How Ukraine’s IT Industry continues delivering through wartime challenges

To keep companies in our IT sector, we had to double up on transparency, business continuity, resilience, and build trust despite the devastating reality around us. The government also provided support.

One way I’ve seen real change is through the Diia City initiative. The special legal regime introduced a preferential tax system for tech businesses and professionals, reducing tax burdens and lowering social contributions.

Another great project was the Diia.Digital Education platform, born to help people in Ukraine improve their skills so they can get better jobs in IT and tech. It offers free, hands-on courses on blockchain, cybersecurity, and career tips. Over 2 million students have benefited from it so far!

Our Ministry of Digital Transformation also launched the IT Generation Project. It provided free training programs in emerging IT and tech skills to nearly 2,000 Ukrainians, enabling them to find online work during the war.

And how did companies protect their teams based in Ukraine? Let me share my experience firsthand.

Before the pandemic, Ukraine was already a strong player in nearshoring, and remote work was already a big part of our IT sector. When the whole world shifted to working from home, we were ready. At Nortal, in particular, we had remote work systems in place long before lockdowns and the war started. Our entire business was founded on the principle of expanding your capabilities and competitiveness by leveraging distributed teams.

That approach gave us an advantage during tough times. However, working remotely during a war is different. We had to take extra steps to keep things running smoothly for our global clients.

• Our management quickly supported employees in relocating from frontline cities to safer western regions of Ukraine.
• We set up our workspaces with backup power to handle blackouts and meet SLA agreements.
• We also got satellite internet through Starlink for a strong connection (42,000 Starlink terminals have been used collectively across our countries by authorities, hospitals, and businesses, and the satellite connectivity technology continues to be a major advantage).
• And if there’s an air raid alert, we have designated shelters where we can work safely.
• Beyond that, we’ve adapted our home offices, too, investing in portable power stations and UPS systems to stay online during outages. 

These measures have really worked out well.

Today, approximately 300,000–307,000 IT specialists make up Ukraine’s tech talent pool, 238,000-257,000 actively working in the country. Clients concerned about continuity now see that we haven’t skipped a beat. Flexible work and good crisis management have reinforced Ukraine’s spot as a top IT outsourcing destination. Even with the challenges, we’re delivering high-quality solutions and proving we can meet deadlines and deliver quality under pressure that nothing can compare. 

I've been thinking about a question that comes up often: can Ukrainian IT specialists stay motivated when they face daily threats?

I asked my colleagues about this. These people write code, solve problems, and manage product launches while sirens wail and missiles roar in the background. Most of them told me that the war has actually made them more dedicated than ever.

Extreme circumstances often bring out the best in people, and for many, professional life has become a source of stability in an unpredictable world. With a greater sense of purpose, their performance has reached new heights.

Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine’s IT sector continues to attract global clients. The demand for Ukrainian expertise remains strong and for a good reason.

Take AI, for example. Ukraine ranks second in Central and Eastern Europe in the number of AI companies.

In cybersecurity, Ukrainian specialists have a strong track record of safeguarding both public and private infrastructure.

Our specialists also excel in big data, particularly in analytics and machine learning, ranking 27th globally for combining business and data analytics skills (Global Skills Index). Over 82% of Ukrainian IT professionals hold senior roles, and 43% have more than 6 years of experience in high-demand areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and fintech. This makes Ukraine a valuable asset in the tech world.

Companies with a vision understand that, and we don’t have to look far for examples. At Nortal, we’ve made a visionary move to acquire Skelia (now part of Nortal) soon after the war broke out, a statement of faith in Ukraine’s future.

As Nortal’s CEO, Priit Alamäe, put it: “Some companies have been downscaling their operations in Ukraine or even pulling out. But quite on the contrary, we believe in Ukraine's unique future and its people's strength.”

Our clients share this optimism. Companies like TUI, which began working with our Ukrainian teams before the war, stay by us. Since 2007, we’ve hired over 1,000 tech experts. We choose only the best, and businesses appreciate that, even in tough times. When the conflict escalated, The New York Times reported that Ukrainian IT firms managed to maintain 95% of their contracts despite the war. It shows that Ukrainian teams have remained unfazed by the terrors they face.

That winter night in 2022 marked a turning point, a moment that challenged us to redefine what stability and productivity mean in difficult times.

But within weeks, the tech scene showed what we always knew: Ukrainians never back down.

We rally forces, adapt, and keep pushing. The IT sector has proven that we can handle tough times and stay strong.

Today, Ukrainian engineers continue supporting global companies across AI, cybersecurity, fintech, cloud platforms, and enterprise software development. Businesses that work with Ukrainian teams are not simply accessing technical expertise; they’re partnering with specialists who have learned how to adapt, solve problems, and maintain quality under pressure.

For companies evaluating nearshoring or distributed delivery models, Ukraine remains one of the most experienced and resilient technology talent markets in Europe.

If you want to better understand what working with Ukrainian teams looks like today, from business continuity to engineering expertise and delivery models, we’re happy to share our experience and insights.