Wall-Street - Interview with Mihai Popescu

Software Development & Consulting (SDC), one of the main IT integrators on the Romanian market, registered, at the end of 2008, a 100% turnover growth compared to the previous year, reaching $ 10 million, in accordance to previous evaluations, and estimates a 30-50 precent revenue increase“ for this year.

Mihai Popescu:''We resemble the State Budget. Until now, we have reassessed and recalculated three times the estimations for 2009 - and this is not over yet!''

''I said that 2008 would bring the company a 100% business growth compared to our registered income of $ 5 million in 2007, as well as 2007 brought a 100% increase compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, we began to experience the crisis in the last quarter of 2008 and we made additional efforts in order to reach our objectives'', Mihai Popescu, SDC general manager, declared for Wall-Street.

For 2009, the IT system integrator has reassessed and recalculated three times its budgets and estimations“ ''Right now, we resemble the State Budget. We entered a very special and interesting year, which will require us more flexibility and dynamism'', Popescu states.

Mr. Popescu predicts an increase of the market during the second quarter of 2009, based on the improvement of the general feeling.

''Currently, our calculations and estimations are based on a rather stable market in 2009. Both SDC and the mother company, Omnilogic, intend to reach a 30-50% growth  for this year'', states the representative of the software systems integration company.

Moreover, the 2008 forecasts, according to which Omnilogic will support SDC to increase its business  turnover up to $ 40-50 million in three years, are still valid. The appreciated turnover seems feasible, even under the current situation, especially because of the investments made by the company.  Furthermore, SDC intends to introduce a service which will offer customers the possibility to pay a monthly fee for the solutions implemented by SDC.

''This way, our customers wouldn't have to make major investment in this period, and would be protected against major loss, Mihai Popescu states.

How does the crisis affect the IT field?

According to the company's manager, the crisis represents an opportunity for those who are strong, for those who have a well-handled robust business, as well as for those who dispose of cash resources. Instead, those who have built their businesses on other criteria than profitability and efficiency, will face big problems.

''There are many businesses in Romania (including the IT field) which, so far, have relied on , let's say, the goodwill of some state or private customers. People who come up with innovative ideas, aiming to stand out during this period of crisis, will benefit from greatf advantages'', believes the manager of Software Development & Consulting.

How does the crisis affect the IT field? ''The crisis exerts both a positive and a negative  influence on the IT field. P From the point of view of the employer, this influence is a positive one - if six or nine months ago it was almost impossible to hire somebody, because valuable people claimed stunning wages comparable with those from the West, now the situation has changed; there are more qualified people on the labor market, and their claims are much more realistic'', Mihai Popescu considers.

Another aspect to be taken into account is that unfavorable economic events forced Romanian companies to reconsider in terms of efficiency and competitiveness the way they operate on the market, but also to be much more cautious regarding investments. Thus, many discussions SDC initiated last year with various local private companies are now being carefully analyzed. ''People think twice before spending money, and the rate of investments  will decrease''.

In the field of actual production, the situation is more complicated, and the economic crisis is stronger. That is why these companies are much more willing to reduce certain costs and to increase efficiency and productivity, therefore they began to resort to SDC services.

However, the most interesting area, with great development potential, is the public sector: ''There is a lot that can  be done here. The economic crisis practically forces the companies to reduce expenditure budgets. However, on the other hand, money coming from European funds might prove extremely useful. If the companies in the public sector manage to better organize themselves, and if the Romanian economy will be manage to access structural funds, only then would the crisis  be less devastating for the IT sector,  as well as for many other sectors''.

In Mr. Popescu's opinion, if the public administration does not help this field, the crisis will affect in a negative way the IT sector, which might not register a growth this year.

The year 2009 is dedicated to medium and large companies in manufacturing

Last year, SDC's main objectives were related both to achieving the estimations regarding the turnover, and developing the team. The company focused on human resources, invested in personnel trainings, and opened two operational centers in Alba Iulia and Arad.

For 2009, the company intends to initiate campaigns to promote solutions which address the needs of manufacturing companies taking into account that, as the SDC's manager states, this fields has an incredible potential.  ''Manufacturing companies  are neglected by the IT players on the Romanian market, because everybody focuses on the banking field, on utilities or telecommunications. However, nobody has focused so far on medium and large companies, which, could generate businesses of millions or even billions Euro''.

Moreover, this year calls for investments (supported by Omnilogic) for extending the data center situated in Otopeni, and for an increase in the number of clients. SDC wants to acquire at least ten new clients in 2009, who will employ the new business model proposed by the company. Furthermore, this year, the company will develop a disaster recovery center which will ensure data protection in case of accidents.

SDC will invest money in developing the company and its image, but also in improving the relationships with the clients. The online environment will become a very important communication channel for the company and will require larger investments than in the previous years. Regarding the promotion budget, ''we have a marketing plan and a budget similar to  the one allocated in 2008. However, like any other company in the private field, we will be cautious with all the measures and action we are going to undertake this year, and we will not operate costs without considering the incomes''.

Currently, SDC has approximately 65 employees and isn't considering any personnel reductions. ''In the worst case scenario, in 2009, we will maintain a constant number of employees, but there will also be fluctuations, due to the fact that many employees choose to leave and, in this case, we have to hire other people.

Software Development & Consulting is one of the most important IT integrators in Romania and has a vast experience in developing and implementing software solutions, in providing consultancy services for radical redesigning of organizational processes, system integration for complex projects, document management solutions, ERP, electronic archiving and CRM.

SDC shareholders package has been completely purchased by Omnilogic in 2006. Until the summer of 2007, the company was known as SoftNet Development & Consulting.