56% of Bulgarian IT companies surveyed increased their revenue in 2020

The first edition of the State of IT Sales in Bulgaria report prepared by the sales development agency Out2Bound in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT), shows that despite COVID-19 the sector is growing.

75% of IT companies focused on selling their own products reported growth in revenue in 2020. Just as the world was entering its first lockdown, demand was keeping steady or rising.

There has been some loss of clients but it has been limited. Around 32% of respondents reported losing less than 1/4 of existing clients, mainly citing economic uncertainty as a reason. Only 4% lost more than 1/4 of existing clients. The rest had no loss.

Even with these good results, the Bulgarian IT industry clearly wanted to achieve more as only 29% reported achieving the goals they set.

Europe & North America account for the majority of the external markets that respondents listed. From talking to founders in the past 5 years we know that Western Europe is a key region for new business development. Looking at the results, we see that Germany and Nordics (besides UK) are the go-to territories for Bulgarian tech companies.” shared Teofil Shikov, Out2Bound’s CEO.

Surveyed companies that could be affected by Brexit share they are not exclusively reliant on the UK, as a majority also work with EU and North American clients.

The known high personnel turnover is still present in the IT sector. 83% of companies that added employees plan to hire even more in the near future.

In terms of sales tools only 11% of respondents rely on one exclusive channel to sell. 31% of respondents used expos and those were mainly the bigger companies.

And when it comes to sales personnel – 63% of surveyed companies shared these roles earn an annual income below EUR 30 000. In terms of the structure of their remuneration – most often
sales people cite earning between 11 and 49% of it as a bonus.

“Looking forward, most companies seem positive. 80% of our respondents expect their company revenue from new clients to increase. They plan to put in more work and adjust their approach to foreign markets. We’re noticing newfound optimism from the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Executives are even expecting the return of trade shows and conferences in the third quarter of 2021” added Shikov.

The State of IT Sales in Bulgaria 2020 report is based on a survey of 98 founders, CEOs and C- level Executives from Bulgarian IT businesses and is created in partnership with the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT).

You can find the full report at https://out2bound.com/research/sits2020/