Getting IT done without government

Complicated and ambiguous laws are seen as one of the main hindrances to further development of the sector in Poland, along with low government expenditure, which according to PIIT, is six times lower per inhabitant than the EU average. Even the Undersecretary of State for Telecommunications, Wojciech Hałka, admitted that IT isn't receiving enough attention from the government. "The National Development Plan is dominated by traditional technologies and industries and there's little talk about the IT sector," he said.

Despite the administrative difficulties, Polish IT companies are seeing the future in bright colors. "Our small- and medium-sized IT enterprises have a real chance of competing effectively on the Polish as well as the European market," the president of MIS SA, Bożena Skibicka, said. As the PIIT statement underlines, unlike in other countries of the region, Polish companies have managed to maintain a strong market position and establish partnerships with powerful western companies.

According to Skibicka the future looks bright for the industry in Poland, with more and more highly skilled graduates entering the labor market and with growing demand for IT services. Skibicka listed structural-fund projects, growing foreign investments and offshoring and outsourcing to Poland as well as the need to computerize public administration as the main sources of growing demand.

"The state's policy is also a very important issue," Skibicka added. She said that IT companies expect a pro-export policy, a reduction in labor costs and a simplification of the tax system. "The labor costs are still SMEs' largest sore spot," Skibicka concluded.

Michał Pakulniewicz



"Politicians, knowing the effect of IT and telecommunications on economic growth and the improvement of the standard of living should support actions and initiatives that stimulate their growth," said a memorandum of the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (PIIT).