PECULIARITIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IT SPHERE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Abstract. The article identifies key problems that hold back the prospects for developing the potential of the IT sphere in Ukraine. The specifics of functioning and development of the IT sphere in Ukraine in the conditions of digital transformation of the economy are considered. The paper analyzes the main scientific approaches to defining the essence of the definition "digital economy". Positive and negative aspects of the influence of digital economy and digital tools on the development of the IT sphere, employment of the population, and the course of business processes of economic entities are systematized. A comparative analysis of the values of indices of network readiness of Ukraine with respect to developed countries of Europe and the world is given. The influence of indices of access to information and communication technologies and the use of ICT on the state of development of digital economy of a certain country is determined. The main trends of new technologies within the framework of the formation of Industry 4.0, including: blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, creation of "digital doubles", use of drones, 3D printing technologies, VR/AR, cyber security tools, etc., have been established. The fact of rapid development of the IT sphere in Ukraine has been established. At the same time, in terms of international comparisons, Ukraine lags behind developed countries of the world in terms of indicators characterizing the trends in the development of digital economy. The dynamics of changes in the number of individual entrepreneurs in the field of IT has been studied. It has been established that the digitalization of theeconomy radically changes the sphere of work and employment, increasing the share of digital workplaces, volumes of remote and virtual employment, as well as changing the structure of employment in general. The directions for improving the development of domestic IT sphere during the acceleration of the processes of digitization of the economy and social life, including the improvement of legislative framework by regulating the activities of business entities in the IT sphere, the development of digital economy, innovative activities and the protection of rights to intellectual property objects, continuous professional development of human resources on mastering and using modern digital technologies, development of social partnership relations and digital culture of citizens, compliance with cyber security and information protection measures, are substantiated.