Ukraine has emerged as a huge IT tech hub for the world IT industry. Solely, The Ukrainian IT Association represents 100 companies worldwide with 75,000 IT specialists across the country. Ukrainian IT Association is a big source for Western companies where they outsource skilled IT employees, software engineers, in particular, full-stack developers, who have teamed up with Ukrainian IT professionals. You could say that Ukraine is a major IT tech hub for Europeans. Ukraine’s IT sector is proving to be a major source of IT professionals around the world, especially in the West.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, a large number of skilled people from Ukraine’s IT sector are being hired remotely. You can estimate the growth of IT in Ukraine by the fact that in 2021, Ukraine’s IT exports increased by 36%, and Ukraine made about 6.8 billion USD from IT exports, which in 2020 was 5 billion USD and 4.4 billion USD in 2019.
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, members of the Ukrainian IT Association are determined to save the IT industry in Ukraine. You can guess from this that the executive director of the Ukraine IT Association, despite the seriousness of the situation, was talking to the journalists from an unknown place in a house with very little light. The sound of war sirens could be heard clearly in the background.
The Ukrainians are acting as a link between the ICT business and its employees. The Ukrainian IT Association says its members have been very active and flexible during the war. In the early days of the Ukrainian war, ICT donated a whopping 24 million USD for war activities and humanitarian aid. There are still many organizations in Ukraine that can provide IT services. Most of the skilled IT professionals have joined the Ukrainian army, and systematic measures are being taken for cyber security to repel cyber-attacks from Russia.
The people of Ukraine’s IT sector are still active and performing their services in the world. An analysis found that about 70% of the workforce in the IT sector, most of whom are women, are providing their services in other countries. 2% of IT specialist has decided to join the army. While 5% of the population of Ukraine is volunteering their services to improve cyber security and the country’s infrastructure. It is a situation that builds morale and helps people stay united and move forward.
Despite all the Russian attacks in Ukraine, Ukraine’s Internet is still very active and in a good situation. All fiber optics networks are still active, while Elon Musk’s StarLink channel is also still active.
Ukraine’s banking system is working properly, the payment system is in place, and the transaction has been done efficiently. There are very few companies that have difficulty accessing their account because of the War.
Kharkiv Is the second largest and most important city in Ukraine. Kharkiv is also called the IT tech hub of Ukraine. There are about 500 IT companies, and the industry has grown at a rate of 50% over the last 2 years.
Kharkiv is located just 45 kilometers from the Russian border and is at high risk. The current situation in Kharkiv is that many people have migrated, and many tech companies have shifted their employees from Ukraine to other countries to protect their employees. Wix, an Israeli company that makes websites, has sent more than 1,000 employees and their families to Turkey. In addition, Canvas has made similar offers to its 500 employees.
If Russia continues to attack like this, IT companies will never return to Ukraine, but if a ceasefire is reached and Russia stops invading, the IT companies may return happily and start actively performing their services in the same way in Ukraine, and if Russia occupies Ukraine, under these circumstances, IT companies will never be part of Russia.
The tech sector has a big place in the Ukrainian economy, with the help of the tech sector, the Ukrainian economy has flourished because the tech sector has created jobs that offer a lot of salaries. Similarly, the Ukrainian tech sector has also attracted billions of rupees of foreign investment to Ukraine. The Tech industry has helped Ukraine in many ways. Due to the Covid-19, when Ukraine’s economy was damaged in 2020, and Ukraine’s GDP fell to 4.4%, the outsourcing of Ukraine’s IT sector increased by 20%. This year, the tech startup raised a whopping 571 million USD for business investment.
Most Ukrainian tech industries still outsource their tech services to the US and European tech companies, but in anticipation of Ukraine’s growing tech trends, Ukraine’s founders have launched a multibillion US dollar tech startup that includes major software such as GitLab and the Grammar checking plugin Grammarly.
You can estimate the extent of Ukraine’s IT sector by the fact that there were about 5,000 IT companies operating in Ukraine at the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and these 5,000 Ukrainian companies employed about 285,000 people. According to the Ukrainian IT Association, the companies were operating in key sectors such as e-commerce, fintech, and healthcare. In addition, the IT companies were doing significant work in gaming logistics and education.
In Russia, Ukrainian tech suffered the most as Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine. The migration of Ukrainian tech companies began in 2014 when Russia conquered the territory of Crimea.
Russia’s current war in Ukraine threatens to move more tech companies. The CEO of D-Market says he will work outside Montenegro for about two months, and if Russia succeeds in occupying Ukraine, he will never resume its operations in Ukraine. Like his other friends, he is thinking about moving his company to Spain, Portugal, or Turkey.
The biggest losers in this war will be the people who worked for the western countries, they will lose their jobs and will be replaced by those whose countries are more stable.
The Altamira condemns Russia’s behavior and wants to restore IT companies in Ukraine to the same heights that make it an IT tech hub for the whole of Europe.
