Depending on where you look for software development services, whether it’s in the same country, the same continent, or overseas, the models can be further divided into onshore, offshore, and nearshore.
Shortage of Software Developers
The demand for software developers is real and it keeps on growing. The shortage is actually one of the trends for software development outsourcing in 2021. It’s kind of an action-reaction type of situation where the market keeps on expanding and growing along with a need for experienced developers that becomes more and more present.
What’s worth mentioning is that the need for skilled software developers in the United States is expected to grow by 22% in the years to come. It’s the largest growth out of all occupations.
Software Development Outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe
Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Romania – these are the four countries that slowly climb the mountain of software outsourcing. Even though they still can’t be compared to the outsourcing giants like China or India, they are a force to be reckoned with. More and more companies decide to hire development teams from these countries, as they are both highly-educated and skilled workers.
Poland as an Outsourcing Hub in Europe
Over the years, Poland underwent a digital transformation. The entire country wasn’t really affected by the 2008 economic crisis, instead, it developed at a fast pace and became an IT hub with almost 50 thousand software companies. Poland is home to a lot of software development companies, which means that you should pay extra attention when choosing the best company to suit your needs.
According to Clutch, there are over 800 software development companies in Poland. That’s plenty of competition and a lot of software houses to choose from. What’s more, over 60 thousand students studied subjects from the ICT sector in the academic year 2019/2020.
That fact makes Poland one of the most interesting countries when it comes to software development in Central and Eastern Europe as it’s full of outsourcing companies with experienced and educated developers.
If you find yourself wondering about which cities in Poland have the most software companies, let us give you a little list of cities with the highest number of them:
Reasons to Outsource Software Development to Poland
There are various reasons why you should choose a Polish software development company and why it would be a great idea, so let’s take a closer look at them!
Very Good Command of English
According to the English Proficiency Index, Poland ranks 16th out of 100 measured countries and is on the 14th place in Europe when it comes to English language skills, which is a great score considering the number of countries in the world.
Knowledge of the English language can surely influence the decision of choosing the proper software development company. As you can read in this paragraph and see in the image above, Poland is definitely a place worth considering.
Although non-native, Polish IT employees have a high level of English language. Communication becomes much easier as the language barrier is almost non-existent. What’s more, Polish developers are experienced in working with foreign clients, like Nokia, PepsiCo, MasterCard, and many more. It doesn’t come as a surprise though, as the English language is spoken by 40% of the Polish population.
High Level of Education
There is plenty of human capital in Poland when it comes to the IT sector. As a matter of fact, software developers in Poland are highly-educated individuals with mobile app development and software engineering skills. Sometimes they use an online video platform to learn faster and more effectively. To prove the point, Poland can be found on the podium of the best programmers globally, which resides on the third place out of all the countries in the world!
Additionally, the prospects are that this factor will only grow as the Polish ICT/IT sector in 2018 employed over 430 thousand people and was responsible for 8% of the country’s GDP.
Not only that, Poland’s software outsourcing market is projected to reach $2,311.72 million USD revenue in 2021.
Culture Similarity
Hiring a dedicated team of software developers from either India or China could potentially be a faster and easier process, though these countries hail from an entirely different cultural background. Choosing Poland can not only spare you the time and effort of trying to understand the work culture and culture in general of the mentioned countries. It also gets rid of the language barrier, as most Polish people speak English nowadays.
Work ethics in Poland are similar to those from Western countries, therefore they rule out any potential problems with how things should be conducted, etc.
Work Ethics
It’s safe to assume that software developers in Poland will do anything they possibly can to deliver the best product. From dissecting the problem, through analyzing it from various perspectives and approaches to coming up with clever solutions.
Poland has also made it to the list of countries that never give up. Polish developers landed in third place, just after Switzerland and Hungary. It’s quite a score, don’t you think?
Location
Even though Poland is located in the very heart of Europe, many people allocate it in Eastern Europe to this day. To clarify things up, Poland is a country in Central Europe with a GMT+2 time zone.
These days, you can commute to Poland directly from every country in the Old Continent within a matter of hours. Not only that, you can also fly to Poland from the US directly, whether it’s California or New York!
Of course, time zones can be a huge factor when it comes to communication with development teams, but a thought-through schedule can almost entirely wipe out potential problems. All these facts make Poland a perfect place for looking for a custom software development company.
Lower Costs
Compared to countries from Western Europe, the Polish hourly rate for a single team member is very tempting, as its average is just $60 per hour. Taking into account the fact that Polish software developers are among the best in the world and the mentioned hourly rate, we can safely assume that when it comes to software development, Poland is one of the best places for that.
One of the Best Countries to Invest in
According to CEOWorld’s 2020 report, Poland is the third-best country to invest in. It has only been preceded by Singapore and the United Kingdom and followed by Indonesia, and India respectively.
Poland ranked 3rd place due to the high score in terms of the institutional framework, as well as in education and research, and market potential. Not only that, the country was also appreciated for trade openness and skilled tech talent!
Data Protection
Everything concerned with IT is subject to data breaches and it’s no different for software development. Poland is a member of the European Union, therefore it’s obliged to follow the same laws as any other EU country. What’s more, the General Data Protection Regulation was introduced in 2016, resulting in even more strict policies when it comes to protecting sensitive information.
Variety of Models to Choose from
Polish software houses often offer cooperation on the basis of different models. Essentially, there are three cooperation models that software companies can offer:
- Staff Augmentation model;
- Team-Based model;
- Project-Based model.
Additionally, there are two payment models that are available:
- Time and Materials model;
- Fixed Price model.
Key Takeaways
We know that choosing a software developer may be a long process that requires deep thinking. In this case, let’s take a look at the aspects that you should consider while thinking about the outsourcing location:
- The English language is not a problem as most Polish people speak it nowadays;
- High-level of education;
- Very little to no cultural differences to Western countries;
- Located in the heart of Europe;
- Lower rates compared to Western Europe or the US;
- Poland is the third-best country to invest in;
- Data protection in line with GDPR and European Union laws;
- Plenty of cooperation models to choose from.
Conclusions
And here we are, richer in knowledge about Poland’s role in the IT industry and how it became the hub for IT and software development services in the Central and Eastern European region.
With schools like Jagiellonian University, University of Warsaw, or the Silesian University of Technology, Poland features some of the best software houses and tech talent with great programming skills who can do anything, from web development, programming mobile apps, or quality assurance to providing the best possible software solutions and deep expertise. Perhaps one day you’ll be working with one of them?
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