IT is the most advanced and popular field in Ukraine. Ukrainian IT industry is expected to reach $10 billion in value by 2021. The local software development community has grown by 27% in 2017 and currently employs over 185,000 IT specialists.

Ukraine ranks 4th in the world by the number of tech workers after the United States, India, and Russia. Moreover, its IT workforce is expected to surpass the 200,000 marks in 2021

Why you should work with Ukrainian IT companies?

The Ukrainian tech industry has benefited from a close cultural fit with European and Western markets as well as a central time zone. This means that the cultural fit comes both from a shared European history as well as working regularly with international businesses. Since 2013 an agreement between the European Union and Ukraine has also made it easier for Ukrainians to travel throughout Schengen to build business relationships.

 Additionally, the considerably lower prices compared to other European countries, made from Ukraine a good destination for sourcing out talents and workforce with relatively competitive skills and education. 

What to be aware of when working with Ukrainian IT companies

Due to the cheap prices Ukrainian web agencies offer, the market perception tends to take professionals and companies based in Ukraine as an outsourcing destination or a budget project alternative to other similar European opportunities. Additionally, cybersecurity, piracy and tech skills raise questions about hiring or not a Ukrainian web agency for web projects

How reliable are Ukrainian companies

Having the association agreement with the EU, Ukrainian companies starting 2013 entered a new phase of cooperation and received more access to European market, business culture, and IT environment and infrastructure. It is considered now, in 2020 more reliable than it was before and visible progress was registered; but with the regional background, is still far behind its neighbors in terms of competitiveness and skills

How the Ukrainian IT industry relates to the neighboring countries

With three large competitors as neighbors, Ukraine has been struggling to become the largest tech hub in the region. Compared to Russia, Ukraine enjoys a similar IT infrastructure but has more opportunities due to access to the EU market. Poland, on the other hand, has a considerable advantage due to advanced facilities and market investments which makes it more attractive than Ukraine. Also, Romania is a strong competitor in the region that claims leading positions in software development and IT infrastructure development. 

Overall, Ukraine has a strong position in the region and in Europe, with a massive IT presence which allows companies based there to attract more customers from different segments. However, the trends show that market preferences move to another price segment than the one Ukrainian companies are on to.

Laravel is a popular open-source PHP web application framework used for building web applications and websites. It's known for its elegant and expressive syntax, as well as its rich set of tools and libraries that simplify common web development tasks. Laravel was created by Taylor Otwell and released in 2011, and it has since gained widespread adoption in the PHP development community. Here are the key aspects and features of Laravel:

• Elegant Syntax

• MVC Architecture

• Artisan CLI

• Database Abstraction

• Blade Templating Engine

• Middleware

• Authentication and Authorization

• Routing

• Caching

• Testing

• Security

• Community and Ecosystem.

• Scalability

When choosing a PHP framework for a project, there are several alternatives to Laravel, each with its strengths and use cases. The choice depends on project requirements, familiarity with the framework, and specific preferences. Here are some notable PHP frameworks that often compete with Laravel:

• Symfony: Symfony is a high-performance PHP framework known for its flexibility and modularity. It is often used for large, enterprise-level applications. Laravel actually uses several Symfony components under the hood. Symfony provides robust tools for building web applications, APIs, and microservices.

• Zend Framework (Laminas): Zend Framework, now known as Laminas, is a mature framework that focuses on building scalable and enterprise-grade applications. It provides a collection of reusable components for various tasks, allowing developers to choose and integrate only what they need.

• CodeIgniter: CodeIgniter is a lightweight and straightforward framework that emphasizes simplicity and speed of development. It's often chosen for smaller projects and rapid application development (RAD). While it has a smaller feature set compared to Laravel, it's known for its minimal learning curve.

• CakePHP: CakePHP is a full-stack framework that focuses on convention over configuration (CoC). It comes with features like scaffolding, a built-in ORM, and a friendly community. It's known for its simplicity and convention-driven development.

Companies specialized in providing services using Laravel can significantly benefit relevant projects. Their expertise in Laravel development allows them to efficiently create customized web applications that meet specific project requirements. With a deep understanding of Laravel's capabilities, these companies can ensure the project benefits from Laravel's robust features, clean code structure, and security mechanisms.

They expedite development using Laravel's built-in tools and extensive package ecosystem, making them well-suited for both small-scale and enterprise-level applications. Security is a top priority, with specialists implementing best practices to protect against common web vulnerabilities, enhancing the project's safety, especially when dealing with sensitive data.

After the project launch, these specialized companies offer ongoing maintenance and support, addressing issues, applying updates, and ensuring the application's long-term reliability. They also excel in integration with third-party services and technologies, expanding the application's functionality and enhancing the user experience.

In addition, some companies may offer UX and design services, further improving the project's visual appeal and usability. Through rigorous testing and quality assurance, they identify and resolve potential issues before deployment, ensuring the application performs reliably across various devices and browsers.