ІТ in Ukraine: what are the main challenges for the industry

Publication date:

25.07.2018

Publication from:

Alex Lutsky Co-founder & CEO, Innovecs

Today, without exaggeration, the sphere of information technologies is one of the main drivers of the economy of our country. It ranks third in terms of export earnings and is second only to such “classical” industries as agro and metallurgy. However, such an achievement is not an immediate result, but the consequences of many years of laborious work of a large number of people.

Ukraine can offer a lot to the world regardless of what skeptics say. And this especially applies to the most breakthrough spheres: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, VR/AR, as well as a number of other technologies based on Data Science.

Developments and ideas of our compatriots can be found practically in all spheres of life – from medicine to entertainment, from private to the state sector. Ukrainian IT-specialists have put their hands on almost kind of service or technology that we use today. The reason for this is quite simple – IT-companies sign contracts with their customers about non-disclosure, and just do not have the right to talk about most of what was done or is in process.

For example, without referring to specific names, you can list the following cases, implemented by Ukrainian companies for foreign customers:

System of recognition of human psycho-types by posts in social networks and search queries for creating the most personalized online advertising.;
AI-based algorithm for managing large warehouses;
An algorithm for detecting Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage;
Service for career development recommendations, based on machine learning;
System for virtual sports training.

And this is far from a complete list of projects.

Recently, very popular are discussions on such topics as “Outsourcing is good or bad for the country?”, “Outsourcing contributes to a brain drain” and others like them. It should be noted that players of the Ukrainian IT-market are actively working to change the attitude of Western customers to themselves as outsourcing providers, which is fixed by Ukrainian companies. The domestic information technology sector has already departed from the concept of “outsourcing”, providing its customers with integrated, ready-made solutions for the digital transformation of business and the introduction of new technologies.

Ukraine is one of the leaders in the number and quality of developers in Central and Eastern Europe and holds leading positions in the world by the number of certified IT-professionals. And of course, our skilled developers are highly valued in the world, there is demand, which contributes to some outflow of personnel. However, now this cannot be called a significant outflow. Indeed, in 2014-2015, a significant number of developers were relocated to other countries, but the main reason for this was not the level of wages. Most programmers went in search of stability, social security, a better life for themselves and their loved ones – that is, all those things that might have seemed inaccessible in Ukraine in the short term. It is important to note that many specialists still returned to their home country.

For developed countries, labor migration has become a commonplace phenomenon. Migration, in spite of obvious disadvantages, has a number of positive moments. For example, our specialists can get good international experience, they return with the luggage of unique knowledge that is extremely useful for the Ukrainian IT-industry, absorb a completely different corporate culture, global mindset and develop entrepreneurial skills. The lack of such knowledge, qualities and experience is a topic that is spoken not only in the information technology industry but also in Ukraine as a whole.

So, the “brain drain” should not be called some kind of challenge for the industry. Rather, it is a natural process for a globalized world, an integral part of which is IT.

IT-industry in our country is unique in that it has developed not due to, but despite. Already there are positive signals from the first persons of the government, some internal regulatory barriers that hinder the development of the industry are gradually being removed (due to the same attention of the first persons to its problems).

Despite all the successes on the world stage, the IT-industry, as well as other industries, lack the qualitative promotion of Ukraine as a country from which one can and must conduct business. So far, the promotion of the brand made in Ukraine is largely the initiative of private individuals. Because of the lack of alternatives to market players, it is vital to integrate their initiatives in this direction.

A good example of such a cooperation is the Ukrainian House in Davos, which worked during WEF-2018, and was able to demonstrate to the world that Ukraine is an emerging innovation ecosystem in which both good business partners and opportunities for investment can be found. A few days ago, representatives of companies – members of the IT Ukraine Association – Ciklum, ELEKS, EPAM, Innovecs, Intellias, N-iX, PwC and SoftServe – worked together on the reputation of the country, the Ukrainian IT-industry and each company, supporting each other. They got the opportunity to speak with the world consumer on behalf of the whole industry, and they were noticed and heard. It is difficult to imagine a more effective and targeted participation in the IT Ukraine Association, which has been a unifying factor.

Consolidating all efforts in shaping the correct positioning of Ukraine – that’s what the industry really lacks. However, do not forget that working on the image of the country is a marathon. Yes, we took a good start there is still a long and long distance ahead.