Microsoft to market Poland-specific mobile software

By Timothy Sifert

Microsoft Sp. z o.o., the local subsidiary of the world's largest software company, is gearing up to prepare a mobile phone software package specifically tailored to Poland, a move it has in previous times held back on because of a dearth of interest in the local culture, which is perceived as being less tech-savvy than the west.

"We have plans for mobility in Poland," said Tomasz Bochenek, president of the company. "It will not happen for the next six months, (but) we are working on establishing good relations in the market for our offer."

The company, which made its mark with PC operating systems, also recognizes how ubiquitous mobile technology has become, even in the wake of the tech sector bust.

"Not everything is fixed yet," Bochenek urged. "We are basically working with the operators. We see that there is more and more interest in mobility space for more advanced services."

Microsoft is not overly optimistic though.

"It is still a very small market (though) definitely growing," Bochenek pointed out. The company thus expects material change to take place within a year and a half, and, to capture some of that predicted larger market, Microsoft is making moves today.

Similarly, its Redmond, Washington-based parent ambitiously launched its newest software for mobile devices last week, as the company attempts to garner a larger stake in that market, in which it had been in tough competition with PDA manufacturer Palm. At the same time, Microsoft rebranded its mobile software for handheld computers and mobile phones with the Windows logo. Mobile phone software, as opposed to that for hand held devices, will be launched later this year under the name Windows Mobile for Smartphones.

Bochenek did not go into detail about the specific nature of the Polish product, as it is still in the early stages of development.

"I think that the differentiation will not be the operating system," he said. "The differences will come rather from services: we'd like to develop specific services for the Polish market."

Bochenek also sees much less of an immediate future for its Xbox game console products in the country, or a Poland-specific MSN consumer website.

"It is not (targeted) for Poland," he said, referring to the MSN website in particular. "The strategy is to target the most advanced markets with those products, and Poland is not on the list for the next 12 months."

He added that he noticed more of a gathering storm of interest for mobile technology than a game console or portal.

Besides any launching of new products, Bochenek pointed out that Microsoft would continue to target small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the shorter term, as well as larger companies with over 1,000 personal computers in the longer term. He explained that with SMEs the company has a positive outlook based on recent indicators of GDP growth, but also because many of the smaller companies have fragmented IT systems.

"There are a lot of companies that don't have servers, Internet or any networking systems," Bochenek said. "Still a lot of things are not well developed. If you look at the most advanced solutions, like wireless networks, (Poland) is still behind other countries."

What's more, he pointed out that Poland spends roughly 2 percent of GDP on information technologies, compared to 4 percent in the west. In that difference, Bochenek said, lies much opportunity.

"It's still a big difference. We are closing the gap. This market will grow even in tough economic times because it's so far behind," he said of the SME market.

Roughly 70 percent of the company's revenues come from SME business. According to ComputerWorld Polska, last year Microsoft recorded zł. 620 million (E139 million) in revenues. Microsoft itself does not report numbers specific to Poland, but, Bochenek said, the company did not dispute last year's revenue figure.