Polish entrepreneurs and producers in the face of computerization



In contemporary world entrepreneurs and producers more often face problems connected with computerization and implementation of information systems that are designed to enhance and automate work of the company. Comparing to Europe Polish entrepreneurs seem to be very anachronic. This situation should be considered as worrying, even alarming, because it has significant consequences to Polish economy. Moreover it makes hard for Polish companies to compete with European firms.

According to the Central Statistical Office, in 2007 21% of Polish entrepreneurs implemented CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, which make the clients data analysis much easier and accurate. Only 12% of the companies had already implemented such systems before. What is more, in 2007 no more than 13% of companies had used ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, to make the complex resource planning of the company.

At the turn of 2009 and 2010 one of the IT companies has conducted a research on cost invoice circulation in Polish companies. The results show that only 14% of entrepreneurs had and used an information system which was designed for describing and accepting the invoices. On the other hand almost half of companies was planning to implement such system. This research results show that computerization awareness among Polish entrepreneurs is growing, but still there is much to be done in order to achieve the European level.

Other research shows that, as far as computerization is concerned, public administration is developing faster than the private companies sector. For public administration offices it is a long-term process. While many small, private firms are often unable to look further than in short-term. In private sector intensive computerization can be observed mainly in big, innovative companies which are aware of the information systems implementation importance for their future development.

Consequently a question should be stated: what is the reason of such situation in Polish companies? The problem is complex and it is caused by many factors. Information system implementation can raise concerns among entrepreneurs because they are afraid of complex systems which are not intuitive and user friendly. Some entrepreneurs do not see the necessity to implement such systems, because they are not aware of the benefits for the company. Another observed factor is the financial matter. Although implementation of good information systems increase the management cost much, such investment can quickly pay off, because they improve the company organization and work efficiency.

The situation of Polish companies, as far as computerization is concerned, will not improve soon unless we become more aware of how many benefits information system implementation or other IT innovation can bring.



PROGMATE Analysts