Typically, IT companies are the main tenants of office real estate. Therefore, UTG experts carefully study the situation on the Ukrainian information technology market to analyze and forecast the development of this segment of commercial real estate. According to statistics, the number of international companies and their representative offices represented in Ukraine, the main consumers of professional office real estate, is decreasing in dynamics. Although Ukraine continues to be the leading global outsourcing center for servicing international TNCs. Absorbing more than 50% of all office space, the IT sector has become the leading driving force in the development of the Ukrainian office market. Ukraine remains the leader of the IT industry in Europe and ranks 4th in the world (after the USA, Russia and India) in terms of the number of certified IT specialists. Our country has a highly educated population, occupying the following places in the world: 34th – in terms of education level, 37th – in terms of technological expertise (US news 2022), 35th – in terms of English proficiency (EF English PI 2022). Also, the rapid development of Internet technologies, connection speed, coverage and the number of network users support the further development of the segment. And the loyalty of the international community to Ukraine, possible entry into NATO and the EU, will lead to the development of international organizations, enterprises, brands in the country and the rapid flourishing of Ukraine with the status of the main economic center of the post-Soviet space.

Despite massive attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure by the occupiers, unpredictable power outages and the difficulty of attracting new customers, the IT sector of Ukraine proved to be quite resilient even in wartime. Business has turned offices into autonomous fortresses: generators, backup Internet channels, stocks of food, technical and drinking water. According to the results of 2023, computer, information and telecommunication services amounted to $6.884 billion, which is 3.85% of the country’s GDP or 13.5% of Ukraine’s total exports (total of all goods and services), and 41.9% of the volume of exports of services (transport, financial, business, tourism). Although the reduction in the industry in 2023 was -8.47%. According to preliminary data, the volume of computer, information and telecommunication services in Ukraine in 2024 will be $6.31 – $6.45 billion (further reduction by -7.39%).

Currently, about 5,000 IT companies operate in the country (60% – outsourcing, 36% – startups, 4% – R&D centers). The industry is represented by both national companies and global giants such as: “EPAM”, “SoftServe”, “GlobalLogic”, “Luxoft”, “Ciklum”, “NIX”, “Data Art”, “AJAX”, “Sigma Software”, “Playtika”, “Infopulse”, “Delphi Software”, etc. Also, 5 unicorn companies operate in Ukraine (GitLab, Grammarly, Genesis, People.ai, Firefly Aerospace) and 7 are expected in the near future (Ajax Systems, Monobank, Rozetka, Preply, Restream, Reface, Letyshops), another 6 have Ukrainian roots (Ring, Affirm, Sila Nanotechnologies, BitFury, Revolut, PandaDoc).

At the beginning of 2025, the number of specialists in the IT sector in Ukraine was estimated at 256 thousand people. Thus, the reduction in 2022 was 15,105 people, and in 2023 – 14,304 people. The shortage of qualified personnel at an adequate price in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv led to the territorial expansion of offices of large IT companies into the regions and contributed to their development in Dnipro, Odessa, Zaporizhia, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk. Also, the Russian invasion provoked a rapid movement of personnel in 2022 from the eastern and southern parts of the country (from Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Mariupol, Kyiv) to safer regions of Western Ukraine and the closure of a total of 33 IT companies’ offices. At the same time, an additional impetus for development was received by Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kropyvnytskyi, Uzhhorod, Ternopil and Chernivtsi, where a total of at least 27 new representative offices were opened.

With the liberation of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions, employees began to return. As a result, Kyiv saw an increase in IT personnel from 33% to 36% or 116,000 people, Kharkiv – from 2% to 3.2% to approximately 8,700 people, Dnipro – from 6% to 7% to 19,000 people, Odessa – from 3% to 4% or 11,000 people with a proportional outflow of personnel from Lviv, where a decrease was observed from 21% to 19% or to 51,000 people, Ivano-Frankivsk – from 5% to 4.1% or 11,400 people, and Uzhhorod – from 2.4% to 2.1% or 5,700 people. Also, the refusal to cooperate with Russia led to the fact that 7 large IT companies completely stopped working, 3 companies closed their offices, 5 stopped selling services. The market is also affected by the relocation and subsequent legalization abroad of about 13% of all IT personnel. Also, internal relocation is especially characteristic of the following international companies: EPAM, SoftServe, GlobalLogic, Luxoft, Ubisoft, Ciklum, ELEKS, Dev.Pro, Playrix, DataArt, AirSlate.

In addition to the above, due to the suspension or reduction of projects in Ukrainian companies, 14-19% of IT specialists were transferred to the reserve. The number of those who lost their jobs is also growing. If after the invasion 7,800 IT specialists were left without work (according to the results of 2022), then in 2023 their number increased by another 10,700 people, in the 1st half of 2024 another 2,400 specialists were laid off. At the same time, the probability of being laid off is less and less dependent on the level of qualification – both inexperienced and experienced IT workers are being laid off. All this leads to increased competition in the labor market and makes it impossible for newcomers to enter the industry and affects salaries, where there is a tendency to reduce compensation, basic allowances, cash bonuses, the number of corporate parties, trips, and holiday gifts.

According to analysts’ forecasts, the situation in the sector is likely to continue to deteriorate. One way or another, the slowdown in the global economy, rising costs, declining profit growth rates, and a reassessment of the further development strategy have led to the cessation of hiring and optimization of IT personnel around the world. For example, 229 companies, including the largest IT giants (MAGMA (Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon), Snapchat, Twitter) are reducing the number of employees for three years in a row: in 2022 by 165,000 people, in 2023 by 264,000, and in 2024 by 151,000 people. Corporations are urging employees to prepare for further reductions. At the same time, since 2022, Ukrainian companies have begun to actively hire foreign staff and opened new offices: 9 representative offices in Poland, 6 in Romania, 4 in Colombia, 3 in Spain, 3 in Portugal and India, 2 each in Bulgaria, Turkey and Argentina, and one each in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Uruguay, Peru, and Brazil.