Ovidiu Pinghioiu talks about Romania's IT market and Cegeka Romania with Ziarul Financiar

Although Romania's IT market continues to be competitive, it is still in a process of developing. In 2023, the total turnover of Romania's IT industry reached €15.6 billion, but local spending on IT services remains low compared to other European markets, such as Belgium, said Ovidiu Pinghioiu, Country Director of Cegeka Romania.

"According to ANIS estimates, the total turnover of Romania's IT industry reached €15.6 billion in 2023, while local spending on IT services, including public sector spending, is expected to reach €2 billion by 2025, according to PAC. In comparison, for instance, companies in Belgium spend over €25 billion on local IT services. This difference shows that Romanian companies could invest much more in IT, but the market is still developing," Ovidiu Pinghioiu said in an interview with Ziarul Financiar.

He added that the IT market in Romania is complex and divided into two dimensions, each with its own challenges and opportunities.

"The first dimension is represented by IT service centers established here by international companies. These centers have contributed to the development of the industry by bringing know-how and expertise. Romania continues to be cost-competitive, but the advantage of lower costs compared to other countries is gradually decreasing. This is due to both the elimination of tax exemptions in IT and the increased inflation in recent years. The challenge will be to remain attractive on the global market through innovation and service quality, not just through pricing," said Ovidiu.

The second dimension identified by Ovidiu is the local market, which, despite having great potential, remains underdeveloped, as Romanian SMEs still do not allocate sufficient resources for digitalization. "In the long term, I believe we will see a shift in mentality, and Romanian companies—especially SMEs—will increasingly understand the importance of digitalizing their businesses. This development of the local market will create significant opportunities, particularly for firms that can offer affordable and efficient digitalization solutions."

Moreover, in recent years, the demand for IT solutions has been steadily growing across multiple industries, not concentrated in just one sector. "Still, we see significant investments in areas such as retail, insurance, and manufacturing. Overall, all industries are increasingly focusing on technology, each trying to adapt and become more competitive. IT solutions have become essential for digital transformation in almost every field."

Regarding 2024, Ovidiu stated that it has been full of challenges, leading to a shift in client approach.

"By the end of 2023, we could sense an upcoming turbulent year, and that is exactly what happened. The good part? We shifted to a new, consultancy-focused approach. As before, we prioritize understanding client needs, but we also emphasize assuming risks and challenges together. Essentially, we aim to build authentic collaborative relationships, strategic partnerships, and move away from strictly transactional interactions. This way, we manage to bring significant value to our clients. We’ve noticed that they appreciate being challenged to reach their potential much more than having a purely commercial relationship. By mid-year, we began to see the results of this change. We gained new clients interested in investing in digitalization, and those we already worked with chose to continue with us," explained the Country Director of Cegeka Romania.

He added that, Cegeka also focuses on developing tools to automate and optimize internal processes, as well as creating personalized digital assistants for various tasks. "Our goal is to make access to information much faster and more efficient, improve employee autonomy, and provide support in decision-making, thereby reducing the time spent on repetitive or manual tasks."

"Essentially, we ensure that our AI-based solutions are perfectly tailored to each client’s needs, so we deliver real value that helps them become more competitive and increase productivity. We focus on using mature, well-tested technologies to offer clients stable and efficient solutions tailored to their specific needs."

Cegeka Romania has approximately 900 employees, after recruiting 120 specialists in 2023 to support growing projects. The company's plans for 2025 focus more on consolidating existing businesses, noted Ovidiu Pinghioiu.

"From the delivery center perspective, our priority is to continue developing our center in Greece, which we opened two years ago, and to expand it further. Locally, our priority is the development of our employees. We want to enhance the technical skills of those already in the team, offering them training and advancement opportunities. The goal is to create a work environment where everyone can develop, feel supported, and actively contribute to our projects, thereby supporting long-term business growth."

To attract and retain IT talent, Cegeka Romania focuses on creating a flexible and motivating work environment. "We offer employees continuous learning opportunities through training and resources to help them develop. We provide flexibility regarding the workplace (hybrid or remote) and an attractive benefits package. We also offer the chance to work on interesting projects where they can showcase their talent. We want to revive Cegeka Academy, a program through which we recruit young talent directly from universities. In the past, this program was very successful, and now we’re determined to bring it back and work alongside our clients to develop new talent and give them a chance to grow in the IT industry."

Among the benefits Cegeka Romania offers its employees are private health insurance, extra days off when public holidays fall on weekends, and three additional bonus days annually.
"We also provide a benefits budget, which employees can tailor to their needs, whether for sports activities, personal development, meal vouchers, or even vacations. And last but not least, we offer a 13th salary and support wellbeing initiatives to ensure the best possible work-life balance."

Ovidiu Pinghioiu added that Cegeka Romania is currently experiencing a decline in attrition rates, "This phenomenon is happening not only at Cegeka Romania but also in other companies in the field. Still, we maintain a better attrition rate, about 5% below the market average. This shows that what we’re doing is working."

At the end of 2023, Cegeka Romania recorded revenues of over €60 million, a 30% increase compared to the previous year.

"Cegeka Romania plays a very important role within the Cegeka group internationally. The main reason is that we have the group's largest delivery center, managing projects for clients in several countries. Additionally, Cegeka Romania has grown significantly in the local market. In seven years, we’ve made a name for ourselves in Romania's IT industry and gained a significant market share. This rapid evolution demonstrates not only the potential of the Romanian market but also our team’s ability to deliver quality projects. If we were to rank the countries in the group, Romania ranks third, after Belgium and the Netherlands," said Ovidiu Pinghioiu.

In the interview, Ovidiu mentioned that estimates for 2024 indicate an 8% turnover growth by the end of the year.

"For 2025, we aim for a 7% increase compared to 2024. At the same time, regarding the services center, we will focus on expanding operations in Greece. Looking ahead, our ambition is to double our local market share in the next three years. We want to consolidate our position in the Romanian market and make a significant contribution in our field," added Ovidiu.