ITs make-or-break year
Two large companies took ownership stakes in IT firms this year, setting the stage for a few large players to dominate the market. Those stakes are seen as the first steps in the IT sectors consolidation. Examples include Optimus sale of a 28.4% stake to BRE Bank and private investor Zbigniew Jakubas. They, then sold their holding with its crown jewel Onet the most widely used Polish portal to Polish media group ITI for $133 million. In September, software integrator Prokom, which owns Wirtualna Polska the countrys No. 2 portal bought 10% of its smaller rival, Softbank, for about $30 million. The strategy of the latter two firms remains unknown, although a future full-blown merger could be in the works.
The piecemeal consolidation of systems integrators and Internet service providers (ISPs) will continue in 2001, industry observers said. Theres a place for four or five big players in the Polish market, said Pawe3 Czajkowski, sales director of Polish systems integrator Ster-Projekt. Its impossible for all to exist, and some will go out of business. It will probably be a make-or-break year for some companies.
The looming question for 2001 will be whether a big American or European ISP will try to enter the market to tap into Polands 4.7 million Internet users.
Customer relationship management systems will likely be one of the more active areas of the software industry next year. Service-oriented businesses are expected to adopt this technology, which allows users to collect and sort information about their clients purchasing histories and demographics, enabling customized marketing strategies.
Polish enterprises are simply starting to realize how IT software systems are important not only to operate, but also to compete with other companies, said Benita Miko3ajewicz, an IT analyst at ING Barings.
