Press Office

The prestigious 24-hour team programming contest organized by the city of Gdynia, Asseco Poland and CodiLime will commence on 30th November 2013 in the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in Gdynia. This event will take place annually and become one of the major points in the calendar of programming contests in Europe.
Assecco Programming Marathon24 Gdynia 2013 is an initiative aimed at community related to information technologies. This is the only Polish team competition open to all programmers without any constraints prepared by world championships gold medalists in collegiate programming, the founders of CodiLime. The preliminary round (online) will select top computer scientists in Poland (and in the future also in Europe) who during the final game in Gdynia will directly compete against one another.
The formula of the marathon is particularly interesting. The final will last non-stop for 24 hours. At that time, thirty teams of three will face three challenging programming tasks. Current results of each team will be made available to all participants. The formula of the contest will make the competition continue until the last minute.
Marathon24 is an effect of the cooperation among Gdynia - a city open to innovation, Asseco Poland and CodiLime. Involvement of the largest IT company in Poland, and also one of the leading players on the European software market is a guarantee of success of this venture. CodiLime, the company providing high-quality software solutions for international business is responsible for the technical side of the project, including the supply of the main IT system.
The Mayor of Gdynia, dr. Wojciech Szczurek, during a joint press conference of the organizers of the event stressed the special connection between Gdynia and innovative ideas and technologies: "Gdynia is a very modern city. It has always attracted people willing and able to pursue their dreams, including those in the field of innovative technologies. The Pomeranian Science and Technology Park is the symbol of this attitude. I hope that soon we will welcome here companies established by promising computer scientists - participants of Asseco Programming Marathon24 Gdynia 2013."
Dr. Adam Góral, the CEO of Asseco Poland said: "For more than 20 years Asseco Poland has been working within the IT industry and achieved huge success becoming the seventh largest software company in Europe. Thanks to our products created by the best Polish specialists we can effectively compete with software companies from all over the world. By participating in this project, we want to actively promote the achievements of Polish software developers and encourage them to continuously increase their knowledge and invest in their skills. Competition and its extraordinary formula is a perfect opportunity for many IT specialists to perform in demanding conditions and showcase their skills."
Tomasz Kulakowski, the CEO of CodiLime added: "Polish programmers enjoy a great reputation all over the world and often decide to go to work abroad. As the co-organizers of Marathon24 we want to select brilliant developers and encourage them to stay in Poland. CodiLime is an example of a company built by the team of exceptionally talented people. The quality of this team is confirmed by its cooperation with the world's largest information technology corporations in Silicon Valley and Japan. Our most talented employees have opportunity to take part in IT projects that might change the future. We aim at organizing the competition attended by talented individuals similar to CodiLime founders and employees who take great care of constant development of skills and expertise. I am rest assured that this is achievable with such great partners as Asseco and Gdynia."

On July the 1st Asseco Poland and R-Style Softlab signed an agreement upon wich Asseco has a majority stake in Russian company. After several years of assessing the CIS Asseco has succeeded in getting a foothold on the Russian market.Asseco Poland has acquired 70% stake in R-Style Softlab valued at USD 28m. Shares were purchased from Eransor Finance Limited a company registered in Nicosia, Cyprus. Furthermore Asseco Poland has purchased a call option for the remaining 30% of shares. The call option may be exercised between 1 May and 31 December 2016.“I’m overjoyed by the fact that R-Style Softlab has come under the umbrella known as Asseco. I’m absolutely certain that with our joint effort we will consolidate our position in every geographical location that Asseco is present and not only in Russia and CEE. For this purpose it is important for us to keep the key employees, the principles of the client and product policies and keep on following the goals of the strategic development of R-Style Softlab. We know that the Russian market is robust and perspective and we are pleased to be a part of it” – says Adam Góral – CEO at Asseco Poland.“I’m sure that the integration of our companies will allow to more effectively realize the current strategy of R-Style Softlab development aimed at strengthening our leading position in Russia and the CIS. It will be our clients who will be the first to feel the advantages of this integration. R-Style Softlab own unique expertise, consulting and technological potential together with international expertise and implementation practice will give a jump-start to further development of the Russian IT market” - says Andrey Galkovsky - CEO of R-Style Softlab.R-Style Softlab is a Russian developer of specialized software for the banking sector and financial market. Company specializes in three main directions: front and internet banking, data warehouse and BI systems as well as core banking systems. Besides that the company provides consulting services, IT audit and outsourcing.R-Style is the market leader by the volume of its client portfolio: every third bank in Russia uses its software. R-Style Softlab supports over 400 active clients in Russia and CIS (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine), actively expanding the geography of its presence abroad.
Besides its headquarters in Moscow R-Style Softlab has its branches in Bryansk and Vologda, as well as in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Kiev (Ukraine). It employs more than 800 professionals. The company’s quality management system is certified for its compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 standard.
Over its 19-year history R-Style Softlab has demonstrated a solid growth of both its revenues and net profit. In 2012, R-Style Softlab generated approximately USD 35 million in sales revenues from proprietary software and services.

Acquisition of a majority stake in Georgia-based IT company marks the beginning of Asseco’s expansion in the region.Asseco Poland S.A. consistently pursues its development strategy which aims to build a global information technology company specializing in software development and provision of highly advanced IT services. As far as acquisition-driven expansion is concerned, the company focuses on emerging markets that are characterized by high economic growth and increasing demand for IT technologies. This week, Asseco has successfully completed the acquisition of the Georgian company Onyx Consulting.Onyx Consulting was founded in 2008. It is a provider of consulting and system implementation services for the banking and insurance industry companies as well as for the public administration. The company’s operations are well diversified and include competence in software development, offering of proprietary ERP and CRM systems, solutions for insurance companies, software for schools and stores, as well as consulting services and implementation of third party products. Onyx Consulting is one of the largest consulting firms in the Georgian IT market.
“We have been convinced to make an investment in Georgia owing to its government policy, which gives priority to the development of local competencies in new technologies. The combination of over 20 years of experience and expertise of Asseco with the knowledge of local business environment provides a solid base to take a leading position in the IT market of both Georgia and the entire region,” said Adam Góral, CEO of Asseco Poland.“Asseco is the first global IT company to enter the Georgian market. For our country, this means additional investments and access to innovative technologies. Our goal is to build a leading IT company to serve public and private sector clients, both in Georgia and in the region. By cooperating with Asseco Group, we will further develop our expertise in the area of IT technologies as well as in the implementation of large and complex IT projects,” commented David Bazierashvili, CEO of Asseco Georgia.

On the occasion of the 15th edition of the 500 List, the competition jury established a special award. In the highest growth category, Asseco Poland was recognized as the most consistently growing company of all times in the history of the 500 List.In this year’s competition, Asseco Poland ranked 43rd with PLN 5.5 billion in sales revenues. It may be difficult to believe that fifteen years ago, in 1998, our sales reached just PLN 230 million, placing the then young Rzeszów-based IT company at a relatively high 269th position.“I am very pleased with the received award. The present shape of the Asseco organization is owed primarily to our persistence in building a team of professionals specialized in software development. Our group of companies has become the seventh largest vendor of proprietary IT solutions in Europe. This is the best proof that we chose the right direction of development at the beginning of our business. I would like to sincerely thank our employees, customers, business partners as well as the Polish capital market. It is thanks to you all that Asseco Poland had a chance to create a professional, leading European IT company. We are still asking you for your help, patience and commitment to our joint projects, because together we have the opportunity to build Poland’s first truly global IT powerhouse. While entering new markets, we continue to improve our products and services so as to meet the highest standards. I am confident that with continued investments in development will still be seen as a good and reliable business partner,” said Adam Góral, CEO of Asseco Poland S.A.The 500 List is a prestigious ranking of the largest companies operating in Poland that has been compiled and published by Rzeczpospolita daily for the last 15 years. This year, Asseco Poland ranked at the 43rd position, advancing by 8 places as compared with the last year. The ranking is headed by PKN Orlen, followed by LOTOS Group and PGE Polish Energy Group.

In 2012, Asseco Group generated more than PLN 5.5 billion in sales revenues. Operating profit reached PLN 650 million, while net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company amounted to PLN 370 million. During the analyzed period, the Group's operating activities generated record-breaking cash inflows of PLN 847 million.Sales revenues reached PLN 5,529.1 million, surging by 11.5% as compared with 2011. Operating profit amounted to PLN 649.9 million, remaining at a comparable level as in the previous year. The Group earned a net profit of PLN 555.9 million. Whereas, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company amounted to PLN 370.1 million. Asseco consistently pursued its strategy to boost financial results by promoting sales of its proprietary IT solutions. In 2012, sales of proprietary software and services reached PLN 4,197.4 million and they accounted for 75.9% of our total turnover. Sales revenues were well diversified among our individual target sectors: Banking and Finance – 33.5%, Enterprises – 42.8%, and Public Administration – 23.7%. Last year Asseco signed many prestigious contracts. The total number of implemented contracts reached nearly 3000, once again confirming a wide diversification of our client portfolio.
During the past twelve months, the Group was joined by new companies which enhanced Asseco's competence in certain areas. In Poland, we concentrated on building up our integration company which is to operate in individual regional markets countrywide. Asseco South Eastern Europe successfully completed business acquisitions in the promising Turkish market, whereas Formula Systems took over companies in the United States and Israel.
Our strategy for organic growth and acquisitions helped reinforce the Asseco's position among the leaders of the European information technology market in 2012. As the only Polish group of IT companies, Asseco ranked in the top ten of the largest software vendors in Europe, taking the seventh place.
Our plans for 2013 anticipate continued expansion of Asseco Group. Asseco Poland is engaged in takeover negotiations with further companies in Poland and one company from Russia.At the same time, Asseco South Eastern Europe seeks investment opportunities in Turkey. In parallel to ambitious investment plans, Asseco continues to focus on its core business, where the Group has a strong competitive advantage, this is the production and development of its own state-of-the-art IT solutions for the largest institutions in Europe and worldwide.

Asseco Poland as the first, and so far the only Polish software producer joined the elite group of companies with business divisions, whose manufacturing processes have been formally assessed as compliant with the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development at the third maturity level.
The CMMI model is the result of over 20 years of work at Carnegie Mellon University, performed jointly with experts from industry, government (specifically the U.S. Department of Defense), and Software Engineering Institute. With the support from Carnegie Mellon University, the CMMI Institute continues to improve the processes model and works for broader application of best practices and solutions in response to the emerging needs, among others, in the IT sector all over the world.The CMMI model greatly facilitates cooperation, especially in large and multicultural organizations, which often use their own methodologies in the field of software development. CMMI provides a common language to avoid cumbersome discussions on refining the concepts of software engineering. Therefore using a CMMI-consistent standard makes it easier to interact with a number of suppliers and consortium members, and also to involve a part of the client's team into the supplier's process. For customers, a formal appraisal of compliance with CMMI-DEV at the third maturity level is an objective and formally recognized guarantee of the level of maturity represented by the supplier."Obtaining a formal confirmation of compliance of our processes with the prestigious CMMI-DEV model at the maturity level 3 has been our goal since 2009. We needed to take considerable organizational efforts in order to meet the standard requirements. However, we faced this challenge because having a CMMI appraisal will strengthen our competitive position and ability to participate in consortia on the international market," said Jadwiga Nowotnik, Director of the International Organizations and Uniformed Services Division, Asseco Poland S.A.The actual assessment of compliance of management and support processes involved in software development took place during the three-week audit carried out by KUGLER MAAG CIE GmbH, which is a partner of the CMMI Institute affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University. The evaluation was performed following the SCAMPI A methodology and it involved a detailed review of documentation as well as over a dozen interviews with members of the company's project teams and representatives of the International Organizations and Uniformed Services Division.Asseco Poland S.A. is a recognized provider of IT solutions for institutions and agencies of NATO and European Union. The company has completed more than 50 projects. Asseco’s clients include: FRONTEX, European Chemicals Agency, Office for Official Publications of the European Community, as well as NATO agencies and institutions (such as JALLC center located in Monsanto, Portugal, Security Center in Mons, Belgium, and JFTC Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland).Asseco Poland S.A. is a partner in dozens of research and development projects in the area of "defense & security". The company cooperates with numerous universities in Poland. It is a member of NESSI association, which brings together European universities and companies that collaborate in setting standards, e.g. the new Java language, and in connecting Internet systems.