IT
Geographics
Poland is lucky because the country contains several key areas ripe for the creation of at least one major center for this emerging industry. At present Poland has several institutes of higher education at the forefront of developments, from the Polytechnics of Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Gliwice, Warsaw and Cracow to the University of Warsaw and the Army Technical Academy in Wroclaw. More recently many private colleges such as the Polish-Japanese Higher School of Information Technology in Warsaw and the Higher School of Information Technology and Management in Bielsko-Biala have developed. Many of Poland's key information technology players have branches throughout the country. Therefore, the best way to determine Poland's IT Geographics is to determine where the largest systems integrators in the country are headquartered, where financial growth is located, where strong economic growth is located, and where the IT strongest educational systems are located.
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital city of Poland and of the Mazowsze Voivodship (province). The Warsaw metropolitan region has 2.1 million people, 5.5% of the country's total population. The city of Warsaw, with a population of 1.6 million, is a center of culture, science, education, and finance, and is a major transportation hub. The impact of Poland's strong economic growth is best seen in Warsaw. Average earnings in Warsaw are the highest in Poland. Industry sectors within Warsaw are dominated by machinery and electronic equipment production. The most important products manufactured in the area are television sets, computer hardware and software, tape recorders, passenger cars, and tractors. The capital has more than 280,000 businesses.
In recent years, Warsaw has drawn the highest levels of investment in Poland. About a third of foreign businesses investing in Poland choose Warsaw as their headquarters. The investment programs implemented by foreign firms have created more than 11,000 jobs. Warsaw also is home to the University of Warsaw and University of Warsaw School of Information Technology.
While many of the large technology companies have locations around the country, most seem to have their foundation in the capitol city, Warsaw. Optimus, the largest computer company in Poland is headquartered in Warsaw. Prokom, the largest software and system integration company has locations in Warsaw and Gdynia. ComputerLand, the second largest system integrator in Poland has locations throughout the country, including Warsaw. Also, venture capitalist E-Katalyst is located in Warsaw. Also, many foreign companies such as Lucent Technologies have set up shop in Warsaw. Also, as of 1996, the first two cybercafes in Poland in Poland were in Warsaw and Lodz. The information technology seems to have had its beginnings in the capitol city, and also has had a warm response and rapid growth there.
Information Technology Landscape in Nations Around the World