Due to the pandemic of COVID-19 the IT sector in Bulgaria lacks projects and outsourcing companies so workers are already being laid off. The IT sector in Bulgaria is closely connected with companies in Western Europe and the United States. Many of the big businesses have suffered, respectively this has affected the companies in our country. This is shown by the analysis of Milen Ganev, a partner in the Bulgarian software company E-CARD. According to him, when there is a global economic crisis, there is always a decline in the IT sector. The growth of salaries for specialists in the field freezes, as in recent years they have been artificially inflated. The level of salaries either stays the same or gets slightly lower. As a result of the crisis, we are very likely to see a greater balance between supply and demand. There is a change in the dynamics of the market and specialists are less willing to take risks and change their jobs in the current situation, Ganev explained. In some companies, layoffs, reductions in working hours and even pay followed - something unthinkable only a few months ago.
The recipe for coping is innovation and training good professionals. "Currently, there is a lack of quality specialists on the Bulgarian market, because universities do not produce any. They train many students, but give only a beginner level, "said Milen Ganev. Companies need to further invest in their training, which takes time. Therefore, according to him, now is the time for universities to quickly change their curriculums and bring them closer to the requirements of business.
The other trend for which the IT sector proved to be the most prepared in the pandemic is working from home, "It is still not possible to determine the percentage of people's efficiency," Ganev said. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was low due to the stress of COVID-19. When almost everything in the country was closed down, the results from work at home were the highest. After the easing of the measures and the arrival of the warm weather, the efficiency is again very low, Ganev commented. According to him, the people in home office find it difficult to monitor and observe working hours. It is important in the future for companies to provide better communication between teams in order to have a higher efficiency of employees. Flexible work will be the new norm after the virus.
Information about E-CARD
E-CARD is a Bulgarian company, started in 2000 it established itself on the market through the prepaid card for internet access and E-CARD payments. From the very beginning, the company's mission is to offer innovative solutions in the field of web-based services and sites, as well as in the field of mobile marketing. E-CARD is a software leader in the field of interactive applications and web-based services. The company has won three Deloitte awards, which regularly assess the quality and pace of development of E-CARD and place the company in the top 50 of Europe.
In the last 5 years the company has implemented dozens of large-scale projects with international and Bulgarian partners - CELADOR, ENDEMOL, EYEWORKS, SIA Advertising, Global Films, NOVA Television, Diema Vision, production company EDITA and others. The company works with all three mobile operators in the country - A1, Telenor and VIVACOM. Some of the most successful TV formats in Bulgaria have started together with a website and video streaming platform with our own payment system implemented by our team: Big Brother - seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4, special VIP editions of the show and Big Brother Family; Star Academy and the online version of the game "Get Rich". Before the introduction of smartphones, E-CARD created and developed some of the most successful and popular SMS games in Bulgaria.