So far, most US companies have headed to the Philippines, India, and other Asian countries to find offshore software developers. However, outsourcing software development to Albania and other European countries is becoming quite common. Because Albanian developers offer high competency in the field but charge lower than their US counterparts, they are becoming a highly-sought employee base.
Outsourcing in Albania is not a new practice, indeed, since the early years of post-communism, the clothing and footwear businesses had decided to choose this country as the perfect place to start their new factories. Over the years, the approach to outsourcing in Albania has increased, especially in the technology industry, with IT professionals becoming the country’s number one export.
Choosing Albania for your software development needs is an excellent choice due to several factors. As a flourishing destination, the country offers good technical infrastructure and a young, low-cost, highly skilled workforce. In addition, there is English competence, EU-compatible legislation, low operating costs, and excellent accessibility.
The main advantages of Outsourcing in Albania
1.Albania’s extensive tech talent pool
Albania has been making a big push toward digitization in recent years. The tech market in the country grew to an impressive 9 billion US dollars in 2021. At this rate, Albania is ranked twelfth in the Europe Industry Index for software development and has been consistently rising.
Software development is the 20th biggest industry in Albania out of 107 others. As of 2022, there are 41,356 people employed in the field of software development in Albania.
According to the Tholons Globalization Index 2021, Albania is 26th among the top 50 digital nations worldwide, with Tirana being one of the top 50 cities leading in digital innovation. All of this data shows Albania has an expansive digital infrastructure that attracts more fresh graduates in the field every year and makes it an ideal place to outsource software development.
Albania is growing in popularity as a European outsourcing center. The country attracts businesses and activities due to its affinity with Western Europe and for many other crucial reasons. Currently, Albania is among the emerging destinations in the global landscape for providing offshore services.
This emerging industry of Business Process Outsourcing in the country is showing signs of great potential for outsourcing and is aiming to gain prominence in the region.
2.Multilingual communication
When looking for international hires, most US companies demand high proficiency in the English language. Otherwise, a language barrier can make it difficult for employees to communicate with clients and other teams.
The good news for US companies is that most Albanian developers meet this need. According to the English Proficiency Index by EF Education First, Albanian professionals are highly proficient in English, ranking 20th worldwide and 11th in Europe. Considering most Albanian students learn English from primary school, high proficiency is no surprise.
Albanian developers are young, motivated, and multilingual specialists. You can easily communicate with them in English, Italian, German, and many other languages. They’re also open-minded, have excellent intercultural skills, and value international cultures.
3.Experienced IT professionals
There is growing attention from the workforce to enter the software outsourcing market, and the number is increasing yearly. Software developers constantly learn and receive certifications for their skills in technologies such as Java, C ++, Mobile, PHP, and many more.
As a rule, albanian development teams are well-trained in how to effectively manage a project. Excellent knowledge in this area is possessed especially by those specialists who have experience in software and web application development companies. With experience working with practices such as agile and scrum, they know how to communicate with their customers’ teams to maximize productivity throughout all phases of software development.
The ability to create interdisciplinary teams gives these professionals more opportunities to implement effective functionality within the project. Albanian engineers are trained not to lose focus on the quality of the developed solution, its performance, design, and user experience.
4.Western work ethic
Albania is also notable for having a very strong work ethic and very hard-working people. Its citizens have managed to pull the country out of poverty into a future that becomes progressively brighter. Obviously, the only way to achieve such a feat is to focus on strong work standards. In this regard, albanian people are very similar to their European and U.S. counterparts.
You can expect albanian people to invest much in Quality Assurance. Albanians are very proud of their country and legacy and they are extremely willing to produce outstanding software. Albanian individuals are always trying to bridge the cultural differences regarding productivity practices.
They invest much into learning about frameworks such as GTD or Scrum. People who visit Albania often tell you that local specialists strive to take away as much as possible from the work practices in the West.
5.Cost-effective solutions
Albania is one of the most competitive countries in Europe in terms of cost efficiency for outsourced software projects. By working with a software outsourcing company in Albania, you can benefit from receiving good products and services at a low cost.
6.Efficiency over time and ease of access
Traveling to Albania is visa-free for many countries worldwide and all EU citizens. It is located in GMT + 1 Time Zone, so a customer based in Europe will be able to collaborate with outsourcing teams in real time during office hours.
7.Government support
The Albanian government fosters the IT industry by investing in e-government services and by providing encouragement and incentives for studying computer science and other technical fields.
Final words
Outsourcing in Albania offers many possibilities for companies worldwide. From lower costs to great talent and agile practices, Albania is positioning itself as the place to outsource software development. And it doesn’t hurt that the country fosters the youngest and most thriving IT development community in the region, which gives organizations all the more reason to decide on outsourcing to Albania.
