A comprehensive new report into the Ukrainian IT industry produced by tech service provider N-iX has predicted a rise in annual industry revenues to a new high of USD 5 billion during the current year, representing almost double the total reached four years ago in 2015. The report, which draws on data from a range of domestic and international sources including the IT Ukraine Association, the World Bank, Bloomberg and PwC, anticipates the number of Ukrainian IT professionals reaching 200,000 by the end of the current year, with approximately 4,000 IT companies operating in the country. Based on the report’s findings, the IT industry currently accounts for 20% of Ukraine’s overall service sector exports.
This timely report underlines the status of Ukraine’s IT industry as one of the engines of the national economy. Over the past decade, successive years of rapid growth have made the Ukrainian IT sector one of the country’s primary service exporters. At the same time, this growth has created an entirely new class of IT professionals whose relatively high salaries, international mindset and enthusiastic embrace of gadgetry have made their mark on the business culture of towns and cities across the country. This overview aims to provide readers with insights into the current dynamics of an industry that will play a leading role in the future direction of the Ukrainian economy as a whole.
IT: Career of Choice for Young Ukrainians
There is no mystery surrounding the appeal of careers in the Ukrainian IT sector. While the national average monthly wage is currently approximately USD 400, the figure for the IT industry is over five times higher. This huge gap is more than enough to attract both young university graduates and professionals with years of experience in unrelated spheres. An additional attraction is the lack of instability due to a reliance on foreign customers. The vast majority of IT companies operating in Ukraine work almost exclusively with international clients, most of whom are located in Europe and North America. This makes the IT industry relatively immune to the frequent fluctuations of the Ukrainian business environment. Added to this is the promise of foreign currency earnings, which removes the anxieties of a salary fixed in the Ukrainian hryvnia currency. While the sharp devaluations of 2014 and 2015 impoverished tens of millions of Ukrainians, those working in the IT sector found themselves insulated against the drama of the drop.
