The Perfect Storm in IT: Why the Market Stalled and What is Really Happening with Investments.

The modern IT market is going through one of its toughest phases in the last decade. What many call a temporary dip is actually a deep structural crisis. It is a perfect storm formed by the collision of three massive fronts: harsh local reality, global macroeconomic deceleration, and the total unpredictability brought by artificial intelligence.

Key takeaways.

• Operational risk and continuity have become primary decision factors for clients and investors.
• Capital is expensive and the outlook is uncertain, so businesses are pausing new initiatives.
• AI shifts demand from "just hands" to experts who can ship outcomes quickly and reliably.

The Ukrainian Reality and the Factor of Physical Unpredictability.

Let's start with the most painful part. For any Western client or investor, the foundation of business is predictability of risk. They are pragmatists who count every dollar and clearly see the big picture. Investing millions in a large team where a key developer might step out for bread and never return due to the objective realities of mobilization is a massive risk.

Add to this the regular threats of blackouts. Western business doesn't care that developers have to assemble backup power systems, configure inverters, and buy LiFePO4 batteries just so their local development environment doesn't crash mid-deploy and their graphics cards don't shut down from voltage drops. They need stable results.

Official reports from the IT Ukraine Association and the National Bank confirm this harshly: at the end of 2023, IT service exports from Ukraine fell for the first time in history by 8.5%, dropping to $6.7B, and this stagnation took hold in 2024-2025. Budgets go where there is an absolute guarantee of process continuity.

The Global Economy and the Trump Effect.

But the problem is not just local. Money has become expensive, and the future is foggy. Businesses are hitting pause on funding new projects. The political climate in the US and the return of Donald Trump to power, with a course on protectionism, makes corporations nervous. The threat of new tariffs and pressure to bring jobs back domestically push major players to hoard cash rather than pour it into global outsourcing.

At the same time, the era of cheap credit is over. High interest rates from the Fed have led to a true venture winter. According to Crunchbase analytics, global startup funding is in sharp decline after the 2021 peak. Money is no longer handed out for beautiful ideas of new web services or apps; investments now flow only where there is a guaranteed and very fast return.

Artificial Intelligence as a Factor of Total Instability.

The third and most massive blow to classic IT was struck by the AI revolution. It is no longer just a trendy feature, but a tool that breaks long-term planning. Economists at Goldman Sachs state in their global report that the latest AI systems can automate or significantly change about 300 million jobs worldwide. The main impact falls on knowledge work, including entry and mid-level IT professionals.

How can a business plan complex architecture three years ahead today? Companies simply don't know if their stack will still be relevant by release time. Gartner forecasts that by 2028, 75% of enterprise software engineers will use AI assistants to write code (up from less than 10% in early 2023). What yesterday required million-dollar budgets and a team of fifty specialists, tomorrow will be done by a handful of seniors at a fraction of the cost.

This has already triggered a global wave of staff optimization. The independent tracker Layoffs.fyi records that in 2023 alone, tech companies laid off over 260,000 employees, and this trend continues. Clients no longer just need hands that monotonously write code or do basic SEO. They need end-to-end experts who can integrate AI into business logic and deliver a ready product fast.

What is the bottom line.

The market is not dead; it is transforming. The era of easy money and endless headcount growth is over. Those who survive, launch platforms, and attract investment will be the ones who:

• can operate in macroeconomic turbulence;
• deliver ultra-fast results using the latest technologies;
• guarantee maximum process security for the client.

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