IT likely to see wave of mergers and appearance of more foreign firms

Sector analysts have no doubt that foreign competitors will soon enter the national market, and they will use a variety of methods to gain a foothold on the market, be it a strategic alliance, green-field investment or the purchase of a local company. So far no Polish company has admitted to receiving an offer from an international concern, but according to sources, preliminary proposals have already been made. Puls Biznesu reports that informers, business intelligence and advisory companies have received several orders. Apparently most of them originated from Perot Systems, a large American IT firm owned by former US presidential candidate Ross Perot. Other interested companies might be EDS, Cap Gemini or German Debis. " Western companies will find it much easier to buy a local player, rather than create something from scratch," said Prokom president Ryszard Krauze. Others argue that sustaining rapid growth can no longer be achieved through organic growth, but rather through acquisitions. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6) M.M.