Production of IT services in Belarus to exceed $1bn in 2014

In 2014 the production of IT services in Belarus will exceed $1 billion, BelTA learned from Yevgeny Radionik, Head of the External Communications Department of the investment company UNITER, during the 11th international forum on banking technologies BankIT on 19 November.

In the future Belarus’ IT industry will keep its growth potential. “We expect that the production of services will exceed $1 billion in 2014, an increase of 24%,” noted the expert.

By 2018 the total production of IT services in Belarus will approach $2 billion. “The key trends will be the transition of some companies to the business-to-consumer model (B2C) and the reduction of the profitability of companies using the business-to-business model (B2B),” added Yevgeny Radionik. The expert said he believes that outsourcing will exhaust its growth potential soon. As a result, the growth of the production of services by companies using the outsourcing model will slow down. While ten years ago the profitability of such companies was close to 100%, today it is as low as 15-25%.

For the sake of the successful development of the industry in Belarus it is necessary to set up venture foundations, increase the number of public private partnership projects in digital healthcare, digital logistics and so on, the expert said. It is also necessary to invite players of the industry to participate in the development of the industry’s growth strategy and the legal base. It is very important for the private sector to understand that rules of the game are stable and reliable, noted Yevgeny Radionik.

A number of opportunities will open up before banks in this situation. First of all, banks can co-finance public private partnership projects in the IT sector and offer loans to IT companies for implementing B2C projects. It is extremely important because quite a large number of companies create B2C solutions but are not ready to offer them to the market because they need a partner to share financial risks with, said the representative of the investment company.

This year’s BankIT forum gathered over 1,200 participants representing the banking industry, IT companies and state-run enterprises. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Dubkov pointed out that the program of the current forum had been transformed. They had decided to give the floor to representatives of business circles, banks, and IT companies.

Participants of the forum are expected to discuss strategic matters concerning the development of the Belarusian IT market, the use of new technologies in the banking industry. Apart from that, the latest instruments designed to enable effective data protection, fight fraud, and counteract money laundering will be highlighted.

The forum has been organized by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, the research and technology association Infopark, and the Association of Belarusian Banks.