a lot of technical and computer faculties and IT academies, Serbia gets a huge number of new programmers and developers every year.

The ones who benefit the most from this are IT companies operating in Serbia and foreign companies that want to outsource the software development process.

So, Serbia is a country with a large number of excellent developers who happen to have have a perfect knowledge of the English language. Pretty convenient, right?

This is just one of the many reasons why Serbia is the first pick. We will list the others below.

Best price to quality ratio 

The main motive of most global companies is to reduce their costs.

One of the ways to do that is outsourcing processes that someone else will do better and at a much lower price. 

When it comes to outsourcing software development, companies choose countries that have exceptional and skilled developers combined with low prices for providing these services.

In Serbia, developers and software companies pay a flat tax that is significantly lower than the classic income tax. This enables Serbia and its developers to be competitive on the market.

Average hourly rate of a junior software developer in Serbia is around €6. Senior software developers’ hourly rate is €16.

By comparison, the average hourly rate of developers in America is almost €40. In Western Europe, that figure is not below €30. In Eastern European countries such as Russia and Ukraine, the price ranges between €20 and €30.

It is evident that a company can save a lot of money if it is doing IT outsourcing to Serbia.

But what about quality?

There may be concerns among some companies, that want to outsource, about the quality of software development product.

As we mentioned above, Serbian developers are extremely skilled and highly ranked in the world of software engineering.

They work on the largest projects in the field of software development and their work speaks for them.

Serbia is ranked in the top 5 countries in the world in terms of price to quality ratio for software development. So, there is no need to worry about quality.

With IT outsourcing to Serbia, you will get the highest level of quality with the lowest prices on the market. Attractive, isn't it?

Doing business in Western style

Even when it was a socialist republic, Serbia nurtured a Western style of doing business.

It was known in the world as the only communist country with an open economy and which maintained relations with both the Eastern and Western block.

That Western approach to doing business has remained the same today, when Serbia is a democratic country that aspires to join the European Union.

Serbia shares all European values like honesty, modesty, hard work, education and open minded approach to problems.

This helps Serbian developers to easily communicate with representatives of companies from all over the world.

In addition to English, Serbs often speak French, German, Italian and Russian, which further helps in communication and making an impression.

There is no language barrier and only sharing the same Western values, way of life and business approach is present.

So, it is very easy for companies to contract jobs and cooperate with Serbian software development companies and developers.

Although India and the Philippines are similar in terms of price and quality, they do not possess a Western style of doing business. That is Serbia's main advantage over them.

Thousands of professionals with internationally recognized diplomas

Software engineering is very popular in Serbia. Over 40,000 developers perform work every day for both domestic and foreign markets.

In fact, 75% of them work for the needs of foreign companies.

This is because most of them have diplomas that are internationally recognized.

Therefore, it is easier for foreign companies to hire them knowing that these developers have the necessary knowledge and skills that are guaranteed by these diplomas.

Thanks to these diplomas, a trust is immediately established.

Everything else is taken care of by developers who use their communication skills to arrange the work and further strengthen the original trust.

Serbian developers have extensive knowledge in a wide range of IT services. It is because their education is comprehensive and touches on various spheres both in the IT world and in general.

And most importantly, they are always eager for personal advancement. Their developers are keeping up with the times and technology.

They know that the key to personal success depends on how fast you keep up with world standards. That is why they are often present at global IT conferences and lectures.

Thanks to that, Serbia and its developers remained relevant and competitive on the IT market.

Location, location, location…

This term can often be heard in the business world. Its importance is not without reason.

Location plays a key role in companies deciding where and with whom to do business with.

Although software development can be done remotely, physical presence is very important. Representatives of the company that hires software developers will want to get to know them in person.

If a European company hires Serbian developers, its representatives will not need more than 2 hours to fly to Serbia and meet the team.

Also, Serbia is located on the Balkan Peninsula, so it is equally accessible to the east and west.

Another benefit is certainly the favorable time zone. Serbia uses Central European Time (CET) which means that they are 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Serbia shares this time zone with countries such as Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco and other European countries.

European companies that hire developers from Serbia do not have to worry about arranging a meeting and calculating the time that is suitable for calls or something similar.

As for companies or organizations coming from the Middle East or the United Arab Emirates, there are no big problems here either, because the time difference is between 2 and 3 hours.

Hence, it is very easy to arrange meetings, video calls or visits with them.

An IT industry that is growing very fast

IT business makes up a solid share of Serbia's GDP. In the last few years, that share has increased by more than 300% compared to the beginning of this decade.

Of all IT services, outsourcing contributes the most to this growth. Currently, IT outsourcing makes up 6 percent of Serbian GDP.

There is no doubt that this trend will continue in the years to come. Therefore, it can be said that Serbia is going to be part of the leading countries in providing software development services.

Such thing was recognized by the big global multinational companies that decided to move their business to Serbia.

Some large IT companies have chosen the Serbian capital Belgrade as their main regional headquarters. Those are companies such as Microsoft, Ubisoft, Sitel, and many others.

The great growth of founding startups in Serbia is also noticeable. Every year their number increases and this is mostly because the legal regulations for startups are very favorable and convenient.

Economic stability and the rule of law

Like most former socialist countries, Serbia has had a difficult past.

The rule of law was at a very low level, and economic stability and security were shaken by frequent wars, inflation and poor foreign policy.

After the establishment of democracy, changes have occurred in both the political and economic environment.

Serbia is now in final negotiations for membership in the European Union. This and the fact that Serbia records the highest economic growth in Europe, make Serbia a very attractive place to invest and to outsource.

This country now enjoys a very stable economy which is great for outsourcing projects because it ensures their safety.

The client would rather choose developers from a country with excellent growth and a stable economy than the ones coming from a country that struggles with various internal problems and an unstable economy.

Even though the country still hasn’t formally entered the European Union, the legislation is for the most part in accordance with EU laws.

Those who choose IT outsourcing to Serbia need not worry about the safety of their data. They are all as protected by the local laws as they would be in any Western European country.

Conclusion

Serbia is a small country with a very rich history and culture. Due to various political situations, it was not always presented in the best way in the world media. And it is a little unfairly neglected by those same media.

In the last 15 years, that picture has been slowly changing.

The great patriot, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, influences the positive image of Serbia in the whole world. Serbian scientists, artists and other public figures are also helping.

Serbian IT experts and software engineers can be added to this group, because due to their dedicated work and great knowledge, they have contributed to Serbia being a frequent choice of companies when it comes to outsourcing.

IT outsourcing to Serbia provides a lot of opportunities for a business to thrive and grow. Thanks to its competitive prices and high quality, every company is more likely to scale up.

Even if there are worries about outsourcing to a foreign country, it is quite clear that Serbia has everything it takes for those worries to disappear.

We have listed the most important reasons why Serbia is an ideal place for outsourcing.

If you need these services, or want a team of software engineers dedicated only to you and your business goals, then you can consider Code Bears.

Code Bears is a Serbian software development company with a main focus on creating web and mobile apps, and e-commerce solutions. Their

What are you waiting for, contact us and allow your business to flourish and reach new heights.