On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, some 240 experts from global R&D companies, outsourcing professionals, current and potential investors and representatives of the Polish government gathered at the Polish Consulate General in New York City to learn about the booming BPO, ITO and KPO markets in Poland, during and after Katowice Summit 2012, a business conference focused on introducing investors to the Polish outsourcing potential.
Among the guests, there were representatives of global corporations that are present or are looking to be present in Poland, including IBM, Capgemini, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Home Depot, DHL, Met Life, Citigroup, Merill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Bloomberg, UBS, HSBC, Wells Fargo, the European-American Business Organization; as well as a number of investors (Washington DC ArchAngels) and venture capitalists, representatives of non-profit organizations (the European American Chamber of Commerce) and representatives of the New York state and city governments.
- “We have many advantages, as Poland has a great number of highly-skilled people who are crucial for this kind of business,” said delegate Jolanta Jaworska (IBM, ABSL), responsible for IBM cooperation with the local government and public administration in areas of business development support, investment policy, social policy and projects in Global Delivery Centers in Poland and CEE. Ms. Jaworksa is also a member of the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland (ABSL), a partner of Katowice Summit 2012.
- “The last few years showed really quick development of the BPO/ITO sector in Poland, particularly in the south of the country– the Silesia region,” said Andrzej Zabiegliński, Vice-Chair of the Silesia Special Economic Zone. “We’re here today to emphasize the potential of that agglomeration– so, human resources, and particularly students attending higher education institutions– but also the business potential of the agglomeration, the givers and the takers. Those dependencies are broad, and Silesia’s ratings as a BPO/ITO market have been growing at an amazing pace recently.”
- “There’s a lot of advantages [in the Silesia region] like resources, well-organized office space, good infrastructure of the area, but what I would like to emphasize is– many popular outsourcing destinations today represent a low level of services,” said Mariusz Tomaka, Director of the U.S.-Polish Trade Council and CEO at DisplayLink. “In Poland, we have very well-educated staff, able to manage these offices. Poland can be a hub to which the high-level outsourcing services can be directed, and then distributed evenly throughout the globe.”
- “Poland is currently a BPO market that can compete with India and China,” said Wanda Lopuch, PhD, President of MDA Associates Inc. and the summit moderator, as well as the main organizer. “What we have is the ready availability of multi-lingual talent capable of managing service centers, and a growing pool of IT engineering talent. Polish engineers are becoming known in the world, for example, three Polish teams were awarded in last year’s Imagine Cup, an IT competition by Microsoft. Poland also offers security, with its EU-regulated data protection laws. The central location, good infrastructure and cultural similarity with western Europe and North America are among other advantages.”
The Katowice Delegation has also participated in the World BPO/ITO Forum in New York City (June 26-27, 2012), presenting the advantages of Katowice and the Silesia region alongside countries like Malaysia and Scotland.
- “Presenting Katowice in the context of our country, which is increasingly economically successful not only among other central and Eastern European countries but within the entire European Union, was an excellent form of promotion, which was duly noted by other participants of the World BPO/ITO Forum,” said Henryk Sanecki. Consul, First Counselor, and Head of Trade & Investment Section at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York City.
- “The great amount of guests interested in the Polish BPO/ITO market who arrived at Katowice Summit 2012 shows that the city is gaining on popularity in the United States thanks to regular promotional efforts,” said Marcin Krupa, Vice Mayor of Katowice.
Katowice was the third fastest growing region for investments in the sector of business services in Poland over the past two years, ahead of such agglomerations as Krakow or Poznan, according to the 2012 “Business Services Sector in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis’’ report, executed by ABSL. The Silesian Region is considered to be one of the largest academic and scientific centers in Poland. With 28 higher education institutions, home to some 140,000 students, the Silesia and Katowice constitute an attractive labor market offering competitive labor costs, strong language skills, and the mentality of young, innovative citizens of the European Union, ready to face challenges of the competitive global market.
Luiza Oleszczuk
press@katowicesummit2012.com
Press kit available: www.katowicesummit2012.com