An Interview with the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland

Intego Group, has proudly been a member of the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in Ukraine for 15 years. In 2020, with the establishment of our offices in Poland, we recognized the significance of expanding our horizons and decided to embark on a new journey by joining the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland (AmCham). As our presence in Poland continues to flourish, becoming part of AmCham’s international business community seemed like a natural step forward.

AmCham serves as an invaluable platform for international investors, offering them a dedicated space to foster dialogue, identify common interests, and share valuable insights pertaining to their economic activities in Poland. It is within this thriving ecosystem that Intego Group has found a compelling opportunity to contribute and thrive.

Recently, our CEO, Sergey Glushakov, had the privilege of being interviewed by Tomasz Ćwiok, Editor of AmCham.pl Quarterly. The interview provides insight to our range of services and the industries we serve. We discuss the milestones of our international development, competitive advantages, and our commitment to employee growth and work-life balance, the driving factors behind the IT business services market in Poland and Intego Group’s strategic plans for 2023 and beyond.

What can you tell us about the range of services Intego Group offers and to what industries?

Since 2007, our company has been catering to diverse industries, such as Oil and Gas, Hospitality, Retail, Transportation and Logistics, and more. Our primary focus for growth has been driven by the rapid pace of technology disruptions, which require our clients to adopt new skill sets and drive innovation to take their routine operations to the next level. Our team has developed software products and IT solutions for a diverse range of clients including large Fortune 500 enterprises, mid-stage startups, not-for-profit organizations, and others. Our IT professionals have been involved in a wide range of projects, spanning from large-scale consumer products and enterprise-level applications to highly specialized and niche-oriented R&D solutions. More than a decade ago, we ventured into the field of clinical research and data science with Intego Clinical, and this decision has transformed our company. Ever-increasing regulations around drug development, patient safety, and advances in science, along with consumer demand, have driven a steady increase in the number of clinical trials every year. Investments in therapeutic areas, such as oncology, rare diseases, and virology, are higher than ever, and the COVID pandemic amplified that further, setting new precedents for the speed of getting treatment to patients. As a result, there is a significant amount of clinical data to be analyzed, presented, and approved by regulatory authorities such as the Federal Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency in Japan, to enter the market. The shortage of data science professionals is a global challenge faced by the drug-development industry and is expected to persist for years to come.

The company has been in business for 15 years. What were the milestones in its development internationally?

Our company currently operates in three regions, namely the United States, Ukraine, and Poland, and we are soon to launch a new location in the LATAM region. Our physical locations have always been associated with the strategy of building partnerships with local universities. We have been collaborating for years with Karazin University in Ukraine, specifically with its School of Mathematics and Information Technologies, considered one of the strongest schools in Eastern Europe. In the United States, we have employed a similar strategy by working with the Department of Statistics and Data Science at the University of Central Florida. Now, we are exploring academic and research partnerships in Warsaw.

What is the company’s competitive advantage over other IT consulting firms that work in similar fields?

Three key areas set us apart from our competitors. The first is the exceptional quality of services we offer our clients. More than 65 percent of our staff have graduated from various training programs, which we provide either internally or in partnership with local universities. This gives us a unique advantage to tailor our programs to meet the industry’s needs at an early stage of professional development. By continually auditing our curriculums to include not only technical knowledge but also the development of soft skills, we ensure our professionals stay ahead of what the industry demands. Secondly, we have one of the highest retention rates in the industry, exceeding 90 percent. This is an exceptional achievement that sets us apart from other companies, and it is critical for our clients who prefer collaborating with the same team over an extended period. I believe that the reason for this high retention rate is our commitment to investing in young talent and nurturing them from the ground up. We ensure that our employees are motivated to grow professionally over the years within the Intego ecosystem. Many of them are grateful to the company for providing them with an opportunity to enter the industry and aspire to remain with us and advance in their careers. The third reason for our clients to establish long-term relationships with us is our cost-effectiveness. The regions in which we operate provide significant cost advantages. Eastern Europe, Central Florida, and the LATAM regions are cost-effective when compared to other regions in Europe and North America. Additionally, our blended team approach enables us to build teams distributed across our various geographic locations, allowing us to accommodate time zone differences and incorporate team members with different seniority levels. All of these factors contribute to increased productivity and cost-effectiveness.

With the steep demand for IT experts, finding the right talent to work is becoming increasingly difficult. What can you offer your employees who want to grow internally at your company?

At Intego Group, we not only offer highly competitive compensation and social benefits packages across all our locations, but we also prioritize the option for internal growth and transfer. Our IT professionals have the flexibility to choose between various projects and areas, including different therapeutic areas in life science portfolios and various IT solutions our software engineers are involved in. We have established competency matrices for different seniority levels in many professional areas like biostatistics and clinical data management, and we have a clear, transparent process for career advancement.

How about work-life balance, flexibility, international teamwork?

At the heart of our business growth is our commitment to providing our people with a range of options. Our professionals have the flexibility to switch between different clients and projects, allowing them to continually expand their skill sets and knowledge. For instance, our large pharmaceutical clients typically have slower paced project work, with clinical studies that are long-term and predictable. However, for those seeking more challenging opportunities, we offer the chance to work with our Clinical Research Organization clients. These projects often involve shorter timelines, a variety of therapeutic areas, and the chance to expand their expertise at a faster pace. Regardless of their preferences, we ensure that our professionals have access to a diverse portfolio of clients and projects, which in turn drives our business forward. Collaboration and teamwork are fundamental elements of our company’s DNA. We strive to bring together professionals from various geographic regions and levels of expertise, leveraging the ‘right person-right work’ approach to ensure that senior team members are appropriately challenged while more junior members gain direct experience handling less critical assignments. Additionally, we promote cross-office collaboration to ensure that our high standards for quality, communication, and team collaboration are maintained regardless of where our professionals are located. This approach allows us to build and maintain strong, cohesive teams that deliver outstanding results for our clients while also fostering professional growth and development for our team members.

What is driving the IT business services market in Poland?

The IT market in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, has experienced a remarkable surge in recent years. This growth can be attributed to various factors, including the exceptional quality of university graduates, the strong work ethic ingrained in the culture of professionals, excellent communication and team collaboration skills, proximity to key clients in Western Europe, the UK, and North America, and cost-effectiveness of doing business. Additionally, the transparency of the business environment in the region has been a significant driving force behind multinational companies investing in Eastern Europe. Our decision to establish our European Union headquarters in Warsaw was made the year before the global COVID-19 pandemic struck. This strategic move was carefully planned to enable us to operate comfortably across all EU countries, leveraging the city’s excellent infrastructure and central location. Furthermore, we recognized the region’s potential in terms of the large pool of highly skilled software engineers, data scientists, and other IT specialists available in the area. Since setting up our operations in Warsaw, we have experienced remarkable growth, exceeding our expectations. The city has proven to be an excellent choice for our business, providing us with the necessary tools to thrive and expand our operations across the EU. Our commitment to the region is an integral part of our strategy in Eastern Europe, and we intend to continue expanding our presence in the area.

How important is Poland for the company from the perspective of strategic business growth?

Given that our business primarily serves life science companies, Poland, and more specifically, Warsaw, is a highly desirable location for us. The region is home to numerous well-established pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as contract research organizations and other life science firms. This concentration of industry players makes Warsaw a unique destination for our business, and we have a long-term strategy centered around our office in the city. The clinical research market is experiencing rapid growth, with a high demand for skilled data science professionals. Our clients seek long-term partnerships with companies that have a strong presence in regions with a large pool of professionals, transparent business environments, ease of travel, cultural compatibility, and effective communication. With our two other offices in Ukraine, located in Kyiv and Kharkiv, and our expanding operations in Warsaw, our goal is to become one of the largest players in Eastern Europe. We are confident that our strategic presence in these locations, coupled with our commitment to excellence and client satisfaction, will enable us to achieve our objectives and deliver outstanding results for our clients.

What are the company’s plans for 2023 and beyond in Poland?

At our company, investing in young and talented professionals has always been our primary source of investment. This approach has proven successful in Ukraine and the United States, and we remain committed to this strategy in those regions. As we continue to grow in Warsaw, we aim to establish a partnership with a local university to sponsor training programs for graduate students. Specifically, we plan to target master’s degree graduates with backgrounds in mathematics and statistics who are interested in pursuing careers in clinical data science within the life science industry. We are currently in communication with several universities in Warsaw and are actively pursuing opportunities to partner with them. This growth strategy has been successful for us in other parts of the world, and we believe it will be equally effective in Warsaw. By investing in young talent and providing them with the tools and support they need to succeed, we are confident that we can continue to deliver outstanding results for our clients and build a thriving business in Warsaw and beyond.

To read the full AmCham.pl Quarterly, click here