Many economies, including that of Finland, have been facing troubled times for a couple of years now and the mid-term outlook is varied. When domestic markets provide eroding prospects for growth, one might think international expansion could provide interesting opportunities. Where to go?
An economy which has large enough volume to provide sufficient opportunities for even a smaller player. An economy which is determined to look good among peers. An economy which has recently undergone major reforms and has been modernized. An economy which demonstrates a strong will to be more than before. An economy which is undergoing restructuring.
Have a look at Poland. It is one of the fastest growing economies within the EU. OECD forecasts GDP growth at 3,0% for 2014 and 3,4% for 2015 (Finland 0,2% and 1,1% respectively) It is the sixth largest country in the EU by measure of population (almost 40 million). It has good prospects of becoming one of the super-powers of Europe in a foreseeable time-horizon. Poland is working hard to match high standards what comes to stability – it is estimated that Poland is eligible to enter the Eurozone by 2016.
The private sector is developing quickly. Relaxed legislation promotes the development of new companies and formerly state-owned firms have been privatized rapidly, particularly in the SME sector.
The IT market took a dive after 2008, but currently growth rates are estimated to be significantly higher compared to that of e.g. Finland. Although salary levels are rising sharply, there is still a cost advantage over more developed IT markets. From an SAP market perspective, the market maturity in terms of foot-print of ERP solutions is still behind more mature markets. The overall transformation of the economy is expected to yield massive opportunities for software and software related services sales. On the other hand, a modern economy is not likely to follow the same learning curve as their peers – we can see already that businesses in Poland will aspire to adopt the latest solutions from day one.
The qualification and skills of Polish IT/SAP consultants is regarded as very advanced. International companies have already required local presence of skilled IT consultancy as well as near-shoring opportunities have spurred a vibrant consulting business with a large number of mid-sized consultancies working locally as well as internationally. International software companies, e.g. SAP, have learned to rely on Polish expertise in their international deployments as well as R&D.
To us at Bilot all this looks quite attractive, abundant with opportunities which will most likely outweigh foreseeable risks – a market which is still developing and not peaking quite yet – a natural choice for expansion! Even though Bilot so far has been operating mainly in the Finnish market, we have all the time thought that there will be a day when we look outside of Finland as well. Our solutions already having footprint on almost all the continents, us bilots being more than 15 nationalities and our size in Finland having reached substantial level we decided that the day has arrived! Today we are very proud of our newly launched operations in Poland under Bilot Sp. z o.o.!
So stay tuned as we combine two great success stories: Bilot and Poland!
Check out our press release from here.
For more information on our operations in Poland please contact Bilot Sp. z o.o. Managing Director Mr Mariusz Papiernik mariusz.papiernik(at)bilot.pl +48 690 540 522
