In year 2006. HP realized a 60 million dollars turnover, which is only an additional proof that IT technologies have become an integral part of the trade of many companies

Our entry on the Serbian market was gradual. We overcame an important barrier which existed at the beginning of our doing business, when we were perceived only as a hardware company producing printers and personal computers. We will soon mark the fifth anniversary of doing business in these surroundings and today we can say with certainty that we have the rating of one of the biggest and most influential IT companies, which achieves good results in all the segments of production and services, says Slobodan Radić, general manager of Hewlett Packard company in Serbia, for Magazin Biznis.

In the first quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year HP achieved the best results in the field of servers, storage devices and maintenance services, owing to the realization of three big projects in state administration and economy, whose value is 20 million euros. From the first day they did not renounce the application of the same standards of doing business which the 170 countries in which HP does business observe.

In Serbia in 2006. you realized the profit of around 60 million dollars. Is that, according to you, a small or a satisfying part of doing business in Serbia?

– We are very satisfied with the realized turnover, considering the growth we have achieved in all segments of doing business. An even paced growth of 72 percent has been realized (it is highest with “notebook” computers), then in the segment of printers a 58 growth has been recorded, whereas in the field of servers and storage devices, software and services for business users the best result has been achieved primarily due to the realization of three big projects in the economy and government administration. Similar results are achieved by HP in other countries as well, but in Serbia we have made big progress. Now it is clearer to many that we do not produce and sell only computers and printers but also offer the most up-to-date software, services and training that in the field of IT technologies exist at the moment.

Dependence on IT

Speaking of the importance of IT technologies in modern doing business, Slobodan Radić cites the results of international research according to which around 80 percent of all businesses done in the world – depends on the use of IT technologies. Mister Radić says he has tried to discover which 20 percent of business deals do not depend on IT technologies, but that it is very difficult for him to get at an answer, because in modern society it is virtually impossible to function without them. 

HP Company arranged the three big business deals in Serbia, with Telekom (telecommunications company), with the Ministry of Finance and one more big company. What are the expectations from these businesses?

– In 2006. HP got three big businesses. The first one is the implementation of HP’s software for management and control of IT infrastructure and the business processes in Telekom. The second one is the pilot installation of SAP’s solution in a big state-owned company and the third big project is for the Ministry of Finance- for updating and functioning of the budget of the Republic of Serbia. In Telekom we perform the control of managing IT infrastructure and business processes, within which we apply the HP package which another 99 biggest companies in the world use. By these projects in the economy and government administration we enable the companies to do business continuously and to control business management processes.

We achieve that by the application of the projection of the entire system, by providing hardware, software, by integrating all processes into a whole, but also by training people for the use and maintenance of the system. These projects are a sign of ripening of the whole society and domestic economy, which increasingly required IT technologies in order to function. People managing companies have the need to perfect doing business and be more competitive, to have new products and be faster in their services.

What is the position of HP on the world market, among the IT technology producers?

– The latest results of doing business show that when it comes to turnover HP is the first company in the world, and according to value the eleventh. In the first quarter of 2007. HP realized a 24.5 billion dollars’ revenue, and it employs around 156,000 people in 170 countries. HP has realized a 10.7 billion dollar profit on the world market and that is the first time that an IT company has achieved that sort of result. Such a financial strength is also binding, so HP is in the position to design the technological business future of the companies on the market, that is, it can influence the course of contemporary doing business on the entire planet in many ways: from the technological innovations which are developed in our laboratories, to the concept of how IT technologies will be applied, and to data storage, systems networking, resources deployment in certain parts of organization. IT technologies are no longer a separate, part of a company doing business, but an integral part of work which completely pervades all the systems of a process.

On the actual example of inner functioning of HP it can be seen that, if the functioning of IT technologies stopped, we could not produce a single piece of a product, take orders, complete yearly reports and absolutely no part of doing business could continue functioning.

What is your estimation of the business surrounding for HP in Serbia?

– A more dynamic business surrounding is needed and more companies which have a real business need for IT technologies. In fact, it is necessary that companies keep striving to advance and perfect their trade, because only in that case can HP show the real value of its products and services. For successful doing business it is not sufficient only to buy computers, you should know how to apply and use them as well, that is, you should have a need for them.

The management of every company should be interested in IT doing business, but also that the real owners of the company are known, that the survival of the management of the company depends on the results achieved in business and not of some other parameters.

What are the plans for the future of HP Company in Serbia in the field of sale of new products and employing workers?

– Our desire is that the demands of the market are such that we can apply here a complete portfolio of services and products that we apply in Europe. We expect that the need for servers and storage devices accompanied by the peripheral devices- printers PCs will intensify. Everywhere in the world the need for digital record preservation is on the increase and our society is slowly adjusting to that. We expect a continuation of the trend of the growth of services, integration consulting and maintenance precisely in that area and we will employ the greatest number of workers precisely in that field in future. In USA, for example, around 80 percent of all employees are precisely in the services. In Serbia out of 60 million dollars of realized profits, a third, that is 20 million we made precisely in that segment of doing business. Profits made on hardware are small, and on servicing considerably higher. I think that the future doing business of the whole world will focus on that field.

Is on the yearly assemblies of HP in the world, in a segment in reports the performance of Serbia mentioned? How does HP do business in our country compared to the countries in the surrounding?

– The performance of Serbia is frequently mentioned on the regional level, and the whole work is followed on the daily and weekly basis. We are like “a small babushka which is part of a big babushka” in the region, and then that “babushka” is mentioned in the context of “a bigger babushka” which is a constituent part of an even bigger “babushka”. When managing a company each its segment is observed. In Serbia improvements are evident is all segments of doing business, but others are also progressing fast. In order to reach them we should improve the general business climate, so that the firms and companies who need IT for the achievement of good results come here.

Mirjana Vujadinović