Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) and the City Hall of Katowice presented findings of the „Business Services Sector in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis” report.
Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis are strengthening their position as leaders in business services in Poland. According to the report prepared for the City Hall of Katowice by ABSL, employment in service centers in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis increased by 4 000 people from January 2012 to October 2013 (from 8 000 to 12 000). Given the companies’ development plans it can be assumed that by the end of 2014, employment in the industry will reach 15 000 people, which is almost double when compared to the beginning of 2012. The dynamic growth of industry in the metropolis is increasingly attracting the attention of global leading brands that decide to locate their investments here.
Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis are among the six most important centers of modern business services in Poland. 56 service centers, owned by 49 investors from 10 countries, are located here. They are mainly compa¬nies originating in the USA (16) and Poland (11), but also corporations from the United Kingdom (6), France (5), the Netherlands (4), Germany (2), Sweden (2), Finland (1), India (1) and Canada (1). The majority of business service centers in the Silesia Metropolis are located in Katowice (39 out of 56), which constitutes 66% of total employment in the sector in this area.
„Creation of attractive job positions in the modern business services sector is one of our priorities, that is why we want to improve the favorable investment climate and to attract successive investors of the sector” – says Piotr Uszok, Katowice mayor. „Our high-level goal is to take a leading position on the investment map of Europe and to create a modern metropolis where the quality of life and business is high, both for citizens and investors. Also, I hope that more and more employees of the business services sector will decide to settle in Katowice. I will strive to create preferable conditions in the City which make such decision easier” – he added.
Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis have already attracted following leading investor of the branch, among others: Capgemini, IBM, Gallup Arteria Management, Orange, Future Processing, ING Services, ista, ArcelorMittal, Archidoc (OEX Group), Grupa Żywiec, HireRight, Mentor Graphics, PwC, Rockwell Automation, Steria and Unilever.
The report says, that 18 of the service centers located in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis are shared service centers (SSC), 12 IT outsourcing centers (ITO), 12 contact centers, 8 R&D centers, and 6 business process outsourcing centers (BPO).
„The Katowice region is one of unquestioned leaders of IT processes services on the Polish map of modern business services sector” – says Marcin Nowak, delivery center director at Capgemini Infrastructure Services EE and head of regional ABSL chapter. „Almost 40% of centers operating in the Katowice area are focused on IT services. The employment structure of the companies surveyed shows that most centers’ employees are involved in IT services (39% of the total number), which includes employment in services in the field of infrastructure management (23%) and applications management (16%)” – he explained.
The main beneficiaries of the service centers analyzed are producers of industrial and consumer goods, and companies operating in the financial sector (48% of the responses). The centers operate on behalf of their clients (internal and external) in sectors such as consumer services, energy and utilities, or technology and telecommunications (38% of the responses).
Amongst the main assets of Katowice, the sector representatives point out: perfect location, highly developed transport infrastructure, skilled workforce and wide availability of modern office space. Katowice is the sixth largest market in Poland and the city with the largest number of offices in the Silesia Metropolis offering a total office space of ca. 304 200 sq. meters. Around 80% of the total supply of office space in the city has been completed for lease.
High investment potential and positive opinions of investors on the subject of cooperation between business, local government and universities, are a good forecast for the further, dynamic expansion of the sector in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis.
Download the full English version of the report „Business Services Sector in Katowice and the Silesia Metropolis” >>>