2004 was an advantageous year for most of the 84 thousand companies in Romania, operating in the IT field. In 2004, Romania’s IT market reached 770 million euros in value, an increase of 10 percent as compared to the previous year. A survey conducted by the US-based International Data Corporation, estimates growth of over 11 percent for the IT market for 2005 also forecasting significant growth in the Internet and IT service sectors. The number of computers in Romania has increased from 700 thousand in 2001 to 2.45 million in 2004, while the number of Internet users has reached 5 million, as compared to 950 thousand four years ago.

Another indicator, well underlining the development of the IT sector in Romania, are the developments in terms of ‘.ro’ domains, whose number has increased from 16 thousand in 2000 to 85 thousand at the end of 2004. But what’s really happening on the Romanian IT market? Let’s take for instance, Hewlett Packard’s subsidiary in Romania, which in 2004 reported 100 million euros in sales, 24 percent more than in 2003. Radu Enache, director of Hewlett Packard Romania has shared with us his opinions concerning the Romanian IT market.

“Romania benefits from an IT market in line with international standards. In my opinion, the professionalism of Romanian IT experts, the managers’ abilities, and the high level of technical information is increasing competition, which is an excellent thing for Hewlett Packard - for only in this way can a company grow and develop. The Romanian IT market, will continue to grow, with forecasts standing at around 10 percent, but as far as our firm is concerned I believe we’ll experience a growth rate higher than that in the country on average.

This is the time of complex solutions and systems, and this is one of our strengths, if you take into account what we have on offer. We are determined to continue to invest in our team in Romania, and in the resources we have in this country. And by our resources, I mean, besides our team, the well-trained, skilled partners, that we have. These two elements are part of a whole which plays an extremely major role in our activity.”

In turn, the Romanian branch of the US company Dell has reported a sales increase of 176 percent against 2003, without giving further information concerning the number of home PCs sold or the turnover. It is true this US company opened a branch in Romania only in early 2003, and that could be a good explanation for the soaring sales.

The Taiwanese company Gigabyte has recently opened a branch in Romania, although its products have been on offer on the Romanian market for much longer. Here is Alexandru Ticea, head of Gigabyte’s Romanian subsidiary, with more.

“By opening its branch in Romania, Gigabyte is continuing its regional policy of enlargement towards south-eastern Europe. Four other Gigabyte subsidiaries have been opened in countries in our region, such as Poland, Serbia Montenegro, the Czech Republic and Turkey. In another development, Gigabyte is the number one brand in Romania in terms of motherboards and video cards, and our main aim is to maintain this leading position and if possible to widen the gap between us and the other big producers. About the Romanian IT market, I would say that it has a significant potential and it has developed considerably of late. Let’s take for example the year 2001 as a reference point; well, we can say that as compared to that year, the IT market in Romania has doubled. That’s a fantastic growth, a growth which can be experienced only in Eastern Europe.”

Another good example, is the Romanian subsidiary of the world’s biggest business software producer, the German company SAP. Its returns from licenses and maintenance grew by 72 percent in 2004, in comparison with 2003. Valentin Tomsa, manager of SAP-Romania told the Romanian daily paper Ziarul Financiar, that the company he was leading had the biggest rate of returns as against the objectives agreed upon by the subsidiaries of the German company. The SAP business solutions have so far been employed by over 7 thousand users in Romania.

Microsoft-Romania also increased its revenues in 2004, by 30 percent, reporting an annual average growth in its eight-year activity of over 60 percent. Xerox has been present on the Romanian market for 35 years, and the results the company obtained in 2004 are the best in the history of its presence on the Romanian market, as Marius Persinaru, general manager of Xerox Romania has confessed to us.

"In 2004, the company’s revenues in Romania totaled 40 million dollars, and the year is definitely the best Xerox has ever had in Romania. Its growth, compared to 2003, hit 16 percent, and practically all our divisions contributed to it. Our goal for 2005 is to obtain growth of at least 15-20 percent, for the market’s potential allows us to do that. That means we are seeking faster growth than the market’s actual pace.”

The Romanian software companies managed to obtain better results in 2004 as compared to those they achieved in the previous year. Softwin, one of the best known companies, thanks to their BIT DEFENDER anti-virus technology, obtained a 60% higher turnover than during the year 2003. BitDefender is directly distributed in 37 countries, the company’s objective for 2005 being that of covering more than 40 markets. All in all, SOFTWIN estimates that by the end of 2004 the BitDefender technology was already protecting over 41 million users from about 100 countries. BitDefender is currently available in 17 languages of international circulation, the programme’s latest upgrade being in Korean, Japanese and Russian. BitDefender employs a revolutionary method of virus detection, being recognized by 28 Science academies in the European Community.

In December 2004, Softwin was shortlisted by the BBC from among 25 providers, in an international bid for a project involving the use of computers to improve the teaching of certain subjects in schools, targeted at pupils between 5 and 15 years of age. The project value stands at 215 million euros. Softwin was the only non - British company winning the agreed provider status. Within the project, Softwin’s aims at providing interactive educational content covering several age groups and school subjects, especially Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. At present, Softwin is a company with 600 employees having branches in Germany, Spain and the US.

Another major Romanian Software company, GeCad, also reported good results for 2004. GeCad is also known due to the fact that Microsoft purchased the RAV anti virus technology from them in 2003. GeCad’s main objective for this year is the launch, on the international market, of a new software product, developed using the firm’s own technology.

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