The panel discussion was chaired by the President of PIIT, Wacław Iszkowski. Among the panel members there were: profesor Sławomir Kisieliński, editor of the "Computerworld" monthly; Krzysztof Diks, head of the Institute of Mathematics at the University of Warsaw; Robert Seges, head of the PAIiIZ Service Division and Janusz Gacałek, President of the Wielkopolska IT Caluster.

Mr Kisieliński presented the latest TOP200 ranking prepared by the "Computerworld" monthly. The ranking presents data concerning IT and telecommunication companies active in Poland in 2008. Although the value of the Polish IT market may not be impressive, last year its value reached 27.4 mld PLN, it is worth emphasizing that there are more and more Polish companies on the market which successfully perform in Poland and abroad. The data reveals also that the market continues to be determined by computer hardware (59%). Services comprise 28% of the market and software only 13%.

The biggest investment projects in the sector tend to be located in the region of Mazowsze - "Computerworld" estimates the region hosts over 47% of the sector's capital. Mazowsze is followed by: Małopolska, Dolny Śląsk, Wielkopolska and Śląsk. Entrepreneurs surveyed by the monthly expect the current year will not be easy for the sector. While 15% of the companies expect improvement in economic trends, 25% present a moderate optimism and estimate financial figures to stay similar to the figures recorded last year.

Considerable human resources available in Poland constitute a vital value which the country may offer to investors. Professor Diks emphasized that the last 20 years saw 13 thousand Polish students participate in the International Olympiad in Informatics, who won 24 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze medals. - It is not true that the majority of graduates of IT-connected faculties leave the country - claims professor Diks. - Every gifted graduate interested in pursuing academic career is eagerly admitted by Polish universities.

According to Robert Seges, Poland stands a good chance to successfully compete even with big countries savvy at attracting foreign investment from the IT sector. - Poland will not compete with India in terms of labour costs but will rather offer realization of more ambitious and more technologically advanced projects. In India, where companies tend to hire as many as 20 thousand employers a year, highly-qualified staff becomes a rarity. Also the Indian educational programmes realized in the fastest possible time influence the quality of work - claimed Mr Seges. Moreover, not all potential investors are aware of the financial subsidies they may apply for. The subsidies enable them to a 60% refund of incurred outlays.