Ukraine IT Outsourcing: Thriving Despite Extreme Adversity – with Maria Shevchuk of IT Ukraine Association

In this week’s podcast episode, Derek speaks with Maria Shevchuk, the CEO of the IT Ukraine Association. 

They discuss the industry’s growth and new technological developments. They even weigh in on the impact of the ongoing war. 

IT Ukraine Association

Maria begins by introducing the IT Ukraine Association, the biggest national membership organization in Ukraine. 

“We’re a non-government organization that currently represents the interest of more than 160 service and product IT companies, uniting more than 90,000 professionals locally and internationally.”

She goes on to say that the IT Ukraine Association represents the many outsourcing companies that form a major part of Ukraine’s business economy. 

“Among our key goals is protecting the interest of the IT industry in Ukraine and providing [for] the development of technology, education, and human capital.”

The tech industry’s resilience amid distress

Of course, it’s difficult to mention Ukraine without also bringing up the current war it’s experiencing. When asked about this, Maria mentions how the tech companies survived this adversity.

“One of the challenges for us were the blackouts, [and] what we saw there [was] that all the tech companies had really good BCP [Business Continuity Plans].”

She explains that many companies relocated their personnel to safer regions. She also credits the lessons from the pandemic in keeping their industry alive. 

“We are okay with remote working [and] dealing online for the whole country, not only for the tech industry.” 

Ukraine’s growing outsourcing industry

Maria describes being in the “second industry” of Ukraine, with it contributing to up to five percent of the country’s GDP.

“The share of computer service experts [in] Ukraine has increased by 25.3 percent points for the last ten years, so we are one of the key industries for the Ukrainian economy right now.” 

Despite the challenges of the invasion, Maria reports that the industry generated 7.3 billion in revenue and experienced six percent growth compared to the previous pre-war years. 

“Ukraine has emerged like a powerhouse in the IT industry, and we have over 350,000 skilled IT professionals right now and a rapidly growing number of outsourcing companies.”

Maria points to her country’s emphasis on university tech education to support this growth, also mentioning that many companies also have their own schools. 

She then introduces the Digital Tiger, the IT Ukraine Association’s major research project. 

“We have all this information regarding the number of graduated students [and] the biggest IT schools and universities. 

Also, you can find some information regarding the number of companies in Ukraine, the salaries, and the geography of Ukrainian IT experts. We’ve also added some new slides regarding the myths and common information if [it’s] your first time working with Ukrainian teams.” 

Digital transformation initiatives

Maria heavily credits the role of the Ukrainian government in bringing new developments to the industry.

“We are really proud of our governmental digitalization. [Our] president-elect’s goal was to have the state [with] smartphones and digitalize 100% of all public services.

They also launched the Diia app, which is like a super app for Ukraine.” 

The conversation then shifts to new tech developments.   

“I would like to highlight the role of our minister of digital transformation, [who is] dealing with regulatory issues regarding AI in Ukraine. And we are working with a lot of British colleagues and experts.” 

She mentions the industry’s specialty in cybersecurity and its importance in the face of new digital technologies.

“We had a discussion [regarding] AI in deepfake technologies. [And] we deal with this every day, [not just] the regular cybersecurity attacks.

Right now [this is being used] for political issues or the governmental level, because we saw a super accurate deepfake on our president. [So now] we have a special expertise [on this].”

Asked about the startup ecosystem in Ukraine, Maria says that while not comparable to the United States, it still receives plenty of support. 

“[We have] a lot of European Commission grants and so on. Our startups can apply for these [and] it’s really useful for the ecosystem and growth of the number of startups.”

She goes on to praise the drive of Ukrainian developers to provide service. 

“We need it [as] a country. And we have no other choice [but to] work every day and every night, even more proactive than any other country.

So we really fight for each client. We really fight for each contract because we need it. [It’s] not only about the business or the money, [but] the survival of the country.” 

The IT Ukraine Association may be contacted via their website.