One year later, we are fighting and standing strong

The below story was originally featured in the Tech.eu blog.

You can read it here: https://tech.eu/2023/02/24/one-year-later-ukraine-s-scalarr-is-fighting-and-standing-strong/

Thank you to everyone at Tech.eu for dedicating 24 hours to 24 stories highlighting what the war looks like from different points of view.

Never did it occur to me that I would need to uproot my life from everything that is familiar to me. My family, my community, my country…ripped to shreds and heavily attacked on a daily basis. Yet, our spirits remain whole, unwavering, and true; committed to our collective goal of victory over the enemy. 

In the early days of 2022, we were riding a high at Scalarr and our newly-launched enterprise, AI EdgeLabs. The business was booming and I was beyond proud of closing another year with record-high numbers and expanding our cybersecurity portfolio.

Dreams to shadows

Since 2017, I’ve tirelessly worked to position Scalarr, and now AI EdgeLabs, as strong leaders and innovators in the fiercely competitive and highly inspiring cybersecurity market. When the first Russian attack was declared against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, I must admit that every hope and dream I had, became a shadow of its former self. 

As a cybersecurity leader and advocate, I understand what crises look like and the importance of acting quickly. For my family and staff, this meant that we needed to take aggressive measures to ensure our safety. While on the ground, the focus was to help, but I also quickly realized that in the face of constant attack, we needed to get as many people out of the warzone, immediately. 

I set out to find purpose and meaning because feeling helpless would not protect my family or my staff. I needed to be quick, assertive, and make hard decisions. Instinctively, my first instinct was to get on the phone and check in on my family and team members. Everything was a blur.

Building the network

We joined forces with other IT companies in the Kharkiv region to begin volunteer work. Together, we created Help Kharkiv, a non-government, non-profit organization that delivers food and medical supply kits, as well as humanitarian aid. 

Scalarr and AI EdgeLabs are its people, and my commitment lies with my staff and their families, yet I must admit I never imagined in my worst nightmares that I would be helping them evacuate their homes and lives amidst heavy bombing and shelling.

Now that a year of the war has gone by, I can’t help but look back and reflect on everything that has happened. Most of my teammates are living in safer locations yet I never stop worrying about what’s happening back home. 

These past twelve months, we’ve been looking out for our loved ones, volunteering, donating money and supplies, and contributing to our nation’s economy by keeping and generating employment opportunities.

Strength, resilience, and patriotism 

All of us at Scalarr and AI EdgeLabs feel that work is part of our responsibility to Ukraine. One thing I can certainly say is that even though I never realised we would have to go through something as radical as a war, my staff continues to amaze me with their strength, resilience, and patriotism for our beautiful country. 

I’m confident the tech community will return stronger than ever in Ukraine; we’re doing our best to deliver excellence and value to our clients and partners amidst the most challenging of circumstances. I wholeheartedly believe better days are ahead, and I can’t wait to see victory in the eyes of every Ukrainian.