Dedicated team | 3 minutes min read
What should you know before outsourcing software development to Belarus? Overview of Belarus as an Outsourcing Destination.
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In this article, we want to express our vision on software development outsourcing to the Republic of Belarus.
Belarusians mostly speak one language — Russian. There’s also Belarusian language but it’s not so popular. As for Belarusian developers the level of their English is upper-intermediate or advanced in the IT industry where it is almost a mandatory requirement and especially in Minsk. This is the main city associated with outsourcing software development in Belarus.
As of 2019, 54,200 IT specialists and about 1,500 IT companies work in Belarus. Belarusian IT companies have clients in more than 50 countries, about 45% of them from the USA and Canada and 30% from Europe. Total revenue from production and sales of the IT sector in 2018 amounted to 3.1 billion dollars. In 2018, IT accounted for 5.7% of Belarus ' GDP, which is comparable to agriculture and forestry (6.4%), construction (5.4%) and transport (5.8%). By 2022, the share of information technology in GDP will increase to 10%. In 2018, it Accounted for 2.2% of all employment, and the sector created 14.5% of the total number of new jobs in the country.
The Belarusian IT sector consists of 60.5% outsourcing companies and 39.5% product developers (2018). A giant of Belarusian outsourcing, EPAM Systems-Effective Programming for America-is a leading global provider of digital platform and software development services. EPAM has branches in North America, Europe, and Asia and is listed as one of Fortune's 100 fastest-growing companies for 2019. International giants such as Google and Yandex, also have development centers in Belarus.
Local product companies, such as Wargaming, have also improved Belarus ' reputation in global IT circles. Wargaming, created in Belarus, has developed World of Tanks – one of the most popular and profitable games in the world. Viber, a popular messaging app, was developed in Belarus and reached one billion users in 2018. The Belarusian selfie app MSQRD with its own facial recognition technology was purchased by Facebook in 2016.
Eastern European companies are becoming increasingly attractive to many businesses in terms of offshore software development. With over 50 000+ software development professionals available, Belarus is one of many Eastern European nations becoming popular as an offshore/nearshore location among Western countries.
In terms of the personalities of people who work in the IT sector, we would say they are very friendly.
Another thing about negotiating with Belarusians is that they are more upfront with pricing and setting other project expectations, than their Indian counterparts for example. Many Belarusian software development companies report receiving requests from clients who have moved on after a less than ideal experience with development firms from the sub-continent.
Belorusian development firms typically are more focused on establishing long-term relationships instead of trying to make a quick buck. There are countless examples of large companies which outsource software development to Belarus for long periods, some for more than a decade. So overall Belarusians in technology are honest and trustworthy.
Belarusian developers, especially in the west of the country are increasingly interested and engaged in what is happening in developed countries. Many of them travel into Central and Western Europe to go on holidays or to attend Tech Conferences.
They often travel to the US as well, because 80% of clients outsourcing IT work to Belarus are from the US. Many of the outsourcing companies are incorporated, have Sales Offices and client relationship officers in countries like the US or the UK, so if there are issues on your project you can meet them in person to work out a resolution.
Belarusian developers have quickly become more open-minded, their communication skills and social competencies are, on average, not quite as well developed as some of their Western counterparts. At the same time, developers in Belarus are aware of the limits of their abilities and are able to communicate and manage expectations during negotiations.
Belarusian developers do not just accept and follow stereotypes, they question what’s on the media and tend to apply critical thinking, which is a very important characteristic to look for when selecting effective team members to extend your development team.
Belarusian developers have a very strong skill set, both in technology and problem-solving. They are tech savvy and up to date with recent innovations. Still compared to the neighboring countries Belarus offers more competitive outsourcing rates.
In the terms of communication and strategic thinking, Belarusians don’t quite match their Western counterparts, but in most cases, their skill levels are adequate for the job at hand and if you need to hire more advanced staff, they can be sourced relatively easily from within Belarus.
With regard to the pricing, Belarus offers intermediate prices of $25-$49/hour for its software developers in comparison to the engineers from other eastern European countries. The highest rates are in Poland– $50-$99/hour, which are still lower than in Western Europe, but way higher compared to Moldova which offers $20-$24/hour for outsourcing software developers.
The average hourly rate at UNL Solutions varies from $30/hour if you want to hire a developer with 3-4 years of experience to $46/hour if you decide to go for an engineer with 7+ years of relevant background. All of the developers are thoroughly recruited before being included in our dedicated team, so you don’t have to worry about the quality of the expertise of their tech staff.
We at Unl Solutions make it easy and safe to find a perfectly matching team of engineers for any type of your project.