Outsourcing Software Projects: Are Polish Developers Really That Good?

In a nutshell – yes, they are. Polish software developers have a formal and high-quality education, expertise, proven track record, interesting projects for the well-known global brands in all sectors of the economy. They also are seasoned when it comes to cleaning up the code, rescuing entire projects. You should work with them to assure quality, and time-to-market guaranteed delivery. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to outsourcing software projects.

Custom software development companies in Poland have the reputation of delivering on time and with quality. Polish programmers made the phrase ‘Poland – the software house of Europe’ valid on many fronts and with many projects. They are not just coders, though. The ability to code an application, advise on technology solutions and cooperate with business advisors to scale the client’s company makes this a hard-to-turn-down offer.

After the iron curtain fell in 1989, Poles were looking for their place on the map of Europe. Pretty quickly they had observed that its unique location (traditionally reserved for power struggles between foreign powers) makes for a quite substantial opportunity. That’s why Poland is not only a European powerhouse in TSL (Transport-Shipping-Logistics) industry but also a part of the plan for a new Chinese Silk Road. With the 3rd position in Europe in terms of cubic warehouse space (after Netherlands and Germany) and 5th in terms of total highway km, the country is ready and handling many critical business operations.

The second and very well established Polish industry is custom software development. Understood as not only IT outsourcing but also the production of video games. Polish product designers, project managers, and Polish programmers are broadly recognized in Europe and the world as specialists with technical background, ideas, pace and quality in management and delivery. According to reports by the Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) (1), Poland has the most affordable labor cost in the European Union.

Why custom software development companies grew rapidly in Poland?

Here are some reasons for it:

• Affordable labor costs
• World-class education
• Experienced Polish programmers
• Small culture gap
• Great location

Let’s take it to step by step.

Poland is leading the charge as a place to get a valuable, knowledge-based degree. (2) Any degree. With vast and rich cultural background, a thousand years of history, and more than 500 universities, Poland is increasingly famous for its foreign students’ pool. According to a study by the European Centre for Development and Vocational Training (3), 94% of IT students declare they speak English, many of them advanced English. That means easier project management and day-to-day software house cooperation. IT-related fields of study are consecutively most popular in Poland since the season of 2012/2013.

Proficiency in English also means small cultural gaps. IT outsourcing services to Poland is easy when you can effectively talk business and crack jokes in the meantime. According to the English Proficiency Index, Poles are 13th in the world (4). And that’s for 2019 alone. That also means shorter business trips (or no trips at all) for clients in the USA, Canada or Germany. The gap is even smaller when it comes to safety. US and EU standards of IP protection and data security contribute to long-lasting business relationships.

Polish programmers not only speak English, but they also speak code. Specialists from our country regularly win international software product development services competitions. More so, at the time of writing this article, Poland holds 3rd place in TopCoder ranking for the most professional marketplace in the world! (5)

Why custom software development companies can thrive in Poland?

With the talent pool of more than 250,000 professional software programmers, the main focus on enterprise projects and core technologies like PHP, Java, .NET (6), Poland is a reliable and effective partner for any company that wants to get things done.

Poland is called a European software house for a reason. Young yet experienced talent pool, ambitious goals and exciting projects around every corner make up for years and decades of waiting behind an iron curtain. Today Poland is a place where you can go for quality and safety.

Poland is not an island. It has to work in a business and technological environment. As it happens, Poles have access to one of the most critically acclaimed IT infrastructures in the world (7). No, we are not overstating this, just click the link in the previous sentence. Either it’s research and development, outsourcing software projects, or merely server farms placement, Poland can do it all. Especially when Agile methodologies are popular in Poland.

The proximity of financial centers is also a factor. Working with Fenergo, a world-leading expert on FinTech and RegTech, for Tier 1 global banks and other financial institutions, we at CSHARK know all too well that proximity is good. Availability and the common cultural ground are even better. That’s why ATKearney placed Poland on the list of countries with the most skilled IT workforce in the world (8).

More so, Polish programmers are considered multi-active, that’s why custom software development services in Poland are so popular. Let’s take into consideration the Lewis Model. Richard Donald Lewis is an English writer and communication consultant. After visiting 135 countries and working in 20 of them, he established criteria for a better understanding of human interactions. It’s based on behavior, which gives a natural superiority over national or religious classification systems. Lewis divided humans into three categories – multi-active, linear-active, and reactive (9). As you can see on the infographic below, Poland combines both warm and emotional approaches with cool and decisive planning. That’s why Poles are meticulous in planning (they use cold heads) but have a human approach and business goals in mind (and they always should be consumer or end-user-driven, therefore the presence of emotions).

This is a unique skill set, that we thought about when CSHARK was adopting the ‘Expect More’ tagline. We don’t develop the code. Through IT outsourcing services, we deliver products, offer a wide set of skills, help scale companies. All with humans, not machines, in mind. IT outsourcing is not an easy task. It requires research, trust, and knowledge about the potential partner. Did we mention trust? It’s always to underline this critical factor.

After all, what screams “professional” louder than the reputation of the country he operates in, organizational approach, and personal expertise? We find that question rhetorical.

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Bibliography:

1. Digital ABSL publications
2. TOP UNIVERSITIES, Destination Guides: Study in Poland
3. Development of a Workforce Competence Assessment System by Sectors and Regions (CASSY)
4. EF EPI
5. TopCoder Statistics – Top Ranked Countries
6. Software Developers from Eastern Europe in 2020: Which Country Suits Your Project?
7. Poland on the European map of e-Infrastructure
8. Digital resonance: the new factor impacting location attractiveness
9. The Lewis Model – Dimensions of Behaviour