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At the end of last week, Jan Kols – head of the Be-Mobile IT company, which belongs to the largest Belgian cellular operator, Proximus – arrived in Belarus. The company has long sought a contractor for the development of its products, and after studying several countries, she chose the Belarusian CactusSoft. Onliner.by correspondent met the head of Be-Mobile and his colleague Ines Merkart and discovered that Belgians are thinking about the Belarusian IT industry.
The cost of developers is not the main factor
– So, you were looking for developers in seven countries
– Yes, that's right. Be-Mobile is present throughout Europe, as well as in the United States and Latin America. The company is growing and we needed developers. Among the Belgian companies, we did not find highly qualified staff in a short time, so we started looking outside the country.
Three options were considered. The first is the south of Europe. It is Portugal, Spain, because there have been economic crises there. The second is Eastern Europe: Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland and Belarus. And the third option is Brazil, since we have our own office there, and in the country there is also a crisis, as in the south of Europe. As a result, we stopped in Belarus. The country has met our criteria, and it is not just about price. I want to emphasize that the cost of the developers is not the main factor for us. The quality of education, the discipline and reliability of people, the comments of other companies with which we work, as well as the convenience of work, language, time zone are important.
– It is still hard to believe in the uniqueness of Belarusian developers … In terms of education, Belarus is indeed at a very high level. We also think that you have a "high-tech spirit", which is not so strong, for example, in Poland. Yes, they also have a lot of IT companies, but it's not there.
In addition, you have a lot of grocery companies with big names, for example MSQRD. We felt that Belarus had a good combination of education and cultural affinity. And do not forget the influence of the state: he did an admirable job and was able to stimulate computer companies
Differences between Indians, Belorussians and Belgians
– And the developers of India and China?
– A few years before, as we chose Belarus, we considered the possibility of working with India, Pakistan and China. But, to be honest, everything is absolutely different there. Based on our experience and stories of our colleagues, the cultural differences are too big – that is, first. Second, there is a big difference in communication, a breakdown of time. Third, direct contact with the team is important, knowing that you are working on one thing. It's hard to explain, but it's different with Hindus and Chinese.
– How do the differences in work appear exactly?
– You must literally not leave them [разработчиков из Азии] to make sure that they do it well. Do not give comments until you have decided to check the result yourself. Therefore, the result may be completely different from what was the original task. They never ask: "Am I doing the right thing?" They do and do not think. This is the main difference between Hindus and Belarusians. However, I will recover that I work only with CactusSoft, so I do not know how it goes with the rest of the companies. Belorussians also think during development, try to find the best solution.
Let's talk about the difference between Belgians and Belorussians. In Belgium, people are more involved in product development, they are more enterprising, initiative. If you think it should be different, we'll talk to you right away.
Here I am the boss of my company, but people can tell me everything and I do not take it wrong – on the contrary, I encourage them to express their opinions. Otherwise, the staff will begin to frustrate. And in Belarusian companies, the boss is the boss. You have, it seems to me, more hierarchy and procedures. Although we have such things: for example, in state structures and banks, everyone listens to the boss – he should be right. Here, the size of the business is more important, not some cultural aspects. Therefore, we prefer to work with medium sized companies
Why Belgium will not have high tech park
– Now we started to pay more attention to grocery stores, not to subcontracting companies. How is this going in Belgium?
– The situation is a bit similar, but what you said in Belgium started earlier. There is an abundance of venture capital funds and private equity – they invest in companies developing products, web services, SaaS solutions.
Next, we have huge outsourcing companies that do not develop their products. , telecom operators, government organizations, who need to digitize their processes. And the salaries of these developers are really high. Here, I see great potential for Belarus: I think you need to do more projects for traditional companies
– Does Belgium have something similar to High-Tech Park?
The high-tech park for your companies: grants, subsidies for innovative companies. But this is incomparable with the capabilities of PVT. For example, Be-Mobile is a technology company, and we pay 34% tax. Imagine: if an employee receives a thousand, then the company will have to pay nearly three thousand, taking into account taxes and social security contributions.
It seems to me that the transfer of Russian and Ukrainian companies to Belarus is only a matter of time. Belgium will not hurt your economy?
– In Belgium, there are many things and mechanisms that are not in Belarus: for example, a very expensive system of social insurance, businesses and citizens pay big taxes. I do not think our government now has the opportunity to launch a high-tech park with the same conditions as yours. It will be too expensive. On one side, more companies would appear immediately, but on the other hand, these missing taxes should be levied by someone else.
Impressions of Byelorussia
– When did you arrive in Belarus?
– Two years when we were looking for a suitable company for us. It was very easy to find contact with potential partners, but after getting to know CactusSoft, they decided to do so. Since, I have already, it seems, for the tenth time
– What did they know about Belarus before their first visit here?
– I knew Belarus from a business of my sphere – called Gurtam. We have already worked with her for about 4-5 years. What we do: consider information based on the GPS position of moving vehicles, and we have a contract with Gurtam – the company is working in a similar sphere
Having only met Gurtam, I had already impressed by the professionalism and ambition of your companies. a clbadic demand for foreigners: share common impressions about Belarus. Do not touch the business
– For us, Belarus was really an unknown country, and it is very annoying. It is not far: only 2.5 hours by plane, from Brussels to Paris or Amsterdam. The mentality in something similar to Belgium: we are also a small country, and therefore we must be open – otherwise the company will not be built. The population of the countries is also comparable – in Belgium there are about 11 million people. You, like us, are open to foreigners, ready to learn, and you know English well compared to other Europeans. Seriously, even the French who live next to the British speak much less English than the Belarussians.
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