ICT in Serbia – at a Glance 2018
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ICT in Serbia At a Glance 2018 www.vojvodinaICTcluster.org Acknowledgments This edition of our study would not be possible without the generous help from the Provincial Secretariat for Economy and Tourism of the AP Vojvodina Government, supported by the German development Cooperation implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH We are thankful to these institutions for assisting us in bringing this edition to the World! ICT in Serbia - At a Glance 2018 ICT in Serbia - At a Glance Published by: Vojvodina ICT Cluster In cooperation with: Provincial Secretariat for Economy and Toursim, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Supported by: Serbian IT Clusters, Serbian Cluster Association - SCAN, Balkan & Black Sea ICT Network CIP - Каталогизација у публикацији Authors: Библиотека Матице српске, Нови Сад Milovan Matijević, Milan Šolaja 004(497.11) MATIJEVIĆ, Milovan Design/Layout: ICT in Serbia : at a glance : 2018 / Ivan Cosic & Snezana Vukmirovic, Plain&Hill [authors Milovan Matijević, Milan Šolaja]. - plainandhill.rs Novi Sad : Vojvodina ICT Cluster, 2018 (Novi Sad : ABC Copy print). - 112 str. : ilustr. ; 25 Contact info: cm [email protected] Tiraž 1.000. - Bibliografija. [email protected] ISBN 978-86-918957-1-6 1. Šolaja, Milan ©Copyright notice: a) Информационе технологије - Србија This publication is free and may be cited and copied freely, COBISS.SR-ID 321264135 as long as clear reference to the source is made. ICT in Serbia - At a Glance // 2018 Table of Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................8 Assessment of the Serbian ICT Sector .................................................31 VOICT: A PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE .................................................12 IT Market and Industry Current Situation .......................................31 GIZ: Working together worldwide ...........................................................14 Trends and Potentials: New IT Goals for the Period 2018-2023 ..................................32 Introduction ................................................................................................16 Government Initiatives and Influence General Business Environment ...............................................................18 on IT Market and IT Sector .........................................................33 Current Business Environment in Serbia .................................19 ICT Market - Statistical Overview ....................................................36 Global IT Index of Serbia ............................................................20 IT Market Value and Structure ...................................................36 Where is Serbia on the EU Technological Map? ....................23 IT Spending and Investments ....................................................40 IT Environment, Drivers and Barriers .......................................25 IT and Internet Usage...................................................................42 Legislation Framework ................................................................27 Overview of the Telecommunication Market ..........................43 Government ICT Policy ................................................................28 ICT Industry – Sector Analysis .........................................................46 Access to finance .........................................................................29 ICT Industry Summary ................................................................46 Finance (Demand and Supply) ..................................................30 IT Industry and Software sub-sector........................................48 ICT Clusters and Support Organizations .................................56 6 ICT in Serbia - At a Glance // 2018 Education and Human Resource Development ............................62 Outsourcing Sector - Trends and Potentials ...........................88 Overview of the ICT Labor Market ...........................................63 Own Solutions – Best Practice Examples ...............................90 ICT and Higher Education ...........................................................63 Summary ........................................................................................91 ICT and Vocational Trainings .....................................................67 Combined Profile of Top 15 Software Exporters ...................92 Research and Development ...............................................................69 Potentials - Standardization of Serbian IT companies .........94 Current Situation Regarding R&D in Serbia - in General OUTSOURCING – Opportunities and Barriers and ICT Related .............................................................................69 for Serbian IT Companies .................................................................95 EU Support Dimension ................................................................75 APPENDIX .............................................................................................101 Software Sector: Opportunities on International Market ...................78 Terminology ........................................................................................101 Software Export Sector - Current Situation ....................................78 Abbreviations ......................................................................................105 Who are the software exporters in Serbia? ............................80 References and Key ICT Publications ...........................................107 Added Value in the Serbian IT Industry ....................................81 List of Tables .......................................................................................110 Software Export Sector - Trend and Potential ..............................83 List of Figures .....................................................................................111 Market trend and potential ..........................................................83 Workforce trend and potential ...................................................86 7 ICT in Serbia - At a Glance // 2018 Hello world! Foreword “You journalists should pay more attention to what is going on. Every- one is writing about Serbian export of raspberries as a huge national success, and nobody knows that we export more software than rasp- berries.” It was in the early 2011 that yours truly has exasperatedly said this to a journalist on the margins of the DanubeIT Conference in Novi Sad. The very next day, there was this big headline: “SERBIA EXPORTS MORE SOFTWARE THAN RASPBERRIES!” and raspberries have been fused to software topics in media ever since.1 In the previous edition of this study two years ago, we wrote about the advancement of the Serbian IT industry and its steady growth. Ever since, this trend has maintained a double-digit growth year- on-year and, for the first time ever, in 2017 the Serbian export of IT Milan Šolaja, CEO services is larger than the export of maize. This came as no surprise Vojvodina ICT Cluster to the IT businesses, but it really shook things around in Serbia. However, it means different things to different audiences. For young generations, this trend is a confirmation of their interest in new technologies and an additional incentive to focus on this field, enroll IT and related studies, think up startups, learn and evolve. The number of developers’ communities has increased significantly, and they organize meetups and conferences, bring them up to date with the latest development in their special fields, share experience and excel. 1 Serbia is one of the top three global exporters of raspberries, and defi- nitely the top one in terms of quality of that berry. 8 ICT in Serbia - At a Glance // 2018 For traditional businesses, it is the wake-up call. Modernizing small while several are being constructed in other cities. Our feeling and medium enterprises – the major contributors to GDP, tax reve- is, however, that a well-defined vision for the role of IT in general nues, and employment – is a “make or break” challenge. Those who socio-economic development is still missing. Also, concrete deci- boldly jump on the bandwagon of digitization and use opportunities sions that would declare, loud and clear, future actions and targeted of automation, e-commerce as well as the global marketing oppor- outcomes is painfully lacking.3 tunities, will not only survive, but become the motor of economic For many IT companies, this growth meant enlargement and progress. If we take a look at the IT investments per capita, it is at corporatization. The major trend is moving away from the general €62 in Serbia – a mere fraction of the EU average of €800. This fig- outsourcing.4 The cause for this trend stems from a chronic lack ure is an important indicator of general implementation of standards of IT skills in the labor market, which slowly but surely drives the and new technologies in any country. As such, it shows that much salaries up, turning companies away from lower-paying contracts more has to be done in Serbia to push economic and every other and toward specialization and/or niche markets/clients in order to development forward. maintain their ability to afford IT skills and still secure profit. More This is a huge challenge for the Government, but also an opportu- than 2,000 IT startups were founded in 2017, which indicates to a nity. Current