5 Reasons to Open a Software Development Center in Ukraine
Over the recent years, Ukraine has become a significant player on the European IT field. In fact, it is now the fourth largest exporter of IT services in the world. But don't think of Ukraine as a purely outsourcing destination: more than 100 R&D centers are located here, and the number is continuously growing. Oracle, Samsung, Magento, Ubisoft, SimCorp, sysIQ, Aricent, NetCracker, WarGaming, ABBY, Huawei, and Gameloft are just some of the world-renowned tech giants that entrusted their software development to Ukrainian IT companies. Why do increasingly more IT businesses choose to open their software development centers in Ukraine? The answer is simple: Ukraine has a lot to offer.
Large Pool of IT Professionals
The considerable number of qualified IT experts is the primary reason why companies from abroad tend to open their software development centers here. With more than 90 000 IT workers, Ukraine has the most massive talent pool in Europe. By 2020, the number is expected to reach 200 000 thanks to the country's strong educational system. Every year 36 000 young people from 402 universities and colleges graduate majoring in IT-related disciplines like computer programing, applied mathematics, computer sciences, mathematical modeling and so on. In the last decade, it has become popular to work in the IT realm, and now Ukraine can boast a wide range of software development and testing professionals of various seniority levels.
Reasonable Cost of Services
Contrary to popular belief, Ukrainian programmers' salary is not the lowest of all. However, compared to their colleagues from the United States and Europe, Ukrainian IT professionals do charge less. Ukrainian developers on average charge $20-35 per hour, with a monthly salary of $2 000-3 500. The cost is low even compared to the country's closest European neighbors like Poland or Belarus, but that doesn't influence the quality.
The overall prices in Ukraine are affordable, with its capital Kyiv being among the cities with the lowest cost of living index in Europe. This means that when you open a software development center in Ukraine, you will also get a lower rent, infrastructure, and technology expenses in addition to skilled IT professionals. It is even more beneficial in the long-term perspective.
Proximity to Europe
Although the country is one of the eastmost ones in Europe, Ukraine is very easily accessible. It has a developed transportation infrastructure, and you can get from virtually anywhere in Europe to Ukraine by plane smoothly within a couple of hours. Ukrainian international airports offer regular flights to the most popular European cities, and if you're a road trip fan, reaching Ukraine by car is easy thanks to developed road connections with Europe. Moreover, Ukraine is visa-free for citizens of the EU, the USA, and other countries.
Minor time zone differences are another benefit of Ukraine's proximity to Europe. If you decide to open a development center here, your Ukrainian employees will be working at the same time as you, making it easy to maintain all the necessary communications and solve issues right away. Ukrainian teams are flexible and highly responsive, which will give you the feeling that you're all working in the same office but maybe on different floors.
Cultural Compatibility
Ukraine is a part of Europe. It is a fact you can see geographically and feel culturally. Ukrainians share the business values and work ethic of European entrepreneurs. Being a pro-European country, Ukraine aims at corresponding to European business values and standards. Doing business in this country does not differ much from doing business in other countries of Europe. With Ukrainians working at your development center, you will never face any cultural misunderstandings or agreement difficulties.
Governmental Support of the IT Sector
Ukraine is currently undergoing reforms in all fields, and as a result, the country's economic freedom rate is going up. Ukrainian government continuously makes running a business, and the IT-industry is among its top priorities. The government cuts taxes for the IT-sector and passes laws to facilitate outsourcing and services export. For instance, the law that came to power in early 2016 got rid of some regulations and requirements for export contracts and outsourcing, so now agreements can be arranged merely via email without any additional paperwork.
Conclusion
Opening a software development center in Ukraine is a wise business decision. The country has many tech specialized universities and a large pool of qualified IT professionals who share European cultural and business values. Combined with the moderate cost of living and proximity to Europe, Ukraine sounds like a perfect destination for launching a thriving software development center for your company. And don't worry about the hassle of setting up the development center essentials.
If you choose Lviv as your go-to destination, Team Rainmakers will help you by offering a separate office space within our dev-center, all the necessary furniture and equipment included, office branding, administering, support, accounting, and legal help and, of course, recruiting the most exceptional IT professionals in Lviv.