Intellias has curtailed operations in Serbia, but is opening offices in Spain, Portugal and Croatia.

Intellias, one of the largest Ukrainian IT companies, has curtailed its activities in Serbia due to the position of the government of this country regarding Russia's war against Ukraine. At the same time, the outsourcer decided to open offices in Spain, Portugal and Croatia, CEO and co-founder of the company Vitaly Sedler said in an interview for DOU.

About closing the office in Serbia

According to the head of the IT company, they closed their office in Serbia after the start of a full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

"We have started to stafiti people, but from the point of view of politics, it is clear that it is wrong to be where there is no significant support for Ukraine from the government. The Serbian government now takes a neutral, even pro-Russian position, so it is impossible for us to have a business in such a situation there. It's a pity, because there are many engineers in Serbia and young people understand everything, just like in Ukraine. Young people there are drivers of the pro — European Movement, but this is not enough for us," Sadler said.

He added that the company has moved its Balkan office from Serbia to Croatia.

As you know, at the end of January, it was reported that Intellias will open its development center in Serbia in the spring of 2022. It was supposed to become the second delivery office of the outsourcer outside of Ukraine after Poland.

About opening new representative offices

"According to the global delivery strategy, we are already opening offices in Portugal, Spain — I think [this will happen] in a few weeks. In Croatia, the legal process of hiring is already underway. We are also looking at Bulgaria: we are looking for someone who will launch a business there," said the CEO of Intellias.

The company expects that the new office in Zagreb, Croatia, will become the center of the future southern European IT hub, where engineers from all over the region will be able to work.

In particular, in 2022, they plan to hire about 100 specialists. For example, they are currently looking for senior data engineers and mid-level AQA engineers in the region.

According to Sadler, his company always Studies which strategy is more effective for which country [whether to recruit management on the spot, or relocate people from Ukraine].

For example, according to him, Ukrainian colleagues are needed in Southeast Asia (India, Vietnam). Because if there is only their specialist with a completely different culture, it will not be possible to correctly transfer the unique culture of humanity of an IT company. Therefore, when it comes to completely unfamiliar markets, you have to transport at least one or two people from Senior Top Management.

About activities in Poland

As Sadler admitted, Poland has already become almost a home market for them. The company is adding three more offices there-in Warsaw, Wroclaw and Gdansk (opening is scheduled for April-May 2022).

Among the latest trends highlighted by the IT entrepreneur is that every Ukrainian company that talks about globalization is now going to Poland and Georgia. In his opinion, those companies that will win the competition will grow, and those that will lose will not be able to do so.

Intellias is convinced that they have a good position, so they invest in these offices in Poland: this is a good culture, a good offer, cool projects. But they postponed the office in Georgia for later, "because a lot of Russians went there."

"I am calm about taxes [in Poland], because in the end the market regulates everything. You can set higher rates for your clients. In the end, the marginality is the same or slightly less, but from the point of view of globalization, we get a plus in capitalization on margin, and this is acceptable for business," Sadler stressed.

In his opinion, the complexity of the European market lies in long notice periods. If in Ukraine an IT company can negotiate with a client in a month, then in Poland this process lasts 2-3 months.

"Companies create benchmarks, reserves, and they are expensive — only large businesses can afford this. This will definitely make it harder for smaller companies. Offices also have their own characteristics: long-term lease or sublease agreements. The Ukrainian market is more flexible," he said.

About hiring plans and business situation in Ukraine

According to Sadler, Ukraine is the best market for IT business, and it has been so for many, many years. In particular, over the past 5-7 years, the Ukrainian talent market has been the best, at least in Europe, he believes.

"There are three main markets in the world with engineers: Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia. A global company should be located in all three macro-regions. Intellias ' hiring plan is 700-800 people outside of Ukraine by the end of the year (in Ukraine, in the worst case, about 300)," the CEO of the IT company said.

At the same time, he clarified that the development of Intellias in Ukraine depends on the situation at the front. Currently, there are about 300 positions that the outsourcer wants to fill in Ukraine by the end of 2022.

"During April, we will hire several dozen people. And then everything depends on how the war will develop. If things get worse, we will adjust our actions. If it improves significantly... We have the opportunity to invest further in Ukraine and create jobs here. As a fast and flexible company, we will always adapt and do what is possible in specific conditions," the entrepreneur concluded.

Read the full interview with Vitaly Sedler at this link.

Earlier it was reported that Intellias opens a development center in Transcarpathia. In particular, a new office has already been set up in the center of Uzhgorod. It is designed for 40 jobs.