Today, the 21st of April 2020, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the city known as the heart of Transylvania, is in the 37th day of state emergency due to COVID-19 pandemic which will last until the mid of May 2020. Social distancing and self-isolation measures are in place in order to flatten the epidemic curve that hit Romania and the entire European region. Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s IT community is one of the most active communities in the region pushing forward digital technologies to help citizens and business to get through this unseen times.
As a particular segment of the Cluj IT community, the custom software development sector from Cluj-Napoca, Romania is working hard on providing effective solutions for the industries and global customers it provides service to.
According to our latest news, we have presented to our partners and audience, how this particular sector of custom software development looked like before the rise of the pandemic, until the closure of the fiscal year: 31 December 2019.
While we are monitoring the data for the IT market and namely the custom software development from Cluj-Napoca during the first quarter of 2020, we are also trying to present what is currently happening in the city and why it is still a pertinent choice for offshoring, nearshoring or remote software development.
The usually vivid and vibrant city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania is now quiet and calm
- The public activity has reduced to essential services (food and grocery shops, medical units and hospitals, minimal public transportation) and reduced all major public gatherings and events.
- The businesses that could shift towards the work from home practice, embraced the procedures of home office.
- Social distancing is enforced by legal provisions and public schooling is closed.
- Spring is taking over the city as you can see in the official video published by Cluj-Napoca City Hall yesterday on its social media pages.
The IT sector from Cluj-Napoca, Romania is still one of the biggest employers on the market
According to recent studies, one out of eleven employees in Cluj-Napoca is working in the IT sector. This is due to the large foreign players on the market, the numerous IT startups and the impressive talent pool of this academic center.
The cost of living in Cluj-Napoca, Romania is considerably lower than in most European cities
When pondering where to localize remote operations such as software development, IT support or other IT services, specialized departments are checking the advantages that various destinations may bring. Therefore looking at the cost of living in those locations, at the rental market (for offices and residential) and the average monthly net salary will tell you a lot about the actual economical situation in the region. In the table below we have put together April 2020 data from the public Numbeo data base.
| April 2020 Indexes | In Cluj-Napoca compared to BERLIN | In Cluj-Napoca compared to BARCELONA | In Cluj-Napoca compared to AMSTERDAM | In Cluj-Napoca compared to LONDON | In Cluj-Napoca compared to VIENNA |
| Consumer prices | 44.60% lower | 38.62% lower | 54.98% lower | 54.95% lower | 45.09% lower |
| Rent prices | 57.70% lower | 54.76% lower | 74.82% lower | 78.94% lower | 55.00% lower |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 73.50% lower | 55.25% lower | 76.60% lower | 79.15% lower | 67.27% lower |
source: numbeo.com
As you can observe, Cluj-Napoca has a major economic advantage since it is a city positioned in a developing country. The general cost of living is significantly lower than in major capitals, rents are affordable and average net salaries are significantly lower than in most developed economies.
What is likely to happen in the following months in Cluj-Napoca?
As all across Europe, the local economies are facing a major downturn due to the pause of major trade, retail and manufacturing activities. The city’s tourism and event industries will also be hit as most major tourist destinations across the globe. Public and private transportation will have to recover as the population will be slightly be allowed to travel. The unemployment rates will increase and so the people actively trying to reconvert professionally.
Hopefully social responsibility and a healthy community mindset will help Cluj-Napoca people get through this crisis and sometime later this year, people will get back to a new state of normality.
On the software development sector side, our team is preparing more fresh information.
Stay tuned and feel free to ask more details about how we can cooperate and work together!
