UKRAINIAN OFFICE REAL ESTATE MARKET OUTLOOK IN THE IT SEGMENT FROM A SERVICE MARKETING PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The article explores the Ukrainian market of commercial real estate in the IT segment. It is emphasized that wide implementation of information technology in all spheres of business and daily life contributes to rapid growth of the number of IT-companies and programmers in Ukraine in recent years. It is argued that the effective functioning of the IT segment depends on a range of factors, in particular, availability of comfortable, functional and technological office in which it operates. On the Ukrainian market, the IT segment is a leader in the demand for office real estate and is actively implementing innovations in office space. According to JLL analysts, in 2017 about 50% of demands in the segment of office real estate were formed by IT companies, which increases their attractiveness for landlords as potential tenants. In addition, IT companies sign long-term lease agreements and are proved to be steady payers. The relevance for studying the preferences of IT-companies in the choice of real estate is reinforced by their high requirements to a particular real estate object, since for employees of such companies their office is more than just a workplace, it is often perceived as home (flexible working hours, 24/7). In large IT companies, a critical competitive advantage for attracting highly skilled personnel is not only wages but also comfortable and functional office. It is proved that effective development of modern office real estate market is impossible without the use of an integrated marketing approach in which this market is considered a joint mutually beneficial domain for tenants and lessors and which assumes their cooperation as full partners to establish and maintain long-term business relationships. The research findings prove that the modern marketing approach promotes optimal organization of office space for a landlord and offers a good opportunity for a tenant to build a long-term lease agreement with a reliable and stable partner.