Computer giants in competition for minor contracts

Another round of tenders for the supply of computers to schools has demonstrated the extent of the crisis of the IT market. Leading IT companies, such as Computerland (CL) and Prokom are battling over marginal contacts. The two market giants have taken the Education Ministry by surprise, as they have never been seriously interested in such low profit tenders. "This illustrates the existing slowdown in the computer sector. If the top players are interested in contracts only for the sake of turnover, without posting any profit, then the situation must be rather devastating," said an analyst. "It is true that times are hard; however, if there are tenders, then there is no reason not to participate in them," stated Michal Michalski, CL's advisor. In 2003, similar to last year, there have been no major tenders in the public sector. As there are few orders, it is no wonder that companies like Prokom, CL or Comarch are taking part in competitions that normally they would have no interest in," declared one of the company's presidents. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) A.C.