By now you have more than likely heard of the IT outsourcing talent coming from Ukraine. Offshore development centers are well-known in 5 IT cities across Ukraine and the growth in this industry has significantly grown in the last decade. In just 3 years, the talent pool grew from 91,000 to 185,000 skilled workers in 2018, with the IT services export industry hitting $4.5 billion in the same year. This industry is growing at a rate five times faster than the average in countries globally.
We are going to summarize 5 reasons to choose Ukraine for nearshore and offshore development centers.
1. The IT industry has strong roots in Ukraine
The growth in IT hasn’t happened overnight. Over the last 20 years, it has grown to now having more than 1000 local and foreign IT outsourcing companies. There are also over 100 R&D centers, including big names like:
- Boeing
- Huawei
- Siemens
- Apple
- Samsung
- DeutscheBank
- Skype
And this is a list ofa few of them!
Regarding skill, Ukraine is the 8th country in the world for skilled developers. Offshore software development accounts for 70% of the market, especially with American and fellow European countries. This enables Ukrainian developers to gain international experience in many areas.
2. High standards of technical education
Ukraine began improving its IT education back in the mid-90s. It was recognized for its high level in IT education in 2005 by the Bologna Process and European Higher Education Area. Joining these two organizations focused attention on making sure the education became more comparable, compatible and coherent.
The principal points are:
- Ukraine has more than 600 higher education institutes with 130,000 students graduating in STEM areas and engineering each year.
- Dedicated IT programs are available in private establishments. Students can gain qualifications at STEP, Main Academy and LITS,
- Communities in Ukraine have tech-gatherings and conferences where people can exchange ideas and learn new skills. Events include IT Arena and iForum,
3. The ideal location of Ukraine
It is an ideallocation in terms of the time zones in different countries. Kyiv (Kiev) is justone hour ahead of Berlin, 2 hours ahead of London and 6 ahead of New York. Itis also only 2 hours behind Dubai. This allows clients and outsourcing firms tobe in contact with each other for various hours during a working day.
Because there is not a huge distance between Ukraine and other Western European countries, it is easy to jump on a flight if necessary. Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and London are all less than 2,450km from both Lviv and Kyiv.
4. The Government assists the IT industry
450 out-dated laws have been canceled in order to improve business environments. It is now easier for the IT sector to carry out its business and develop it. Key points include:
- Lower taxes for software developers and producers at a rate of 5% until 2013. It is more possible for companies to set up offshore development centers.
- In 2019, Ukraine was placed 71st in the world for ease of doing business. The placement considers starting a business, taxes, and contracts to name a few.
5. The expenses
Software development companies that choose to offshore the projects are able to take advantage of speedy works with the skill to complete a complex task and within budget. A typical salary for a front-end developer in Ukraine is about 2.5 times lower to that of the same job in the US. Businesses are able to save around 40%-60% when they choose to work with software development companies.