The Ukraine War
Andrew Sanders from DataArt, a company that had 3,068 staff based in Ukraine (60% of its workforce) prior to the Russian invasion, provided a moving presentation on the impact of the war on the country and its people. Ukraine ranks eighth or ninth globally as an IT powerhouse, and IT represented about 5% of the economy before the war. The IT portion has grown as the economy shrunk during the war, and today accounts for about 8.5%. DataArt’s office in Kherson was itself damaged by a Russian missile.
The company started planning before the invasion, including for relocation of team members to safer areas and greater use of work-from- home; some staff were able to exit Ukraine. They also confirmed escalation and communication paths outside Ukraine, confirmed the security of client data and code, started emergency knowledge transfer, and planned on ways to accommodate staff in some of their safer office locations. On the day of the invasion, their global emergency response team met every three hours, and they invoked business continuity processes, which triggered evacuation for locations close to military danger. They also provided salary advances salary and other financial assistance due to worries about the banking system.
On the second, third, and fourth day after the invasion, DataArt shut its offices in the eastern part of the company, started a staff safety daily logging process, made satellite phones available to key local personnel, and published relocation guides. After that, they dealt with customers who wished to disengage (about 10% did so because of risk), arranged logistical support for families, created a psychological help line for staff, started to close their Russian business, created a charity, and arranged connectivity and power generators. In total, about 900 staff and 400 family members were moved. Many project discussions with staff were held in bunkers and subway stations.
Much later, they were able to travel to their offices. Ultimately, they spent $17.5 million on support, relocation, emergency help and more. Ukraine is now down to 40% of DataArt’s worldwide presence, but productivity is more than 95% of pre-war levels, and nearly all staff have access to generators, satellite communications, and co-working space.