SEVEN Bulgarian companies were represented at the biggest information technology (IT) exhibition CeBIT 2004 in the German city of Hanover.
Musala Soft, Interconsult Bulgaria, Optima Al, BSH, Contrax, Nemetschek and Human Relations Consulting were represented at what is considered the annual showcase of the newest achievements in the field of IT and communications.
This year, Bulgarian software developers and other IT companies attracted serious interest after the international press published a series of articles, naming Bulgaria and the entire Eastern Europe as the newest most attractive investment destination for IT giants from the Western world. It seems however, that Bulgarian IT firms may have wasted their time and money in search of Western partners, since the Western companies have already found ways to come to Bulgaria.
Two weeks ago, three of the world's leading IT companies - Siemens, SAP and EPIQ announced their plans to expand their software research laboratories in Bulgaria. This was announced during an information and communication technology round table held in Sofia. Experts said that if these plans were implemented, Bulgaria might become a global software centre.
A month ago, a delegation of German specialists arrived in Bulgaria, led by the director of Siemens Medical Solutions, to investigate opportunities for building a software centre, to which they could move part of their production, Siemens Bulgaria said. The delegation also visited Romania, and the results of the visits are expected to be reported by the end of this month. There are about 3000 Bulgarian students in Munich and elsewhere in Germany that are well educated and are expected to come back to Bulgaria as highly qualified personnel, and this is one of the factors that could tip the balance in favour of Bulgaria.
The opportunities that Bulgaria offers have already persuaded the Germans they do not have to build their own research and development facilities but rather order the new products from Bulgarian software companies, and at a later stage maybe even acquire those companies. Such a model was applied in Hungary a few years ago. One of the R&D centres of Siemens is based in Hungary today, and if a similar thing emerges in Bulgaria, the local company will be able to hire more than 100 software developers and transfer know-how to the country.
And if Siemens plans are for the near future, the other two companies - SAP and EPIQ have already been present in Bulgaria with all their capacity and potential to develop software products, and are on the hunt for Bulgarian brains.
SAP started joint operations in Bulgaria with local company Prosyst and later acquired a part of it. Employing 60 specialists at the beginning, today SAP provides jobs to more than 120 highly qualified Bulgarians. "Our presence in Bulgaria proved to be very successful, although at the very beginning we were not sure what might come out of it," Peter Keurpig, senior vice president of the German SAP and managing director of SAP labs Bulgaria.
The company has serious intentions to expand its laboratory in Bulgaria, Keurpig said, quoted by Business Week magazine at the beginning of March in an article entitled "Forget India, let's go to Bulgaria". At the round table in Sofia, he briefed participants about the company's operations in Bulgaria. At the very beginning they started producing just one product, and now seven, all of which were well accepted by local and international markets.
Keurpig called on Bulgarian authorities to do everything possible to keep highly qualified young people, and also to put every effort into developing the communications infrastructure.
"We have made a decision to move our central lab from France to Bulgaria," Gilles Bernard, executive director of EPIQ announced, revealing no further details. The company has already started operations in Bulgaria through EPIQ Electronic Assembly. About 1000 people are currently employed by EPIQ in Bulgaria, manufacturing vehicle, consumer and telecommunication electronics.
With the sale of Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC), investment in the IT and communications sector in Bulgaria has exceeded $1 billion in the past 12 months alone, Foreign Investment Agency executive director Pavel Ezekiev told the round table discussion. He was referring to the sales of the two mobile operators, the BTC sale, and many other smaller investments in high-tech production and development enterprises.
Musala Soft, Interconsult Bulgaria, Optima Al, BSH, Contrax, Nemetschek and Human Relations Consulting were represented at what is considered the annual showcase of the newest achievements in the field of IT and communications.
This year, Bulgarian software developers and other IT companies attracted serious interest after the international press published a series of articles, naming Bulgaria and the entire Eastern Europe as the newest most attractive investment destination for IT giants from the Western world. It seems however, that Bulgarian IT firms may have wasted their time and money in search of Western partners, since the Western companies have already found ways to come to Bulgaria.
Two weeks ago, three of the world's leading IT companies - Siemens, SAP and EPIQ announced their plans to expand their software research laboratories in Bulgaria. This was announced during an information and communication technology round table held in Sofia. Experts said that if these plans were implemented, Bulgaria might become a global software centre.
A month ago, a delegation of German specialists arrived in Bulgaria, led by the director of Siemens Medical Solutions, to investigate opportunities for building a software centre, to which they could move part of their production, Siemens Bulgaria said. The delegation also visited Romania, and the results of the visits are expected to be reported by the end of this month. There are about 3000 Bulgarian students in Munich and elsewhere in Germany that are well educated and are expected to come back to Bulgaria as highly qualified personnel, and this is one of the factors that could tip the balance in favour of Bulgaria.
The opportunities that Bulgaria offers have already persuaded the Germans they do not have to build their own research and development facilities but rather order the new products from Bulgarian software companies, and at a later stage maybe even acquire those companies. Such a model was applied in Hungary a few years ago. One of the R&D centres of Siemens is based in Hungary today, and if a similar thing emerges in Bulgaria, the local company will be able to hire more than 100 software developers and transfer know-how to the country.
And if Siemens plans are for the near future, the other two companies - SAP and EPIQ have already been present in Bulgaria with all their capacity and potential to develop software products, and are on the hunt for Bulgarian brains.
SAP started joint operations in Bulgaria with local company Prosyst and later acquired a part of it. Employing 60 specialists at the beginning, today SAP provides jobs to more than 120 highly qualified Bulgarians. "Our presence in Bulgaria proved to be very successful, although at the very beginning we were not sure what might come out of it," Peter Keurpig, senior vice president of the German SAP and managing director of SAP labs Bulgaria.
The company has serious intentions to expand its laboratory in Bulgaria, Keurpig said, quoted by Business Week magazine at the beginning of March in an article entitled "Forget India, let's go to Bulgaria". At the round table in Sofia, he briefed participants about the company's operations in Bulgaria. At the very beginning they started producing just one product, and now seven, all of which were well accepted by local and international markets.
Keurpig called on Bulgarian authorities to do everything possible to keep highly qualified young people, and also to put every effort into developing the communications infrastructure.
"We have made a decision to move our central lab from France to Bulgaria," Gilles Bernard, executive director of EPIQ announced, revealing no further details. The company has already started operations in Bulgaria through EPIQ Electronic Assembly. About 1000 people are currently employed by EPIQ in Bulgaria, manufacturing vehicle, consumer and telecommunication electronics.
With the sale of Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC), investment in the IT and communications sector in Bulgaria has exceeded $1 billion in the past 12 months alone, Foreign Investment Agency executive director Pavel Ezekiev told the round table discussion. He was referring to the sales of the two mobile operators, the BTC sale, and many other smaller investments in high-tech production and development enterprises.
