Romanian programmers too expensive?

The price of the work force in the domestic IT industry has risen lately and will continue to do so. This is why the Romanian software companies exporting software under outsourcing contracts should go for high added value projects if they plan to stay in business, Varujan Pambuccian, chairman of the Information Technology and Communications Committee within the Chamber of Deputies said.
One of the few advantages of the Romanian software developers until now, that is the cheap work force, is starting to fade, while foreign clients go for those regions where programmers are even cheaper.
“The effects of the increased work force costs in the local software industry have started to show, as one firm in Brasov has already gone belly up after losing its only client to a company from a country somewhat farther East,” Pambuccian explains.
The deputy pessimistically says ” we’re in danger of being faced with high unemployment figures in this industry in a few years.” Many of the Romanian companies exporting software at the moment are working under outsourcing contracts: they write source codes as ordered by a client abroad, and such projects come with practically none to zero added value, Pambuccian feels.
Romania exported software and IT services worth 104 million euros in 2001, while 2002 forecasts amounted to 130 million euros, according to Florin Talpes, chairman of the National Association of Software and Services in Romania. Domestic software and services export might reach 160 million euros this year, as specified by the same official. “Out of the total software and IT services exports, outsourcing projects account for 95%,” Talpes said during a conference announcing the opening of the National Software and Service Salon soft21.ro on April 8.