Dozens, if not hundreds, of world giants like Adobe, Dell, IBM, Cisco, Aol outsource software development to Ukraine. No surprise that Ukraine has climbed to the Top 2017 IT destinations.

Ukraine in international rankings awards it

The reason is simple: Ukraine houses more than 90K qualified tech professionals (the highest number across Europe) which is expected to grow to 200K by 2020. The combination of IT professionals and a growing innovative environment (the country has 400+ educational establishments) brings Ukrainian Hi-Tech Scene to the top of the IT market.

Considering that there are nearly 1K outsourcing IT companies in Ukraine, competition on the job market is pretty tough, and this makes Ukrainian IT companies even more goal-oriented.

Therefore,  you can count on a truly professional approach, high-quality services and fast delivery when outsourcing software development to Ukraine. Check out the most engaging facts about offshore software development in Ukraine and decide whether it is worth outsourcing your IT development or not.

1. Continuously increasing number of IT specialists

Research shows that in light of continuously emerging new trends, IT development companies in Ukraine are able to adjust to the needs of European and US clients. While the IT market expanded from $2.5 billion to $3 billion last year, the IT industry in Ukraine grew by 20%. As this pace is getting faster each year, Ukraine expects a 15-20% increase in the number of IT specialists in the near future.

Ukrainian IT companies have a high level of expertise in data management software, web development, mobile app development, AR/VR, IoT and embedded, as well as Blockchain and cryptocurrency. Actually, there are stacks of services and technologies. Lots of them are aimed at long-term projects with technological challenges.

2. High level of English and absence of cultural barriers

Communication problems shouldn’t be underestimated. But in case of outsourcing to Ukraine, there are no reasons to worry. High level of proficiency in English among IT-specialists, similar business culture and management style are the main advantages of nearshore outsourcing.

The country is experiencing a huge growth in the outsourcing industry and one of the main reasons for that is high-quality education. DOU Research has shown that more than 70% of IT staff in Ukraine has intermediate and higher level of English skills:

 

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Ukraine is located in CEE and its Western mentality excludes the possibility of communication breakdown or cultural dissension. It has adopted the best practices of management conduct. Ukraine’s location is perfect for the offshore and nearshore IT outsourcing for a number of reasons:

  1. Cultural proximity with Western countries
  2. Visa-free entry for EU and US citizens
  3. Close location to Western Europe:
    • Only 1-2h of time-difference with European countries
    • 2-3 hour flight from major European cities to Kyiv or Lviv

Due to small time difference between the majority of European countries and Ukraine, it is a great location for nearshoring. Nonetheless, Ukraine is also a convenient location for North American companies that are looking to outsource IT development. 7-hour time difference gives an opportunity for a way more comfortable and efficient shared working hours, when compared to India or the Philippines.

“The United States remains Ukraine’s largest partner for joint R&D activities (around 45% of the companies involved), followed by EU countries and Israel.” (IT Report)

3. Strong orientation towards education at R&D

In 2017, the growing IT community attracted a lot of attention from educational institutions. And it is not surprising as the country has got a rising number of specialized IT schools and communities, e.g. PLLUG, offering courses in Web, IoS, Android, Qt, and other software development technologies.

IT Ukraine unveiled interesting stats in their last year’s report IT Services And Software R&D In Europe’s Rising Tech Nation:

  • There are 402 universities and colleges in Ukraine
  • They graduate 150K students annually
  • 36K graduates earn/attain a degree in technical studies
  • 15K technicians are IT professionals
  • In total, there are over 90K IT specialists, which includes engineers, coders, project managers, and other adepts.

Ukraine is turning into a real tech hub: more than 100 tech giants prefer to have R&D centers in Ukraine. Boeing, Samsung, Ericsson, NetCracker, Wargaming, Oracle, Siemens, Magento are included on the list.

4. Ukraine IT companies provide best price-to-quality ratio

Upwork statistics shows that Ukraine is among the TOP-10 countries in the rating of freelancer earnings growth (10-25%), and with the annual income of around $61 million for about 123K Ukrainian specialists.

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Compared to its neighbors Belarus and Poland, Ukraine offers more competitive rates in addition to a “much bigger tech talent pool.” And one last thing to keep in mind, IT outsourcing to Ukraine is not cheap – it is cost-efficient.

Few Takeaways in conclusion