Keeping up with the changes, or Comarch User Group 2023 in the most beautiful places in Kraków
On May 9–11, the regular international conference Comarch User Group 2023 was held in Kraków. On five stages, 47 speakers addressed topics from 3 areas: telecommunications, loyalty and finance. The event was attended by nearly 500 people from 40 countries.
Leadership in turbulent times
The CUG 2023 conference was opened by the CEO of Comarch, professor Janusz Filipiak. “I want to emphasize one fact," prof. Filipiak began the session. "We live in a fast changing world. Recent years have changed our way of life for good (for example, we work remotely). Comarch managed to deliver during the pandemic. We deliver – this is very important to me personally. Currently, we are witnessing a multifaceted crisis on a global scale. Comarch does business in many countries, we operate on 6 continents, we have 15 major data centers around the world. Therefore, we have to take the overall situation into account when planning our activities. We are a global company. Today I pose the main question: do we really have a multi-faceted crisis, or has the current series of global problems become our normal life?”, pointed Janusz Filipiak.
The guest of honor at CUG 2023 and the first speaker to answer Prof. Janusz Filipiak's question was Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland (1995–2005). “The change has been a part of life since the beginning of humanity”, the former president Kwaśniewski said. “The challenge is the pace, the speed of these changes and trying to keep up with them. We have less time for decision-making”.
During his presentation "Leadership in Turbulent Times", the president made it clear that deeper integration within the European Union and NATO is a guarantee not only of Poland's political, but also economic security. He emphasized the value of the SME segment, democratic values and strong leadership, citing Comarch as an example of success. The guiding theme of change ran through all the lectures on the first day of the conference.
Bill Hanifin, CEO of Wise Marketer Group, spoke about data analytics in the context of an increasingly fast-changing society. During his presentation on cyber security trends, Adrian Korczyński, CISO at Comarch, mentioned that the projected global cost of cybercrime will reach $8 trillion in 2023. Such figures clearly illustrate the size of this market. Maciej Sałata, Consulting Director at Comarch, spoke about the fact that nowadays every company is a software company to some extent, while Maciej Tyczyński, Head of R&D at Comarch, discussed the development of AI and the use of this tool in data analysis.
Poland, Kraków and the round jubilee
On the second day of the conference, guests were able to participate in four simultaneous thematic blocks: banking, insurance, loyalty and telecommunications. The lectures were held in two locations in the historic part of Kraków: on the grounds of the Sukiennice Art Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice Cloth Hall and in the Collegium Novodvorscianum, the building that is the seat of the Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University.
“In addition to the content part, this year we made a special effort to highlight Kraków – a city that is not only the place where Comarch was founded and where our headquarters are, but also a city full of history and tradition”, says Monika Dziurdzia, coordinator of the Comarch User Group conference. During the networking part at Błonia Bistro, the guests could learn how to make pierogi and watch folk dance shows, among other things. The evening was rounded off with a gala dinner at Wierzynek Restaurant. “For some of the Comarch User Group participants, this was their first stay in Kraków, and we hope to meet again during future editions of the conference”, adds Monika Dziurdzia.
The conference opened with the screening of an occasional film presenting Comarch's 30 years of business. During the visit to Kraków, participants could also visit the Comarch Data Center and the Comarch Innovation Space.