Building foundations
As a representative of an IT company, I will address the aspects of the country's expected accession to the European Union that are familiar to me. My evaluation of our readiness to join the EU, therefore, will focus on such matters as the state of introducing information technology in the light of accession.
One of the key areas of preparing the country for this process involves building adequate infrastructure. This means modifying the existing IT systems and properly developing new ones that will be deployed in enterprises and government organisations in the near future.
Suitable IT foundations in all areas of the economy and politics will have a number of benefits for Poland. They will not only allow us to conform to the requirements of the EU, but will also enable us to greatly improve business processes.
According to my observations, the financial services sector already has a very sound IT infrastructure in place. It is, therefore, quite prepared for joining the EU. The same is true for the telecommunications sector, where a tremendous job has already been done. The mobile operators in particular have very good IT infrastructures. Of course, there are still some areas where advanced systems have yet to be implemented.
Developing adequate, efficient IT solutions for public administration on all levels - both central and local - will require special efforts. Efficient administration means not only having good citizen service in facilitating access to the authorities and developing accelerated settlement of current issues, but also creating business opportunities for enterprises by reducing the level of red tape and streamlining administrative procedures. The public administration sector understands the need for IT infrastructure and is now making the effort to catch up quickly to the required level of support for these processes. One of the EU's requirements concerns the existence of large central registers. Moreover, the authorities in big cities that want to provide their inhabitants with the same level of service that their EU counterparts already enjoy are aware that it is necessary to implement such IT solutions.
Implementing IT support for public administration offices will require time and resources. Some of the registers have to be created relatively quickly, since they are required by law; other systems can wait. However, all such projects require excellent business knowledge and awareness from public administration representatives. The times when representatives from this sector were only acquainted with various IT solutions are over - now is the time to act. A part of the successful implementation of IT systems for local authorities involves their ability to secure and then use the EU's resources. There is dedicated software that supports investments and organisational processes on the local level. The software also offers support for procedures to control and monitor the use of grant resources directed to finance such undertakings.
Building an adequate IT infrastructure will require good co-operation between the public and the private sector. It seems that this is the only way to create solutions approaching the level of those used by the citizens of the EU member countries. During the conference "Poland's IT Infrastructure on the Eve of EU Accession," Danuta Hübner, minister for European affairs, said: "I don't interpret the support for the public sector coming from IT businesses as a response to what the administration has done so far, but as the necessary contribution of the private sector to building the infrastructure."
One of the key areas of preparing the country for this process involves building adequate infrastructure. This means modifying the existing IT systems and properly developing new ones that will be deployed in enterprises and government organisations in the near future.
Suitable IT foundations in all areas of the economy and politics will have a number of benefits for Poland. They will not only allow us to conform to the requirements of the EU, but will also enable us to greatly improve business processes.
According to my observations, the financial services sector already has a very sound IT infrastructure in place. It is, therefore, quite prepared for joining the EU. The same is true for the telecommunications sector, where a tremendous job has already been done. The mobile operators in particular have very good IT infrastructures. Of course, there are still some areas where advanced systems have yet to be implemented.
Developing adequate, efficient IT solutions for public administration on all levels - both central and local - will require special efforts. Efficient administration means not only having good citizen service in facilitating access to the authorities and developing accelerated settlement of current issues, but also creating business opportunities for enterprises by reducing the level of red tape and streamlining administrative procedures. The public administration sector understands the need for IT infrastructure and is now making the effort to catch up quickly to the required level of support for these processes. One of the EU's requirements concerns the existence of large central registers. Moreover, the authorities in big cities that want to provide their inhabitants with the same level of service that their EU counterparts already enjoy are aware that it is necessary to implement such IT solutions.
Implementing IT support for public administration offices will require time and resources. Some of the registers have to be created relatively quickly, since they are required by law; other systems can wait. However, all such projects require excellent business knowledge and awareness from public administration representatives. The times when representatives from this sector were only acquainted with various IT solutions are over - now is the time to act. A part of the successful implementation of IT systems for local authorities involves their ability to secure and then use the EU's resources. There is dedicated software that supports investments and organisational processes on the local level. The software also offers support for procedures to control and monitor the use of grant resources directed to finance such undertakings.
Building an adequate IT infrastructure will require good co-operation between the public and the private sector. It seems that this is the only way to create solutions approaching the level of those used by the citizens of the EU member countries. During the conference "Poland's IT Infrastructure on the Eve of EU Accession," Danuta Hübner, minister for European affairs, said: "I don't interpret the support for the public sector coming from IT businesses as a response to what the administration has done so far, but as the necessary contribution of the private sector to building the infrastructure."
