The competition is intended to give recognition to companies that successfully implement the strategy of foreign development, being the best ambassadors of Poland abroad. The competition was open for the state owned companies as well as for all companies funded by domestic capital operating in Poland which, during the last five years, made significant foreign investments and/or conducted large-scale export activities and became successful in foreign markets.
The “Polish Company – International Champion” competition was organized at the initiative of the PwC consulting firm in cooperation with the Puls Biznesu daily economic newspaper. PKO Bank Polski was the Strategic Partner, while the National Bank of Poland acted as the patron for the initiative. The aim of the competition is to promote both privately- and state-owned Polish companies that achieve a great deal of success in foreign markets, either as investors or exporters, as well as to promote the benefits that such operations may bring not only for those companies, but also for the entire Polish economy.

The second edition of “Asseco Programming Marathon24 Gdynia 2014, powered by CodiLime”, which is the largest international collaborative programming contest organized in Poland, took place during the last weekend, on 29 and 30 November 2014. The Grand Final was held continuously for 24 hours and was won by a Polish team called “SajchoModzajtoSajgon”. The runner-up was the “Last Minute” team, also from Poland, whereas the third place was taken by the “Charles University Legion” of the Czech Republic.

In the Grand Final, members of the winning team: Marek Cygan, Przemysław Dębiak and Mateusz Żotkiewicz had to defeat 29 other teams from eight countries in three extremely demanding tasks. The competition was very tough, but in the end the “SajchoModzajtoSajgon” team managed to take the top spot on the podium and the grand prize.

Dr Adam Góral, President of the Management Board of Asseco Poland, said today: “Competitions such as “Asseco Programming Marathon24 Gdynia 2014. Powered by CodiLime” show that we can be a great host for international programming events and that we have outstanding specialists in new technologies and software. I am very pleased with the success of the second edition of this contest.”

Dr Wojciech Szczurek, President of Gdynia City, said: “The Pomeranian Science and Technology Park Gdynia is Poland’s Silicon Valley. Here science meets art and business. Here new technologies are developed on a global scale to help improve our daily life. It is possible also thanks to the people, the best specialists who come to Gdynia from around the world. Therefore, it is the natural environment for competitions such as Marathon24, which are intended for the most talented programmers.”

Tomasz Kułakowski, President of the Management Board of CodiLime, added: “The second edition of Marathon24 was a great success as we were able to reach over a dozen thousands of developers, the best 90 of whom visited Gdynia. I believe that our further effective cooperation with as well as support from PKO Bank Polski, Bank Zachodni WBK, Asseco Poland and Gdynia City will bring even better results when organizing the next 2015 edition.”

For more information about the competition, final rankings, as well as pictures and videos taken during the Grand Finals of the first and second edition, please visit the contest website at www.marathon24.com

The leaders of this year’s ranking are the same companies which occupied the top places in last year’s edition. Asseco Group generated over EUR 1 billion in software revenues, improving its year ago results by 6 percent. It is worth noting that, in comparison to other companies which ranked higher, Asseco reported the most dynamic growth both in total revenues and software sales.
Total revenues of the Truffle 100 vendors reached EUR 57.4 billion, of which software revenues accounted for EUR 42.2 billion. The complete report is available at: http://www.truffle100.com/

The agreement between the European Space Agency and Asseco Poland has been signed as part of the second edition of the Polish Industry Incentive Scheme which is dedicated to Polish companies and scientific research centers. This program includes projects in the areas of information technology, aviation technology, meteorology, navigation and satellite applications. The objective of the program is to enable the Polish industry to acquire competence in the field of space technology as well as to transfer innovative technologies to Polish companies in order to ensure that they are fully able to participate in the space sector development after 2017, when the preferential conditions are going to expire. Under the above-mentioned contract, Asseco will create a specialized application intended to analyze and verify the operation of the European EGNOS system based on simulations. EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) has been designed to enhance the precision of positioning by satellite navigation systems, such as GPS, which are broadly used in air, sea and land transportation. Asseco has been assigned to develop the software component for simulation to be used for modelling the testing environment in EGNOS system. “Cooperation with the European Space Agency gives us the opportunity to further develop our competence in the field of satellite navigation and software development based on the harmonized European standards applicable to the space sector and civil aviation. Observing the rapid growth in real-time analysis of geographic phenomena, we believe that the gathered experience will enable Asseco to implement new projects related to the space sector,” says Paweł Seliga of the Department of International Organizations and Security Sector Solutions at Asseco Poland. The first application developed by Asseco for the European Space Agency – SBAS Data Analysis Tool Set – is aimed to analize test scenarios which is of utmost importance for regression analysis system.  “GPS systems allow for location of objects with an accuracy of 10 meters. Therefore, in road and especially in air transportation, GPS indications are supplemented with other systems such as EGNOS. By using these systems, the accuracy of positioning can be improved to 1-2 meters. EGNOS system can be further optimized with such tools as our SBAS Data Analysis Tool Set, which is responsible for analysis and interactive visualization of the system data, and provides support for anomaly-detection decisions,” explains Paweł Seliga.Poland became a member of the European Space Agency in 2012. This has paved the way for Polish companies to cooperate within European space and research programs, and this sector has a high potential for growth. Data from the European Space Agency shows that the market for civil applications of solutions used in the space industry is worth EUR 240 billion.***The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency

In the latest Ranking of Employers prepared by Gazeta Finansowa (Financial Gazette), Asseco topped the list in the category of largest employers in Subcarpathian Province and took 48th position in the whole country. Furthermore, the company ranked on 75th position among the Most Desirable Employers in Poland.

By taking the Grand Prize, Asseco has become the winner of the 7th edition of the IT@Bank 2014 ranking. In addition, the company has received 4 special awards:
1st place in the category of “Efficiency”
2nd place in the category of “IT Vendors to the Cooperative Banking Sector”
3rd place in the category of “Development Potential”
3rd place in the category of “IT Vendors to the Financial Sector”

During the gala ceremony, which took place on 20 November 2014, award statuettes were handed to the winners by Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz, President of the Polish Banks Association, and Stanisław Brzeg-Wieluński, Editor-in-Chief of “BANK Financial Monthly”.“Today, no major institution in the financial or public sector would be able to operate without an efficient and reliable IT partner,” emphasized Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz, President of the Polish Banks Association. “Polish banks have for many years managed to deliver innovative, comfortable and secure services. Solutions such as modern online banking, mobile applications, contactless payments or the newly launched Card Blocking System allowing to block a lost card issued by any bank at a single phone number (+48 828 828 828), have all been created thanks to the successful collaboration of Poland’s best IT developers and integrators with the banking sector,” he added.IT@Bank is the largest annual conference in Poland devoted to the issues of banking IT systems. It brings together an elite group of IT decision-makers from banks, insurance companies, savings and credit union, and technology companies. The conference is organized by the Banking Law and Information Centre, the publishers of “BANK Financial Monthly”, in cooperation with the Electronic Banking Council and Banking Technology Forum of the Polish Banks Association.