20 facts about best IT outsourcing destinations in Ukraine [Infographic]

Ukraine has a well-established reputation as one of the leading IT outsourcing destinations in Eastern Europe. According to Colliers International, the country is 4th globally by the number of IT specialists. What’s more, PwC ranked Ukraine 5th among Top 25 IT services exporters, and Gartner included it in top 10 emerging-market locations for offshore services. Thanks to the abundance of highly-qualified developers, moderate prices, rapidly developing business and IT infrastructure, the country attracts numerous global companies looking for a software development partner.  

Around 86% of the country’s IT resources  are focused in top 5 cities – Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa. These large software development hubs are constantly enhancing their local IT ecosystem. Our analysis presents a list of facts and statistics about major IT outsourcing destinations in Ukraine.

Kyiv – the Ukrainian IT outsourcing capital  

1. Kyiv is the capital and the largest among IT outsourcing destinations in Ukraine. The city boasts Ukraine’s largest IT talent pool comprising over 40,000 specialists in the IT outsourcing sector, which is around 46,6% of all resources in Ukraine.
2. The city has a strong educational system with 68 universities that prepare future IT professionals. The four top-rated technical universities located in Kyiv include NTUU “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, and National Aviation University.
3. Kyiv is the most attractive destination for opening an R&D center in Ukraine due to its favorable geographical location and 2 airports with regular flights to major European cities. Such global companies as Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, Wargaming, Boeing, eBay, Siemens, IBM have R&D centers in Kyiv.
4. IT specialists in Kyiv have numerous possibilities to enrich their knowledge or share it with their colleagues, thanks to the abundance of various tech events. They include big conferences like IForum, IT Talk Kyiv, JEEConf 2017, IT Weekend Ukraine, IDCEE and many others.

Lviv – the most attractive IT outsourcing destination in Ukraine

5. Lviv is ranked the third biggest IT outsourcing hub in Ukraine comprising 10% of the Ukrainian IT resources. The city concentrates mover 20,000 qualified IT software developers.
6. More than 192 IT companies are located in Lviv and around 88,4% of them work according to an outsourcing business model.
7. Lviv boasts a well-developed technical educational system, which includes 10 colleges and 7 higher technical educational establishments. Currently, more than 12,000 IT specialists are studying in Lviv.  Around 5,000 engineers graduate from Lviv educational institutions every year.
8. Lviv is one of the main destinations to host various large-scale IT events like Lviv IT Arena, GDG DevFest, and Lviv Outsourcing Forum. Speakers from such global companies as Facebook, IBM, Fitbit, Microsoft, Clever Cloud, Deloitte Digital HP, SAP, Epson, and Amazon have participated in these events.

Kharkiv – IT destination in the Northeast of Ukraine

9. Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine with developed IT infrastructure. Over 22,000 specialists work in the software development sector in the city, which is around 16,2% of all IT resources in Ukraine.
10. The city is a home to more than 20 higher educational institutions, 5 of which have technology and engineering faculties. Currently, more than 200,000 students study in colleges and universities in Kharkiv with more than 2,000 IT graduates every year.
11. Kharkiv is also an attractive destination for opening an R&D center. Global companies like Plarium, Mirantis, Gameloft, Grid Dynamics, TOA technologies, Huawei, Maxymiser and SightPower have already opened their R&D facilities in Kharkiv.
12. In 2015, Kharkiv has made a big step towards the development of its IT infrastructure by establishing a non-governmental organization Kharkiv IT Cluster. It is supported by major Ukrainian companies, local authorities and technical universities. They have united their efforts to develop the city’s IT ecosystem and business environment.

Dnipro – a growing IT outsourcing destination

13. Dnipro is the fourth largest IT destination by the number of IT specialists in Ukraine. Around 9,000 IT professionals are engaged in Dnipro’s software development outsourcing sector. This is 7,9% of all Ukrainian IT resources.
14. The city’s IT sector enumerates more than 44 software vendors providing a variety of software development services.
15. Dnipro is the second by the number of R&D centers in Ukraine. The region has already attracted such international companies as Playtika, Siemens, ISM, Sitecore, Oracle, Wix, Transferwise to open their offices.
16. IT companies in Dnipro have recently launched Dnipro IT Cluster, which is now the driving force behind the region’s technological development.

Odesa – up-and-coming IT hub

17. Odesa is the fifth biggest IT hub in Ukraine with around 8,000 technical specialists, which constitutes 5,5% of the Ukrainian IT talent pool.
18. Around 150 IT companies are situated in Odesa (approximately half of them are IT service providers and the other half are software publishers).
19. Five technological universities are located in the city. Moreover, local IT companies and IT coaching centers provide advanced training in software development, UX/UI design, QA and testing, data science, and other disciplines.
20. Odesa is also convenient in terms of establishing an R&D center. Around 23 offices of multinational companies are located in this region, including Comodo, DIDWW, Netcracker, LogNET, Opera, Social Quantum, Teradek, and others.

Afterword

To sum up, Ukraine occupies a well-deserved place among Top 25 IT services exporters and Top 50 Most Innovative Countries. It remains one of the leaders on the European software outsourcing market. IT outsourcing destinations such as Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa make a substantial contribution to the constant growth and development of country’s IT sector. They house a large number of IT companies providing a wide range of software development services and deep expertise in various domains. That is why more and more businesses cooperate with software development companies based in Ukraine.