Asseco Slovakia, Asseco Czech Republic, LCS International and DATALOCK will enter a new era of their business on the Central European IT market. Today, two strong business groups will come into being in their place with an unprecedentedly broad product and service portfolio – Asseco Central Europe and Asseco Solutions. With this the next phase of the consolidation process culminates within the ASSECO group, which started in February this year.

These two business groups cover a whole range of products and services, from ERP systems, to specialized IS for public administration and commercial institutions, to geographical and operational-technical systems. The umbrella company will be Asseco Central Europe (Asseco CE), a result of an integration of Asseco Slovakia and Asseco Czech Republic. Both companies supply in particular complex IT projects for public administration authorities or for large commercial entities. Their subsidiaries, the Slovak DATALOCK and the Czech LCS International, have undergone the same process. They are active in development, implementation and support of corporate information systems (ERP). From today they will use the name Asseco Solutions.

Jozef Klein, President of Asseco CE and also CEO of Asseco Slovakia, said about the start of both groups: “The integration project is another natural step towards strengthening the position of the group in the European IT market. We aim to become one of the market leaders in this business. At the same time, it is a logical conclusion of the consolidation development in the ASSECO group so far, and it mirrors the current trends in the global IT markets.”

Asseco CE is a pilot project within the ASSECO group, the sixth largest IT player in Europe. Its objective is to create a strong regional SW centre for Central Europe in the area of systems integration, IT services and products with high added value for all market segments. It aims to increase its sales potential, its competitiveness, and its market share in Central Europe, particularly through joint strategies for the development of new solutions, knowledge sharing, and expanding the variety it can offer its customers. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Asseco CE will focus on large business opportunities in the commercial and public sectors. Both companies comprising Asseco CE will retain their legal identity (i.e. Asseco Czech Republic, a.s. and Asseco Slovakia, a.s.), however they will have one common organizational structure, meaning a single management, HR, IT, a single Finance Department and a single Sales & Marketing Department. From 1 January 2010 they will also have a joint budget. In contrast, LCS International and DATALOCK are being renamed Asseco Solutions with registration in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Jan Prerovsky, Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Asseco CE as well as CEO of Asseco Czech Republic, commented on what this change will bring the customer: “First of all they will be able to use proven Slovak solutions in the Czech Republic, and vice versa, Czech solutions in Slovakia (e.g. Slovak banking systems, Czech digital telematics). Thanks to sharing this know-how, the variety will be expanded, and the level of products and services will increase. The new connection will bring customers primarily greater flexibility in reacting to their demands in both countries.”