Press Release
April 10th, 2025
Timisoara
AI, Automation, and Staying Competitive – Key Priorities for Timisoara’s Business Services Industry
The Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL) is organizing the Business Mixer “Synergy in Motion: The Current Transformation of Business Services Industry” in Timisoara, bringing together over 50 industry specialists from the local market. The event brings into focus current trends and challenges, including recent tax and legal changes, labour market dynamics, evolving HR strategies, and the impact of geopolitical and technological shifts on the sector.
Timisoara remains a strategic city for the business services industry in Romania, accounting for around 10% of the national workforce in the sector. It has established itself as a strong international hub for business operations.
However, growth has recently slowed, primarily due to a downturn in the automotive industry — a major pillar for the local outsourcing market. At the same time, there’s been notable expansion in areas such as IT services, digital transformation, software development, AI, and cybersecurity, as well as multilingual support and operational services.
To stay resilient, companies are diversifying into new industries, including retail, finance, and healthcare. Also, digitalization and the shift towards Centers of Excellence are seen as key strategies to maintain long-term competitiveness.
“For Timisoara, our focus is on strengthening and diversifying the range of services we offer, with a strong emphasis on innovation and emerging technologies. In addition to business services operations, we are increasingly investing attention in the advanced industrial technology segment, where we see significant opportunities in digital engineering, automation, and AI-driven solutions. This year, the priority is to attract talent with high-level digital skills, capable of supporting clients through their digital transformation journey,” said Raluca Burghelea, Country Managing Director, Accenture Romania.
In 2025, business services companies in Timisoara are actively recruiting professionals with advanced capabilities — automation and AI experts, cybersecurity specialists, finance consultants, and highly adaptable talent ready to embrace new technologies.
“Timisoara has the potential to emerge as a regional leader in business services in the coming years. The key lies in how quickly companies can adapt — by integrating automation in ways that complement human expertise, investing in education and training to bridge the talent gap, and focusing on innovation as a driver of differentiation,” added Iancu Polverea, Regional Manager, Western Region, Prohuman Romania.
According to the latest ABSL national report, 64% of companies are still in the early stages of automation, with implementation levels ranging from 0% to 25%. The five most frequently automated processes are supplier payments (53%), data entry and payroll (both at 49%), IT support (48%), and accounts receivable (46%).
However, scaling up automation faces several barriers. The main challenges include high initial costs (cited by 65% of companies), difficulty integrating new solutions into legacy systems (61%), and data security concerns (37%).
“Although 68% of companies were optimistic about growth last year, Romania’s competitiveness in business services could be at risk in today’s fast-changing global landscape. The rise of generative AI and rapid digitalization are reshaping entire sectors. While many countries are investing in national strategies to support AI adoption, R&D, and workforce development, Romania has yet to take coordinated action. Without that, individual efforts by companies may not be sustainable,” said Catalin Iorgulescu, ABSL Vice President.
Romania’s business services industry ranks fifth in terms of contribution to the country’s GDP and employs over 200,000 professionals.