There is a group of professionals that describe 2009 as a horrible year for information technology. The last 'note' from Sirmi, one of the most influential sources of analysis of this market, referring to the last quarter of 2009 data in the Digital Technology market, confirms this trend.

In fact, a 6.6% decline of the IT purchase has been registered, that added up to the negative trend of the previous quarters, determines an annual average contraction of -7.9%. Considering this scenario, the fact that Zucchetti has closed the year with a turnover of +6%, represents a further evidence that the development of innovative solutions and services, based on the actual demands of its clients, is the right recipe for limiting the effects of the economic crisis.

"The 6% growth starting from a turnover of 220 million euros, in 2008, is indeed a remarkable result - points out Zucchetti Board of Directors' President, Mr. Antonio Grioli - especially if compared to the general negative market trend. Obviously, we hope that there will be a recovery of IT investments in 2010, because it is difficult for all of us to operate in a downturn market.
However it is our opinion, that now more than ever, clients have learnt to recognize and reward a good software, one that can really support them in reaching and exceeding their business objectives. Today, dazzling logos and famous but gone by success stories are no longer the solution. For this reason Zucchetti has invested a lot in the development of our web 2.0 offer in the last years and today we have solutions for companies, freelancers and for the public administration in order to regain competitiveness on the entire national system".

Zucchetti grows on all business levels, having top results in some fields: "In 2009 we have made approximately 4.000 new clients, of which 2.600 in the Management/Erp field - one of Zucchetti's two vice presidents, Giorgio Mini states - with a high performance web technology and Saas new offer. This result proves that there are still many possibilities, even in a mature market, for those who propose innovative and high quality applications. Moreover the new generation of Zucchetti solutions, belonging to the strategic plan of the Infinity Project, is ready to be launched on the market, therefore contributing to sales increases in 2010".
However, the first place belongs to Zucchetti Personnel Management solutions, directed by Zucchetti's Vice President, Domenico Uggeri: "Almost a double increase in sales is due to the native integration of the products that make up our offer. I'm not only talking about the HR suite, but also about security and privacy solutions, because in this way we are able to guarantee a total cover of the requirements made by companies and public entities, both in what personnel administration and organization aspects are concerned, and time & attendance, access control, authorization and entry verification inside the working places. I also want to point out the excellent results on the foreign market, with a turnover of 3.5 million euros and an increase in sales of 12% in the United States. Very interesting data considering that it is one of the countries most struck by the economic crisis".

Taking into account the sales volume, even during a tough year, Zucchetti's network of Partners has registered a significant growth, as did the entire group, Zucchetti Managing Director, Mario Pedrazzini, states: "This performance was marked by two dominant aspects, in 2009: on the one hand, the little vivacity of the low-end market companies has been counterbalanced by a high penetration of our offer in the medium-end market, whose project component has risen these past years even in the indirect commercial network; on the other hand, Partners have been more and more aware of the importance of integrating management/erp applications with advanced document governance, business intelligence and process workflow functionalities, therefore widening the clients' base that have installed these solutions; likewise, the integration of personnel administrative applications with innovative solutions for strategic management and for a more efficient administration of human resources reveals a constantly growing dynamic.
This is a true backbone - both for our sales channel and for us - to gather and bring to our clients state- of- the-art solutions in web technology that we add to our traditional offer".

Considering these results, the Italian ICT company has won in 2009 the 'From father to son' award, founded by Iperion Corporate Finance and promoted by the Chambers of Commerce of Monza-Brianza and Milan for the companies that have managed the generational passage in the best way: "This award has made me and my brother Alessandro- Zucchetti spa President, Cristina Zucchetti states -very happy, but I told the organizers that this prize must be extended to all the company and should not be limited to the founder's descendants only, because the credit must be shared with all the excellent people that work in Zucchetti. Prizes represent a starting point and not a closing line, and we are well aware that in an extremely dynamic market, like Information Technology, we must always update and improve our solutions and services".

Last November, as an acknowledgement of the family's long entrepreneurial background, Alessandro Zucchetti - Zucchetti spa Chief Executive Officer and President of Zucchetti Group holding - has been elected President of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce: "The assignment that I decided to assume is an additional responsibility - Alessandro declares - but also a great opportunity to take the pulse of the situation of this area and to understand which are the measures that can be taken immediately in order to support companies and to accelerate economic recovery, with the help of the institutions as well".

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