Today’s story is less about whether there is a data community in Poland, more about how big that community is. And what technology this community works with. Nowadays there is growing interest in all things data. But it hasn’t always been like this. In fact, data only really became a mainstream topic when the team at DeepMind, now part of Google, started out in 2010. As a result of the rise of the popularity of data, today’s story will focus on whether there is a data community in Poland. And what that community looks like.
Outside of the normal conference circuit there are lots of niche events listed on Meetup or Facebook. Titles like ‘the Data-centric AI Revolution’ or ‘Drive into Data’ are some of the names of events listed on Facebook. But the most interesting events about Data are on Meetup. And they are organized by an Association of data platform enthusiasts. They call themselves ‘Data Community Poland.’
What is Data Community Poland?
Data Community Poland was founded in 2013 as the Polish SQL Server User Group. This was called the SQL Server 2008 Energy Launch. In 2018 this group was renamed as Data Community Poland. The group is one of the oldest technology groups in Poland. Meetings are organized to help members share knowledge about storing, transforming, and using data through databases. The other thing that the group is involved with is SQLDay. You can follow the Community on X and LinkedIn.
SQLDay is happening this May in Wroclaw
The first SQLDay took place in 2017 and has since evolved into the largest conference of this type in central and eastern Europe. This year it takes place in Wroclaw from the 13th to the 15th of May. Speakers at the event include industry veterans like Tobiasz Koprowski, Lukasz Grala, Grzegorz Stolecki, Marcin Szeliga, Damian Widera and Tomasz Libera.
Other speakers include individual leaders of regional and national Data Community Poland groups. Importantly, one of these speakers is Pawel Potasinski who is currently a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft. Pawel is the founder of the Polish SQL Server Users Group (PLSSSUG), today known as Data Community Poland.
There are also a lot of foreign data professionals speaking at SQLDay. Denmark, Romania, the United Kingdom, or Germany are just some of the countries that the speakers hail from. Nearly all of them have one thing in common, their mastery of all things Microsoft.
What is the Influence of Microsoft in Poland?
It’s been a long time since the cloud providers established themselves on the Polish market. AWS was the trailblazer in cloud solutions, but with time the solutions and products offered by Microsoft means the market has evolved. Today Microsoft and Google have a more important role in the market than AWS. Mainly due to the presence, or lack of presence in the case of AWS, of cloud date centres in Poland.
In 2020 Microsoft announced a comprehensive $1 billion investment plan to accelerate innovation and digital transformation in Poland. At the time Microsoft had 6,000 local partners in Poland. Microsoft also obligated to boosting the digital competencies of an estimated 150,000 business employees and IT professionals, educators, students, and citizens. Since then the investment in Poland has continued:
Google have been active in Poland too. In 2021 the Tech Giant invested 2.7 billion PLN in the largest single office transaction in the history of the Polish market. This created 2,500 jobs mainly for IT specialists.
With AWS the level of investment in Poland is distinctly lacking compared to Microsoft or Google. In a recent report by amazon the Tech Giant states that it has committed more than 20 billion PLN to development in Poland since 2012. In 2022 this resulted in over 70,000 new direct and indirect jobs. There is not as much investment in Tech as in the case of amazon’s piers. Most of the investment is to roll-out the local e-commerce arm of amazon, and not to grow local infrastructure and IT jobs like with Microsoft and Google.
This doesn’t diminish from the fact that the future of data in Poland is bright. Especially if you work on a Microsoft platform.
How Data Community Poland is Adding to the Polish Economy
Over the years Data Community Poland has attracted a community of 6345 members. At the same time there are now seven individual groups running in Poland. Cities represented include Warsaw, Bydgoszcz and Torun, Krakow, Lower Silesia, Wroclaw and TriCity. The biggest community according to Meetup is Wroclaw. However, in reality, the biggest communities are actually located in Krakow, Katowice and Bielsko Biala.
Members of the community include data engineers, data analysts, data scientists, and business leaders. The Association itself supports the community by facilitating and organizing webinars, workshops, hackathons, and conferences. The initiative has no doubt added to the importance of data as a trend and as a career in Poland today. Moreover the community is key to nurturing the next generation of data professionals. Data Community Poland brings together the most important data professionals and influencers from across Poland and Europe.
SQLDay is just one example of the type of event that recruitment professionals should be aware of in Poland today. Managers who seek strategic knowledge about the market can come to Verita HR to find out about the most important communities. Our team hope to meet other data enthusiasts at various events like those organized by Data Community Poland.
Do you need a Polish Data Scientist? Get in touch with the experts at Verita HR.
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See Also:
Who are the most influential Data professionals in Poland today? – Verita HR
Polish Data Scientists Wanted – Verita HR
Web3 Recruiting: Why You Need More Than Just a Blockchain Expert – Verita HR
Which companies are recruiting artificial intelligence specialists in Poland today? – Verita HR
