What Happens When a Pole Tries to Use a Computer?

He may just develop one of the largest IT industries in Europe.

Thanks to low labor costs and the liberalization of its economy, Poland is quickly becoming the leading place to outsource IT jobs in Europe. Acting as a sort of India of the West, Telegraph.co.uk reports, "labour costs in Poland are just 18pc of the European Union average." This allows for Polish IT firms to charge significantly less than their more developed counterparts, despite being just as educated and qualified.

Additionally, unlike American firms outsourcing customer service calls to Indian call centers, Polish IT workers can physically travel to the source of the problem. Membership in the European Union has dramatically lowered transportation costs for going across borders, enabling Poles to easily work in Germany for far less than an equivalent German worker. For this reason, "80pc of German companies, for example, are thinking of increasing their outsourcing to central Europe."

Poland has also benefited from a massive amounts of foreign investment into it's technology sectors, setting up the infrastructure to be competitive in the European market. According to the CIA World Factbook, "Inflows of direct foreign investment exceeded $10 billion in 2006 alone - and more than $100 billion since 1990 - with major investments being announced by foreign firms in computer, consumer electronics, and automobile component production."

Long the butt of jokes about their intelligence, it appears that the Polish will have the last laugh.

Sources:
Telegraph.co.uk
CIA World Factbook