Cyta maintains development with innovative projects

“Cyprus needs a concerted effort by all stakeholders, including ministries, regulators, the local industry and other actors in the economy. The success of this will eventually allow our country to attract the highly skilled, in-demand workers that we are currently in need of. To accelerate the potential, this also demands solid partnerships and collaborations with advanced-tech organisations that already have the know-how to help us take the leap.”

How does Cyta work with developers?

“Information Technology (IT) is a foundational part for most businesses today, irrespective of size, industry and geography. The contribution of IT to business strategy is vital in realising enterprise strategic goals and creating sustainable business growth. In addition, due to the pandemic that disrupted businesses on a global scale, last year was a catalyst that further highlighted the importance of IT and brought digital business innovation to the forefront of organisations. In this context, as software developers are one of the IT’s core taskforces, they are considered a valuable asset in achieving business objectives. Cyta, responds to the challenge of the convergence of telecommunications and information technology, an essential part of which is to drastically enhance the deliverables of its software development teams, as one of the main pillars to meet demand and needs.

“Cyta relies heavily on its inhouse IT department which comprises some of the best developers in the local market with extensive experience. We make sure that they are continuously trained to keep up with the composite and ever-changing needs of our sector, as well as with Cyta’s insistence on high-end services and quality.”

There is a worldwide shortage of developers. How does Cyta make a competitive offer for them?

“Cyta offers competitive salaries and fringe benefits (retirement fund, health insurance, employee welfare fund, flexible work arrangements including teleworking etc), as well as a great work-family balance. Highly skilled and motivated developers need to be offered opportunities to work on projects that are exciting, challenging, and act as learning experiences. They also need the best available tools and technology.

When working for Cyta, developers are involved in high profile, large scale, innovative projects that address both the consumer and the business, as well as the wholesale markets. Such projects deliver solutions related to Business Support Systems, Operations Support Systems, Digital Channels and Online Services, Enterprise Resource Planning, Internal Process Automations, as well as 5G services and Fiber Optic products. These projects can be fascinating, as they exploit the highend infrastructure and future-proof information technologies to create an innovative landscape. Hence, a developer gets to be a hands-on participant in the transformation of the digital capabilities of Cyta and the whole country.”

Is Cyprus creating a local pool of developers, and if not, what should be done?

“Cyprus has only recently realised the potential of attracting serious investment by making itself appealing as a destination for the relocation of major foreign corporations. However, in a very short time, it has taken bold steps towards accomplishing this goal, including the framing of a comprehensive policy that will allow it to compete internationally, as a technology hub. The plan covers tax incentives, the improvement of the offer to skilled workers, the creation of a project bank and the support of the development of differentiated projects addressing the needs of these companies. However, it also needs a concerted effort by all stakeholders, including ministries, regulators, the local industry and other actors in the economy. The success of this will eventually allow our country to attract the highly skilled, in-demand workers that we are currently in need of. To accelerate the potential, this also demands solid partnerships and collaborations with advanced tech organisations that already have the know-how to help us take the leap.”

Is it a challenge to find developers with special skills like REACT?

“The availability of developers with special skills is always a challenge as it is closely related to the size of the Cyprus market and its needs. When techadvanced support or special skills are needed, we seek services from our partners, companies with a global footprint and specialised developers. So far this has been a good working model for us, as it maintains focus on our business goals and on cost-effectiveness.”

What should the government do to support recruiting developers?

“The government should aim in two directions. First, to create the nurturing environment that will support the growth of local tech talent that needs to be addressed in the long-term, through the reform of our educational system. This requires close collaboration of the government, the local universities, the research entities and businesses.

Second, it should create the conditions to attract foreign developers to choose to relocate in Cyprus. The EU membership, the strategic geographic location, the high standard of living and the mild climate can appeal to anyone seeking to combine a good quality of life with their work. As a state, we need to comprehensively adjust our regulations and update our foreign residency legislation to allow foreign workers to relocate with their families.”