Natek IT Poland with new office in Warsaw, continues growth in Central and Eastern Europe (interview)

"(...) we have made another strategic decision that is an integral part of the plan to expand Natek's presence in Poland. (...) This is another milestone in the company's history," Jana Kruzliakova, VP Sales & Marketing, the board member said.

The company's representatives stressed that Natek has grown by 35 percent for the last year.

"I don’t see any cooling down in the IT solutions sector. Maybe it will come, we can feel in the air the economic crisis approaching and this is all connected. But if you take a look at the last economic crisis the world has suffered, the IT was not impacted at all," Paul Novak, Chief Legal Officer & General Investment, told PAP Biznes.

"There might be some threats but I think these are related in general to all the industries. All this fuss about AI, chatbots and so on: obviously people are afraid that they may take over some jobs. This is a very trending topic during all the conferences lately. But at the same time we need to ask ourselves the question: who is behind the AI? People. The IT people, precisely," Natek's Marketing Communication Manager, Minh Trusiak, added.

Paul Novak pointed out that the IT experts are needed at every field. He sees, however, the changes in the sector, still hoping they won't affect his company.

"I am not saying that the industry is not remodelling. You read the news: tech companies have laid off over 50,000 employees. However, on our level – our business continues to grow here in Central Europe. We still have market sectors to go, we have partners and customers who trust us," he said.

Natek is expanding its team year on year - last year alone it employed more than 400 people - and moving into new offices.

At the end of 2023, Natek opened a new, larger office in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, and is planning four more openings this year - in Poland and Slovakia.

"2023 was full of many new fruitful collaborations for our company. Nine renowned clients from the automotive, banking, medical and retail industries trusted us with their digital transformation," said Ryszard Jakubczak, Business Director at Natek.

Natek has just opened 520-square metres office on the 11th floor of Q22 skyscraper in Warsaw. According to company's Chief Legal Officer, the new office's project has taken two years and it's the company's biggest investment this year.

"We have done two offices, we have four to go. This is our biggest investment this year," Novak told PAP Biznes/Market Insider.

Asked where the main focus of the company lays, Novak pointed to two segments.

"Firstly, acquiring new customers. We are very active in the banking and IT sectors. These two are our main focus for 2024 and for the years to come," he said.

"In the past two years we have been very successful with the Italian banking group and we will continue this cooperation. We hope that this year we will add other banking groups to our portfolio," Novak added.

Second area of the company's investments is about developing the apps and internal solutions.

"After we have gained certain experience with remote work due to COVID, we're focusing a lot on remote working, promoting it for our employees and facilitating the whole formula," the representative told PAP Biznes.

The company focuses on improving employees' qualifications.

"This year we are planning to rebuild some of our crucial internal tools. We’re also investing a lot in the trainings for our employees. We have started a very big project for managers, training programme which has taken over a year to build with the Solution Company," said Minh Trusiak.

Last year Natek has launched a comprehensive LEAD programme, aimed at Natek's managers. Around 100 team members have been trained.

Paul Novak explained that one of the programme's aims is to create more hierarchical management levels.

Aleksandra Olbryt (PAP Biznes/Market Insider)

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