The multinational IT companies continue outsourcing their operations to Bulgaria. After Hewlett Packard (HP) and Microsoft stepped on the Bulgarian market, the Bulgarian Telecommunications company (BTC) became more active and many in-house call centres emerged, and the market of IT specialists and people speaking several languages seemed to have been exhausted.
However, it was not so. The giant IBM started setting up a team for its Global Delivery Centre in Bulgaria. Its job ads appeared on the Internet and in a few universities of economy. The company has been studying the Bulgarian and Romanian markets since 2004. Now its choice is clear.
The British office of IBM withheld comment on the company’s future plans for Bulgaria.
Imports of Bulgarians
IBM has picked the HR agency Manpower Bulgaria to recruit a staff. The candidates are required to have a good command of French, German, Italian, Spanish or Scandinavian languages. It also recruits call centre operators, team leaders and financial specialists. Sources of Capital weekly said the agency had been in talks with Bulgarians living and working in France to hire them for the Bulgarian call centres of IBM. It offered them salaries that were as high as the ones in France. IBM will initially need some 600 French-speaking people.
Manpower Bulgaria did not comment on IBM job requirements and the job characteristics of the new team.
IBM launched operations in Bulgaria in 1937 when it started importing typewriters. It continues developing its operations and offering business services in the country. IBM, similarly to all the other large IT companies, works actively in universities. It offers many training courses, summer practices and scholarships. It has its own in-house call centres servicing its operations and suppliers.
Balkan Silicon Valley
HP had many advantages as a pioneer on the Bulgarian market.
Our investment has legitimised Bulgaria. With the Government’s assistance we developed a model for the entry of other IT companies, said Sasha Bezuhanova, general manager of HP Bulgaria.
The question is what the other large companies find in Bulgaria. While the call centres need people who know foreign languages, the global delivery centres are eager for highly qualified IT specialists. After HP opened a call centre last year in Bulgaria it literally absorbed the best system administrators. Then the salaries in the sector rose significantly. It was expected that the other companies would find it harder to recruit a staff. However, Microsoft also managed to cope with the problems, experts said.
Microsoft said it started operation in Sofia in a bid to meet its customers’ expectations in a fast developing region. Sofia has an important place in our network for top quality maintenance in Europe and all over the world, the company’s Bulgarian office said.
It is not so much a matter of high salaries. We offer many Bulgarians the chance to return from abroad and to apply their experience in Bulgaria. Besides, we have invested in staff trainings from three to six months, Sasha Bezuhanova said.
It is not only the cheap labour force that has lured IT companies. According to Sasha Bezuhanova, the country is also attractive because it is a EU member state with rich traditions in IT education and services. Furthermore, it is an economic centre of southeastern Europe and a gateway to the western Balkan countries.
John Gladuish, director of BTC international call centre and customer services, said the major rivals of Bulgaria are the central and eastern European countries.
There are fears that the companies may pull out its outsourcing operations from Bulgaria as quickly as they brought them in. Yet, John Gladuish does not expect such a withdrawal in the near future because the country can now offer top quality services along with good prices.
22-28/09/07, P62-63
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