Manager on payroll or manager of his own business

Cristian Udrescu, 34, is optimistic about the IT society boom in Romania: although his twins are not two years old yet, he has already prepared the computer network to help them learn the three R’s of the new digital economy by installing more than 500 metres of cables in his own home.

This extensive wiring serves another purpose, as well: Udrescu is planning to relinquish his position as Wizrom Company general manager before he turns 40 and become a freelance IT consultant.

To Cristian Udrescu, the hardest day at Wizrom was the one when he became an employee of this company in 1994. “My father said I was a fool because I was jumping from a plane without a parachute,” he says.

Which were the signs of foolishness in his father opinion? Udrescu had succeeded in becoming IT manager with Pepsi Romania at 26 years, his age at the time and enjoyed all the benefits of a top level position in a multinational company: salary, respect, trust, the prospect of a career to further promote him up the ladder and no problems.

His adventure spirit prevailed, though, even if he seemingly lost all the benefits, salary included, by leaving Pepsi. Wizrom at the time had only three employees, but Udrescu had been offered an attractive, yet risky choice: to become not only general manager, but also a shareholder.

Another thing to make him “jump without a parachute,” was a conviction that grew stronger with time: one cannot possibly raise a fortune if one lives only off one’s salary. The only solution is to build your own business, to work all day, Udrescu says.

According to 1999 International Data Corporation data, Wizrom ranked third on the domestic e-business solutions market after SAP and Oracle.

The 2000 chart has not been drawn up yet, but Wizrom’s general manager thinks the company he runs will maintain its position. 99.9% of the clients are private companies, with half of them multinationals operating in Romania.

In its turn, Wizrom is part of the exclusive elite of multinational Romanian IT companies, as it is the Wiz international solutions representative for Europe, has branches opened in Slovakia and in Moldova and is currently considering the markets in Bulgaria and Poland.

“The company proposes the local e-business and e-management market five basic products: Wizsalary (personnel administration), Wiztime (clocking and time costs), Wizcount (an integrated accounting, production administration and management system), Wizpro (destined to companies in the productive sector) and Wiztop (destined to sales companies).

Wizrom’s clients include: Bilstein Compa-Krupp, Tuborg, Bayer Romania, Humanitas Publishing House, Gealan, Banca di Roma, ABN Amro Bank, Nederlanden, Volksbank. Wirzrom became operational as WizSoft Inc.’s representative office for Romania and Eastern Europe in 1992.

A year later it shifted to adjusting the Wizcount solution to the Romanian accounting system. Wizrom has had some 1,000 clients and sold about 7,000 licenses for its products so far. Its sales went up 50-60% in 2000 compared with 1999. The 2001 turnover is estimated to reach about $3 million.