Reasons to Choose Ukrainian Software Development Companies
The number of vacancies in the global tech market doesn’t correspond to the existing number of tech talents. Most countries both in the EU and North America report a shortage of tech professionals. According to the latest report of the European Commission Analysis of Shortage and Surplus Occupations 2020, 13 EU member states indicated the lack of tech talents. Maybe one should look for Ukrainian software developers? Let’s find out why.
Highly qualified software developers
Over the last year, according to DOU.ua, the number of tech specialists in Ukraine has increased by 16%, or almost 30,000 people (in 2020 there were 183,437 tech specialists). Today, the Ukrainian tech industry employs 212,547 tech specialists. There is a considerable demand for tech industry experts in Ukraine. Compared to 2020, the number of tech vacancies increased by 9%, reaching 5,000 vacancies per month on the popular tech media resource DOU.ua.
Despite the fact that 2021 has become a difficult year for companies around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data of the ACC 2021 survey show that the tech industry in Ukraine is growing rapidly. 60% of companies anticipate an increase in revenue in 2021, 31% plan to expand the number of employees, and 39% plan to increase investment.
As of 2020, Ukraine ranked 4th among all European countries in terms of technical skills according to the Global Skill Index 2020 report by Coursera. The report shows that the general level of qualification of Ukrainians in the tech sphere is 95% with the highest possible rate of 100%.
According to LinkedIn Research conducted by Daxx, there are 9,000 PHP developers in Ukraine, compared to just 7,000 in the USA. 8000 Ukrainians specialize in Java, the same number in JavaScript, 3000 are Python developers, 1000 ‒ Ruby on Rails.
Global recognition of the Ukrainian tech industry
Every year a number of surveys identify tech leaders around the world. For example, in 2021 11 Ukrainian software development companies have been included in the influential Global Outsourcing 100, an annual ranking of the industry’s leading companies. Among the Ukrainian companies included in the list are Eleks, Ciklum, Infopulse, Innovecs, Intellias, Intetics, Miratech, N-iX, NIX Solutions, Program-Ace, and Sigma Software. Being included in the Global Outsourcing 100 by IAOP means global recognition by the world’s top experts.
One should also pay attention to the Global Innovation Index (GII), which assesses the innovation performance of countries. In 2020, 131 countries were included in the ranking, with Ukraine in 45th place. GII ranking assesses several indicators in a country, based on the study of the level of education, institutions, infrastructure, and business development.
Developed tech ecosystem
The active development of the Ukrainian tech industry began about 25 years ago, between two generations. As of 2020, according to the Idapgroup survey, there were 11,932 tech companies and more than 100 R&D centers in Ukraine according to UAPost.
Some of the most famous tech companies in the world were founded in Ukraine. For example, the successful startup Grammarly, an online service that uses AI to help you write in English without errors. Grammarly is used daily by 30,000,000 people, and the company’s annual revenue is $73.2 million, according to Growjo. Another startup is People.ai, a platform that helps businesses maximize profits from each potential customer. The company’s annual revenue amounts to more than $20 million. One more Ukrainian company that has successfully conquered the international market is Ajax Systems. The company was founded in 2011 and in 2018 their security system became the most awarded security system in Europe.
The world’s leading companies have opened more than 110 R&D centers in Ukraine. In 2020, Google opened its development center in Kyiv (one of three in Eastern Europe). Snap also has an R&D center in Ukraine and actively involves Ukrainian software developers in the company’s projects. Among other global companies with R&D centers in Ukraine are Amazon, Boeing, Oracle, Microsoft, Samsung, Huawei, NetCracker, and Wargaming.The number of tech talents is constantly growing due to quality education. Ukraine ranks fourth in the World Bank Enrollment Index in terms of higher education and 38th out of 50 in the National Higher Education Systems ranking. Every year, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, 130,000 tech specialists graduate from the country’s universities, this number is a few times bigger than in other European countries. Stem education is becoming more and more popular in Ukraine with the development of the tech industry, accordingly, the largest share of Stem and tech graduates in Europe is concentrated here ‒ 9.8%.