Lose the Office, Not the Team: How to Double Sales During the War. Alpha Serve Experience

Completely preserved business growth despite destroying the office in Mykolaiv and forced internal migration in 2022. We continue to talk about the Ukrainian technology business successes in the most painful period for the country. Ukrainian software development company Alpha Serve shares its experience of overcoming obstacles and facing the challenges of war. ​​

From Outsourcing to Owning Products

Alpha Serve, a software development company, has been specializing in outsourced and outstaffed software development since 2003. In 2018, the company developed two products for Jira and Confluence after receiving a client request for a secure authentication application. These products allowed Alpha Serve to enter the Atlassian Marketplace and become an official partner.

"Our specialty is business intelligence connectors, which integrate B2B software like Jira, and ServiceNow with BI tools such as Power BI and Tableau. Our customers include well-known companies and institutions worldwide, from industries such as banking, telecommunications, automotive, insurance, government, and education," explains Anton Storozhuk, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Serve.

Alpha Serve joined Shopify in 2020 and launched six new applications on the Atlassian Marketplace in 2021. The company became a Gold and then a Platinum Atlassian Marketplace Partner in 2022. In the fall of 2021, Alpha Serve closed all outsourcing contracts to focus on developing its own products, with 35% of the team working in the Mykolaiv office and the others distributed in Ukraine and abroad.

"24.02" or What to Expect

The first week of the war became, for Alpha Serve, as well as for most Ukrainians, a period of uncertainty, movements around Ukraine, attempts to settle down, and decisions on further actions. Most tellingly, all colleagues were in touch due to established internal processes, communication, and support from the overseas part of the team. Male employees deliberately stayed in Ukraine without looking for a dubious way of leaving the country. Thus in March, three employees joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"In this difficult and trying time, our sense of unity as a team was crucial. We supported and assisted one another, which not only helped keep the company going but also reinforced our shared corporate values of honesty and integrity." says Anna Odrynska.

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, Alpha Serve managed to keep its entire team by doubling the efforts of all members. Motivated by their commitment to customers and the competitive global market, the company continued to progress according to plan. Any halt or withdrawal from operations risked undoing the progress made in previous years.

Alpha Serve opened a new office in Kyiv in July 2022, and despite a rocket destroying their Mykolaiv office, the team remained united and moved forward confidently.

In 2022, Alpha Serve successfully released all planned new products, launched three new marketplaces, and expanded their team with 13 technical hires, including Ukrainians, despite the business risks. The company now has a strong product portfolio, subsidiary in the US and successfully operates on various marketplaces including Atlassian, ServiceNow, Zendesk, monday.com, Shopify, and QuickBooks.

World Stays with Ukraine

Despite expectations that the war would have a negative impact on sales and customer cooperation, Alpha Serve continued to invest in their business. The company's global market orientation and reliable products enabled them to attract new customers and achieve sales that doubled compared to the previous year. Alpha Serve's example shows that a crisis can be an opportunity for growth, and the company advises transparency with clients and independent risk assessment. Their experience during the war demonstrates their commitment to Ukraine and their determination to continue working in the face of adversity.