SoftServe Capitalizes on Ukraine's Increasing Attractiveness as a Popular Outsourcing Destination

Kyiv, Ukraine – April 27, 2006 – SoftServe (www.softservecom.com), the leading provider of outsourced software development services in Eastern Europe, was featured in Kyiv Post’s (www.kyivpost.com) software services market overview (Vol. 11, Issue 16; April 20, 2006).

 

The article discusses trends and prospects for Ukraine’s fast-growing software development industry and predicts it to be an “attractive alternative to highly competitive outsourcing markets like India” in the near future. The outlook is bright for Ukraine due to many plausible reasons, to name just a few: “geographic proximity to the European Union, abolition of visa requirements for most Westerners and reputation for having a highly skilled workforce.”

 

It comes as no surprise that, according to industry experts, Ukraine’s and Russia’s software development markets are developing three times faster than those of Western Europe. In 2005, SoftServe alone contributed to this growth by adding another one hundred top notch professionals to its team (now, employing over 600 specialists), delivering excellence in over 150 of new projects, and starting a dozen of new partnerships worldwide.

 

Taras Vervega, SoftServe Executive VP for Sales & Marketing, Business Development has confirmed that SoftServe had an impressively successful year and is planning to continue growth in 2006 at a pace of at least 50 percent a year. He also commented on the question of higher number of smaller companies being opened in Ukraine and said that as the industry develops, more and more clients are encouraged to come to the market. As a result of this trend, “bigger companies like SoftServe have the ability to gain a significant percentage of this new commerce,” because smaller outfits have a much harder time beefing up their staff for larger projects.

 

Although currently underutilized as a popular offshore destination, Ukraine has significant IT potential and is consistently ranked after such heavyweights as the US, India, China, and Russia. According to the Brainbench Global Skills Report 2005, Ukraine is ranked 5^th in the world (out of the 179 countries rated), based on the number of certifications received. In addition, the Global Outsourcing Report 2005, published by Horasis and Going Global Ventures, projects Ukraine to be the No. 6 technology outsourcing country in 10 years time, based on the opportunities, costs and risks it faces in offshore outsourcing.

 

All of these facts prove that Ukraine is an up-and-coming area for offshore and nearshore IT outsourcing, and it will become increasingly important as India and other popular locations continue to heat up and experience shortages in labor supply, increased salaries, and high turnover rates. SoftServe, being the largest Ukrainian outsourcer, sees this trend as untapped resource for its continued growth, business success and industry recognition in the years to come.