Bulgaria's software sector registered a growth of 5.3% in 2010 year-on-year, according to a survey unveiled by the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM).

The survey was carried out by GOPA Consultants, a German consultancy, and surveyed 38 companies that are members of BASSCOM and the Bulgarian Web Association, TechNews reported.

The sales of the 38 firms in question grew by 8% in 2010 compared with 2008, while in 2009 they grew by 2.6% compared with the previous year.

The combined volume of the sales of the 38 Bulgarian software developers reached BGN 163.3 M in 2010. The businesses in question have a total of 2 489 employees.

TechNews points out that the survey encompasses about one third the Bulgarian software development sector because according to data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute, the industry employs 7 995 people in Bulgaria and has a total turnover of BGN 428.8 M.

"The stable growth of the Bulgarian software companies and the fact that 50% of their sales are realized abroad indicates that the sector has matured long ago and has the potential to be one of the major engines of the Bulgarian economy," Georgi Brashnarov, Chair of the Governing Board of BASSCOM is quoted as saying.

In his words, the salaries in the software development sector in Bulgaria have seen growth in the recent years.

74% of the firms that participated in the survey have Bulgarian majority owners, 13% are owned from entities based outside Bulgaria, and another 13% are subsidiaries that work solely for their parent company.

The survey has concluded the trend for a 50/50 division between the software sales in Bulgaria and the sales to foreign clients is stable.

About 60% of the Bulgarian software sales abroad go to Europe, and 35% - to North America.

The share of the high-value added software products that are exported by the Bulgarian industry grew from 25% in 2008 to 28% in 2010.

The number of employees at the respective firms remained the same in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and the salaries saw a year-on-year growth of 2.3% in 2010, after a growth of 5.9% in 2009. Thus, in 2008-2010, the average salary in the surveyed companies grew by 8.1%.

81% of the respondents in the survey expected a growth of their sales in 2011, while 54% of all expect a growth of up to 15%.

70% of them expect to hire more employees, and 87% of the companies plan to increase the salaries of their IT experts.

The survey of the Bulgarian IT sector concludes that its development will be influenced primarily by the local and global economic situation, and the human resource factor.

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