Almost half of Ukraine IT companies affected by Russian instability

A poll released by the IT Ukraine Association on Feb.
2 shows that 46% of IT companies in Ukraine have been in some way affected by
client sentiment regarding the possibility of a further Russian invasion. Of
the association’s respondents, 23% reported seeing potential partners review the
situation, 13% reported having clients review or scale back on orders and 8%
have seen a large fall in orders. At the same time, no companies are preparing
for a full relocation of their Ukrainian operations.

The IT sector exported USD 6.1 bln services in 2021
(up 40% yoy) and accounted for 34% of total services exports (9% of goods &
services exports) from Ukraine.

James Hydzik: While some
IT companies are already engaged in voluntary short-term relocations, others
are not discussing such possibilities at all, at least at the company level.
For firms in most major cities, the major risk would be in the IT and
electrical infrastructure being disrupted, and not a kinetic attack.

Sentiment among customers can be bolstered by
having a relocation plan in place, and many companies were actively engaged in
forming such plans in 2014. Given the need for remote work during the COVID
era, Ukraine’s IT industry should be able to point to that experience as well.