YEREVAN. – As compared with last year’s 281, a total of 380 companies are operating this year in Armenia’s Information Technology (IT) sector, Executive Director Bagrat Yengibaryan of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation said Tuesday at session of the Armenian Information TechnologiesDevelopment Support Council.
As per Yengibaryan, the country’s high IT sector growth rate is maintained, with 25 percent per year. In the case when this sector’s gross product was worth $205 million in the year past, it will exceed $250 million this year. In addition, the local companies have strengthened in this market.
Close to 60 percent of Armenia’s IT products is exported, and primarily to the US.
In the case when the number of Armenia’s IT specialists was 6,860 last year, their number exceeds 7,800 this year. In the case when close to 70 percent of these specialists worked for foreign companies three to four years ago, this indicator has dropped to 50 percent at present. And if we were to add the telecommunicationsector, the number of Armenia’s IT sector workers will surpass 10,000.
Also, Armenia stands out in the IT sector in terms of a high involvement rate by women. In developed countries, the women’s involvement in this sector does not exceed 10 percent, whereas it surpasses 30 percent in Armenia.
As per Bagrat Yengibaryan, Armenia has several advantages with respect to the IT sector. First, the country still uses the ex-Soviet education infrastructures and, on their basis, it has created its biggest advantage: specialized potential. “Armenia does not have cheap labor. The salaries in Armenia are fairly high. But in the segment where Armenia competes, it positions very interestingly in the world, and it still has a relative advantage [in terms of] salaries,” Yengibaryan noted.
