Polish devs: the best value for money in software development outsourcing. Why?
Outsourcing developers is a strategic decision for many CTOs. After all, the choice of a country and a company deeply impacts the quality of projects. For this reason, many IT professionals are outsourcing software development to the CEE region and Poland especially. This fact is worth the attention of tech experts, and we would like to explain the reasons for it in detail.
Why will outsourcing developers become even more popular?
Even in pandemic times, there is high pressure on companies to implement new technologies like AI, RPA, cloud, or microservices. At the same time, businesses face the problem of a continuous talent shortage.
This puts companies into a situation where they need to continue making transformational changes in a more unpredictable environment and with limited resources. This, in turn, leads to increased caution when making decisions.
Greater risks force CTOs like you to look for options of higher value for lower prices. That’s why outsourcing software development is a popular solution.
A recent report on global outsourcing published by Deloitte confirms that.
According to the survey, based on interviews with leading executives, cost reduction once again became the main factor behind outsourcing decisions in 2020. It’s worth mentioning that, compared to the 2018 report, the approach now is a little bit different to when it was moving away from just a cost reduction perspective back then. The idea was to focus on enabling speed to market, faster scaling, improving the user experience, and building a competitive advantage. This may not be surprising, but it sheds new light on current decision-making processes.
The next question is how to find a supplier that will be accountable and knowledgeable enough to not double the cost of outsourcing. According to the same Deloitte report, this is another tough nut to crack for decision-makers.
Why is outsourcing developers to Eastern Europe so attractive?
As you may expect, choosing a reliable supplier starts with deciding which region will be the most attractive from a business perspective.
Most companies begin with the consideration of whether to choose nearshore, offshore, or onshore software development. This is especially important because a given region’s features may more-or-less ensure or rather not the quality of cooperation. In this case, we shouldn’t rely only on our intuition but on data too.
That’s why it’s worth looking at a report prepared by Sourceseek. It focuses on the advantages of Eastern Europe as a place for software development outsourcing. Including Scala development outsourcing.
Let’s look at some interesting facts and conclusions based on that report.
Technical specializations
Eastern Europe, when compared to other regions, has developed a great range of tech specializations. But what’s more interesting is that this region moves toward newer technologies as opposed to focusing on mostly PHP/MySQL or Java. For example, Eastern Europe has relatively many experts in Python. This language provides more compelling opportunities to forward-looking businesses.
It’s also interesting that the Scala language has become popular in some Eastern European countries. Thanks to the LinkedIn profiles of developers, it’s easy to verify the number of programmers who have a specific skill like “Scala”. The numbers show that Poland and Russia in particular are countries where we can find many Scala experts.
Source: LinkedIn
Education rankings
Another impressive fact relates to the education system of a given country. According to the United Nations, Eastern Europe received the highest score in this field, thanks to mature and reliable educational systems being available there.
Additionally, it should be noted that the OECD (Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development) also measures skills such as reading, mathematics, and science. Their survey confirmed that people from Eastern Europe outperformed those from other regions by an average of 11% and 10% in mathematics and science, respectively.
IT ecosystem
If the IT community in a given region is strong, it offers more opportunities for building professional outsourced teams.
But what exactly does a great IT ecosystem consist of? Here are some examples:
- close cooperation between universities and IT companies, e.g. job fairs or recruitment options,
- possibility of meetups and events that enable networking between software professionals, investors and entrepreneurs,
- access to local capital investment in startups.
Eastern Europeans can proudly say that all of these are possible in their region. According to SourceSeek, they achieved the best scores in this category.
7 Reasons why outsourcing software development to Poland can be beneficial
A popular saying in Poland is “Poles can do”. This refers to the fact that Polish people will always find a way to resolve any problems that arise. While this skill is highly valuable in software development, it’s not the only reason why companies from all around the globe decide to cooperate with Poles.
Here is a list of the main reasons behind such decisions:
1. Knowledgeable specialists
Not every country can boast about having as many skilled software developers as Poland. Thanks to data on Stack Overflow, it was possible to count the number of Polish programmers. In 2017, there were over 250,000 and they accounted for 25% of all developers in Central and Eastern Europe. This goes to show what a great selection of programmers and their skills is available in Poland.
However, their skills are not limited to technical knowledge. Poles are also known for their good command of the English language. According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Poles rank as highly proficient English speakers.
2. IT market in Poland is growing
According to the statistics, the IT sector in Poland is responsible for generating 8% of the country’s GDP. The future of this industry also seems to be promising. The annual growth rate of companies from the ICT sector is 10%, and there is nothing to suggest that it will deteriorate.
Based on this,we can assume that, thanks to such development, programmers from Poland can gather sufficient experience in different projects. As a result, companies can hire senior developers from there with solid backgrounds.
3. A great talent pool of IT graduates
In Poland, access to public education is free. This, combined with many technical courses on offer at universities, ensures a constant influx of new graduates on the job market. You will probably ask: “but how many of them study ICT-related subjects?” According to Statista, in the academic year 2019/2020, over 63,000 Poles studied such courses.
This number is impressive in itself, but it should also be noted that most Polish IT students are eager to start their careers much earlier. They gain their first experience while studying, and after graduating they already have practical experience too.
4. Culture similarity
When choosing a country for software development outsourcing, a cultural understanding between the client’s and outsourcing company’s employees is highly important. This may impact communication, which is key to running projects smoothly.
Fortunately, according to a SourceSeek Survey, Poland is regarded as a country with the highest degree of familiarity and proximity to Western Europe and a deep cultural connection with the US. Thanks to that, Polish developers can communicate easily and effectively with clients from the West.
5. Value for money
Polish developers’ skills are recommended all around the world, on forums, and at tech events. Their skills in programming have been also recognized by HackerRank’s ranking of best developers. In this category, Poland was in the top 3.
By working with them, you will have access to high-quality programming for a fraction of the cost you would pay in the West. Hourly rates are still comparatively advantageous for companies from the US, UK, or Germany.
6. Startup hubs
The startup scene in Poland has developed in recent years. The top startup cities have become: Warsaw, Cracow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk, and Gdynia.
What’s more interesting is that the PARP (Polish Agency of Development and Entrepreneurship) reported that more than 50% of start-ups are established in the ICT sector. These numbers simply confirm that Polish people have even more opportunities to develop their skills in the ICT sector.
7. Data protection
Poland, as a member of the European Union, is obliged to follow GDPR rules. Thanks to that, we can safely assume that a company’s data is safe there, and outsourced projects will be compliant with the latest directives.
How to find outsourcing software development companies from Poland?
Today, finding a software supplier is easier than ever. You simply need to visit the Clutch.co page. Thanks to advanced profiles of companies presenting their portfolios, specializations, hourly rates, and clients’ reviews, you will have access to a great set of information. Based on this you can create a shortlist of companies you want to contact and meet.
Recap: Outsourcing developers
After reading this material, you now know the reasons why Polish developers have become leaders in software outsourcing. As you can see, it’s not all about the money but also the other business opportunities this location brings. Added to that experience of programmers and a continuous influx of new graduates, it’s the perfect place to plan long-term cooperations with outsourcing companies.
In light of the growing talent shortage in tech roles, it’s wise to choose a reliable partner for software outsourcing from well-tested regions. This will ensure the continuity of your business and the implementation of the newest technologies, even with limited resources.
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Authors
Tomasz Bogus, Head of Business at Scalac. Tech entrepreneur, startup co-founder. For over 15 years, he’s worked with more than 2000 successful companies helped them achieve faster growth by embracing the newest IT technologies.
