Novi Sad is attracting IT sector companies, Comtrade set to soon open two new offices there

Photo: Milena Djordjevic

Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia, but still different enough from the capital that those who move there, visit, or decide to do business there, can have a new and different experience.

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Novi Sad's potentials are already recognized by renowned international and domestic companies.

Over the past ten years, apart from new investments, factories and job creation, the city has particularly stood out in the development of an economic sector characteristic for its highly qualified workforce - the IT industry.

This is especially important, because one in two jobs created in the past year in Serbia was in the IT sector. The export of IT services will exceed the value of 2.5 billion euros this year, and the surplus will amount to more than 1.5 billion euros.

In Novi Sad, the average salary increased by about 3,000 dinars in just one month. Those salary increases are mostly driven by developers and employees in the technology industry. According to the latest research, the average net salary of a programmer is 1,225 euros, and the highest paid positions in Novi Sad are software developer and IT manager - with a net salary of 3,000 euros.

Novi Sad is also the "home" to companies such as Gazprom Neft, Lear from the US, British Aptiv, and Benu - the German pharmacy chain. Leaders from the Japanese company Nidek also chose to have offices in Novi Sad - this company operates with a turnover of 12 billion euros, and its arrival in "the Serbian Athens" could transform the business and industrial rhythm of the city.

The real estate market is also booming in Novi Sad.

For months, there has been a noticeable increase in real estate rental prices, while the prices of apartments for sale have also gone up.

Depending on the area of the city, the prices also vary, but if we take for example the three most popular locations - Grbavica, Nova Detelinara and Liman - then the situation is as follows: In Liman 1, prices range from around 1,500 euros per square meter, and on average up to 1,800 euros. Grbavica offers similar prices: a square meter for 1,200 euros is hard to find, and the price range is generally 1,500 to 1,700 euros. In Nova Detelinara, the prices start at around 1,300 euros and up, while Liman 3 is not much cheaper than Liman 1.

In recent years, many IT companies have chosen Novi Sad as a place for their business offices.

Photo: Milena Djordjevic

The number of these companies in Novi Sad is growing month by month, so it is already in the three digits, and these firms are involved in some sphere of information technology. Among them are both small startups, with only a few employees, as well as large corporations that operate on an international level and have over 1,000 employees.

We have learned that the domestic company Comtrade will soon open offices in Novi Sad for its two branches: Comtrade 360 and Comtrade System Integration. This means additional jobs for young talents and proven experts in the field of modern software solutions, data management in the cloud, and artificial intelligence.

In the past year alone, Comtrade 360 has employed more than 120 engineers in 12 countries, while Comtrade System Integration has been a leader in the regional system integration market for years, recording constant business growth.

As employers will be looking for an increasing number of experts in this city, everything points to an exciting further development of the Novi Sad IT scene, which will be very interesting to follow.

(Telegraf Biznis)