CL teams up with I-flex in bid to become market leader

Computerland will represent I-flex in 16 states of Central and Eastern Europe. The companies hope that thanks to the partnership they will become the leading IT supplier for banks in the region within three years. "There is a large chance that Poland will become a location of processing centers for the banking sector from neighboring countries," said Senthil Kumar, the head of I-flex for Europe. "I-flex already supplies solutions to several banks in Poland. We are in talks and we participate in several tenders in other financial institutions together with this partner," added Computerland's deputy president Sławomir Chłoń. However, the main objective of the partnership is to substantially increase the companies' presence on the Russian market. "The IT market in Russia will develop very dynamically. It is currently worth around $7 billion and in 2007 its value will amount to $18 billion. There are 1,200 banks in Russia, so there is something to fight for," stated Chłoń. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10; Parkiet, p. 5) E.B.