PRESS  

 

 Athens 16/07/01
 

"Strategic's IT Observatory 2001":
The most complete and reliable guide for the Greek and Cypriot IT Market, is now available

Athens, 16 July 2001 - The Greek IT market reached a size of 580 billion GRD in 2000 presenting an increase of 36% compared to 1999. This progress is expected to continue in the next two years, but with a lower pace. In 2000, many IT companies unified their forces gaining a critical mass necessary to compete in the European market. The total revenues of the five largest Greek IT companies came up to 300 billion GRD in 2000. In Cyprus, despite the downturn of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, the IT market increased by 13%, compared to 1999, and reached 146 million Euros. These findings, together with many analyses and useful information about the IT markets and companies of Greece and Cyprus are included in the annual publication "Strategic's ÉÔ Observatory 2001 - Greece & Cyprus", edited and published by Strategic International/ K.Kataras S.A., one of the leading strategy consulting firms for the Digital Economy.

 

Graph 1
Growth rate of the Greek IT Market, 1996-2002

 
Source: Strategic International/K. Kataras S.A.
 
Greece has an important role in the IT sector of SE Europe
Greece is a major player in the IT scene of SE Europe, with its IT market being the third largest after Israel and Turkey. The IT spending per capita was 141 Euro in 2000 and the PC penetration was 9.7 per 100 inhabitants, bringing Greece to the fourth place after Israel, Slovenia and Cyprus. The IT services, especially support and systems integration, had a substantial contribution to the market development, as opposed to a conservative increase of the PC manufacturing sector. The year 2000 was marked by many mergers and acquisitions, which formed companies big enough to acquire sizeable IT projects, mainly from public organizations and banks. The reinforcement of the role of Greece in SE Europe was confirmed by the significant expansion of many companies beyond the Greek borders, especially to the Balkans, Turkey and Cyprus. The major PC manufacturing companies occupy, once more, the first three places at the ranking list of the 25 largest Greek IT companies in 2000, as compiled by Strategic International S.A.
 

Table 1 - The largest Greek IT Corporations - 2000
Strategic's Top 25 IT List - Greece

 
Source: Strategic International/K. Kataras S.A., Copyright 2001
 
Notes:

1

According to Strategic International S.A. definition, in order companies to be included in the above list must meet all the following criteria: a) at least 50% of their revenues to come from pure IT activities, b) should operate in the computers hardware or computer software and services sector, c) should have a reasonable added value on IT in their operations and finally d) should have a minimum of R&D activity and investment, locally or internationally.

2

The complete ranking lists with the 25 largest Greek and the 15 largest Cypriot IT companies are included in the Observatory.

A reliable and complete observatory of the IT market by Strategic International S.A.
Acquiring, processing, and successfully utilizing the right piece of information to gain competitive advantage in the Digital Economy is a key issue and, maybe, determinant for success or failure. The IT sector is flourishing and the IT market landscape of Greece and Cyprus is constantly changing. There is, therefore, an increasing need for a quantitative and qualitative analysis of this market, an intuitive presentation of the findings, and a thorough discussion of the future trends. This need is covered for the IT markets of Greece and Cyprus by the "Strategic's IT Observatory 2001" including essential information on the IT markets of SE Europe and the European Union.

"Strategic's ÉÔ Observatory 2001" is the most accurate and reliable annual observatory of the Greek and Cypriot IT sector and provides insight articles by strategic bodies, description of the IT industry, and statistical indicators about the information technology, the companies and the users. It also includes presentations of the IT companies active in Greece and Cyprus, their opinions about the present and the past, CVs of executives, research results and much more. Starting this year, the Strategic's Observatory is written in English in accordance to the international character of the IT market in SE Europe and it will be also published on a CD-ROM version. This edition and the other two editions of Strategic International /K.Kataras SA ("Telecoms Observatory 2001" and "Internet Observatory 2001") are a unique tool in the hands of every decision maker, entrepreneur, politician, journalist, analyst, consultant, decision-maker and even user of the Digital Economy products. "It's a great pleasure for us to publish such a reliable observatory, which in its seventh year of publication, is a unique point of reference for the Greek and Cypriot IT markets", pointed out Mr Kostas Kataras, CEO of the company.

Information
Those who want to obtain the Observatory can order it on-line at the site http://www.strategic.gr or by contacting Strategic International (Issiodou 8, 106 74 Athens, e-mail: stratgc@otenet.gr,
Ôel: + 30 1 72 29 571, Fax: + 30 1 72 24 531)

About Strategic International SA
Strategic International SA (www.strategic.gr) is a Strategy Consulting firm specializing in Telecommunications, Information Technologies, New Media and the Digital Economy. The company has deep knowledge in the field, based on Market Research, Creative Analyses, International Customers and a strong network of partners in Europe. Main services include: Consulting, Market Research, e-business, Publications and Events.