The concept of digital transformation, or the use of technology to improve performance, is analysed in the context of sustainable economic development and technological preparedness of Serbia. The authors further focus on the role of software engineering education. Software developers are key enablers of new information technologies, providing programming services behind the adapted and new business models. The first assessment of current technical competencies, educational background and working conditions of software developers in Serbia was the subject of an empirical study conducted in October 2015, which is discussed in this article. The findings concur with global research, which discerns a shift away from formal education, in part as a result of a gap in the classic curricula and the market demand for agile programming and project management. This gap needs to be supplemented with nontechnical skills in addition to teaching innovative programming, and this could be a subject of further study. Additional research is required to understand the low level of digital adoption by the business sector in Serbia, as well as to investigate the impact that European integration and foreign investments produce on this process. In Serbia, one important positive trend is a high level of openness to entrepreneurship among software developers, and this may be the source of new innovations. A further challenge is to link developers as technical enablers with the traditionally organised businesses in Serbia to facilitate a wider digital transformation and creation of a true digital economy.