In recent years, we've seen a change in ways of working across the industry. Organisations are becoming more budget-conscious and future-focused. They want more assurances on their projects' value and tech partners that can deliver long-term benefits and solve tangible business problems. So, the question is how this shift will affect the Romanian IT community.

Marian, Head of Manufacturing & Multi-Industry Services Technologies at Accesa, had the pleasure of sharing some of his experience this October with the Oradea Tech Hub's community during the "Oameni din Tech" podcast. 

After seeing the ups and downs of the IT industry in the past twelve years, Marian offered his insights and opinions on the current state of the industry in Romania, as well as how its community has grown:  

How the Romanian IT community grew to what it is today  

The Romanian IT industry has many things going for it. Our growing community is supported by good universities where young people create stable knowledge foundations to build on. Afterward, there are plenty of companies of all sizes where junior developers can gain practical experience, find mentors and feed their passion. Another important aspect is that most developers are proficient in English and sometimes in a third language as well.  

In short, the Romanian IT community is motivated, skilled, and communicative. All these factors lead to the projects we work on being high-quality and generating genuine business value. 

Moreover, from Marian's perspective, which is a view we absolutely share, our location and status as a member state of the European Union makes us excellent collaborators for organisations from Western Europe. From our experience working with plenty of top organisations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the similarity in time zones, cultures, and the ability to meet face-to-face has helped Romanian IT companies create their positioning as dependable tech partners.  

So, that's a quick look at yesterday's context, but the IT industry is nothing if not dynamic. With today's changing economy, emerging technologies, and shift in how we work, what does the future hold for our growing community?  

What Tomorrow's IT Industry Will Look Like  

For Romanian service providers, it's no longer enough to rely solely on their tech capabilities and expertise. Teams have to ask "why" more and look at projects like business challenges to solve, not apps to build.  

Once you change your perspective and mental model and adopt a growth mindset, you also gather more business experience. With time and projects, developers stop being just specialists in a technology or other but also in specific industries and types of organisations. At Accesa, we've organised around the three sectors we serve, from consultancy to quality management and support: Retail, Finance, and Manufacturing. 

In the future, we expect organisations in the IT industry to leverage their software experience and business knowledge to find new ways to help their client transform emerging technologies into tangible business benefits.  

Friendshoring, more than outsourcing  

While most people in the Romanian IT community have worked on outsourcing projects, Marian raises a good point – that delivering more business value to a client, asking the whys and getting answers requires a more personal touch.  

Accesa's answer to this challenge is friendshoring, an uplifted version of outsourcing. Focusing on projects with partners in geographically close countries deepens our relationships with clients and builds genuine trust.

Building a long-lasting business relationship means more than working on the same project for several years. The most important aspect is the human factor – putting in the effort to keep communications open, to ask and offer feedback, and to stand by our clients through both good and sometimes challenging times.

Another example of how we promote the friendshoring approach is through in-person events. These include hackathons, the annual Accesa tech events, visits, and team-building activities. These are all fantastic opportunities to share knowledge, brainstorm ways to create business value and develop effective collaboration across the team.  

Practical Advice for the IT Community  

Marian was also glad to share some of his personal observations and advice for developers based on twelve years of experience in the industry:  

• Find your purpose. Ask yourself what you want to achieve whenever you make a decision that affects your career. The answer will continuously change, and it's unlikely that you'll reach a 'final' purpose, but finding satisfaction in your work is a lot easier once you've defined what you're working towards on a personal level.  

• Ask how to do more. In larger organisations, it's easy for specialists to start feeling disconnected from their higher-ups or the company as a whole. While organisations move slower than individuals, you should definitely ask what you can do to help the community move forward. This links to the previous point – once you know both your and your organisation's purpose, you can better find how to support both.  

• Find mentors. It's unlikely that you'll find the perfect mentor from which to learn everything you want, but that's not a problem. Try to find people to help with different subjects, including hard and soft skills. What matters is that you receive support as you deepen your knowledge on the subjects that interest you.  

• Create routines. Life is dynamic and complex, and at least a bit of routine helps keep people grounded and focused. You don't have to meticulously plan your whole day or avoid anything spontaneous. Marian's advice is to start small and do the things you know help you in your day-to-day life. Repeat them until they become routines.   

• Find the work environment that gives you balance. Working remotely is a necessity when your colleagues are in different cities or even countries, but this style may not be ideal for everyone. While plenty of researchers are still studying the subject, Marian has a straightforward personal observation: remote work tends to accentuate a person's tendencies. Suppose a specialist is already predisposed to overwork. In that case, being remote may lead to even more overwork, and the opposite is true as well – working from home can lead to people being less involved if they already have difficulties with motivation. Try to find a style that helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance.  

We're thrilled that Marian got to share his thoughts and insights on these important topics, and we'd like to thank Oradea Tech Hub for the opportunity!  

If you want to see Accesa's results and the business value we generate through friendshoring, take a look at our Client Stories.