How strong is the Hungarian IT outsourcing market comparing to other Eastern European countries?

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Outsourcing is a great opportunity to find access to a global talent pool and reduce software development costs. However, such a variety of choices as cooperating with any country in the world may be overwhelming sometimes. 

Eastern Europe has become a top choice when it comes to outsourcing. The IT in the countries of Eastern Europe is supported by the government, developers are more interested in outsourcing due to overall high pay rates in this niche, and taxes are not as bad. 

Can Hungary provide all the benefits of outsourcing to Eastern Europe? Or are there application development outsourcing risks that come to life in this country? Read the article and find out!

We will compare the market size, governmental support, and average salaries of Hungary and other Eastern European countries. 

Market Size

IT Professionals

Hungary has around 84.500 IT professionals and there are more than 4,5 million employed people. Is it enough for their market? Not really. Hungary is in need of professionals but outsourcing contributes to this problem while many software developers choose to outsource for better salaries.

For comparison:

• Ukraine – 192.100
• Poland – 295.300
• Romania – 119.100

IT Education

There are 53 universities and colleges in Hungary and 287,018 students, over 20,000 of which study Information Technologies. Due to the fact that the country is in great need of software developers, many students are asked to join traineeships and internships from the first year in the university. Therefore, as they come fresh out of school, they have already been in the field and are really experienced.

For comparison:

• Ukraine – 20,000 IT graduates annually
• Poland – 17,000 IT graduates annually 
• Romania – 6,700 IT graduates annually

Outsourcing Companies

The value of exports of IT services reached almost €2 billion in 2017 and was continually growing since then. The major outsourcing companies are located in the capital – Budapest.

Budapest is considered to be one with the most influence in Europe and multinational companies such as Vodafone, Lufthansa, British Petroleum, General Electric established their IT centers in the city. 

Clutch lists 38 firms that provide IT services, with IncQuery Labs, DONE, Webtown, Attrecto, and Exalt Interactive being at the top. 

For comparison:

• Ukraine – 382 firms
• Poland – 331 firms
• Romania – 122 firms

Governmental Support of IT