Service Provider Information Technology, or SPIT, is Light Reading's term for the evolving set of non-traditional telecom (and data networking) technologies that allow for a greater degree of flexibility in the creation, management, delivery, and monetization of new-generation communications services.Learn More
SPIT Infographic
What exactly is Service Provider IT and how does it relate to the communications ecosystem? Here's a graphic that'll give you a snapshot of what we're talking about and appeal to your inherent aesthetic sensibilities
SPIT Manifesto
What is SPIT, why is it 'hot stuff' and how does it relate to the major challenges facing communications service providers today? The updated SPIT Manifesto answers these questions and achieves the near impossible task of giving a slime green splat a happy home.Learn More
SPIT Video
For operators looking to develop, deliver and monetize new services, run their companies more efficiently and provide an overall better experience for their customers, Service Provider IT, or SPIT, is just as important as the network.Learn More
Anyone who attended this year's Management World show in Dublin and walked around the show floor couldn't have failed to notice the Comarch SA stand, so Orange was it.
So Orange, in fact, that we gave it an award…
But what's the story behind the Orange curtain?
Well, Comarch is a Polish company that develops and supplies Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) products and services to various vertical sectors, including telecom as well as finance and government. You could, if you wanted, say it's a SPIT and Polish company. But you probably don't want to.
It's been in the telecom software and IT services market for almost 20 years and still does most of its business in its domestic market, though it is also very active in Russia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with its range of OSS and BSS solutions (service assurance, fulfillment, revenue management and so on -- see Comarch Updates BSS/CRM Suite and Comarch Wins MTS Russia Deal.)
So how's it doing now? In 2011 it generated total revenues of 784.6 million Polish zlotych (US$228 million), of which PLN205 million ($59.5 million) came from its telecom, media and IT customers. In 2011 it generated net profits of PLN37.5 million ($10.9 million).
But it knows it could do better and so is looking for different ways to help its communications service provider (CSP) customers become more efficient. For example, it recently commissioned a white paper that focused on whether OSS and BSS systems could be shared by the consumer and business services divisions of CSPs.
So here's a bit more about Comarch, though we were unable to tease out any more information about CEO Prof. Janusz Filipiak's exact movie preferences, other than that he prefers thrillers. So we'd like to suggest that he would/does probably enjoy the likes of Midnight Run and All the President's Men, be a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and, because he spent some time in Paris during the 1980s, he might just have a certain regard for Bob Swaim's 1982 French crime classic La Balance. You just can't beat a movie about les flics…
Table 1: Comarch Cheat Sheet
Company name
Comarch SA
Location
Krakow, Poland (headquarters); 39 subsidiaries in 18 countries: Poland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Albania, Belgium, Finland, France, Luxemburg, Russia, UK, Ukraine, Canada, Panama, U.S., Vietnam, China, United Arab Emirates
Founded
1993
Key executives
Prof. Janusz Filipiak, Founder, CEO; Piotr Piątosa, Vice President, Director of Telecommunications Business Unit; Paweł Prokop, Vice President, Director of the Public Administration and Utilities Business Unit; Zbigniew Rymarczyk, Vice President, Director of the ERP Business Unit; Piotr Reichert, Vice President, Director of The Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets Business Units; Marcin Warwas, Vice President, Director of the Services Business Unit; Konrad Tarański Vice President, CFO
Headcount (number of staff)
3,500
Company focus/strategy
Comarch is a software house and IT services company that specializes in IT solutions for the Telecommunications and Financial Services industries, Government, Large Enterprise, and Small and Medium Business. Our products and solutions cover billing, network management, ERP systems, IT security, CRM and loyalty management, EDI, sales support, electronic communication and business intelligence.
Funding
The company is currently valued 544 million Polish zlotych ($158 million) on the Warsaw stock exchange. The Filipiak family keeps 43.5 percent of shares and 69 percent of the vote at the General Shareholders Assembly, which ensures the full control of the capital group strategy and operations.
Revenues
PLN784.6 million ($228 million) in 2011
Profitability
Net income of PLN37.5 million ($10.9 million) in 2011.
Headline customers/key accounts
T-Mobile Austria, Telekom Deutschland, E Plus Gruppe, KPN, Telefonica O2 Germany, Vodafone D2 Germany, Allianz, Auchan, BP, Carlsberg, Coca Cola, CitiBank, Colgate Palmolive, and other major companies.
Main competitors
Amdocs, IBM, Oracle
Company motto
To deliver innovative IT solutions to key sectors of the economy.
CEO's favorite movies
Thrillers
— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading
I guess the main question about Comarch is whether it can have a greater impact on the global market without getting involved in some industry consolidation/M&A activity.
It cites Amdocs, IBM and Oracle as its main competitors -- that's a tough set to be battling against...
The blogs and comments are the opinions only of the writers and do not reflect the views of Light Reading. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
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