The global talent shortage has changed the way we handle business. Enterprise owners from North America and Western Europe struggle to fill in the talent gaps with the local workforce. That is why they started looking for qualified specialists abroad. According to Statista, by the end of 2022 only American companies are expected to generate $144.8B for the outsourcing market. Outsourcing software development opens a door to a lot of locations, rich in experienced tech professionals that provide all range of engineering services. However, what are the most alluring destinations you should pay attention to?
Eastern Europe is one of the most popular locations if we think about outsourcing IT services—it is the golden middle between talent quantity and service quality. The region is home to more than 1M of well-versed engineers. A considerable bulk of them, around 72,000 software development specialists, reside in Bulgaria. The location boasts a high level of tech expertise, favorable economic legislation, reliable cybersecurity standards, and big number of trusted IT companies. However, how to choose the best Bulgarian outsourcing vendor that will fulfill your business needs? To help you make a decision, we provided you with an overview of 15 top IT companies in Bulgaria that will make innovations work for your business.
Related: Top IT outsourcing destinations of Eastern Europe: Market report
Selection methodology
Bulgaria is home to dozens of reliable software engineering vendors. To help you select the right partner that will be able to fulfill your particular requirements, we created a list of top IT companies in Bulgaria. When researching, we referred to Clutch, a credible provider of reviews for tech, marketing, and business services companies.
- To start with, we searched for the best software development companies in Bulgaria. In our selection, we focused on mid- and large-size vendors staffing 250+ employees. These enterprises usually have more talent accessible at the moment, as well as optimized development processes. However, since most of the destination’s tech enterprises are small-size vendors, the most credible companies in that category will also be included in our list.
- To provide you with the most credible vendors in Bulgaria, IT companies selected have no less than 3 reviews on Clutch. Furthermore, we included only Bulgarian vendors with high (4.6+/5) review scores.
- The engineering enterprises on our list have 10+ years of experience in outsourcing IT services.
- Our catalog contains only top IT companies in Bulgaria that have a proven record of fruitful collaborations with foreign clients.
Outsourcing to Bulgaria: the destination overview
Bulgaria is one of the alluring locations for outsourcing software development in Eastern Europe. As stated in the ABSL report, the country is home to around 20,000 software developers, engaged in outsourcing. Local engineers deliver custom software development services to clients mainly from North America and Western Europe.
Apart from a big talent pool, Bulgaria also boasts high-quality IT services. Local developers appear in the top 15 of the global rankings that assess service standards. In particular, Bulgaria is positioned 14th on the Top Coder list, and 12th on the Skillvalue ranking. The expertise of Bulgarian coders is not limited by tech skills only: local engineers have a high English level. The country is rated 23rd on the EF English Proficiency list, meaning that you won’t face any communication issues with local specialists.
Even though Bulgaria has a few similarities to Western countries in terms of cultural compatibility, its developers are still well-integrated into the European business network. Bulgarians are aimed at long-term cooperation and share the same corporate culture as their partners from the west.
Learn more: The best place for IT outsourcing: Bulgaria vs Ukraine
IT companies in Bulgaria: short summary
According to the AT Kerney report, where Bulgaria takes the 17th position, the country is one of the Eastern European leaders in terms of IT outsourcing attractiveness. Due to favorable economic conditions, more and more companies are emerging in the local market. As for now, Clutch lists around 180 IT enterprises in Bulgaria, 17 of them being mid- and large-size vendors. Since the engineering market started to develop relatively recently in Bulgaria, IT companies in this destination are mostly small, counting from 50 to 100 tech specialists.
To attract a lot of talent, most of the biggest IT companies in Bulgaria set up their offices in major administrative centers. The largest Bulgarian hubs where most local engineering companies have their R&D centers are Sofia, Varna, Burgas, and Plovdiv.
Large-size engineering vendors in Bulgaria
1. N-iX
N-iX is a trusted European software development vendor with more than 21 years of international market presence. Over this time span, N-iX opened its R&D centers in 8 locations around the globe. Being one of the biggest IT companies in Bulgaria, this tech enterprise employs over 2,200 well-versed engineers that build solutions in tech domains, including business intelligence, big data, machine learning, IoT, cloud, and many others.
The vendor’s portfolio includes long-term cooperations (3-10 years) with 30+ international market players in manufacturing, telecom, healthcare, retail, fintech, and many more industries. Their client list spans top global enterprises such as Gogo, Fluke, Currencycloud, as well as several Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies.
2. Coherent Solutions
Founded in 1995, this vendor is one of the top IT companies in Bulgaria with proven experience in software product engineering, data analytics, mobile development, and UI/UX design. The company has over 1,800 tech professionals on board that successfully deliver solutions for wellness, healthcare, manufacturing, and many more business verticals.
3. IBA Group
This software development company has been on the international market for around 30 years. Staffing nearly 3,000 employees, this is one of the biggest IT companies that has its R&D center in Bulgaria. Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, the vendor also has offices in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, and many other locations. The tech enterprise offers help with DevOps, mobile app development, cloud solutions, IoT, and many other services. Among the company’s clients are enterprises in banking and finance, logistics, telecommunications, retail, and healthcare domains.
4. SoftServe
One of the most reliable IT companies in Bulgaria, this large-size enterprise employs over 12,000 engineers skilled in сustom software development, software testing, business analysis, cloud and DevOps, and the Internet of Things. Their portfolio includes numerous projects for healthcare, retail, electronics, and other business verticals.
Mid-size software development firms in Bulgaria
5. MentorMate
Being another trusted Bulgarian tech vendor, this IT company has been delivering projects for banking, healthcare, education, and other industries for more than 20 years. Apart from Bulgaria, the company also has its R&D centers in the US and Sweden. The vendor’s specialists offer help with web development, systems integration, as well as with DevOps, and cloud services.
6. Scalefocus
The youngest company among the top IT companies in Bulgaria, this tech enterprise was set up in 2012. With over 10 years on the global market, it has established over 500 fruitful collaborations with clients in e-commerce, healthcare, insurance, retail, and logistics domains. The key expertise areas of their engineers are custom software development, data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
7. rinf.tech
This is another reliable Bulgarian vendor with over 15 years of market experience in providing solutions for automotive, robotics, fintech, retail, and supply chain. The vendor focuses on smart solutions: 30% of the company’s engineers are involved in IoT development, while 25% of the efforts are dedicated to AI implementation. In addition, they have solid expertise in embedded software engineering and cloud development.
8. Flat Rock Technology
This mid-size vendor is another reliable engineering provider among IT companies in Bulgaria. The company employs more than 400 well-versed specialists that offer help with custom software development, cloud management, as well as the implementation of e-commerce and CMS platforms. The company’s client list spans international vendors from finance, insurance, transportation, real estate, and many other business verticals.
9. Dreamix
With the highest review score on Clutch, this Bulgarian IT enterprise is another reliable software development company on our list. Over 15 years of market experience, the vendor has handled projects for telecom, fintech, transportation, and e-commerce domains.
10. Accedia
Another representative of trusted Bulgarian enterprises, this company develops custom solutions for fintech, insurance, energy, and manufacturing industries. The vendor was set up in 2012, and since then has delivered projects to clients from around 20 countries. Its area of expertise spans solution architecture and development, DevOps, cloud migration, and UX design.
11. New Line Technologies
One more mid-size enterprise on the list of top IT companies in Bulgaria also has its R&D centers in Ukraine, Turkey, and the US. Over 10+ years of its market presence, the company has delivered over 150 projects for fintech, education, insurance, and healthcare domains. The main focus areas in the company are web, hybrid, iOS, and Android development as well as DevOps.
Small-size IT companies in Bulgaria
12. Melon
Founded in 2003, this is an engineering vendor that provides software development services mainly for electronics, e-commerce, banking, and gaming domains. Their specialists are well-grounded in web and mobile development, big data, cloud, DevOps, and UI/UX design.
13. B EYE
This is another reliable software development vendor with 10+ years of experience on the market. Over this time, the company has embarked on partnerships with global leading healthcare and life science providers. The IT enterprise offers help with microservices, blockchain development, as well as DevOps.
14. Methodia
Among numerous small-size software development vendors in Bulgaria, IT companies like this stand out because of their proven engineering experience and excellent review score (5). Through 20+ years on the market, the tech enterprise has established collaborations with top market players in telecom, energy, and insurance domains. Their key focus areas are custom software development and BI analytics.
15. BGO Software
This is one of the smallest vendors on our list of top IT companies in Bulgaria. Nevertheless, this tech enterprise has a great reputation, successfully delivering complex custom solutions for e-healthcare, pharmaceutical, and biotech companies. The vendor’s service list includes project discovery, solution prototyping and development, and the product’s further maintenance.
How to find the best engineering vendor in Bulgaria?
Selecting among numerous software development vendors might become a challenging task. In order to narrow the list of potential outsourcing partners, we gathered the list of checkpoints that will define your choice:
- The company’s size. In order to accelerate the project launch, we recommend selecting a large- or mid-size vendor for outsourcing software development. These companies usually can promptly offer human resources to scale and have optimized development processes.
- Technology expertise. Make sure that the company staffs tech specialists with the relevant skillset. Prepare the list of technologies you require for your project and research the company’s website to make sure that their teams have applicable expertise.
- The vendor’s portfolio. Look through the list of the company’s partnerships. Some projects in industries similar to yours will be a considerable bonus.
- Cybersecurity policy. Another proof of the company’s credibility is a reliable security policy. It is mandatory for your potential vendor to comply with GDPR, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 9001:2015, HIPAA, or other international security guidelines.
- Industry awards and recognitions. Check out your potential partner has any industry certifications or awards that prove the company’s solid tech expertise and hunger for innovations.
- Client reviews. Before embarking on a partnership, check out the clients’ testimonials on the company’s website or read the reviews on Clutch.
More on the topic: Everything you need to know about software development in Bulgaria
Why choose N-iX as your long-term outsourcing partner?
- N-iX is a reliable software development vendor based in Europe with 21+ years of market experience in manufacturing, telecom, healthcare, agritech, retail, energy, and many more business verticals.
- The vendor’s IT specialists offer help with embedded software implementation, Internet of Things, big data services, enterprise VR production, cloud solutions development, and UI/UX design.
- N-iX cooperates with global market leaders providing top-notch engineering services to PrettyLittleThing, Currencycloud, Messer, AVL, Fluke, and many Fortune 500 companies.
- The company adheres to the recognized standards of cybersecurity, namely, ISO 27001:2013, ISO 9001:2015, GDPR, PCI DSS, and more.
- N-iX earned industry recognition: the IT enterprise has been included into the Global Outsourcing 100 list by IAOP, as well as ranked No.55 on the CRN Fast Growth 150 List.
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