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A global leader of the BPO sector, Capgemini, is leasing two office buildings in Krakow. The company has decided to locate in one of the most important university cities.
Krakow has been ranked first among emerging locations (Top 10 Emerging Outsourcing Cities) by Global Services for 2010. It is the only Eastern European city among the top 20 locations with the greatest development potential for BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) companies. Apart from Krakow, the TOP 100 Outsourcing Cities also include Warsaw (ranked 38th) and Wrocław (84th). One of the companies with a site in Krakow is Capgemini, the leader of the outsourcing and consulting market, operating on our market since 1996.
Capgeminin has 2 offices in Krakow, employing over 2 thousand people. It has leased the Quattro Business Park and a part of the Rondo Business Park from the Buma Group: some 20,000 sq m in total. Krakow’s universities and colleges with 185,000 students are of major importance for the company’s Eastern European management. Technical universities like the AGH University of Science and Technology and the Krakow University of Technology (Politechnika Krakowska) open commissioned fields of studies at which future staff are trained. Better selection of personnel is also supported by the growth of the IT sector. In addition, in Krakow it is easy to find employees speaking unusual foreign languages. “The second important aspect is the municipal infrastructure, i.e. the satisfactory public transport network and the airport” – assesses Katarzyna Peto-Ziemkiewicz, office manager for Eastern Europe at Capgemini.
Capgemini’s history dates back to 1967. During more than 40 years of operations in international markets it has grown into one of the leaders of the BPO sector. Capgemini provides integrated consulting, technology and outsourced services. Its further growth is spurred by the development its proprietary concept of Rightshore®. It means that orders of one customer are fulfilled in parallel from several locations in the world, using the advantage over local competitors, which allows cost savings of up to 40 per cent.
In Europe, Capgemini has locations inter alia in London, Paris, Helsinki, Prague, Bratislava and Berlin. In Central Europe, it employs almost 8,000 staff in Central Europe and has a turnover of over € 651 million. Globally, the staff number some 115,000 at over 300 sites in 40 countries. Last year, the company’s global turnover exceeded € 8,7 billion (as of 31 Dec. 2010).
In Poland, in addition to Krakow, Capgemini also has offices in Warsaw, Wrocław and Katowice, and employs over 4,000 staff. The company launched operations in our market in 1996, by taking over Bossard, a consultancy. Its business grew in 2000, as a result of combining experience with Ernst & Young. Currently, it is active in many economic sectors, including: financial services, telecommunications or the public sector. Capgemini management pays particular attention to developing the staff (awards in the Poland-wide Career with Employer ranking, a Top Employers Poland 2010 certificate), professional integrity (participates in the UN Global Compact initiative since 2004 by following the principles of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development) and the environment (since 2007, member of the Caring for Climate Program aimed at reducing CO2 emissions).
The presence of large BPO companies like Capgemini, Motorola, IBM or Google in the Krakow market contributes to other investors deciding to set up their sites here. What is important, property tax rates are lower in Krakow than in Warsaw. The constant development of municipal infrastructure and the construction of subsequent office buildings contribute to the image of a business-friendly city. “The selection of Krakow was mainly due to the availability of staff” – says Katarzyna Peto-Ziemkiewicz. Capgemini decided to open its largest offices here because apart from the advantages common to other cities, Krakow is distinguished by its unique cultural, entertainment and academic offerings.
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