Central and Eastern Europe is now a hotspot for technology-driven industries, in addition to its long-standing role as an industrial manufacturing haven. Information technology (IT) is one of the rapidly developing sectors in the region, with a high number of up-and-coming startups and established enterprises providing a variety of services ranging from
to data center management.
CEE has grown into a major IT outsourcing hub
The CEE region has become a well-known IT outsourcing destination, partially owing to its skilled talent pool, and lower labor costs compared to Western European countries. IT specialists from the region are equally sought after by overseas as well as European companies wishing to outsource their IT operations. Poland has the largest offshoring market in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly when it comes to software development services. In 2023, there were 400,000
software developers in the country, followed by Ukraine with 200,000 developers.
Poland also registered the highest export value of ICT services in the region in 2023, totaling nearly 17 billion U.S. dollars. Romania and Czechia followed in the ranking, with export values of over 11 billion and 7.16 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. In terms of salary costs, Belarus and Hungary recorded the lowest annual salaries for software developers, while Ukraine and Poland had the highest.
Tech giants propel demand for data centers
Technological transformation, artificial intelligence, and the shift from on-site infrastructure to cloud solutions drive an increasing demand for data centers across Europe. CEE countries have proven to be attractive locations for establishing data centers due to strong cybersecurity measures, affordability, and favorable tax policies. Russia, Poland, and Czechia are emerging as
prominent data center hubs in the region, with revenues forecast to increase over the following years. Alongside regional companies, major international players such as Microsoft Azure and Google operate data centers in Central and Eastern Europe. Russia had the
highest number of data centers in 2025 at 90 units, followed by Poland and Romania, which operated 83 and 61 data centers, respectively.
Industry outlook
Several segments of the information technology sector are forecast to undergo significant expansion in the CEE region in the near future. By 2029, the
market revenue of IT services in Poland is expected to increase by over 37 percent compared to 2024, peaking at 13.4 billion U.S. dollars, while Czechia is projected to record a 35 percent increase.
Revenues from IT outsourcing services are also expected to increase in all countries of the region, particularly in Poland and Czechia.
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