October 2018 – The outsourcing industry in Bulgaria has grown by 18,2% and has generated 4,8% of the country’s GDP in 2017. These are two of the main findings of the annual industry report 2018, prepared by the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association (BOA). The Chairman of BOA and CEO of BULPROS, Ivaylo Slavov, officially presented the report on 30 October at a high-level conference in Sofia.

According to the statistics, outsourcing is currently one of the fastest developing sectors in Bulgaria and its growth will continue over the next years. In 2017, outsourcing has generated 4.8% of Bulgaria’s GDP with a turnover of EUR 2.1 bn, growing by 18,2%, which is substantially faster than the national economy. Furthermore, by 2021 outsourcing is expected to double its turnover both in value to EUR 4.0 bn and in terms of share in the economy to 7.9%. The report also shows that at the end of 2017, the outsourcing industry has employed more than 67,300 employees accounting for 2,4% of the labor market in Bulgaria.

"One of our priorities is to strengthen the position of the outsourcing industry in Bulgaria and turn it into a leading sector. We are proud that the industry continues to grow in 2018 and 84% of the outsourcing services are related to creating added value, knowledge, etc. There are currently two major trends: the gradual transition towards high value-added knowledge process outsourcing on the one hand and the diminishing boundaries between ITO and BPO on the other hand." pointed out the Chairman of BOA during the official presentation of the report.

According the statistics, the differentiation between ITO and BPO is gradually fading as the complexity of the companies’ products and services gradually evolves. Commenting on this, Ivaylo Slavov said: "Many people think that the industry is a call center industry, but as a matter of fact the share of call centers within the sector is only 16%."

Ivaylo Slavov also stated that outsourcing is going through major changes on a global level, which are driven by new technologies such as Cloud Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. All these have a significant impact on the profile of the requested outsourcing services and open up new growth and development opportunities within the sector.

One of the main trends shaping the industry on a national level is the development of second tier cities such as Plovdiv and Varna into preferred outsourcing destinations. With 90% of the employees in 2017, the capital Sofia remains the center of the Bulgarian industry; however, Plovdiv and Varna have recorded a significant growth over the last few years and have become important outsourcing destinations. Cities such as Burgas and Veliko Tarnovo also have great potential and one of BOA’s main priorities is to develop the outsourcing potential of these cities.

Another interesting finding from the annual industry report is that Western European and UK clients dominate the foreign customer base of the Bulgarian outsourcing companies, while the main oversea market is the USA.

As one of the leading ITO and BPO services providers in Bulgaria BULPROS also operates on a global level, focusing mainly the USA and German market. With over 1200 employees and 18 office locations across different continents, it is one of the fastest growing technology companies not only in Bulgaria but also in Europe and in the EMEA region. BULPROS offers a wide range of technology driven Sales and Customer services that support customers with demand generation, revenue growth, back office services and other related services.

About BOA

The Bulgarian Outsourcing Association (BOA) is an independent industry organization whose objective is to consolidate and represent the interests of the companies offering outsourcing services, to communicate the benefits of outsourcing to a wider public, to boost the competitiveness of the businesses in the sector and create favorable environment to attract foreign investments in the sector. The association groups companies from all spheres of the outsourcing industry – companies offering services related to BPO, ITO, KPO, LPO, HRO and others.

About BULPROS

BULPROS is an innovative global IT and BPO services, solutions and product provider, one of the fastest growing technology companies, recognized by the prestigious rankings of Deloitte "Technology Fast 50 in CE" and "Technology Fast 500 in Europe, Middle East, and Africa", Inc. 5000 Europe, Financial Times 1000 Europe etc.

Its offerings include Industry Digitalization, Cyber Security, Collaboration, Application Modernization, Infrastructure Transformation, Technology Services and Sales & Customer Services, with focus on Manufacturing, Professional Services, Telecommunications, Healthcare, Retail, Financial Services and Insurance.

BULPROS operates on a global scale and has more than 1200 employees, working across 18 offices, located in Europe and North America.

BULPROS has established successful customer and partner relations with Fortune 500 IT companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Unisys, VMware, Siemens, T-Systems, SAP, Hortonworks, Oracle, Red Hat etc. BULPROS is a co-founder of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association and a member of the American Chamber of Commerce and the German Outsourcing Association.