Cortex analyzes the ICT industry, achieves record numbers

Based on the ICT analysis and research conducted by CEED Consulting, we can conclude that the ICT sector is one of the fastest-growing, at least in the context of Montenegro. This is evident from the rapid increase in the number of companies involved in this activity, their impressive financial revenues, and the growing interest of people in our community in this field. ICT Cortex, a cluster with a primary focus on education, internationalization, and digital transformation, has analyzed the business performance of the Montenegrin ICT sector. The criteria for ranking success were total revenues, net results, the number of employees, and the number of companies. An important contribution to the analysis was made by the research conducted by the consulting company CEED Consulting. Additionally, BI Consulting, with its portal BInfo.me, was a significant source of data on specific industry codes. ICT Sector in Montenegro This analysis covered 1,049 companies that were part of the Montenegrin ICT sector in 2022 alone. However, to make the analysis comprehensive, the period from 2019 to 2022 was considered, tracking the trends of growth or decline in the three specific groupings of the ICT sector: IT services and products, telecommunications, and trade of IT equipment. Regarding the revenues generated in the ICT field during the previous year, the figures were more than impressive. The total revenue for the ICT sector in 2022 amounted to as much as 602 million euros, which is 23 percent higher than in 2021. The majority of the revenue comes from the telecommunications sector, followed by IT services and products, and trade of IT equipment. Net earnings have also significantly increased over the past four years, with a growth rate of 102 percent compared to 2019. Some of the companies that particularly stood out in terms of revenue in the previous period and made significant contributions to the revenue growth in the Montenegrin ICT sector are M-tel, Crnogorski Telekom, One, Kodio, Comtrade, and Coinis. Below, you can see the individual contributions of each of the mentioned areas to the information and communication technology sector. IT Services and Products Regarding the IT sector, we analyzed 725 companies actively operating in the local and international markets. The largest number of these companies are engaged in computer programming and consulting activities in the field of information technology, while specialized areas such as computer game development and software publishing are represented in a smaller number. It is worth noting that this field has seen a significant increase in the number of companies, with a growth rate of 46 percent compared to 2021 and a remarkable 109 percent compared to 2019. Companies in the IT services and products sector have made the most progress in the past four years when considering parameters such as total revenue, net results, and the number of employees. Total revenues increased by 45 percent compared to 2021, net results increased by 87 percent, and compared to 2019, the same parameter increased by an impressive 450 percent. The number of employees adequately follows the revenue growth, as indicated by the fact that over 3,400 workers have been employed in the IT products and services sector, which is 61 percent more than the previous year and a remarkable 161 percent increase compared to four years ago. When looking at the specific specialization, the largest number of companies are engaged in computer programming and IT consulting activities. Some of the companies that achieved the best results are Epam Systems Montenegro, Domen, Data Design, Čikom, and Logate. Telecommunications In the field of telecommunications, we analyzed 66 companies operating in our market. Over 60 percent of them are registered under the activity code “other telecommunications activities,” while a smaller number are involved in satellite and wireless communications, as well as cable telecommunications. Here, we have a slightly different picture compared to the IT sector. The growth rate of the number of companies over the past four years is only 1.5 percent, indicating that the telecommunications sector is relatively stable, with few changes in the number of firms in the previous period, averaging 64. Companies in the telecommunications sector have traditionally continued to generate impressive revenues. However, these revenues do not show significant fluctuations like those observed in the IT sector. The total revenue of Montenegrin companies engaged in telecommunications activities amounted to 266 million euros, which is nearly six percent higher than in 2019. Net results also did not experience significant growth, with an increase of less than 2 percent compared to 2021 and a decrease of nearly 17 percent compared to four years ago, indicating that the overall profit in this sector was significantly higher in 2019 than it is today. The three traditional telecommunications providers operating in our market, namely M-tel, Crnogorski Telekom, and ONE, achieved the best results in this field. Significant results were also achieved by companies such as Telemach, Ericsson AB, the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services, and Network Communication. The total number of employees in this sector is 1,973, with as much as 65 percent of them employed in the three leading companies in the telecommunications sector (M-tel, Crnogorski Telekom, and ONE). This number is nearly 14 percent higher than in 2019. Trade of Computer Equipment Regarding the sector related to the trade of computer equipment, it should be highlighted that the total revenue in 2022 amounted to nearly 121 million euros, which is 33 percent higher than the previous year. Compared to 2019, this represents a 54 percent increase, while net profit for the same period has increased by 107 percent, reaching almost 6 million euros. The majority of companies in this field are primarily engaged in the wholesale trade of computers, computer equipment, and software, while a smaller number focus on the retail trade of telecommunications equipment, audio, and video equipment, as well as the wholesale trade of electronic and telecommunications parts. The number of employees in this sector increased by 16 percent in the previous year, reaching 664, which is a significant advancement, especially

The first ICT Cortex Football Tournament 

In Podgorica, on February 25th, the first ICT Cortex Football Tournament was held in collaboration with the IT company First Line Software. The main goal of the tournament, in which five teams participated – Coinis, Studio Bild, Data Design, Telemont, and First Line Software – was to promote healthy lifestyles and connect the IT community more informally.  The teams gathered around 40 players, and the tournament format involved playing one match against each other group to determine the winner based on performance. To respect the rules and provide professional refereeing, a pair of official Football Association of Montenegro referees were engaged on the field. After several relatively evenly matched matches, the best teams stood out. The first ICT Cortex football tournament winner was the Bild Studio team, with Telemont and Coinis taking second and third place, respectively. While member companies were engaged in a tense battle on the field, support was present from colleagues from competing and organizing companies and our youngest members at this tournament. Some segments that can characterize the recently held tournament are the more positive energy that characterized the teams themselves, a lot of laughter, and a profound competitive spirit that set new standards when organizing the next Cortex Football Tournament. For those who ran out of energy, Red Bull supported this event. This tournament is the first of its kind when it comes to ICT Cortex, and we would like to thank First Line Software and the “Čini dobro” Foundation for supporting the competition and contributing to its complete realization. This is just the first in a series of gatherings that we plan to organize, and we invite you to follow us on social media, where we will regularly inform you about our future activities.

The “StepUp with Cortex” project successfully finalized

The “StepUp with Cortex” project, which the ICT Cortex cluster implemented in cooperation with the Capital City of Podgorica, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway through the “Norway for you – Montenegro” project, was closed by marking the final event of the project on November 14, 2022. In the period from March to November of this year, five training programs were implemented, a total of 10 trainers were engaged, and about 100 employees from 12 companies underwent training; employees from the ICT Cortex executive office also successfully completed agile project management training; recommendations were made for improving the business environment for IT companies at the level of the Capital City. The following companies participated in this project: Alicorn, Amplitudo, Archimede, Bild studio, Codepixel, Codeus, Data Design, DigitalBee, Fleka, Logate, Omnitech, and Oykos Development. The final event of the project was attended by training participants, representatives of companies – project users, trainers, and lecturers, as well as representatives of the Capital City and ICT Cortex. The cooperation of the Capital City and ICT Cortex on this project is another confirmation of joint action aimed at improving the overall business environment and creating an innovative ecosystem for IT companies at the level of the Capital City, where conditions are created for the development of innovative products and their placement on international markets.

The “StepUp with Cortex” project of ICT Cortex and the Capital City of Podgorica improved the competitiveness of 12 small IT companies

ICT Cortex, in cooperation with the Capital city of Podgorica, realized the project “StepUp with Cortex”, which was supported by the Kingdom of Norway through the project “Norway for you – Montenegro”. The “StepUp with Cortex” project, which the ICT Cortex cluster implemented in cooperation with the Capital City of Podgorica, with the support of the Kingdom of Norway through the “Norway for you – Montenegro” project, in the period from March to November of this year, was aimed at improving and education of employees from 12 member companies, to improve competitiveness through the upgrading of institutional, administrative and organizational capacities and business skills of employees. The following companies participated in this project: Alicorn, Amplitudo, Archimede, Bild studio, Codepixel, Codeus, Data Design, DigitalBee, Fleka, Logate, Omnitech, and Oykos Development. The final event of the project was organized yesterday, which was attended by training participants, representatives of companies – project beneficiaries, trainers, and lecturers, as well as representatives of the Capital City and ICT Cortex. Chief Project Officer,, Ferida Mandić, emphasized the importance of this project. “The “StepUp with Cortex” project, in the period from March to November of this year, was aimed at the training and education of employees from 12 member companies, to improve competitiveness through upgrading the institutional, administrative, and organizational capacities and business skills of employees.” pointed out Mandić and added that the results of the training were very successful. “Five education programs were implemented, a total of 10 trainers were engaged; about 100 employees from 12 companies underwent training; employees from the ICT Cortex executive office also completed agile project management training; recommendations were made to improve the business environment for IT companies at the level of the Capital City.” Director of the Center for Information System of the Capital City, Džemal Lekić, pointed out that the administration of the Capital City is dedicated to the improvement of the sector of micro, small and medium enterprises, which is one of the key factors for accelerated economic development. “The ICT sector in the capital is recognized as one of the most important sectors for the future economic development of Podgorica because it supports all other sectors of the economy. In recent years, the administration of the Capital City has recognized digitization as one of the priorities in the development of Montenegrin society in terms of processes that can affect the improvement of the quality and standard of life of citizens. The goal is for ICT to become a strong sector of the economy that could become Montenegro’s leading export activity. Through the cooperation of the actors in the ICT community, there will be an increase in the number of employees, primarily professional staff, so the development and application of ICT are of crucial importance for economic development”, stressed Lekić. The project manager of the UNOPS office in Montenegro, Armen Čekić, pointed out that he was particularly glad that the ICT sector recognized the benefits of human resource development. “The development of human resources is the most important for the development of a company, and for the growth of the economy, which also entails the development of technology. So it should be continuously developed. I also hope that the others will follow this approach to their further development”, Čekić concluded. Trainer and NLP coach at NLP Network, Danka Ćetković, expressed her gratitude for the idea of such a project and emphasized that she is very proud of her students. “We hung out and worked together for three months, and at first it wasn’t easy, but over time we realized that the hidden goal was to connect, that we are not competing with each other, but supporting each other. The topics we covered were everyday ones that everyone needs. Especially in the IT sector, because the focus is on professional knowledge, and technological knowledge, to be the best programmers, and designers. That’s how it should be because the ICT industry is the bright spot of our economy. However, for it to be able to deliver everything that is expected, someone must also think about people. Who will develop all that, master it… Because it is an industry that changes very quickly, is very flexible, and prioritizes efficiency, short deadlines, and innovation. So we have to support people, work on their development, communication and negotiation skills, to overcome their fears, nervousness and the like”, described Ćetković. At the very end, participants were presented with certificates and certificates of completed training, where they shared their impressions from the training. A lot of interaction, group work, and exercises, as they said, facilitated the learning process and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, and they recommend this type of education to people from different spheres because it is of great benefit to everyone. The cooperation of the Capital City and ICT Cortex on this project is another confirmation of joint action aimed at improving the overall business environment and creating an innovative ecosystem for IT companies at the level of the Capital City, where conditions are created for the development of innovative products and their placement on international markets.

Montenegrin ICT Startups presented their innovations at the largest IT exhibition in Lisbon

In the previous weeks, Lisbon was the epicenter of technological innovation. Over 70 thousand participants from 161 countries, 2696 startups, 1050 speakers, and 1081 investors gathered at the largest technology conference in Europe – Web Summit. Thanks to the Capital City and ICT Cortex, Montenegrin startups also had the opportunity to present their innovations at this event. Listen to the statement of Džemal Lekić, director of CIS, about the project implemented for the second time by the capital and ICT Cortex. The biggest attention was attracted by the startup Spectro Solutions, which presented an intelligent fire detection service, which entered the shortlist of 105 startups, out of a total of 2,696, and presented itself to potential investors as part of the Siemens Pitching competition. It is software based on artificial intelligence algorithms that functions as an upgrade to any type of monitoring tool, making it intelligent in the way of providing feedback to the client about the situation on the ground being recorded, in terms of fire. The goal of the software is a reliable, fast, and affordable form of early fire detection. Behind the idea and the first version of the software is a five-member team of young startups: engineers, programmers, and managers, who have already established the first digital AI assistant for monitoring fires on the Luštica peninsula. Read about all the activities Spektro participated in at the Web Summit from Ana Ašanin’s statement. Medpack, a startup that aims to increase proper adherence to therapy, and thus the long-term quality of life of the patient, also had a notable performance at this IT fair. Medpack consists of an application and a smart box. With the help of the application, the user will define his schedule, and which medicine is in which compartment. It is envisaged that the application will contain a database of drugs available on the user’s market, which would facilitate the creation of a schedule and help users to take the drug correctly, and would inform the patient and his doctor or guardian if a drug is not taken correctly (too long, too often or in a way that can be harmful). Also, it is planned that the application learns from the user’s habits and accordingly modifies his schedule. See what the impressions of the members of the Medpack team from Lisbon are. The representatives of the Fintech startup Flash were also part of the Montenegrin startup delegation. Flash connects banks, merchants, and customers through a single platform, increasing their efficiency while reducing costs. With the Flash mobile application, clients can make cardless and cashless payments at merchants, in stores, or online. Clients can centrally manage all their bank accounts, transfer funds, request a loan or return of funds from another client, share an account with another client or define a payment at a specific time based only on a phone number. Flash is the beginning of the digital banking revolution and aims to transform traditional payment approaches. Milica Gazivoda shared her impressions from the Web Summit. At the Web Summit, the startup Guidi was also presented – a platform designed to enable a completely new way of visiting famous places. The app is used to correspond with historical figures and characters specific to each location, while a fictitious guide talks about history from his point of view making the experience more personal and real. Guidi helps users experience the era and tourist destination they are visiting. According to their team members, Guidi is actually a virtual friend from the past. In the video, learn more about this start-up and listen to their impressions from the Web Summit. The digital accountant is another Montenegrin startup that presented itself at the Web Summit. It is a solution that improves business through the digital transformation of administrative and accounting business processes in companies. The platform enables a simple exchange of documents between the company and the accountant by taking a photo of the document at the time of its creation via a mobile application or by uploading it directly to the Tiramisu ERP information system. With any of these actions, the accountant receives a notification and validates the structured data from the document for further postings, which will automatically be reflected in the reports on the company’s operations that are available live in the system to their owner. In the video, listen to Zoran Mastilović from the company Data Design about their participation in the Web Summit. Montenegro also had a startup in the field of the green economy – Prezla, a startup that aims to raise awareness towards reducing food waste, a healthier environment, and a happier society. Their team developed an application that connects everyone who has surplus food (hotels, supermarkets, restaurants) with those who want to buy that food for themselves or those who want to donate it to others. With one move, the user can influence the solution of the pressing problems of food waste, environmental pollution, and the increasing growth of the malnourished part of society. The company Oykos Development presented its startup, Dixi Digital, at the Web Summit. Dixi digital is a social network where all users earn money. All content, interactions, and time spent on this social network are a direct source of income for users – both creators and audiences. In the video, you can learn more about this startup from the founder of Dixi Digital and the CEO of Oykos development, Filip Anđelić. Startup Flourish is at the Web Summit for the second time, this year as a BETA startup. Flourish is a smart assistant for the development of the emotional intelligence of employees, a software solution that develops and maintains emotional intelligence through personalized educational exercises. Jasna Pejović, co-founder and CEO of Flourish, spoke more about the Flourish startup and their second participation at the Web Summit. In addition to startups, the Montenegrin delegation at the Web Summit also included representatives of the executive office of the Montenegrin ICT cluster Cortex, who had the opportunity to learn

High school students started a free internship within the Cortex Academy

Students of Montenegrin secondary vocational schools from Nikšić, Podgorica, Bijelo Polje, and Rožaje who actively attended training in the field of web and mobile application development as part of the Cortex Academy – an education program implemented by the cluster for information technology, innovation, education, design and technological development of Montenegro, have started a free internship in ICT Cortex member companies. As part of the practice, the students were divided into teams, within which nine students from Bijelo Polje and Podgorica, and four from Nikšić were assigned to the field of web application development, while eight students from Podgorica were active in the mobile application development segment. Namely, the students will cooperate with mentors from the companies Coinis, Fleka and Data Design until September, with the aim of improving their skills in the field of web application development, after which the final competition awaits them in September, where the best teams will be awarded. As part of the practical part of the training, participants who opted for the mobile application development segment began an internship at the company Amplitudo, and soon we are expecting the start of education at the honorary member of the ICT Cortex cluster – Crnogorski Telekom. The cooperation with secondary schools from four Montenegrin municipalities is an upgrade of last year’s successful cooperation with ETŠ “Vaso Aligrudić”, which aimed to improve the educational process, with a focus on practical teaching within the direction for the development of web and mobile applications. The participants had the opportunity to work on real projects for 7 weeks, and to create professional work habits through intensive cooperation with mentors from cluster members. We remind you that the Cortex Academy is an education program that includes courses in programming, project management, design, marketing, and software testing. In the previous months, the participants of the pieces of training in the member companies of the cluster, and through the materials available on the online platform, improved their knowledge of some of the most sought-after positions in the ICT market.