Interview with Marek Greško and Róbert Dusík
| Mr. Marek Greško has been involved in IT outsourcing since 2011. Mr. Róbert Dusík worked for nearly six years in Vienna as an IT freelancer – Software engineer. Today, they hold a managing position in a leading company providing IT outsourcing services – 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀. |
| 1. Digitalization is booming across all the industries. Do you experience a higher demand for IT freelancers in the supply chain industry? Massive digitization is currently underway on the Slovak market, which was launched due to a pandemic and the need for companies to digitize their services. Companies are moving their services online to be closer to their end customers, on the other hand, companies that have previously operated online, keep modernizing and improving their online services. New and more complex applications/systems are created, which results in greater demands on SW, HW, security, data simply on the entire IT etc. Currently, the demand for IT specialists / IT freelancers is huge and even 100% higher than it was before the pandemic. With the opportunity to work on REMOTE projects from the HOME-OFFICE, the market for IT staff began to globalize. This means that Slovak companies are more open to IT specialists from neighboring countries such as Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary and others, and do not insist on IT specialist to work fully ON-SITE. This mechanism also works the other way around. Companies based in countries such as Austria, Germany, Swiss etc., have no problem cooperating with Slovak or Czech IT specialists who can now work from HOME-OFFICE. Of course, there is still a shortage of IT specialists, but that is why we have TITANS here, who knows where and how to find these IT specialists. Now, however, we will be able to look for IT specialists in the surrounding countries as well, because it is no longer necessary for an IT specialist to work locally on-site. [Marek Greško, the Founder of TITANS freelancers] 2. Has this segment the potential to grow further? Is this future? The interest of companies in IT outsourcing is growing. Compared to last year, we recorded an increase in demand for IT freelancers by 100%. This behavior is related to the growing trend of companies to operate more project-oriented. After completing the project, they want to narrow or dissolve the project team and keep only the capacity to maintain and develop the completed solution. Companies are no longer building very large IT departments. There is a growing interest in dynamically hiring a team for the period when they really need it. The claim that freelancers are not suitable for long-term cooperation has long since ceased to apply. Outsourced specialists can help companies for a long time and without any risks. Especially if they are backed by a strong partner who has a solid background in the field of IT outsourcing and guarantees stability to clients. Companies that were convinced that the only way to expand capacity on the project is in the form of internal staff, are changing their minds. Today, a large part of the project team is complemented by freelancers. In the long run, we expect a further increase in IT outsourcing. Such cooperation brings companies new opportunities for team management. Thanks to freelancers, they can easily and quickly expand the IT team with experienced specialists and at the same time very quickly release these capacities from the team. For a clear idea of speed – last month we helped one of our clients to add a team of 4 senior Java programmers and 2 ICT analysts within 10 days of entering the request to start the project. This process takes 6 – 8 months in the standard recruitment process. For a project with a submission deadline of 6 months, such a procedure is unrealistic. The example really shows how quickly a company can strengthen its IT team and complete a key project in a timely manner. This is just one of the benefits that IT outsourcing brings to companies. Imagine that you need to expand the project with a new IT specialist. What can you do about it? Create a request, pre-select suitable candidates, conduct interviews, fine-tune the conditions, sign a contract, prepare HW… In case of cooperation with us, you just need to enter a request and we will take care of the rest. In addition to a more detailed specification of your needs, pre-selection of candidates, agreement of conditions and contracting, we oversee the smooth cooperation between you and the freelancer. As a mediator, we are also present at all interviews with candidates, but the final decision is always up to you – the customer. The whole process is transparent, professional, direct communication and, most importantly, fast. Such collaboration saves time and money and so you can focus on your business. [Róbert Dusík, the Founder of TITANS freelancers] Hiring IT specialists gives companies the opportunity to hire a consultant for the period of time for which they really need him, e.g. hire an IT tester for only 3 months during the testing phase. It gives companies freedom and flexibility. Hiring IT specialists partly solves the problem with their lack, because when the project ends, the IT specialist is again available for another company. Also, by the fact that the IT specialist freelancer is working on an average of 2 to 3 projects over 2 years, he is gaining more experience from several companies. He takes lessons from each project, lessons on what worked well and, conversely, what did not work. Therefore, freelancers are usually more seasoned and therefore there is more interest in them. Comparing the time when we started (about 8 years ago) and today, this segment has moved significantly forward. If I should express it numerically, in 8 years it is about 160% increase in the interest of companies in hiring IT specialists. Every next year I expect an increase and higher interest by about another 10% to 20%. [Marek Greško, the Founder of TITANS freelancers] 3. According to the latest information, TITANS has an impact on 11,000 IT specialists. How does the company reach them and where do IT specialists come from? For more than eight years of working in IT OUTSOURCING, we have approached and attracted tens of thousands of IT specialists with our TITAN approach, correct cooperation, clear communication, co-organization of top IT conferences, web portal, and project offer, recruitment activities, freelance awareness, and other IT activities. We have created a large community of people – IT experts from all areas of the IT sector who are interested in potential cooperation, information about new projects in their domain, news from the IT freelance world, etc. These specialists contact us daily and want to be informed about project news and offers. A strong “army” of people with a real and voluntary interest in cooperation and communication was formed within years and the result is the current state – a database of IT specialists, active and potential TITANS, with whom we communicate regularly and openly. Most of the specialists are people from Slovakia or the Czech Republic. The rest consists mainly of people of other EU nationalities. [Róbert Dusík, the Founder of TITANS freelancers] 4. What is the impact of COVID-19 on IT outsourcing industry and what is your strategy for the near future? When I compare the situation before and during the pandemic, several things have changed. Interviews are currently taking place exclusively online, our customers do not insist on a personal interview as much as before. Before the pandemic, Slovak companies demanded the specialists to work on the project mostly on-site. Therefore, there was a mismatch between supply and demand. Freelancers were looking for off-site projects and the companies wanted specialists who would be physically present during the whole time of the project. Currently, this requirement has changed due to the pandemic. During the forced home offices, the companies found out that they know how to fully and even more effectively implement IT projects in the form of off-site cooperation. This attracted many skilled freelancers even from the surrounding countries. This would not have been possible before the pandemic. After the pandemic, which I believe will be soon, most things will not return to the state they were before, which means, companies will still prefer a personal interview, but if it is not possible, they will no longer insist on it and will be comfortable conducting an online interview. Companies will also be more open to working on a project from HOME-OFFICE and the choice will always be at the preference of the IT specialist. The shortage of IT specialists will increase as well as their demand. All this is just a driving force for the hiring of IT specialists and the further international expansion of our segment. [Marek Greško, the Founder of TITANS freelancers] |
 | TITANS freelancers is one of the leading independent providers of IT services in the field of outsourcing of IT specialists. If you need to flexibly adjust the size of your IT capacity, increase the performance of your IT department or reduce labor costs, TITANS freelancers offer you first aid for your IT projects.
www.titans.sk |