Software makers, distributors set sights on exports
Last summer, ComArch, a Kraków-based listed integrator, grabbed the headlines with an eye-catching contract to supply the public administration of the state of Washington, the home state of Microsoft, with software to administer its telecommunications and computer networks. The contract, though worth just zł.8.5 million (USD 2.2 million), or around seven percent of its annual revenues, was widely seen as a prestigious victory for the company, which also signed two contracts with German telecommunications companies to supply billing software.
Janusz Filipiak, ComArch president, says the company plans to increase the share of high-margin foreign deals to 30 percent of total revenues from just 20 percent last year. He also says the firm is planning to re-enter the markets of Russia and the country's other Eastern neighbors, which it had abandoned after unsuccessful forays in the mid-1990s.
"At the time, I said the Eastern markets were no-hopers for us," he says. "But the recent economic rebound [in those countries] has convinced me that they are definitely worth the effort." He adds that these markets are difficult, but promise high margins and the sort of growth potential that is a thing of the past in this country.
Now other IT firms are also looking to boost their foreign revenues, as domestic companies continue to be cautious in their investment decisions in the face of the political uncertainty and the still tentative economic recovery.
Veracomp, a Kraków-based distributor of security, telecommunications and mass memory software, last week unveiled ambitious plans to expand its share of foreign revenues to 15 percent by 2005 from just less than 7 percent last year. The company, which is currently present on the markets of 11 Central and Eastern European countries, plans to add Germany and Austria, as well as three Balkan countries, to its target markets over the next two years, according to Adam Rudowski, Veracomp president.
Some market insiders are, however, skeptical about such plans, saying the announcements are largely marketing ploys.
Comp Rzeszów, a portfolio company of the region's largest private equity fund, Enterprise Investors, which is planning an initial public offering mid-year, talks of ambitious plans to build an international capital group under the name of Software Center for Central and Eastern Europe. The group would include firms with complementary product portfolios in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. Its estimated costs stand at around zł.80 million over four years.
Adam Góral, chief executive at Comp, says the details of the first wave of acquisitions will be made public by June, prior to the IPO. He adds that relatively small Polish firms face being gobbled up by foreign giants in the coming years. Some analysts are doubtful though as to whether eating even smaller fish will prove to be enough to fend off the multinational concerns.
Janusz Filipiak, ComArch president, says the company plans to increase the share of high-margin foreign deals to 30 percent of total revenues from just 20 percent last year. He also says the firm is planning to re-enter the markets of Russia and the country's other Eastern neighbors, which it had abandoned after unsuccessful forays in the mid-1990s.
"At the time, I said the Eastern markets were no-hopers for us," he says. "But the recent economic rebound [in those countries] has convinced me that they are definitely worth the effort." He adds that these markets are difficult, but promise high margins and the sort of growth potential that is a thing of the past in this country.
Now other IT firms are also looking to boost their foreign revenues, as domestic companies continue to be cautious in their investment decisions in the face of the political uncertainty and the still tentative economic recovery.
Veracomp, a Kraków-based distributor of security, telecommunications and mass memory software, last week unveiled ambitious plans to expand its share of foreign revenues to 15 percent by 2005 from just less than 7 percent last year. The company, which is currently present on the markets of 11 Central and Eastern European countries, plans to add Germany and Austria, as well as three Balkan countries, to its target markets over the next two years, according to Adam Rudowski, Veracomp president.
Some market insiders are, however, skeptical about such plans, saying the announcements are largely marketing ploys.
Comp Rzeszów, a portfolio company of the region's largest private equity fund, Enterprise Investors, which is planning an initial public offering mid-year, talks of ambitious plans to build an international capital group under the name of Software Center for Central and Eastern Europe. The group would include firms with complementary product portfolios in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. Its estimated costs stand at around zł.80 million over four years.
Adam Góral, chief executive at Comp, says the details of the first wave of acquisitions will be made public by June, prior to the IPO. He adds that relatively small Polish firms face being gobbled up by foreign giants in the coming years. Some analysts are doubtful though as to whether eating even smaller fish will prove to be enough to fend off the multinational concerns.
