Q&A Tomek Bochenek, vice president of the sales, marketing and services group, Microsoft (CEE)

1. How can Microsoft help its customers to save money?
Microsoft understands how tough the current economic environment is for our customers. How to save money is one of the key questions that our customers are asking during this difficult economic period. There is an increased interest today in all technologies which can provide an immediate solution to decreasing costs and increasing efficiency. One of the key areas where Microsoft can help customers to save money is Unified Communications, especially in organizations where there is a large volume of travel. Unified communications is a very attractive technology for businesses, even in smaller markets. Another key area where technology can play a key role is increasing the productivity of the overall infrastructure.

2. Do you think the Central and Eastern European region faces any particular difficulties during this downturn?
A lot of people look at the CEE and see it as a homogenous region, which is not true; in fact the CEE region is incredibly diverse. We need to look at all of the individual countries, some are part of the European Union, whilst others are not and this means they will inevitably face different challenges. In general, the biggest issue facing countries in the region is a depreciation of local currency, but overall the CEE region has been suffering the same effects of the economic downturn as the rest of the world.

3. Would you agree the current economic climate offers business a unique opportunity to create a stronger business model?
As a technology partner to businesses and governments worldwide, our prerogative is to help businesses find the right balance between cutting costs and increasing efficiency, as well as fostering innovation and growth. Most companies have two goals in the current climate, growing their market share and ensuring they have an adequate cash flow, and anything that can contribute to helping companies realize both of these goals are top of mind for businesses around the world and specifically in the CEE region. Technology can help in many ways - it’s about helping customers to understand better what they can do with their existing infrastructure.

4. How will companies have to adapt in order to survive the current crisis?
Across the CEE region we are seeing that the economic crisis is accelerating trends, so things that might normally happen on a longer timescale are forging ahead rapidly. CEE is rapidly catching up with some of the most technologically developed markets. One of the key industries we have seen growing rapidly has been local manufacturing - if you compared the rate of growth of this industry to its WE counterparts, what CEE has achieved in 6 months, would probably have taken WE 6 years.

Another element which businesses have to adapt to is market consolidation, everyone is facing a really tough time, many of Microsoft’s customers and partners are saying it’s incredibly difficult to survive without consolidating. IT can play a huge role in helping companies who are facing restructuring of any kind. Software plus Services can also play a key role in helping companies adapt.

5. Is there anything the East can learn from the West with regards to technology adoption?
Both parties can definitely learn from each other. The way I see it the CEE countries are more entrepreneurial, so in a lot of cases we will see faster adoption of technologies in this region. As an organisation we are less mature in CEE, so we certainly look to WE to guide us as we grow in region and how to effectively manage a matured market.

6. How can Microsoft help customers in the CEE?
The biggest ask from customers right now is to help them save costs. Microsoft provides software tools that today are helping businesses to: 1) reduce energy use through power management and virtualization software; 2)manage and analyze operational or environmental footprints; and 3) leverage software to rethink standard practices for increased productivity, reducing travel, and driving towards a paperless office. Microsoft is helping CIOs deliver more business value from IT through meeting corporate environmental governance and saving money.