Michael Zaitsev, CEO of DataArt, and Marina Kolesnik, Senior VP, were keynote speakers at the annual ITEC Technology conference in Philadelphia, focusing on Eastern Europe being the driver of innovation at the time of the economic slowdown. Zaitsev pointed that the current market conditions are filled with opportunities to get ahead of the competition by acquiring great talent and assets and by investing in new strategic projects. He showcased several recent DataArt client case studies, in financial services, new media and telecom, demonstrating how a Eastern European outsourcing company helped the firms in the U.S. and UK take advantage of the best opportunities by delivering strategic software development projects in record times and on budget.

Marina Kolesnik discussed the key differentiators of Eastern Europe as compared to other destinations, including India and China, specifically a highly educated work force, excellence in problem solving and complex analytical tasks, and cultural and geographic proximity to Europe. Kolesnik said that DataArt sees a strong demand for services despite the market slowdown, as the company helps clients to be more cost-effective and to reduce operational risks of hiring new people when the visibility is limited. She also pointed that the best areas for IT outsourcing to Eastern Europe are R&D, new application development and re-engineering.