The following article is proudly written in partnership with Amirsan Roberto

Since moving to Kyiv for my studies a lot has changed. I became an IT specialist diving deep into the industry, rotating across companies, projects, and multiple gigs, learning as much as I could to make sense of digital and tech ecosystems, and how European, as well as American companies, were heavily involved in outstaffing and outsourcing their tech solutions.

Since 2008, I have worked in five tech companies, been involved in 30+ projects, directly managed 5 projects, and witnessed how AI, IoT, FinTech, EduTech, HealthTech, and lately Blockchain, DeFi, NFTs are taking industries by storm.

Of course, I have never wanted to remain behind the game. I was working with multiple teams and watched Ukraine become a destination for tech product developers, so I took a leap of faith and joined Sinofy, becoming Head of Operations and Co-CEO (more of my story is here), helping APAC based companies with their PR and tech challenges. The more we worked with our clients, the more we realized that very few have any form of understanding about the potential of Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular.

Ready? Buckle up.

Why Ukraine?

Ukrainian Hi-Tech Initiative states that Ukraine exports its IT services to the G7 countries and other key target markets:

Just like the world chose to outsource manufacturing to China, developed and developing economies are choosing Ukraine, its location, increasing number of talents, and foundational infrastructure in education which sets the path for the next generation of IT specialists.

Strong work ethic inspired and motivated my partner Amir, who is co-founder and angel investor at Sinofy to form our R&D center and start growing our team. We cemented our partnerships with Rostyslav Pelekhovych, Head of Automation at Sinofy, Oles Kucherenko, Chief Creative Officer, Ale Daria Siedykh, Head of Tech Advisory, Alexandr Honchar, AI Advisor, Nina Kulchevich, Sinofy Managing Partner and Vitalii Egorov and Igor Bespalov, who both become advisors to ensure the delivery of the best possible service and quality of work.

Daxx.com indicates that The Tech Industry In Ukraine Grows By 20%+ Each Year. The number of software companies in Ukraine grew from 1,050 in 2011 to 1,650 tech companies in 2020. Many of the top IT outsourcing companies in Ukraine have crossed the 6,000 employee threshold and show constant growth. The COVID outbreak simply added fuel to the fire to accelerate the adoption of digital, and no one could have described it better than Amirsan Roberto’s article (SINOFY — Decoding the power of Community)

Sinofy Group is thrilled to organize one of the most anticipated hackathons of 2021 — DEV Challenge. Gathering 1500 participants, 50 global media partners, 20 IT communities and 10+ strategic partners, DEV Challenge will unite a community of innovators and demonstrate the true technical potential of Ukraine’s finest minds.

Our story began in 2012, with 108 events since taking place, 200 clients profiting and 20 industries impacted. Challenging us to develop IT solutions, HR-brand and recruitment, PR and positioning, and new business validation is our forte — and holds an unimaginable number of benefits for businesses.

Through the recruitment of talented developers and outstanding technology, we can develop an effective HR brand and aid in excellent recruitment. DEV Challenge hosts talented, motivated, and open developers who don’t shy away from challenges. Listed on our handy database, taking part in the hackathon grants access to a list of individuals and their qualifications without having to use a recruitment agency or post on a job board. We believe you can find some of the brightest minds in Ukraine to supplement a workforce at DEV Challenge.

We also love to create non-trivial PR campaigns and put companies in great public positions. DEV Challenge seeks to create a community, look to the future and implement some top-notch technology. Taking part will put companies alongside just these qualities and advertise themselves as a company that does more than just pay the bills — but a company that is socially responsible desires to help the next generation and wants to help young talents grow. For companies in traditional industries, taking on these qualities will keep them ahead of the market and show familiarity with the latest technology. A fresh, open-minded and progressive company always attracts the attention of the media and the most talented.

Our hackathon is also the perfect location to validate a new business idea. Companies build the strategy and the roadmap, but when it comes to launch the idea is a failure because the idea was never validated.

Our last hackathon hosted 1,500 people. 1,500 individuals who can test and get a feel for an idea, pick it apart and test it in a real life context. 1,500 individuals who can analyse complex data, make predictions and create a roadmap. Setting up a successful business idea can be made much easier thanks to the community created at DEV Challenge.

We, of course, love creating IT solutions. Our teams can take a problem and produce a complete and polished solution using the latest technology and brightest minds. Go to an independent IT solution company and pay them to create three solutions and one finished design. Take a problem to DEV Challenge and be presented with fifty polished and considered IT solutions all the pick and choose from.

DEV Challenge has made their mark on Facebook, Vodafone, Intel Corporation — to name just a few. Our judges are also outstanding professionals and true representatives of the quality of work produced.

But our hackathons are more than just building a team and community. The drive, energy, and elation around the event while finding the solution are what make our Hackathons dynamic, exhilarating, and at the very least, simply enjoyable.

DEV Challenge is the largest championship for developers and designers in the CEE region — and you can take part. This is a great opportunity to find tech solutions for your challenges, promote your brand and recruit promising and skilled global teams.

Interested in partnership or participation? This deck is for you: https://docsend.com/view/u9xyxk7yuevxukxx

Ukraine, the Oasis for Developers and how Sinofy is Making the History. was originally published in SINOFY on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

SINOFY — Decoding the power of Community.

This article is proudly written in partnership with Andrew Phillips, Amirbek. S (A.K.A. Amirsan Roberto), and Sophie Dale.

Rarely an individual, and an individual alone, can make any significant mark on the world, nor shape its future. In 1929 Alexander Fleming, a London-based bacteriologist published the paper ‘penicillin’. But it was not until 1938 that Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and their colleagues at Oxford University transformed it from a laboratory curiosity into the era of antibiotics — one of the greatest advances in therapeutic medicine.

In 1975 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer. Their ‘microcomputer’ was revolutionary, but without a deal between IBM and Bill Gates of the newly born Microsoft, the personal computer may not have been legitimized until later on in history.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights could never have been signed without the unification of nations at the 1948 United Nations General Assembly.

The Human Genome Project, a research effort to sequence and map 20,500 human genes (nature’s complete genetic blueprint to build a human being) is the world’s largest collaborative biological project carried out across 20 universities.

The examples are endless. But each one is driven by a team, a shared vision, and a community.

According to McKinsey & Company, COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping point — and transformed business forever. The adoption of digital technologies has been accelerated by three to four years and the share of digital products in a business’ portfolio has accelerated by a massive seven years — and these changes are expected to stay around.

For most, this is good news. Technology is strategically important as a critical component of business and as a source of cost-effectiveness. Companies that successfully adopt new technological practices have capabilities others don’t have, including filling gaps for technology talent during the crisis, the use of more advanced technologies, and increased speed in experimenting and innovating.

“Digital adoption has taken a quantum leap at both the organizational and industry levels”

Consumers have moved towards online channels, with industries moving with them. The ability to meet customers’ needs is now centered through digital means. Companies in Asia are three times more likely now than before the crisis to have at least 80% of their customer interactions are digital in nature. Remote working is now the new normal.

On the dark side, with increased digitalization comes increased online attacks, data breaches, data leaks, and exploitation. According to Deloitte, 47% of individuals fall for a phishing scam while working from home, with attackers using the pandemic to target vulnerable and less experienced internet users.

The Action Fraud team said $47.million in COVID-related scams had been stolen since 1 March 2020 in the UK alone. Between February 2020 and May 2020, more than half a million people were impacted by breaches where personal data from video conferences services was stolen. Many hackers are upping their game, with 35% using previously unseen malware or methods during the pandemic.

The pandemic has created new challenges for businesses and individuals, with cybersecurity at the top of the list. The reputational, operational, and legal implications could be considerable if cybersecurity risks are neglected — and that’s where Hackathons and Bounty programs come to salvation.

Since the birth of Open Source collaboration and empowering tools such as GitHub and GitLab, the art of collaborative work has become borderless, making technology, the digital landscape, and teamwork sexier than ever before.

What the hell is Open Source, GitHub and GitLab?

The following CNBC`s Sneak-Peak and how Open Source has redefined industry:

What is a Hackathon and Why does it matter?

In a nutshell, Hackathon is a coding contest in which programmers and experts are involved in software development, improvement or bug bounty exercises.

The purpose of a hackathon is to create functioning software or hardware or to improve and find solutions for existing tech by the end of the event.

There are several types of hackathons:

• Coding Competitions
• Ideathons
• Datathons
• Application-Based Competitions
• Sponsored and tailored Competitions

However, one does not have to strictly stick with the above-mentioned. There is always room for improvisation and tailoring a hackathon towards the needs of a client who might be looking for new talent, new solutions, removal of bugs in their system, and much more.

While winning can be empowering and rewarding, the true essence of the Hackathon is to experience the drive, energy, and elation around the event while finding a solution for the problem and building a team and community.

Given the power of community and purpose behind a Hackathon, its applicability is seemingly obvious. Be it polishing your coding skills, meeting your next mentor who could help you realize your dream, or a developer to help make sense of the tech world, a Hackathon can offer a helping hand. Furthermore, if you need additional teams to support your overseas tech developments, a Hackathon is one of the best opportunities to recruit teams in the short or long term and integrate them into your existing infrastructure.

The primary reasons for using the internet are for staying connected to friends and family and keeping up to date with news and events. The cost of mobile devices and laptops is going to only decrease as more become digitally connected and connections become faster and more convenient.

The world is becoming smaller, with quicker and more complex connections uniting one side of the world to another, all facilitated by technology.

Yet, technology is not and never will be perfect. As more adopt 21st-century inventions, more and more professionals will be needed to solve problems, improve existing tech, build new tech, and so on. Hackathons, of course, are a perfect place to do just this.

Challenging us to develop IT solutions, HR-brand and recruitment, PR and positioning, and new business validation is our forte. Thus, Sinofy’s first Hackathon is taking place in Ukraine and will bring together some of the best minds to solve some of these most pressing and current problems.

Bringing deep expertise on the workings of an engaging hackathon, recruitment of talented developers, and utilizing a network of partner companies, experts, and mentors dedicated to task-solving, Sinofy’s debut Hackathon will help unleash the true technical potential of Ukraine’s finest minds.

Sinofy Group is thrilled to organize one of the most anticipated hackathons in 2021 — DEV Challenge.

This is a gathering of #1500 participants, #50 global media partners, #20 IT communities, #10+ strategic partners, and counting.

This is a #Great opportunity to find Tech solutions for your challenges, promote your brand, recruit the most promising, skilled teams, globally.

Some of the notable clients include Facebook, Upwork, Intel Corporation, Vodafone, and dozens of others that can be found here.

Interested in partnership or participation? Then this deck is for you: https://lnkd.in/gGyBakwK

SINOFY — Decoding the power of Community. was originally published in SINOFY on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.