Poland is on the top in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in terms of the scale of predicted investment in IT solutions in the next 3 years, among others, in cloud computing and mobile technologies. According to the report conducted by analyst firm IDC, the value of Polish IT services market in 2014 recorded an increase of 4.5%, reaching USD 3.28 billion; while in 2015 the growth rate increased to 5%. The experts also predict the growth of the IT market by an average of 4% (USD 4 billion), that will be achieved within the coming five years. As The Association of Business Services Leaders (ABSL) reports, currently, the total number of employees in this sector amounts to 140 thousand people, of which 55 thousand work for large service companies in this sector. Software and IT services hold 29% shares in the whole IT market in Poland and 1.7 % in the global IT submarket. The majority of employees in this sector is hired in foreign capital companies – 66%. However, companies with Polish capital employ 34%.
Companies placed in Poland which provide IT services focus mainly on West Europe entities (80%). They provide services also for Polish business and institutional clients (74% of the examined enterprises). More than half of them also provide services to clients from North America and East-Central Europe (except Poland). Implementation of innovative solutions, as far as IT systems on Polish market are concerned, is another area that is characterized by attractive return rate and relatively low risk.
Implementation of it solutions in enterprises activities and public administration
The industry implies that the technological improvement and quality enhancement are vital processes. The constant development of IT solutions requires from companies to keep seeking creative employees that are highly specialized in narrow fields. The greatest demand for expert engineers can be noticed in SAP programming, software tests, Big Data management or solutions for mobile service Efficient use of arising opportunities in terms of developing existing technologies and create new solutions on IT market is significantly dependent on qualifications, experience and workers association within the project and research team. Equally important are: “Business intuition” in selecting the project, multistage analysis of the implemented solution and modernization of the system.
It all resulted in increased activity in computerization of organizational structures. The elimination of paper documents and the introduction of non-cash payments in the public administrations are the next priorities of this sector. The platforms – are already undergoing through the development phase. In 2013, there was created the Integrated National Informatization Program. It represents a strategic document, describing the government’s efforts in providing the society with high quality electronic public services. The aim of the Programme is to create a coherent, logical and efficient informational state system, that will provide e-services at national and European levels in an effective way in terms of quality and costs, both for the administration and management bodies as well as for society. The program is to ensure cooperation between already existing as well as new IT systems of public administration, while eliminate previously redundant functionality.
The current process of computerization characterized by solutions, which correspond to the needs of the various sectors of public administration, however, do not provide sufficient interoperability between systems, which could have had a negative impact on the implementation of e-services. Therefore, it became necessary to introduce a new instrument of planning and coordinating the work of public entities, which is, appointed by resolution of the Council of Ministers, the Program of Integrated Computerization. The entire program is also an executive document for the development strategy, in other words, the strategy of the Better Government 2020 (SP2020).
The entire process is conducted in the form of integrated computerization, and consists of four main categories:
Technological neutrality, which ensures that access to services and supplies for administration is not limited by the technology used, and arises only from the functional needs. Thanks to digital technology, administrative procedures will be conducted in a more effective, personalized and participatory way. As a result, the turn of civilization, pervasive computerization and digitization, and in particular, the availability of the Internet in everyday human activities, the administrative authorities shall also have to adjust the level of services and procedures, thereby enhancing management systems, communication and service.
Polish enterprises, in both private and public sector, continue to increase the level of implementing IT solutions. In the recent years, the majority of money intended for this purpose has been allocated to industries, such as telecommunication, financial sector, production sector as well as local and central administration. It is also worth mentioning that, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector, there has been an increase in capital investment devoted to IT solutions implementation what significantly contributed to enhancement in quality of IT services in Poland. The growth of the market as well as an increase in the number of entities resulted in price drop, which undoubtedly contributed to broadening the access to IT services.
Cloud-computing solutions
The development of IT sector – both in Poland as well as around the world – is fuelled by innovative products and new market trends. As regards the new, the main directions of IT market development are as follow:
„Cloud Computing” technology allows a budget friendly computing, saving and analyzing flows of variable and diverse data bases – “Big Data” – which are generated by sensors, mobile computers as well as RFID readers. Apart from that, the IoT is also characterized by a tremendous interest. As broadband networks become more and more popular, implementation of IoT seems to run faster and cheaper than it was originally expected. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that the value of IoT technology will rise from USD 1.3 billion to USD 3.04 billion in 2020.
IT platforms
In comparison to the last several years, there has been a substantial rise in demand for IT platform in both small and medium sized companies as well as corporations. That sort of business software is a reaction to modernly-managed companies. The decision to invest in this type of software, results from the scope of advantages it has. Among them are: low costs of implementation and maintenance of the software as well as easier adaptation to the client’s needs. The demand for SaaS application continues to grow. The new system for managing the enterprise is characterized by modularity and swiftness as well as price diversity.
New platforms allow better time-management and can increase workers’ potential. The implementation of IT solution gives a chance to facilitate most of the processes and activities, pursued by the company. It is worth noting that IT platforms are commonly used in Poland. Systems of that type are implemented in, for example, primary schools, medical facilities, ministries and public administration institutes. Wide usage of IT platforms both in Poland and around the world does not mean that the demand for custom-made platforms is not rocketing, causing this submarket to develop constantly. One should also remember about the idea of Smart City, which is now much more recognized among Polish cities than just few years ago. Informatization of urban systems (platforms) is one of the key segments in which specialized IT staff and programming is essential. Thus, the implementation of investments in this area guarantees a high rate of return. It forces the capital to be engaged in meeting these demands, what may also be followed by achieving high profits. Development of this market is also backed by qualified Polish experts.
Outsourcing
The core advantage, deriving from eliminating the side as well as assistive functions, which is the main argument for outsourcing, is cost reduction. Notwithstanding, other factors become even more important. Among them are: striving to provide supreme quality services, job specialization, focus on business functions and access to expert knowledge. By means of out sourcing, the company’s performance augments and its market value rises. In addition, its activity is more flexible due to saving of time and human resource – as well as productivity. The market of IT outsourcing is marked by constant and dynamic growth. Poland as one of the most rapidly developing markets is on the top of the world rankings. In the last year, the IT outsourcing market has risen by 20%. Poland is seen as a country with one of the best location for modern service sectors directed to business. During the last 5 years, IT outsourcing sector was the most rapidly growing Polish submarket, what, in turn, causes nearly double increase in the number of subcontractors. In SME sector, almost 29% of companies use such type of services, which alows to get quick and effective access to knowledge and experience of market leaders and worldwide data base.
In Poland, the most popular submarket within which outsourcing services are provided are as follows: financial and accounting services, HR, Contact call-center, IT sales outsourcing. According to TMF Group analysis, the growth rate of IT outsourcing can annually maintain at the level of 20% or even exceed this value. In the International Cooperative analysis conducted by KPMG, Poland was placed 2nd best location in the world. According to experts, it has the most mature market among Eastern European as well as South America countries. The research also suggests that Poland will strengthen its position on the world market in the next years and may become one of the main locations for IT services outsourcing – especially for the European organizations. Poland’s location and cultural coherence of the whole region has a great impact on development of this market. Moreover, one can observe a great interest in Polish services thanks to qualified, but in the same time, comparatively cheap human force, caused by country’s economic condition.
The range of services that are the most popular within foreign companies is very wide, among which we can enumerate:
The competitive advantage of Polish companies can be seen in their ability to assimilate and adapt the level of own services to trends and technical condition, existing in particular country. Polish managers, while cooperating with companies from a particular region, perfectly understand business processes that are taking place in organizations as well as environment in which they operate, that also results in adapting services and price level. According to Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland (ABSL) report, within last 2 years, there has been an increase in employment by 36% in business services submarket. It is predicted that till 2020 employment rate in this submarket will rise to 250 thousand people. A significant rise in employment is affected by increasing interest in Polish services within Europe and all over the world. In comparison to European, Polish IT market excels in development of novel business services. What is more, Polish companies, which provide IT services, are able to provide complex IT services to any organization, including end users, network, web and safety management as well as IT processes management.
Source: