Romania's entry into the European Union in January 2007 has catalyzed interest in the country's software industry. In the past 18 months, a spate of acquisitions has highlighted Romania's appeal as an Eastern European "near-shoring" hub.
Romania is attractive for a variety of reasons, including an ample supply of graduates from a university system strong in math and physics; relatively low costs; low turnover rates; a time zone and distance favorable to European companies; and an eager, multilingual work force.
Wirtek A/S, a software outsourcing firm based in Aalborg, Denmark, needed an offshore operation and first looked at India. But management instead decided to acquire a software company working in telecommunications: CodeWizards, based in Cluj-Napoca, a city about 400 kilometers northwest of the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
