For years, the IT industry has been perceived as a stable sector, recording growth and offering good career prospects. As many as 51 percent of Poles believe that IT companies offer the most attractive job opportunities[1]. Although, according to analysts, global IT spending was to reach as much as $5.1 trillion in 2024[2], the sector in the Polish market still feels the effects of inflation and faces many challenges arising from the dynamic development of technology and changing market conditions. Data from the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register and the BIK credit information database show that at the end of September, companies providing software-related services and IT consulting had outstanding liabilities of PLN 320 million.
For years, Polish IT companies have enjoyed stable growth and increasing recognition on the international stage, with the number of specialists and startups significantly increasing. In addition to increasing competition, domestic companies now face challenges related to investing in new technologies and adapting to rapidly changing market requirements and legal regulations concerning data protection and cybersecurity. IT companies also struggle with attracting and retaining talent, which leads to increasing wage pressure.
“A high level of wages in the IT sector, evident in GUS data on median wages, means that an important, often the largest, part of companies’ budgets is the HR area. At the same time, the global trend associated with economic slowdown to limit IT projects commissioned by large organizations and smaller companies, means that maintaining full profitability in this sector is not always possible, especially for start-ups. This sometimes means limiting activities or resigning from some projects, including those related to limiting employment. However, companies do this cautiously, as it is easy to discourage highly qualified experts from an employer and hard to acquire. There are specializations in which the demand for specialists does not weaken, e.g., cybersecurity, data analytics, or AI implementations. Wage pressure, which companies will have to deal with, is also not shrinking,” says Mateusz Żydek, press spokesperson for Randstad Poland.
Moreover, according to the Awareson company report, managing a trimmed budget is a challenge for 57 percent of IT leaders. Given the challenging market conditions, 37 percent of them plan to increase the number of projects, and 12 percent announce further cuts[3]. Another study indicates that although 67 percent of industry employees received a raise last year, only 49 percent are satisfied with their salary[4].
The amount of unpaid invoices continues to grow.
Data from the BIG InfoMonitor Debtors Register and BIK database show that there is a noticeable increase in overdue debt year on year in several key subsectors of the industry. One of them is the activity related to software and IT consulting, which was in debt of over PLN 320 million at the end of September 2024. This amount increased by PLN 26.7 million compared to 2023, which represents a 9 percent increase y/y. For comparison, in 2022 it was PLN 244 million, and in 2021 – PLN 243 million. It is also worth noting that the financial problems of the sector have been gradually growing since the crisis related to the pandemic, as at the end of September 2020, the level of unpaid arrears was PLN 232 million. Therefore, over the past four years, the debt has increased by PLN 100 million, indicating a concerning trend.
“Debt in the Polish IT industry, although it does not threaten its stability, signals certain challenges related to the financial liquidity of some companies. Our data show a clear increase in unpaid arrears in key market segments, especially in the software and IT consulting industry, which had a 9% increase in debt at the end of September. This may indicate a continuing trend of increasing debt, initiated by the crisis after the pandemic. In this situation, companies should implement effective debt management methods and regularly check the financial situation of their business partners to minimize the risk of payment delays,” emphasizes Sławomir Grzelczak, President of the Board of BIG InfoMonitor.
Companies engaged in data processing, managing websites (hosting), and similar activities also attract attention. In this case, the debt already amounts to PLN 22.6 million. A year ago, it was PLN 19 million, showing a jump in problems by PLN 3.6 million (19 percent y/y). This debt belongs to 414 entities, which averages almost PLN 55 thousand in unpaid invoices per company. This is only a little more than the highest monthly salary for specialists and managers in the field of artificial intelligence in Poland this year[5].
Source: https://managerplus.pl/polski-sektor-it-wyzwania-finansowe-i-presja-rynkowa-mimo-rosnacego-zapotrzebowania-na-specjalistow-32603
