Top-5 Questions About Outsourcing to Ukraine

As far as outsourcing is concerned, for quite a long time Eastern Europe was totally neglected in this respect. However, in recent years this part of the world quickly became a “farm” of software outsourcing companies. Named in 2011 an “Outsourcing Destination of The Year”, Ukraine is now a top spot for offshore development, attracting businesses with its wide talent pool and reasonable rates.

What are the most common questions entrepreneurs ask themselves before outsourcing to Ukraine? Here are the answers to this and a few other questions that may be of interest to you.

#1. How do I know whether the Ukrainian company that I chose is reliable or not?

Entrusting your software development project to some unknown guys on the other side of the world, giving them money and hoping that everything will turn out just fine is not how it works when it comes to outsourcing to Ukraine. Any hesitations that you have about outsourcing to Ukraine are totally natural and understandable. But how can you make sure that the company is the right one and that this whole outsourcing thing is not only going to work, but will bear fruit? This is especially troublesome if this is not your first attempt at finding an outsourcing destination, and the previous ones turned out to be a complete failure.

There are many ways to check the company’s reliability, and they are all applicable to outsourcing to Ukraine. First of all, you have to do a little investigation. Browse through the company, find out about their previous experiences, and even talk to their ex-clients. If those clients are from your country then it is even better.

When outsourcing to Ukraine, it is a good idea to check their website. Look to see if they have photos of their office which show employees at their workplaces. This will show you that it is not just a bunch of freelancers who are typically unable to work as a single business unit but that it’s a real software company.

You may also take advice from the independent resources, like this one. They conduct the investigation for you. They gather all the necessary information about the company and even call the clients and ask for their references.

#2. Will Ukrainian developers ensure the required quality of my product?

The level of engineering skills in Ukraine is exceptionally high due to the current educational policy which is conducted in accordance with European standards. Ukraine offers 803 higher education institutions, with 122 of them being universities that have an emphasis on IT-studies. This totals about 20,000 IT-engineers graduating annually.

Such vast figures show that there are many highly educated young people entering into the IT sphere, with an insufficient inner demand for them. As a result, the level of competition increases which provides the best-quality services for any foreign clients.

In Ukraine, developers have an outstanding feature you need to be aware of. They dive deep into their given task and they always ask questions and try to find the most reasonable solution. That is why Ukrainian development teams are perfectly suitable for experimental and creative tasks.

Some software companies in Ukraine also have offices and business forces in other countries, possessing valuable expertise that other markets can’t offer. For example, our clients appreciate the business experience that is brought from Israel and the US by our product and project managers.

#3. Will I be able to communicate efficiently with my Ukrainian team?

When it comes to outsourcing, geographical proximity is one of the key factors. You may think that if the country is far from you, there can be no way to properly communicate. And how can you trust people you do not know? Right you are, you can’t. Then you’d better get to know them.

Although, managing development teams online is a wide-spread practice, in Ukraine we always prefer personal meetings. Our geographical location enables us to organize live communication. Our developers often travel to our clients and our clients are always welcome to visit their teams. We have a set of communication rules which make our clients feel more than comfortable when it comes to managing and cooperating.

When outsourcing to Ukraine, you will see that our software engineers speak very good English and you may easily encounter those who also speak German, French or many other languages. The difference in time zones with Western Europe and Ukraine is small. However, if the difference between your time zone and Ukraine’s time zone is large there is still no need to worry. We have and continue to successfully work with clients from the US, Singapore and even Australia.

The European location also contributes to a really inconsiderable difference in mentality. Ukrainians always respect other cultures, still having and cherishing their own. One of the key points of our philosophy, the one that keeps attracting so many investors is pretty simple – honesty.

#4. How to choose among outsourcing companies in Ukraine?

Today, here are many software companies in Ukraine that offer outsourcing services. The following criteria will provide you with some guidance and will help you decide on which option works best for you.

• The location: we have a range of companies located in all major cities, however Kharkiv is famous for it’s technical advancement, it is a “student city”, with a lot of higher educational institutions offering engineering studies;
• The size: you may choose a huge corporation, or a little office, or something in the middle. Just keep in mind, that small companies will not give you the full extent of skills needed for a large-scale project and in a huge corporation you’ll definitely have a choice of employees working on your project, but won’t get a custom approach. The mid-sized company can be a nice fit for you software needs. You can find more information about recruiting and managing the outsourcing team here;
• The range of services: some companies specialize in mobile applications, some in web development, some only provide code-writing services, while others support all the stages of your product’s creation. It is up to you to choose what suits you best.

#5. How safe is outsourcing to Ukraine?

Another factor startups consider before outsourcing is the business environment within a particular country and whether or not the atmosphere is benign enough. In Ukraine we really had some tough times politically and economically. We’ve been through a lot and even now there is a frozen conflict that currently exists in a small part of two eastern regions of Ukraine.

In fact, it is quite amazing and even inspiring to see how quickly the country has recovered and is currently moving forward. The majority of Young motivated IT-specialists have decided to stay in Ukraine instead of pursuing higher European salaries. We have approximately 4000 IT-companies that have experienced and considerate project management staff. These companies provide a whole range of services from business analytics, to design, to development and QA. At the same time, we are not in European Union, so the prices for software development here are significantly lower than in Poland or any of the Baltic States.

A great lot of really bright IT-projects were made here: Whats App, PayPal, Petcube, Blynk and many others. If they managed, why shouldn’t you?

Choosing outsourcing to Ukraine is a reasonable decision. Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular is moving in leaps and bounds when it comes to IT. If you are still unsure or have some questions, not covered by this article, feel free to contact us and get firsthand insights into the outsourcing prospects that Ukraine can offer.