Alltel, Unisys shortlisted for $100 mln tender
One of the companies shortlisted is U.S.-based Alltel, which works with Polish software company Softbank here. Another U.S. firm, Unisys, also made the list. The three remaining companies selected were not known by press time.
Sources said that a total of 19 companies had bid for work, which constitutes one of the largest IT tenders in Poland. PKO BP intends to select two or three bidders for exclusive negotiations, which will kick off at the beginning of September, sources said last week.
Winning the contract would be a major boon to Softbank and Alltel, analysts said, and further cement Softbank's position as the key provider of information systems to banks here. Softbank and Alltel already won a similarly sized contract to redo Bank Pekao's central computer system. Bank Pekao is the second-largest retail bank in Poland, while PKO BP is the first.
"That's a huge contract," said Artur Szeski, banking analyst with CDM Pekao Securities. "And the amount of $100 million should be mentioned as a minimum."
Softbank officials refused to comment for this article.
Analysts said the consortium of Alltel and Softbank has a strong competitive edge over the other bidders. Alltel and Softbank are already known in Poland for their work with Pekao, and Softbank's banking software has a fairly high profile.
In addition to having its system installed in banks such as BIG Bank Gdanski and Bank Zachodni, Softbank also has a long-term cooperation agreement with PKO BP itself. Three years ago Softbank began installing its branch software ZORBA there to cluster all of PKO BP's branches into 170 regional back offices.
According to sources within the bank, the new system should be compatible with the branch system already in place, preferably already "polonized," or ready to be used in a domestic bank with the Polish language.
That is something the other known bidder, Unisys, still lacks. To date, Unisys has not worked on any major IT projects in Poland. The company did bid for a tender Pekao issued two years ago, when Pekao first contemplated updating its computer systems. Unisys made the shortlist for that project, along with Andersen Consulting. However, the tender was cancelled and later awarded to Alltel.
Unisys has done other projects in the region, however. In 1993 the company's software was installed at Hungary's largest bank, OTP Bank. The central system also operates in Daewoo Bank in Hungary and Uzbekhistan as well as Dalmatinska Banka in Croatia, EximBank of Romania and Premyselna Banka in Slovakia.
Apart from the central banking software, Unisys provides IT solutions for call centers as well as data processing equipment. The list of its major Polish customers includes Krajowa Izba Rozliczeniowa, Pekao, the Social Insurance Office (ZUS), Poczta Polska, PTK Centertel, pension fund Norwich Union, LOT Polish Airlines and Westdeutsche Landesbank.
PKO BP wants the new system to track accounts at its more than 1,000 branches and 7,000 independent outlets, as well as process 2 million operations a day.
Sources said that a total of 19 companies had bid for work, which constitutes one of the largest IT tenders in Poland. PKO BP intends to select two or three bidders for exclusive negotiations, which will kick off at the beginning of September, sources said last week.
Winning the contract would be a major boon to Softbank and Alltel, analysts said, and further cement Softbank's position as the key provider of information systems to banks here. Softbank and Alltel already won a similarly sized contract to redo Bank Pekao's central computer system. Bank Pekao is the second-largest retail bank in Poland, while PKO BP is the first.
"That's a huge contract," said Artur Szeski, banking analyst with CDM Pekao Securities. "And the amount of $100 million should be mentioned as a minimum."
Softbank officials refused to comment for this article.
Analysts said the consortium of Alltel and Softbank has a strong competitive edge over the other bidders. Alltel and Softbank are already known in Poland for their work with Pekao, and Softbank's banking software has a fairly high profile.
In addition to having its system installed in banks such as BIG Bank Gdanski and Bank Zachodni, Softbank also has a long-term cooperation agreement with PKO BP itself. Three years ago Softbank began installing its branch software ZORBA there to cluster all of PKO BP's branches into 170 regional back offices.
According to sources within the bank, the new system should be compatible with the branch system already in place, preferably already "polonized," or ready to be used in a domestic bank with the Polish language.
That is something the other known bidder, Unisys, still lacks. To date, Unisys has not worked on any major IT projects in Poland. The company did bid for a tender Pekao issued two years ago, when Pekao first contemplated updating its computer systems. Unisys made the shortlist for that project, along with Andersen Consulting. However, the tender was cancelled and later awarded to Alltel.
Unisys has done other projects in the region, however. In 1993 the company's software was installed at Hungary's largest bank, OTP Bank. The central system also operates in Daewoo Bank in Hungary and Uzbekhistan as well as Dalmatinska Banka in Croatia, EximBank of Romania and Premyselna Banka in Slovakia.
Apart from the central banking software, Unisys provides IT solutions for call centers as well as data processing equipment. The list of its major Polish customers includes Krajowa Izba Rozliczeniowa, Pekao, the Social Insurance Office (ZUS), Poczta Polska, PTK Centertel, pension fund Norwich Union, LOT Polish Airlines and Westdeutsche Landesbank.
PKO BP wants the new system to track accounts at its more than 1,000 branches and 7,000 independent outlets, as well as process 2 million operations a day.
