Asseco wins the "Golden Herold" prize during the XXVI Teleinformatyka Forum
Asseco was awarded the "Golden Herold" title by the Program Council of the Teleinformatyka Forum for achievements in building a modern state based on the widespread use of information and communication technologies. The prize was presented during the XXVI Teleinformatyka Forum, which was held under the motto "State information system in the face of global digital transformation". One of the speakers of the meeting was Arkadiusz Wójcik, Director of the Social Security Division of Asseco Poland, who presented the great importance of IT for the state during the crisis, based on the example of activities in the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).
In March, when the pandemic caused the freezing of the economy, the government launched a package of solutions to protect those most affected by the downturn. As a result of the announcement of successive legal acts of the so-called "Anti-Crisis Shields", ZUS had to deal with many new obligations aimed at handling applications concerning, among others, exemption from paying contributions, “waiting time” benefits or the so-called solidarity allowance.
Subsequent acts meant that ZUS had to perform additional duties almost overnight after their publication. Out of the five "Shield" acts and the act on the Polish Tourist Voucher, three had one-day vacatio legis, and the remaining three were in force from the date of publication.
Additional tasks of ZUS related to counteracting COVID-19 were mainly related to handling new applications. For each type of application it was necessary to design, implement and launch appropriate business processes. The scale of the project, limited number of people to handle the documents and critical time constraints meant that the project had to assume the maximum automation of all new processes - summarized Arkadiusz Wójcik in his presentation entitled "The importance of IT for a state during the crisis. Success factors when an IT project becomes a race against time".
By September 15, almost 3 million applications for the "Anti-Crisis Shields" were received, 85% of which were processed fully automatically, without any human intervention, said the Asseco expert. The project carried out in such unusual conditions as the pandemic time could only be successful thanks to the proper organization of work, the effective way of building solutions and the competence and commitment of the people involved in the project - he added.
The successful implementation of the solutions enabled employees and entrepreneurs affected by the lockdown to benefit from the assistance provided by legal acts. In the most difficult period of the pandemic, ZUS fulfilled all additional obligations imposed on it by Covid-19 on time. This was only possible thanks to the use of new technologies and process automation.
The implementation of an IT solution of this scale requires many years of experience of a public entity’s employees in short-term execution of complex projects and a partnership relationship with a stable and trusted contractor which has both competence and execution potential, said the Asseco representative.
Asseco is the largest IT company in Poland and the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For almost 30 years, it has been developing technologically advanced software for companies from key sectors of the economy. It is present in nearly 60 countries and employs about 27,000 people. It develops both organically and through acquisitions - since 2004 it has carried out nearly 90 of them. Asseco companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The company is a leading producer of software for the public sector in Poland. It provides solutions for over 350 entities - both central and local government offices. It has built and implemented comprehensive systems for, among others, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the Ministry of National Education and the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS). In addition, for many years Asseco has been a trusted partner in the execution of projects in the areas of health care, uniformed services and security as well as power engineering and telecommunications.