STATE REGULATION OF THE ICT SECTOR IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY

Abstract

The paper deals with the understanding of government strategies for regulating the ICT industry. The purpose of the study is to rationalise the directions of government regulation of the ICT industry in Ukraine in the context of technological transformation of the economy. Using the methodology of descriptive statistics, the authors revealed the rapid growth of the number of employees in the ICT industry in Ukraine. The authors conclude that, from the point of view of state regulation, given the fact that employment has proved to be the main factor in the success of exports, it is necessary to prevent the outflow of labour from Ukraine. This is confirmed by the competitive advantages gained by Ukrainian ICT workers in the global market, namely: price – the cost of Ukrainian coders' services is close to the prices of Indian coders and seven times less than the cost of coders' services in the US; diversity and high quality of technological competencies that allow flexible implementation of high-level ICT projects; its own research and development base, as well as materials and technologies for the implementation of complex knowledge-intensive projects, flexibility in the use and distribution of necessary resources; cultural and geographical proximity to Europe. Based on this, strategies for interaction between the state and the ICT sector are being developed. First, the state needs to create favourable conditions for the sustainable development of the industry, including reforming legal norms, improving investment policy, modernising labour legislation, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, and ensuring the return of labour from abroad. Second, to create comfortable conditions to reduce the outflow of intellectual resources abroad and strengthen Ukraine as a brand in the IT sector in the eyes of the international community. The main strategies for the formation of mechanisms for state support of information services are as follows: the emergence of a modern IT infrastructure accessible to all, improving the quality of information services; a strategy for creating a regulatory framework for the effective use of the network economy; a strategy for creating state indicators of the development of the network economy; a strategy for creating information security in network systems.