Offshore programming

Through the last decade of the previous millennium, Russia was embarking on the course of adoption of western economics. While not completed yet, at this time this process has brought substantial improvements to the ability of western companies to do business in Russia. The legal framework is established for any foreign company to open operations and acquire property in Russia. The financial infrastructure is in place to enable money transfers and international payments. The communication foundation enables any corporation or individual a low cost and efficient access to establish Internet connectivity and communication with entities outside the country. Local services, like property insurance, real estate leasing, car rental - things that international businessmen take for granted and which were non existent in Russia only ten years ago, are blossoming in the new economic boom.

At the same time the salary levels in Russia remain low compared with the rest of the industrialized world. This drives down costs of services and is especially beneficial to personnel-intensive operations. This is why a large number of western companies are moving to establish offices in Russia, focusing on research and production industries. However, the majority of the initial expansion went to the capital - Moscow - and its surroundings. This drove up costs of labor and the general business expenses in Moscow region and made it less attractive to companies that do not require access to the government to do business.

St. Petersburg is Russia's second largest city and was historically known for its highly educated population. It has a large number of colleges and universities and is home to a number of former military research facilities. The geographic proximity to the Western Europe made it the entry point for a variety of western enterprises, including those in telecommunications and high technology spaces.

At the same time, the labor and business costs in St. Petersburg are significantly less than in Moscow. The combination of these factors makes St. Petersburg an ideal place to establish a remote development center for company of any size.