| Poland’s Rising: Europe’s Gateway Emerges as a Global Outsourcing Powerhouse | |
By: IAOP
Pulse Know Before You Go Series
Poland’s Rising: Europe’s Gateway Emerges as a Global Outsourcing Powerhouse
Hiding in plain sight is a rising European major services powerhouse: Poland.
While Poland pioneered the underlying technology for Amazon’s ubiquitous Alexa - a tool relied on by hundreds of millions worldwide - legacy perceptions continue to shadow its standing as an outsourcing destination.
Taking the stage at OWS26 in Chicago, a panel of experts issued an open invitation to global professionals: look beyond outdated assumptions, visit, and witness firsthand how Poland is redefining global delivery.
With 2,000 operation centers, half a million business services professionals, and major hubs for global giants like Amazon, Nike, and Intel, Poland offers a proven, high-value alternative that forward-thinking leaders are rapidly embracing.
“Poland, as the most dynamically sustainable developing economy of the EU, has become the new powerhouse of Europe, in the center of the continent, connecting the traditional with the new values and refreshing elements,” said Marcin Grzegory, Deputy Director of Invest in Pomerania.
The Know Before You Go session featured global sourcing leaders navigating the cultural, regulatory, geopolitical, and social landscapes shaping delivery outcomes.
Michael Nacarato, COP-GOV, Senior Director at Transamerica, IAOP Global Ambassador, and Strategic Advisory Board Chair, moderated the discussion, emphasizing the need for companies to build diversified sourcing strategies in emerging markets to mitigate geopolitical risks, dilute concentration risk, and strengthen organizational resilience.
Three Decades of Solutions-Driven Delivery
Wiktor Doktór, CEO of Pro Progressio, shared insights into Poland’s three-decade journey in global delivery, stressing that Poland isn’t just another outsourcing destination - it’s a solutions-driven partner.
Since its outsourcing sector began in 1994, Poland has built over 30 years of industry maturity. Today, the nation hosts 2,000 operations centers spanning customer experience, finance, analytics, purchasing, and marketing.
Global leaders such as Volvo, alongside major enterprises from Paris, London, and Amsterdam, rely on Polish R&D and delivery centers. Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) is one of the fastest-growing and highest-value segments within Poland’s modern business services sector, with Citi, State Street Corporation, BNY Mellon, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs all having GBS centers in Poland.
Poland’s capital, Warsaw, along with major cities like Krakow and Wroclaw, are the biggest hubs for Shared Service Centers, Global Business Services, and Global Capability Centers. At the same time, Gdansk, Lodz, Katowice, and Poznan are rapidly growing locations for modern business services delivery.
Poland delivers tailored solutions, combining human talent, automation, and tech to solve specific business challenges.
“Poland, when you consider it as a destination for the shared services or the outsourcing industry, it is not a market of FTEs. This is the market of solutions. If you come with a problem, we are finding the solutions, and we combine all of those elements, human-based and technical-based,” Doktór noted.
Discover Pomerania: Quality of Life as a Competitive Advantage
Grzegory positioned Pomerania as Poland’s “gateway to Europe,” supported by robust infrastructure: two major seaports and an international airport. The region acts as an innovation hub that skips the legacy constraints of older EU nations.
Addressing regional stability directly, Grzegory reframed concerns regarding Ukraine's proximity: while Poland shares a border with a nation at war, the actual frontline is 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers away. For local operations, it remains strictly “business as usual,” he said.
A major differentiator for the region is its exceptional quality of life. Poland ranks as the third safest country in the EU, and Pomeranian residents rank among the most satisfied in the nation regarding living conditions.
“The location that gets the talent is going to win the race for business ultimately,” Grzegory stated. “And by that measure, Poland, with its safety, quality of life, and strategic European position, is winning in ways most outsourcing buyers haven’t yet noticed.”
Advanced Expertise and The Alexa Legacy
Poland’s capabilities span high-end functions ranging from financial security and risk management to AI research, smart mobility, semiconductors, and renewable energy. In Pomerania alone, 20 percent of Poland’s computer and electronics manufacturing workforce is actively engaged in high-tech delivery.
A prime showcase of this technical depth is Amazon Alexa. The underlying voice technology originated as IVONA, a tool created by researchers at Gdansk University of Technology to assist the visually impaired. Amazon later acquired IVONA to build Alexa’s speech engine. Today, Amazon employs over 500 core engineers in Gdansk, continuing this R&D work.
Prominent global companies operating in the region include Boeing, Google, Intel (which operates one of its two largest engineering facilities outside the U.S. in Pomerania), Mastercard, State Street, PwC and Sony.
As the market evolves from transactional processing toward high-end problem-solving, Poland aims to serve as an indispensable partner to global leadership.
“We want to be the team you call when the fate of the company is on the line. And it’s a very dire responsibility,” Grzegory noted.
Overcoming the Perception Gap
Despite hosting world-class operations and half a million skilled professionals, Poland remains underrepresented in U.S. outsourcing strategy. Both Doktór and Grzegory challenged executives to look beyond traditional delivery locations and explore Poland’s mature ecosystem.
The panelists stressed the value of in-market immersion, encouraging executive teams to directly visit rising hubs like Poland to evaluate safety, culture, and infrastructure firsthand, effectively replacing outdated assumptions with genuine market confidence.
US Business Leaders Invited to Experience Poland
Nacarato shared that he was impressed with what he saw participating in Pro Progressio’s Follow the Leaders event in fall 2025. The unique event in the Tricity area includes the FDI Business Development Strategy meeting, the BSS Conference, the Modern Industry Conference, workshops for Team Leaders, a networking evening, intimate meetings for top management, and a unique Gala with the PRO Tiger competition finale.
Pro Progressio regularly organizes due diligence visits to Poland for American GBS decision-makers and is currently organizing an upcoming trip. During these trips, visitors can visit various Polish cities, and meet with local government representatives, advisors, and experts in HR, labor law, and the real estate market.