Are you responsible for the success of a business or business unit? Are you one of the fortunate few who have a robust and responsive IT department that partners with you to address your changing needs?
Or are you one of the many who have an IT department that struggles to provide the services you need to succeed? Do you need help to get the software required to support your business goals? If so, outsourcing your application development needs to Ukrainian software developers will likely make sense.
If you are considering outsourcing, what engagement models are available to you? How do you decide which model to use? How do you select an appropriate outsourcing firm? Why should you consider software outsourcing to Ukrainian firms?
So many questions, but, luckily, we’ve got the answers. Go on reading to find out why Ukraine is such a popular outsourcing destination, which collaboration model can best accommodate your needs and goals, and more. So let’s get down to business.
H2 Outsourcing and Outstaffing. What’s the Point?
Whether you are a startup or an established business, you need good IT support to grow or run your business. While many companies prefer to keep their own in-house team to handle their software engineering needs, another part is more in favor of hiring external tech talent, also known as software development outsourcing or outstaffing.
There are pros and cons to having your own in-house IT department. While some organizations have successfully run their own IT department, most struggle. It is very challenging for in-house IT departments to be responsive to business needs and cost-effective.
Many organizations address this by having their IT department “keep the place running” and engaging outside organizations to take on significant projects when the business needs them. This outsourcing approach allows the IT industry resource pool to expand and contract according to project needs.
In his book “Marketing Warfare,” Jack Trout showed that an entrepreneur shouldn’t have to build a completely vertical company structure to be successful. There will always be something that you do better than others, and this becomes your competitive advantage.
If your strength is marketing and knowledge of your market, following the “Marketing Warfare” guidance, you should focus on your strengths, such as company management, marketing, and financial management, and outsource the rest of the tasks.
The good news is that with Ukraine’s highly developed IT sector, it’s easy to find a service provider that would perfectly meet your business goals, communication needs, and budget.
H2 Engagement Models
Successful IT companies that deliver a range of projects require good governance, clear objectives, good communication, appropriate architecture and design, good developers, proper testing, and quality documentation.
Multi-discipline teams are the foundation of good projects; bringing together product managers, project managers, software development engineers, business analysts, developers, and testers.
When considering outsourcing software development projects, you need to decide how much of the business is responsible for and what portion of the project is the responsibility of external parties. There are various pricing models available for you to choose from to meet your needs. Let’s take a closer look at some engagement models that are most widely used by outsourcing companies in Ukraine.
H3 Outstaffing to Qualified Ukrainian Engineers
If your in-house IT group has the processes and expertise to staff most of the project team, you may need only to add a few external resources to that team. You may need to add people with expertise that you don’t have in-house, or you may need to bring in additional resources to address short-term peak demand. If that is your situation, then you should consider the benefits of offshore software development and the effectiveness of Ukrainian development teams.
H3 Outsourcing to Ukraine: take advantage of experienced software engineers
If you want to have external consultants assume more responsibility for the project, a project-level outsourcing approach may be more appropriate for you. Using this dedicated team model, the outsourcing services firm provides the project management and technical resources needed.
They work with you to understand the business requirements and help you test the solution to ensure that it meets your needs. On a project-by-project basis, you have the option of either fixed-price or time-and-materials contracts. Each contract type has pros and cons based on how well understood, detailed, and stable the requirements are.
Well-understood needs might be better suited to fixed-price engagements and more loosely understood requirements are more suited to a time and materials approach. When establishing engagement contracts, you should also consider organizational maturity and risk tolerance levels.
H3 Master Services Agreement
Upon completing a few successful outsourcing projects with a firm, you may want to build on the resulting mutual trust and set up a master service agreement with select outsourcing firms. By setting up master service agreements, you streamline your procurement process and improve your likelihood of accessing the software development outsourcing firm’s top resources.
H3 Offshoring
Once you have decided on a project outsourcing engagement model, you need to select an appropriate company to engage with. Usually, the most obvious solution is to choose local companies. The main advantages of this choice include the general business environment and atmosphere, the same time zone, and the same language. This creates maximum comfort during project implementation but often causes budget stress.
With modern communication tools, the global network has created almost ideal conditions for remote work with contractors, especially if the activities are not related to the transfer of fixed assets.
Today, many countries have become outsourcing hubs, where corporations whose management knows how to count money take their R&D centers. So, the combination of offshoring and outsourcing creates exciting business opportunities with advantages and disadvantages.
Some of the advantages are:
- the ability to provide development twenty-four-seven, thanks to the location of your partners in different parts of the world, and
- lower development costs because your outsourcing partner will likely have lower rates than local firms. This means services can be adapted for any price model.
But also, there are some disadvantages:
- physical remoteness of partners, making meetings and oversight more challenging,
- location of a partner in another time zone which does not overlap with the business time of your country,
- specific work features of partner’s system of finance, and their integration into global settlement system, and
- certain aspects of the local mentality of doing business.
When choosing a country for outsourcing services, you need to establish your criteria and consider the advantages and disadvantages to make a balanced choice. Are you ready to start cooperation, or do you have additional questions? Please, write to us!
H2 Why Ukraine Is a Good Choice To Outsource Your Development Projects
The IT outsourcing industry in Ukraine has rapidly grown in the last decade. Regional centers of concentration in the large cities foster the professional growth of IT professionals, building on the foundation created by the many Ukrainian top-notch educational institutions. Compared with the USA and Western Europe, the cost of living and labor in Ukraine is lower. The result is highly skilled people are available at rates below what you would pay for local resources. As a result, outsourcing to Ukraine makes sense for many organizations.
Two of the above disadvantages focus on the time zone and cultural gaps between you and your outsourcing firm. Those gaps are relatively small for North American and European organizations engaging with Ukraine development teams.
So why outsource software development services to Ukrainian IT specialists? Here are some convincing reasons.
H3 Huge talent pool
Today, there are over 240,000 IT industry specialists in Ukraine, and each year their number increases by approximately 30,000 people, meaning that if you decide to outsource to Ukraine, you’ll get access to an immense talent pool.
And what we mean is not only the impressive number of Ukrainian IT specialists, but also a wide variety of skills. Ukrainian software engineers are well-versed in virtually all known programming languages and technologies so you have strong chances to find a perfect team to suit your project needs. Due to the size of the Ukrainian talent pool, you’ll be able to hire Ukrainian developers even if you’re looking for rare industry expertise.
H3 Home to the world-renowned startups
Did you know that Ukraine is the home to the globally renowned startups Grammarly, Ajax, and GitLab (just to name a few)? Perhaps you’ve also heard of CleanMyMac, MacPaw, PetCube, Ahrefs, Reface — these initiatives were born and are still based in Ukraine.
Foreign investors focusing on innovation and creativity consider the Ukrainian tech industry a promising destination. In 2021 only, Ukrainian startups managed to raise a staggering $571 million in investments. Despite the war, Ukrainian startups keep receiving generous grants and raising funds. As of now, the Ukrainian startup ecosystem ranks 49th globally and 12th in Eastern Europe.
And that’s not all: the country hosts 100+ research and development centers that belong to international companies. Market leaders like Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Samsung have their offshore offices in Ukraine.
H3 Time zones
Ukraine spans across Central and Eastern Europe, and it is in the GMT+2 time zone during the winter and GMT+3 in the summer. Most of Europe is in the GMT+1 time zone, so there is almost a complete overlap in standard business hours for Europe-based clients. Most businesses in North America operate within the GMT-5 to GMT-8 time zones. So the time difference between Ukrainian development companies and most North American clients is between 6 and 10 hours.
Therefore, comfortable meeting times can be arranged, and remote teams have nearly a full day of work completed when their North American clients come to work. This means that dealing with the Ukrainian software outsourcing industry is more straightforward than you might think and avoids time zone incompatibility.
H3 Culture & language
While there are differences between the cultures of North American and Eastern European countries, there are more overlaps than variations. As an Eastern European country, Ukraine’s culture overlaps in many areas. Work ethic, professionalism, and commitment to improve and get ahead are ways that Ukraine’s cultural values make Ukrainian outsourcing companies good fits for North American and European clients, an up-and-coming outsourcing destination with limitless potential.
The international language of business is English. Most Ukrainian software developers communicate in English at the intermediate or advanced level. So, language barriers are going to be minimal. In general, the more senior a person’s role in the project, the better their command of English. This is possible because many Ukrainian outsourcing companies provide in-house English education to support their professional development.
H3 Data protection & security
If you worry about data protection and security when outsourcing to Ukraine, you can rest assured that your and your customer data will be safe. Firstly, Ukrainian companies take pride in being popular outsourcing providers and do their best to deliver world-class services, complying with all the applicable international regulations and following the best security practices.
Secondly, Ukraine’s laws align with the European regulatory framework. Ukraine’s intellectual property laws guarantee copyright protection for databases and computer programs.
Last but not least, most Ukrainian tech companies will offer you to sign an NDA to protect your IP.
H3 EU relationship
The Ukraine relationship is covered by the Ukraine–European Union International Association Agreement. Ukraine is actively engaged in becoming a full EU member state in the next few years. In 2017 the European Union approved visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens, allowing Ukrainians to travel to the EU Member States without a visa.
With easy entry to Ukraine for EU citizens, outsourcing to Ukraine companies as nearshore partners makes sense for many European clients. One-to-three-hour flights can access most European cities, so in-person meetings are very convenient.
H3 Streamlined taxation system
The Ukrainian government does a lot for the development of the IT industry, adjusting the legislation to facilitate the growth of the tech companies. For instance, the taxation for IT-related independent contractors has been simplified, facilitating IT outsourcing in Ukraine and providing a conducive environment for investors.
H3 Professional development
Ukraine has a very high-quality technical education system, providing Ukrainians the tech skills needed to build airplanes, space rockets, and satellites. One division of NASA is in Ukraine. Educational excellence also applies to the IT industry, producing over 20,000 new IT graduates each year. There are more than 600 higher education institutions in Ukraine committed to meeting the educational and technical needs of the Ukrainian market. Six Ukrainian universities were included in the QS World University Rankings — three of them are in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv.
The National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv specialize in Computer Science, offering many courses in computer technology, programming, and computer science. Ukraine offers strong tech education and makes it easy for those who want to become Ukrainian software development engineers to pursue a rewarding and lucrative career.
However, personal and professional development doesn’t end when staff get their degrees. Large cities in Ukraine have established centers of concentration that allow Ukrainian tech specialists to continue to grow in the tech industry. The main centers of concentration of developers and software engineers in Ukraine are:
- Kyiv, Kyiv oblast (30% of all specialists)
- Kharkiv oblast
- Lviv oblast
- Dnipropetrovsk oblast
- Mykolaiv oblast
- Zaporizhzhia oblast
H3 Thriving IT community
The country boasts a thriving IT community offering plenty of opportunities for sharing knowledge and professional growth to Ukrainian developers. Through establishing IT associations and innovative centers as well as organizing conferences and workshops, the Ukrainian IT community significantly contributes to the development of tech culture and industry growth.
For example, Ukrainian IT clusters closely partner with universities and colleges to adjust the curriculum so that IT education can satisfy market demands. Furthermore, they provide internships in the top IT companies, and run multiple courses for developers in Ukraine.
Please, find the video review below, which will paint a vivid picture of the advantages of working with Ukrainian developers:
H3 Cost of living and labor
The cost of living in Ukrainian cities is significantly lower than in other European countries and cities in North America. According to Numbeo, the cost of living plus rent index for Ukraine for mid-year 2021 was 22.12. This means that living in Ukraine is around 22% of what it would cost to live in New York. As a result, Ukrainian citizens need to make less money than their American counterparts to enjoy a comfortable life.
Therefore, Ukrainians have a lower average salary than the citizens of many other countries, translating to relatively low outsourcing rates. The Ukrainian software developer’s hourly rate is on average 70% lower than in the United States, our competitive rates make the cost of software development lower when you deal with Ukrainian software vendors, even when compared to other countries in Eastern Europe. To learn more about outsourcing opportunities in Ukraine — Please, write to us!
H2 How To Choose a Software Development Outsourcing Company in Ukraine
So now that you know why Ukraine holds a strong position in the global outsourcing market, let’s look at the steps of choosing a Ukrainian outsourcing company to meet your needs and goals.
H3 1. Define your project requirements
Before browsing software companies, clearly define your project’s scope, objectives, and specific requirements. This will serve as a foundation for determining the IT services provider that aligns with your project needs.
H3 2. Research the market
Conduct thorough research on the Ukraine’s outsourcing market. Shortlist companies with expertise in the technologies relevant to your project.
H3 3. Evaluate technical expertise
Assess the technical proficiency of your potential outsourcing partners. Review portfolios, case studies, and technologies they specialize in. A development company
with a diverse skill set is more likely to adapt to the unique demands of your project.
H3 4. Consider industry experience
Look for outsourcing companies that have experience in your industry. Whether it’s finance, healthcare, e-commerce, or any other sector, a company familiar with your industry’s specific challenges and regulations is better equipped to deliver tailored solutions.
H3 5. Check client references
Direct feedback from previous or existing clients provides valuable insights into a company’s reliability, communication, and ability to meet deadlines. Don’t hesitate to ask about challenges faced during the collaboration and how they were overcome.
H3 6. Assess communication skills
Effective communication is crucial in outsourcing partnerships. Ensure that the outsourcing company has a proficient English-speaking team. Transparent communication fosters a smoother collaboration and reduces the risk of misunderstandings during the product development process.
H2 Why You Should Choose Codein.Software
One of the primary reasons for outsourcing software development projects is to transfer the responsibility for managing and delivering a project to the external partner. A good partner needs to be trustworthy and competent in all aspects of project delivery.
A solid corporate culture needs to support a broadly skilled project team. Strong project management, technical, and domain knowledge are needed to support sound development and testing discipline. Codein.Software has worked hard to bring all of these elements together to ensure your projects can benefit from our expertise and commitment when outsourcing in Ukraine.
The team already has a positive experience of cooperation with foreign counterparties, as well as dealing with companies in Ukraine.
Our main partners are in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia. Also, we have some projects from the USA, Netherlands, and Australia, which do not yet have a significant part of the structure of Codein.Software income, but they show us the possibility of development in these countries too. These foreign customers have seen the benefits of using an outsourcing company in Ukraine.
H3 Highly professional key individuals
The core of Codein.Software engineers team is specialists with technical education and more than 20 years of working experience.
The CEO and the founder of the company, Dmytro Kostiukevych, is a graduate of one of the best technical universities of Ukraine — Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Dmytro has his own experience of direct software development and project management, including for government agencies and top companies in Ukraine and Kazakhstan).
Our CTO, Vadym Martysh, is also a graduate of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. He holds several patents for inventions in telecommunications and has a Master of Science degree. He is expert in cybersecurity, networking, and building high-load server applications.
The CMO, Oleksii Sannikov, is a graduate of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (Faculty of Applied Mathematics, rocket science engineering). He’s also got a degree in marketing and many years of working experience in building remote banking service channels. While forming teams, we involve only experienced specialists who can independently develop a vision of architectural solutions and decompose the high-level requirements.
H3 A set of expertise in several areas
The team of Ukrainian engineers at Codein has domain expertise in:
This expertise means that in addition to the technical aspects of projects, our teams also understand the mechanisms of a particular market and the nuances of business operating. But we consider that the primary expertise of the team is an ability to work with projects of various sizes, from start-ups to complex enterprise solutions.
Depending on the project, the Codein.Software management organizes qualified dedicated teams and, if necessary, hires additional specialists and expands the team. This is one of the many good reasons to outsource to software development companies in Ukraine, a dependable and rapidly growing outsourcing destination.
H3 Formalization of sustainable development process
The team at Codein.Software uses the best practices in the industry during the development process and in project management to obtain desired results. Depending on the project and the client’s expectations, we can use traditional project management methods like the Waterfall principle as well as Agile, Lean, or SCRUM approaches. We use Jira for task management.
To decide which implementation approach is better to use for your project — please, contact us!
H3 We are ready to deal with projects “with history”
Codein.Software is a software development company that has consistently proven to be quite good at “catching up on new projects” and stabilizing and restarting them. We are not afraid of legacy code because we already have a proven approach in studying the projects, forming primary documentation, and transitioning from introductory stabilizing issues to in-depth modernization and development issues. There is a problem with developing your project — consult with us about how you can improve the efficiency!
H3 Variable tech stack
Our team of Ukrainian developers and other specialists has experience in creating projects using multiple technology stacks and choosing the optimal stack for the client. We use appropriate technology rather than an expert with available technology in the current team composition. Accordingly, if the project is best built using technology stack expertise that we do not have in a team, we will expand the team as needed.
Currently, our team comprises around 20 specialists in different fields, like LAMP stack, Microsoft Tech Stack (.net), Java, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, iOS (Object-C, Swift), Android (Java), React Native, React.JS, Vue.js, Angular 2+, Angular.js, Cisco, Asterisk, Freeswitch, advanced mobile development, etc.
Also, we are cooperating with several talented UI/UX developers and web designers. Please, consult with us to determine the technology stack that best suits your project and benefit from affordable, high-quality services delivered by the best Ukrainian developers.
H2 Bottom Line
There’s little wonder that Ukraine’s outsourcing market is one of the fastest-growing in Eastern Europe and beyond. An immense tech talent pool, lower development rates compared to Western countries, and a convenient time zone are just a few factors driving companies to outsource software development to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s IT outsourcing specialists do their best to live up to their well-deserved reputation, building high-quality software solutions. So if you’re in search of dedicated professionals to take on your product development project, welcome to Ukraine.
And if you want to give your project more chances for successful launch and development, Codein.Software is the best choice to outsource web development Ukraine. We can provide unrivaled expertise and affordability compared to other software development companies, which is why many leading organizations hire Ukrainian software developers.