As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine goes on, millions of people have to witness horrors of war daily, while also facing the fear of job losses and recession. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the economy is projected to shrink to an appalling 30% this year, making it hard for many local businesses to keep the lights on.
But there’s no way to corner the Ukrainian tech sector, which has been developing by leaps and bounds during the last decade. Being a software development company based in Ukraine, JatApp has been doing a good job to keep its employees safe and continue to deliver high quality projects. Despite the fact that some of our employees relocated and some of them joined the Armed Forces, our company hasn’t lost a single client because of our teams’ commitment and lots of proactive strategic planning.
JatApp aims to keep on showing high performance to its customers and emphasize that each completed outsourcing project is getting our country closer to victory. In this blog post, we’re shedding light on how our team works during the war.
Overview of the Ukrainian tech sector
Given the deep economic distress in the country, there’s the glimmer of hope for the Ukrainian homefront – the tech sector. The industry is thriving even in the midst of constant uncertainty of war. Despite genuinely frightening barriers and intrusions, Ukrainian software companies have managed to retain 95% of their contracts.
Russia has destroyed a lot of critical infrastructure, leaving millions without jobs and a sense of security. Still, more than 200,000 local software developers have found themselves in a privileged position compared to many other non-tech professionals. The only things programmers need to continue work on their projects are an internet connection and a laptop.
The recent report from the National Bank of Ukraine suggests that tech agencies generated $3.1 billion thanks to cooperation with thousands of clients, many of whom are in the Fortune 500. This is a significant leap in revenue compared to $2.5 billion last year. Such upbeat news is one of the reminders how critical software development companies are for keeping the national economy up and running.
How does our company respond to challenges of war?
After the outbreak of war the main motivation for JatApp was to make sure its employees are safe and have a comfortable work environment. Our company helped our teams move from the war-torn East of Ukraine to the cities along the western frontier. We also offered our colleagues an opportunity to relocate to Turkey.
From the very first days of Russia’s invasion we tried to help our employees overcome the shock and distress. Our human resource team completed training in psychological support from Israeli psychologists in order to assist workers adjust to the new reality.
The next step was to ensure that employees can keep the lines of communication open – though it was a challenging task, given that the staff is scattered across different regions and even countries. So, we arranged regular communication at the organizational and team levels. Beyond all that, we introduced short-term business goals for a calendar quarter, month, and even week.
On the bright side, this strategy helped us a lot in gaining resilience, which had become our new super power.
How is JatApp doing now?
As soon as we evacuated all our employees and made sure they were safe and sound, we continued to work on our products and outsourcing projects. JatApp is targeting mainly the Tier-1 countries, which is why it’s particularly important to keep pace with changes in the global market. Olha Vysochynska, a Chief Operation Officer at JatApp, admits that the clients have become more demanding and cost-conscious, as the prices keep climbing not only in Europe, but in the whole world as well.
JatApp managed to come up with a crisis management plan in case the war started, so we were able to restore business operations rather quickly. This allowed us not to cancel our pre-war plans and restart the hiring process at the beginning of March.
In fact, our engineers picked up the speed and worked even harder, despite constant air raid sirens and acute stress. This was how they fought.
Clients from all over the world seem eager to support Ukrainian companies but this good intention will always collide with a practical business mindset. As the time passes and the war is far from over, the ultimate question is: “Can we deliver the project in time or not?” And we say yes, JatApp manages to meet clients’ high expectations and successfully complete projects within the set deadlines.
As for our own products, the situation is also quite optimistic. Oleksandr Stirenko, a JatApp’s product owner, notes that we managed to retain operational effectiveness of our products during the first and second quarters. Even though Oleksandr witnesses a range of factors that are likely to lead to the global financial crisis, he is firmly convinced that JatApp can cope with all challenges thanks to its resilience.
We need to admit that during the first months of war, some employees weren’t enthusiastic about their projects and seemed to lose interest in their work. However, continued motivation, support, and the communication culture helped them overcome this barrier and restore productivity.
Work with JatApp and stand with Ukraine
One of the best ways to support the Ukrainian economy and help to win this war is to work with Ukrainian companies. If you’re looking for a software agency to outsource your product development, consider collaborating with JatApp. During the last seven years we’ve delivered more than 200 solutions and received many five stars on Clutch.
In the face of war we’ve become stronger and far more resilient, which makes us an ideal partner for your project. What you’ll get from cooperation with us today is high quality software, strong desire to work, the ability to respond to crisis situations, well-established communication channels, and readiness to help.
Want to know more about us? Feel free to hop on over to our portfolio.
