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February 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 3
(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 transfer centres are in operation in Belarus. Recently, the government announced the creation of another five – in Baranovichi, 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 British 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 among others.
EPAM Systems remains the largest player in the Belarusian tech business. Currently, 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 Record Book 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, employing 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' proficiency in IT
is the fact that over the past decade, several Belarusian tech companies 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.