EU funds and public projects to save local IT in 2009

Furthermore, market players will have to face a significant slowdown of growth in all sectors in a year marred by the financial crisis.

“If we are talking about the software market, this will shrink in 2009, and pressure will be felt on prices, while many IT&C companies will go bankrupt,” according to the General Manager of SAP Romania software producer, Valentin Tomsa. He added that the public sector will not insure all the contracts necessary to sustain the market.

The software market growth is set to temper to less than 10 percent, while the profit margin will stagnate, and salary hikes will not exceed 5 percent.

“Companies will have to adjust to possible market shrinkage in 2009. Government investments in technology are expected to increase in all sectors - education, health, environment, finance, judiciary - and accessing EU structural funds could compensate for current financial pressures,” according to Scop Computers IT distributor CEO, Horia Chitu.

As opposed to this year, when the M&A market was blocked, many companies with liquidities will try to develop through takeovers, to make up for the market slowdown. “The merger and acquisitions process will certainly be extremely dynamic in 2009,” said the General Manager of Tornado Sistems IT distributor, John Cusa.