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bne March 2020 Eastern Europe I 37
engineers and over half of EPAM’s work force remains in Minsk today. With the ballooning export revenues the government has provided the tech sector with substantial tax privileges for technopark residents and is now keen to develop the business further.
In 2018, another regulation was enacted, extending more privileges
to Belarus' IT sector and helping
to solidify the country's status as Eastern Europe's major tech hub. The regulation expanded the list of areas that entitle companies to technopark residency, simplified the process of IT professionals' relocation to Belarus and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies.
Currently, 91.9% of HTP's software output is exported, mainly to other European countries (49.1%) and North America (44%), with only a tiny 4.1% destined for Russia and CIS states.
The idea of focusing the country's IT industry around technoparks, some of which are linked to universities, has proven very successful. Currently, in addition to the flagship HTP, another 16 technoparks and nine technology trans- fer centres are in operation in Belarus. Recently, the government announced the creation of another five – in Bara- novichi, Borisov, Bobruisk, Orsha and Molodechno, Belta reported.
But HTP remains the most important
of all the parks in the country. In 2019, the number of its residents increased by 72 to reach 752, while in the January to September period, total revenue was BYN3.5bn ($1.6bn), a 168% increase, year on year.
Among consumers of software developed by HTP's residents are a range of global giants, including automakers Peugeot and Mitsubishi, telecom operators British Telecom and T-Mobile, as well as Brit- ish Petroleum, Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom, the World Bank, London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Bank, Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Colgate- Palmolive and Samsung.
In addition to EPAM, the list of Belarus' top IT companies includes: Systems,
Playtika, Gismart, Apalon, BPMobile, Verv, Wargaming, iTechArt, Itransition and Intetics.
EPAM Systems remains the largest player in the Belarusian tech business. Current- ly, the company focuses on on-demand software development and has offices
in dozens of countries across the world, employing over 30,000 people globally. In 2018, the latest data available, EPAM Systems posted an operating profit of $349mn on a revenue of $1.8bn.
Success in gaming
When it comes to IT products originated in Belarus, among the best known is
the computer game World of Tanks, developed by Wargaming. In 2011, World of Tanks, a multi-player game featuring 1930s to 1960s armoured combat vehicles, made the Guinness Book Of Records as it was able to boast the highest number of players on the same server, 90,000. Founded by a group of computer game enthusiasts led by current CEO Victory Kisly back in 1998, the company has so far released over two dozen games for various platforms.
It currently has several offices across the globe, from Seattle to Helsinki, employ- ing over 4,500 people. The company doesn't disclose its financial data, but,
a few years ago, Bloomberg estimated the value of Wargaming at $1.5bn and Kisly's net worth at $1bn, making him Belarus' first billionaire.
Software development base
Due to relatively low labour costs, Belarus has been a software development base for a number of foreign companies, including Israel-based Viber, the producer of an instant messaging client of the same name, later acquired by
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.
Another testimony to Belarus' profi- ciency in IT is the fact that over the past decade, several Belarusian tech compa- nies have been acquired by larger global corporations.
The best known example is Viaden Media, a major producer of iPhone and iPad apps, founded by entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya, which was acquired by Teddy Sagi, the co-founder of Playtech, in 2012.
Dobkin told bne IntelliNews that EPAM's market is getting crowded and the company is facing growing competition, but he also expects to stay out in front thanks to EPAM's superior engineering skills and focus on innovation.
The big consultants, such as Deloitte and Accenture, are starting to get into the same business, but EPAM has opened up an enormous lead after more than two decades in the business.
"We do complex solutions better that include user design skills that are tailored to the customers' specific needs," says Dobkin. "There is a very high demand for quality development and we need to keep up with the cutting edge technology work, as we then reapply the same solu- tions to other customers' businesses."
This article is part of bne IntelliNews' coverage of technology, blockchain, fintech, cryptocurrencies and the new economy. Sign up for the free monthly newsletter bneTech, or read more tech stories on the website.
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