Infrastructure

“In highly developed societies, we observe a strong trend of moving from an economy based on labor and capital to one based on knowledge, in which a fundamental role is played by information and information technology. For Poland the key challenge is also getting linked into the process of building the information age by taking advantage of modern technologies of the information society, creating the conditions ensuring direct access to information and shaping society’s awareness and developing its intellectual and economic potential. In terms of Poland’s integration with the EU, there is a need to adapt Polish solutions and standards to a modern IT-based society.”. The plan of action for developing society’s informational awareness in the years 2001-2006: the e-Polska program.

The number of computers in Poland is still lower than the European average, but Poland’s IT market is developing very rapidly. The largest global computer companies have representatives in Poland – from IBM through to Oracle to Microsoft. All play an active role in the development of the Polish IT market, organizing, amongst other things, conferences on the direction of the development of the Polish Internet and B2B (business-to-business). Polish computer companies have also appeared: Optimus, Prokom, ComputerLand, Softbank and ComArch. All are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The value of the Polish IT market is estimated at about $2.7 billion (2.37 billion euro) and that without the inclusion of telecom operators. The dynamic growth in the value of this market is therefore huge, the largest in the Polish economy and many times higher than the rate of GDP growth. The IT branch structure has also changed, with the share of hardware falling – from 62% in 1997 to not quite 43% in 2000, with sales of services and software benefiting, respectively from 38% to more than 57%.

The factor that may make the IT sector even more dynamic is the Internet. It is estimated that only about 1 million people in Poland have access to the net, but, as research centre findings indicate, the number of connections to the net is set to rise very rapidly, both among private and corporate users. Results show that about 60% of Polish enterprises thought they could not develop without the Internet.

The government is preparing for the introduction of the e-Polska program, aimed at reaching the following goals: cheaper, faster and safer Internet access, a rise in the level of society’s level of education and government administration more accessible via the Internet.
Taking advantage of electrical plugs is a chance for faster normalization of Poland and increasing the numbers of Internet users. Tests on electric networks for the fixed–line telephones and Internet access are very advanced in Poland. Poland has the chance to become the third country in Europe, after Germany and Switzerland, where Internet access via the power system will be commercially available.
The government is preparing to introduce the e-Polska program, which will slowly achieve the following aims:

·  making possible cheaper, faster and safer access to the Internet

·  increasing society’s level of education

·  making administrative services available via the Internet.

·  creating IT services servicing the flow of information between state institutions, companies and citizens

·  maintaining Poland’s leading position in Central and Eastern Europe

·  narrowing the gap between Poland and the most developed countries in the world.

“The new economy, built on the pillars of IT, telecommunications and the media – increasingly interactive – will become the capital markets’ great hope.” Janusz Lewandowski, ex-Minister of Ownership Transformation.

source: www.poland.gov.pl