Where do Kazakhstani IT professionals dream of working? Top IT employers for 2024

An annual Top of Mind survey was conducted among 898 IT professionals from 23 cities in Kazakhstan. When asked “Which IT companies in Kazakhstan do you know?” and “In which IT companies in Kazakhstan would you like to work?”, participants named the first brand that came to mind. This first mention is referred to as Top of Mind.

This is the second study on the popularity of IT companies in Kazakhstan. This year, Kolesa Group once again emerged as the leader, followed by Kaspi.kz and Yandex Kazakhstan.

Research Methodology

Data was collected anonymously via telephone interviews using the hh.kz database, without providing a preliminary list of companies, to avoid bias. Open-ended questions were asked without hints or multiple-choice options. This ensured the objectivity of the information obtained.

The respondent sample was relevant to the query—individuals who work in or are interested in the IT sector. These include developers, analysts, product managers, QA engineers, designers, and researchers. Respondents were asked questions about employer preferences in the IT field. The survey was conducted in January 2025, and the study reflects the market situation for 2024. 

Participant Profile

The majority of respondents were male, at 83%, consistent with last year. The main group of participants consisted of young professionals aged 18 to 35—93%—primarily residing in Almaty—64%—and Astana—25%. It is important to note that this profile represents those who participated in the study, not the entire market.

Other cities in Kazakhstan: Karaganda, Pavlodar, Shymkent, Aktau, Atyrau, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Petropavlovsk, Oral, Kokshetau, Kostanay, Aktobe, Turkistan, Kaskelen, Taraz, Kyzylorda, Lenger, Beskol, Taldykorgan, Satpaev, Merke, Temirtau.

In 2024, backend developers and Data and analytics specialists again accounted for the largest share among professionals. They were followed by mobile and frontend developers, project and product managers, QA engineers, and designers of various specializations—graphic, product, and UX/UI.

Notably, in the 2023 study, backend developers—22%—and Data and analytics specialists—20%—were also the leaders. In dynamics, these directions have consistently remained the most prevalent in the market.

Top of Mind Leaders

When asked: “Which IT companies in Kazakhstan do you know?”, Kolesa Group was named first by 32%. Kaspi followed with 18%, and Yandex Kazakhstan with 8%. EPAM and Beeline also made it into the top five.

If we look at the data by specific IT specializations, the highest number of first mentions for Kolesa Group was recorded among mobile development specialists—54%, backend developers—40%, and data specialists—33%. Kaspi showed high indicators among frontend developers—25%, backend specialists—22%, and product and project managers—20%.

The “others” category included general answers such as “banks,” as well as companies with fewer than 1% of mentions: One Vision, One Technologies, Data Art, Kazzinc, Crocos, Global ID, Centras, Bilim Al, Adata, Mediana, Yandex Kazakhstan, Rocket Firm Group, Satu, Astana Hub.

The most frequent mentions among other companies were: Prime Tech, One Technologies, and Gamma Technologies.

The “other” category included companies that were mentioned one or two times, including: Dar Tech, One Technologies, insurance and FinTech companies.

Also included in the “others” category were: BTS-Digital, Dream Lab, Airba Fresh, Target Solutions, and Innoforce.

The “others” list also added: Data Art, Butterfly Effect, formerly Kazdream, Gamma Technologies, Prime Source, and others.

The “others” list also included Halyk Bank, Airba Fresh, EPAM, and Tele2.

A more indicative metric is which companies respondents would like to work for. The first mention of a brand was also taken into account:

As we can see, in both 2023 and 2024, the most mentions were for Kolesa Group, Kaspi.kz, and Yandex Kazakhstan. Other companies were also mentioned, such as Freedom Holding, BBC, 2GIS, JMart, QSolutions, and Choco.

The question “Why would you like to work in these companies?” helps to identify what specifically attracts IT specialists to employers. This is useful for companies to improve working conditions and for employees to compare their expectations with those of other workers in the industry.

Employer selection factors show what is important for IT specialists when looking for a job.

Below are infographics for each IT specialization separately, to see the features and differences among different groups of specialists.

Conclusions

The study results show that many IT specialists in Kazakhstan, when choosing an employer, still rely on brand reputation and recognition, as well as competitive salary and benefits package. At the same time, the importance of intangible factors is growing noticeably: corporate culture is becoming increasingly important, and flexibility of working hours and the possibility of remote work are critically significant for specialists when choosing a workplace. Thus, employers need to pay attention not only to financial conditions but also to creating a comfortable environment and flexible work formats to remain attractive to IT talent.