30 Years of Ukrainian IT Development. Part II

Sigma Software, founded in 2002, has been in the market for 19 years 1990s: Lawlessness. Ingenuity. Low-cost In the 1990s, no one knew how Western business worked, and financial systems and laws did not work in Ukraine. Knowledge of technology was difficult to access, so IT was daily learning by doing. One had to work with what the client wanted, and with what one already knew and could do. At that time our advantage was the low price. Any client and contract were desirable, so those who aspired to something worked 24/7, mastering technology in the process and daily looking for solutions to problems they had never encountered before. 2021: Professionalism. Products. Global level Now customers no longer perceive Ukraine as a low-cost country, but rather as one with talented engineers who are able to provide value-added IT services, create innovative solutions and products independently and in partnership. Ukrainian start-ups raise millions of investments under multimillion (and sometimes multibillion) valuations of investment funds. I am sure that now there are no global brands left that do not work with Ukrainian IT companies or developers. We create more and more products of our own. And this trend will only grow, especially if we work together to develop our technology brand and maintain favourable working conditions. N-iX, founded in 2002, has been in the market for 19 years 1990s: Entrepreneurship, ambition, responsibility N-iX started with an ambitious idea of two partners and a willingness to take responsibility for developing quality technology solutions for partners from around the world. The IT sector was less dynamic, with fewer skilled professionals and more risk. But even then we set ambitious goals and invested in the industry and the development of future professionals. 2021: Cooperation, flexibility, global level The Ukrainian IT industry has always been distinguished by the ability to unite to achieve common goals and willingness to adapt to new conditions. Now, as never before, we are boldly finding new ways to cooperate, build relationships with talented professionals and global partners, wherever they are, and flexibly respond to any changes in Ukraine and around the world. In addition, Ukrainian specialists have become more qualified and easily compete with their foreign colleagues. MGID, founded in 2008, has been in the market for 13 years 1990s: Locality, uncertainty and prospects Locality: at the beginning of the development of the Internet, most Ukrainian services and companies, including IT, were created with a focus on the local market. Uncertainty and prospects: at first, few IT companies understood how to make money in this business but everyone felt that the future lay in this area. It was in the late 1990s that the foundations for the digital transformation of the Ukrainian market were laid. 2021: Globalism, innovation and speed Innovation and speed of product entry into the market is the key to the success of any product IT company. These two factors are inherent in many Ukrainian businesses that have achieved success and recognition at home and abroad. The relatively small Ukrainian market has given impetus to seek customers and opportunities around the world, learn from international experience and build cool teams and products. Two Ukrainian companies People.AI and Grammarly have already become unicorns, and this is just the beginning. JEVERA, founded in 2009, has been in the market for 12 years 1990s: Rapidness. Independence. Stereotypes When JEVERA was founded in the 2010s, the IT industry was booming. One could already talk about international partnerships, large contracts and global projects. And this development was independent, without large-scale support from the state, foundations or governments of individual countries. The industry developed itself, on its own. In the 2010s, when one heard of a programmer, one imagined a boring bearded system administrator in a recognizable sweater, while today, a programmer is an active person who often travels, supports social projects and lives to the fullest. 2021: Interaction. Innovations. Drive Interaction, because IT, in my opinion, is an industry that was almost the first to understand that the market is not only about competition, but also about a partnership that allows people to move together to the goal, to develop. IT is constantly on the cutting edge of progress, something new and interesting that motivates the industry to be first in everything, so I chose the word “innovation”. And the drive is that in IT, everyone, from a novice engineer to a top manager of a large company, lives by what one does. The former sometimes sits up at night, studying new libraries, and while falling asleep the latter thinks about how best to present the IT of our country at the next international forum. Prozorro.Sales, founded in 2016, has been in the market for 5 years 1990s: Geeks, floppy disks, Intel processors There was no industry as such. There were only a few computer companies in the city, but it was not clear to most people what they did. The Internet was expensive, slow and un-crowded, and there was no internal customer, all needs were reduced to a site page and 1C. “Computers” were the obvious future, but in the early days of the industry, only geeks had something to do with them. 2021: Diversity, casualness, permeability If you start digitizing today, you are at least 5 years late. Without the IT component, any service will not exist. It has become a part of everything and contributes to the development of other industries. Today, IT is the answer to the needs growing each and every day. Future Processing Ukraine, founded in 2000, has been in the market for 4 years 1990s: Ambition, enthusiasm, uncertainty It was not clear how to properly build workflows, distribute responsibilities and solve day-to-day operations. There was a lack of systematic access to information on management, organizational structure and culture of organizations, technical issues. 2021: Comfort, system, support Currently, the IT industry in Ukraine is characterized by a high level of IT specialists with flexible thinking and a thirst for knowledge and the desire to build something that would change everyday life for the better. They have the desire to implement and create innovations in the homeland in a decently paid area with the ability to care for family and feel comfortable. TECHIIA, founded in 2019, has been in the market for 3 years 1990s: Enthusiasm. Uncertainty. Versatility In the 1990s, Ukraine lived by inertia in an industrial and agricultural economy and did not pay much attention to the development of new technologies. The emergence of IT began with the automation of industrial, commercial and financial processes, and the concept of “engineer” was then broad, ranging from network setup to database programming. After gaining a strong knowledge base in universities, the profession was mostly joined by those who wanted to continue their development in the world of high technology. 2021: Scale. Deficit. Ambitions The IT industry has emerged as a phenomenon and is developing rapidly, as evidenced by the number of people involved, and the contribution to the economy, and how Ukrainians are moving to create global products. At the same time, the sector remains “hungry” for personnel, knowledge and new horizons, penetrating all spheres of life. The cost of work of Ukrainian IT specialists has caught up with Poland and the need to develop IT education and promote work in the industry is increasingly felt. Introduct Group, founded in 2018, has been in the market for 3 years 1990s: Interest. The spirit of discovery. Excitement In the 1990s, the industry was less developed and the threshold for entry was much higher. The discussion was about concession, ideas and approaches. Today the discussion is more about people, whose number has grown many times. 2021: Staff. Speed. Prospect. Salary in USD Previously, everyone wanted to become an astronaut, and now — a programmer. IT infrastructure is developing rapidly and this is its main feature. Today it is impossible not to take our industry into account. Avenga, founded in 2019, has been in the market for 2 years 1990s: “You’re a programmer!” The everyday perception of programmers as universal people who know how to do everything with a computer was reflected in the professional sphere. “From—to” systems have been designed, developed, tested, implemented and maintained by the same engineers with varying degrees of success. They learned from their mistakes everything they did not know. 2021: Maturity, human nature, recognition The industry is being structured, systematized, and fundamentalized. Specialities today are well segregated: the architects design, the programmers code, and the analysts discuss system requirements with the client. Auxiliary specialists of previously unthinkable specialities, like coaches, are involved. As we can see, the beginning of IT development was quite uncertain and turbulent. And if the initial stage was held under the auspices of uncertainty, locality and independence, now we can confidently describe IT as a global mature industry, recognized in the global market. Congratulations on your identity, congratulations to all of us on independence!