“Signals from companies indicated a slowdown in the acquisition of new projects, payment delays in the case of existing contracts, and even a freezing of signed projects which were to be initiated,” Valerica Dragomir, Executive Director of ANIS, told Business Standard. Romanian software exports are mostly based on outsourcing and, to a lesser extent (of 10 percent), on products and licenses.
Eugen Schwab-Chesaru, Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) strategic consultancy and research company, is more optimistic. According to him, software exports have not been severely affected. “Based on our information, there was a 10 percent decline, maybe 15 percent, caused rather by pressure on prices and lower tariffs on projects,” Chesaru said.
As far as the evolution of software exports is concerned, market players expect the decline registered in H1 to continue through the end of this year. In this case, software exports could tumble to €287.5 million, from €575 mln last year, according to ANIS estimates. On the other hand, “IT projects on foreign markets seem to be bouncing back and, according to the signs from the market, exports could near the value registered last year, raising their share in the sector’s total turnover,” ANIS officials added.
The structure of exports can be viewed as an advantage, which could help Romanian companies in the current context, because outsourcing is a way to cut costs, so clients will probably continue to use this, Dragomir said. According to PAC estimates, the outsourcing market could rise, on average, by over 30 percent this year compared to 2008, a growth rate higher than that registered last year.
