CES List: See who`s shaping Romania`s IT&C landscape
Romania has become, over the past 15 years, especially after joining the European Union, one of the most important regional hubs in the IT&C field in Central and Eastern Europe, with technological giants such as Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, or Amazon, having operational offices in Romania, from where they coordinate their regional activities. At the same time, Romanian IT companies like UiPath or BitDefender have managed to make their mark globally through innovative products.
The presence of multinational companies strengthens Romania’s reputation as an outsourcing hub, providing resources and qualified professionals for various software development projects.
Among the key players shaping the Romanian IT industry, Oracle stands out as the largest employer with a workforce of approximately 4,000 employees. Additionally, Adobe Romania distinguishes itself with the most important research and development center of Adobe in the EMEA region.
At the same time, the Amazon Development Center in Iasi holds significant importance as the first research and development center of the company in Eastern Europe, solidifying Romania’s position as an attractive destination for global technology giants seeking to leverage the country’s talent and expertise.
Biggest IT companies in Romania, according to their turnover [1]
| Company | County | 2022 Turnover (RON) | 2022 Turnover (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENDAVA ROMANIA SRL | Cluj | 1.292.639.145 | 260.178.347 |
| IBM ROMANIA SRL | Bucharest | 1.053.493.019 | 212.043.765 |
| VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING ROMANIA | Timis | 1.041.553.321 | 209.640.581 |
| ERICSSON TELECOMMUNICATIONS ROMANIA SRL | Bucharest | 962.623.760 | 193.753.886 |
| ORACLE ROMANIA SRL | Bucharest | 805.830.771 | 162.195.086 |
| ATOS IT SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES SRL | Bucharest | 701.805.533 | 141.257.213 |
| MICROSOFT ROMANIA SRL | Bucharest | 684.322.982 | 137.738.380 |
| COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS ROMANIA S.R.L. | Cluj | 678.032.805 | 136.472.313 |
| AMAZON DEVELOPMENT CENTER (ROMANIA) SRL | Iasi | 616.776.705 | 124.142.877 |
| ORACLE GLOBAL SERVICES ROMANIA S.R.L. | Bucharest | 615.611.083 | 123.908.265 |
IT contribution to Romanian economy keeps growing
The share of the gross value added in the IT&C sector to Romania’s GDP has shown an upward trend this year, reaching 8.2% in the first quarter of 2023, significantly higher than the Eurozone average of 4.8%, according to Eurostat data.
In 2022, the contribution of the IT&C sector was 6.6%, according to the data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
A relevant employer
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the number of employees in the field of information services (excluding communications) has seen rapid growth in the last six years, with a growth rate of 8,000 to 9,000 people per year, roughly in line with the number of graduates from specialized faculties. The number of employees nearly doubled in this period, from from 74,129 at the end of 2016 to 139,700 in 2022.
The data provided by INS is indicative of the increasing trend of employees in the IT sector, but it should be noted that many of those active in this field operate as self-employed individuals or micro-enterprises, which makes the number of people engaged in these activities even higher. According to estimates from 2023 made by the Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS), one of the most representative associations of players in the IT industry in Romania, the figure for people working in the IT sector in Romania exceeds 200,000.
The average salary of an employee in the ICT sector is double that of the average salary in Romania. At the same time, salaries for developers are 20% to 50% lower than those in Western European or American markets, making outsourcing custom software development to Romania an attractive and cost-effective option for businesses seeking high-quality expertise at a more competitive rate.
Additionally, Romania has 49 public universities and 8 private ones, with Babes-Bolyai University, the University of Bucharest and Alexandru Ioan Cuza University being the top three universities in the country, according to the QS World Universities Ranking 2023. These institutions provide IT professionals for technology hubs in Romania, such as Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, or Iași.
The programming languages in which IT experts in Romania are most proficient are Java and JavaScript, followed by C++ and Python. As a result, local engineers have broad experience in enterprise solutions, custom software development, Data Science, and Machine Learning.
Romanian Start-ups and Investments in IT
Romania is 42nd globally in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023
Romanian entrepreneurs in the technology sector have founded hundreds of startups in recent years, of which over 200 are fintech companies. Romania ranks 42nd globally in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023.
Furthermore, investments in software development in Romania are on the rise. The funding raised by technology companies in Romania in 2022 reached a record of $270 million, according to Dealroom – three times more than the previous year. With €93.6 million (USD 101.79 million) raised in February, indicating increased interest and investments in software development in Romania.
Moreover, according to the National Bank of Romania (BNR), the net inflow of foreign direct investments into the information and communications technology sector reached €445 million in 2022.
[1] Analysis conducted by termene.ro, according to public data from the Ministry of Finance.
