For years, Belarus has hovered below the radar of most IT executives in Western Europe. Although other countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region have risen in prominence, thanks to their expertise in IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, Belarus has received almost no attention.

On the other hand, Belarus is extremely well connected and has nurtured a culture of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for many decades. During the Soviet era, Minsk was designated as the USSR’s technology hub and, as many visitors have observed, this focus on technology still resonates today. There are an estimated 100,000 IT professionals living in Belarus. 

The average salary of a web developer in Belarus is around $1000/mo, which is among the highest in the country. Also, Belarus is a cheap European destination for web projects, as the hourly rate of a developer reaches 6-11 USD. With the extra price of a company, you could contract a web agency for a price of  $9-19/hour, according to salary explorer. 

At the same time, Belarus has a very high percentage of the public sector in the economy - about 50%. Small and medium-sized businesses are developing quite steadily, although at a slow pace. The main part of them consists of companies operating in the industrial and service sectors. The latter, which includes IT companies, make a significant contribution to the country's economy. In 2022, the share of the IT sector was 6.6% of GDP. Companies operate mainly in external markets - the CIS countries (leader is Russia), the EU (leader is Germany) and the US - states Mikalaj Tamaszevicz from PRAS

Why you should work with a Belarusian web agency? 

Even if the price range is lower than the European average, the services you get in exchange are comparingly good with other countries in the region. Nonetheless, Belarus positions as a new startup hub in eastern Europe, and companies have a healthy competitiveness potential. 

What you should be aware of when working with Belarusian companies?

Even though progress was made in the IT field, the legal framework and background remained the same from the soviet union, with a slight adjustment. If contracting a Belarusian company, you may want to check the jurisdiction of the ruling laws over the contract, as it may get tricky.  Also, lower prices offered by Belarusian companies are connected with product quality, management, and software piracy. 

Are Belarusian companies Reliable? 

Belarus has been in the last year a great destination for outsourcing and as well as local professionals and businessmen managed to create and adjust their own IT infrastructure and environment to the latest standards. Based on Belarus Statistics Agency, in 2019 the total amount of foreign investments in IT was estimated to $295 million. 

As for companies, there is a relevant trust connection between Belarus-based and global markets, and the bigger the price/hour of services provided, the more responsible companies are.

How Belarus IT infrastructure relates to its neighboring countries?

Taking only the price into account, the services of Belarusian IT companies are cheaper than in the neighboring EU countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Poland), but more expensive than in Russia and Ukraine. The average rate is $25-35 per hour. As far as quality is concerned, one has to look at each specific company, but, in general, Belarus is ahead of Russia.

What Makes Belarus Attractive for International IT Companies?

Belarus is attractive because the High Tech Park (HTP) has been operating in the country since 2006, whose residents can enjoy tax incentives. Among other things, this includes a zero rate of VAT and profit tax, and a reduced rate of income tax. Due to this, the tax burden on IT companies in Belarus is lower than in neighboring countries. In addition, Belarus is known for the high quality of IT staff training. Therefore, if you want to open an office in Belarus, you can hire local specialists rather than relocate a team from abroad.

EPAM Systems and IBA Group - Dominant IT Companies in Belarus

 These are the best-known companies with Belarusian roots. EPAM Systems is the leader in Belarusian IT in terms of the number of employees. IBA Group is one of the pioneers of Belarusian IT and one of the largest companies in the country's market

The Ease of Opening an IT Company in Belarus

The business climate is generally favorable for opening new IT companies in Belarus, but two factors should be taken into account. The first one is the large number of bureaucratic procedures when registering a company and the second one is the possible difficulties with international payments, as some banks are under sanctions.

How Belarus Authorities Encourage the IT Sector?

In 2006, the HTP was established in Belarus. The tax incentives regime for its residents attracted foreign IT companies to the country and also increased the inflow of foreign investments. In 2017, a decree on the development of the digital economy was adopted, which legalized the development of the crypto-industry in the country and the use of smart contracts.

Minsk - The Only Best Place For IT Companies in Belarus

Minsk is the economic and financial center of the country, and the city is home to the main training facilities for qualified IT staff. There are also no problems with access to high-speed internet and office rentals in the city. The service sector is well developed.

About Belarusian IT Talent Pool 

The IT sector is very popular as a future workplace among school and university students as well as people who decide to change careers. This is mainly due to the high salaries compared to other sectors of the economy. The average salary in IT in Belarus is $2,000, which is four times the average salary in the country. The system of higher IT education is well-developed in the country and there are many IT courses in different areas. The level of training is quite high, which is noted by many foreign companies where Belarusian IT specialists come to work.

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This article was created together with prominent figures and professionals coming from reputable Belarusian IT companies. Special credits: Mikalaj Tamaszevicz

Angular (formerly AngularJS) is a popular open-source web application framework maintained by Google and a community of developers. It's used for building dynamic, single-page web applications (SPAs) and web-based applications in general. Angular provides a structured and organized way to create complex web applications by extending HTML with additional features and enabling the development of interactive, responsive, and maintainable front-end web interfaces. Here are some key aspects and concepts of Angular:

1. Component-Based Architecture

2. Templates 

3. Directives

4. Dependency Injection

5. Services

6. Routing

7. Observable and RxJS

8. Modules

9. Testing

10. Cross-Platform

Angular's structured approach, strong tooling, and vibrant ecosystem of libraries and extensions make it a powerful framework for building modern web applications. It is particularly well-suited for large and complex projects where maintainability and scalability are crucial.

Companies may choose Angular over other front-end frameworks for their projects for a variety of reasons, depending on their specific needs and priorities.

• Google Backing: Angular is developed and maintained by Google. This association often gives companies confidence in its long-term support, stability, and continuous improvement. Google's involvement is seen as a sign of reliability and commitment to the framework.

• Mature and Established: Angular has been around for a while and has a strong track record of being used successfully in large-scale enterprise projects. It has a well-defined architecture and best practices, which can be beneficial for maintaining and scaling applications over time.

• TypeScript Support: Angular is built with TypeScript, a statically-typed superset of JavaScript. TypeScript provides better tooling, code maintainability, and catches errors at compile time, which can reduce bugs and enhance code quality, making it attractive to companies that prioritize robust code.

• Full-Featured Framework: Angular provides a comprehensive set of tools, libraries, and features out of the box, including routing, form handling, HTTP client, and more. This can save development time and effort compared to integrating multiple third-party libraries in other frameworks.

• Two-Way Data Binding: Angular offers powerful two-way data binding, which allows for automatic synchronization between the data model and the view. This feature can make it easier to develop interactive and responsive user interfaces.

• Large and Active Community: Angular has a large and active community of developers and a wealth of resources, including documentation, tutorials, and third-party libraries. This can be beneficial for finding solutions to common problems and getting support when needed.

• Enterprise-Ready: Angular provides features like dependency injection, modularity through modules, and a strong emphasis on testability. These characteristics are well-suited for building robust and maintainable enterprise-level applications.

• Strict Coding Standards: Angular enforces a set of coding standards and best practices, which can lead to more consistent and readable code. This can be important for companies with multiple developers working on the same codebase.

• Cross-Platform Development: Angular can be used for building both web and mobile applications. Companies looking to develop applications for multiple platforms may choose Angular for its ability to share code between web and mobile apps using technologies like NativeScript or Ionic.

• Integration with Backend Technologies: Angular can easily integrate with various backend technologies and APIs. This makes it suitable for projects where the front end needs to communicate with different types of server-side applications.

• Security Features: Angular provides built-in security mechanisms to help prevent common web vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). This can be crucial for projects with high security requirements.

• Ecosystem and Tooling: Angular has a rich ecosystem of tools, extensions, and IDE support, including Angular CLI for project setup and management. This can streamline development workflows and improve productivity.

Ultimately, the choice of Angular or any other framework depends on the specific project requirements, the development team's expertise, and the company's long-term goals. Companies evaluate various factors to determine which framework aligns best with their needs, resources, and priorities.