At the finalists' awards ceremony on November 24th in London, Future Processing achieved 249th place in the Deloitte Technology EMEA Fast 500. The company has seen 664% growth over the past five years, making it one of the fastest growing technology companies in Europe.

There are only 15 Polish companies in this year's Fast 500, of which Future Processing is the highest ranked software business.

David Halstead, Deloitte United Kingdom and partner in charge of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA programme, congratulated the finalists saying: "Making the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA ranking is a testament to a company's commitment to technology and innovation."

The Deloitte Fast 500 Awards recognise technology companies that have achieved the fastest rates of revenue growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa during the past five years. Now in its 11th year, the Fast 500 programme uses data from the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 local initiatives, which rank high-growth technology companies by location or specifically defined geographic area.

Jaros?aw Czaja, CEO of Future Processing said, "This was the first time that Future Processing has entered this ranking and to come within the top 250 companies across EMEA is a great result. Everyone at Future Processing works hard to make the company successful and it is fantastic to get some recognition for our efforts."

Hot on the heels of its ranking as 12th fastest growing Polish technology company, Future Processing has been included in the Deloitte index of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in EMEA. The actual ranking will be announced on November 24th in London.

The Deloitte Fast 500 Awards recognise technology companies that have achieved the fastest rates of revenue growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) during the past five years. Now in its 11th year, the Fast 500 programme is supported by the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 initiatives, which rank high-growth technology companies by location or specifically defined geographic area.

Future Processing has been ranked among the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Central Europe. The company lies in 12th place in the Polish index and 22nd in the overall Central Europe Deloitte Technology Fast 50. It is the highest ranking Polish software company in the index.

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Program in Central Europe is a prestigious annual award that ranks the fastest growing Central European technology companies, based on the percentage of revenue growth over a five-year period.

Future Processing, which entered the competition for the first time this year, experienced 664% revenue growth between 2006 and 2010. To participate in the ranking it also demonstrated that it uses and develops its own, innovative technologies and invests in research and development.

Jaroslaw Czaja, CEO of Future Processing, commented on the result, "The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 shows that we are the fastest growing software company in Poland and the 22nd fastest growing technology company in the whole of the Central European region. We have focused on delivering high-quality, technically-excellent software, that more than meets our clients' expectations, at affordable prices. This strategy has paid off as we have experienced very strong growth, despite the recession - and continue to do so. I am very proud of our achievement."

This year's edition of the Technology Fast 50 is dominated by companies from the software (22 companies) and internet sectors (21). The largest group of participants came from Poland (20 companies), followed by the Czech Republic (9) and Hungary and Romania (6 companies from each).

Poland moved up five places to number 30 in the Business Software Alliance 2011 Global IT Industry Competitiveness Index, published this week. The country is ahead of IT outsourcing giants India and China and several other Central and Eastern European countries.

According to the report that accompanies the Index, "Poland is one of the big gainers in the 2011 IT Industry Competitiveness Index, having risen five places to 30th since 2009 and broken into the top half of the table. IT infrastructure and the R and D environment are particular areas of improved performance, with noteworthy progress also evident in the legal and business environments."

The Index shows that Poland has risen ten places in the rankings for its R and D environment. In contrast to most other countries, Polish public sector spending on R and D has grown sharply while private sector R and D spending has increased too. In terms of the operating environment for businesses, the country has moved up three places. This is attributed to an improvement in regulation. In addition IT-specific patent generation has also increased; it now accounts for over 7% of total patent applications.

Commenting on the Index, Jaroslaw Czaja CEO of Future Processing said, "The results show that Poland has improved its IT competiveness in a time of economic recession - a big achievement. We remain ahead of key outsourcing competitors and are improving in areas that are key to the long term success of an offshoring destination, like R and D, intellectual property protection, infrastructure and regulation. I think our improvement in competitiveness has a lot to do with the fact that we haven't been affected by cost cutting in the same way as other countries, and have been able to use this to our advantage. The IT industry in Poland is now in a very strong position."

First published in 2007, The IT Industry Competitiveness Index gauges the IT industry environment of 66 countries by assessing the enablers of competitiveness and determining their relative importance to the IT sector's performance. The independent study is undertaken by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of the Business Software Alliance every two years.