Case Studies
Case StudiesShowcase of Notable Companies with Czech Origins:
AVG
AVG Technologies was founded in 1991 by Jan Gritzbach and Tomáš Hofer with the express purpose of protecting people around the world using the latest in cutting-edge security technologies. AVG achieved success quickly and is now recognised as one of the biggest players in the security-software market.
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2012. AVG is uniquely positioned to spearhead innovation in the industry thanks to its employing of some of the world’s leading experts in software development, threat detection, threat prevention and risk analysis.
In the recent years, AVG have been focusing on bringing security and privacy to the everyday “connected” life of the modern family on all types of devices, i.e. computers, tablets and smartphones. AVG is continuing to invest in R&D, teaming up with leading Czech and foreign universities in order to maintain its technological edge throughout the world. AVG benefits from Czech technological prowess as its development of the key applications is based in Brno.
AVAST
AVAST Software, maker of the most trusted antivirus in the world, protects more than 208 million computers and mobile devices with its security applications. AVAST is a pioneer in the computer security business, with a portfolio covering everything from free antivirus software for PC, Mac and Android, to premium suites and services for both consumers and business. In addition to being top-ranked by consumers on popular download portals worldwide, AVAST is certified by, among others, VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, OPSWAT, ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs.
AVAST’s roots go back to 1988, when Czech researchers Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš encountered the Vienna Virus and began their quest to save the world’s computers from it and others like it. Today, AVAST has over 350 professionals headquartered in Prague and branch offices in Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Brazil and the United States.
Seznam.cz
Seznam.cz was founded in 1996 by university student Ivo Lukačovič. At the very beginning, Seznam.cz was just a list of web pages among which one could search, using keywords to find the web page one was seeking. Today Seznam.cz reaches approximately 90% of the Czech internet population. This means that almost every one of the six million Czechs who use the internet in the Czech Republic uses some of the services that Seznam.cz offers at least once a month.
One of the reasons for Seznam.cz’s success is definitely its focus on good products and services both for users and for advertisers. Seznam.cz has always applied the strategy of investing surplus revenue back into the company.
The Czech Republic is the only country using the Latin alphabet where Google isn’t clearly dominant on the internet. There are only four countries where Google does not have the monopoly in internet search services. Each of these four countries has a strong local internet company: South Korea (Naver), Russia (Yandex), China (Baidu) and the Czech Republic (Seznam.cz).
Selected Investment Case Studies:
Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open-source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to reliable and high-performance cloud, Linux, middleware, storage, and virtualization technologies. Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training and consulting services.
Red Hat’s operation in Brno started in 2004. Ten years later the company employs 600 people and 80 students are currently getting their initial professional experience with the company. Red Hat Czech has become Red Hat’s largest engineering facility in the world and the employer of choice for people who want to work and live the Open Source way. The Brno operation has received many internal and external awards including Best Engineering Site and Best Employer in the Czech Republic.
“Seeing strong potential for growth in Brno, Czech Republic, Red Hat established its core engineering facility here. It has become the company’s largest global engineering entity employing more than 500 people in software development, quality engineering, customer support, research, documentation and program management. The number of employees working at Red Hat in Brno is growing; the company’s project to hire 150 additional engineers received the ICT Investment of the Year award for 2011. For employees, Red Hat offers a unique opportunity to work on global open-source projects and provides education and other benefits which make the company attractive for many applicants in the labour market, including students seeking work experience.”
Radovan Musil, Director Software Engineering, Red Hat
SolarWinds
SolarWinds provides powerful and affordable IT management software to more than 150,000 customers worldwide – from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses. Its online user community, thwack, is a gathering place where tens of thousands of IT pros solve problems, share technology and participate in product development for all of SolarWinds’ products.
SolarWinds’ branch in the Czech Republic is located in Brno. Since its inception in 2008, the Brno office grown to become SolarWinds’ main software development centre. With more than 220 software engineers, the Brno branch is involved in the development of almost every product in the SolarWinds portfolio. The company employs experts in a range of technologies such as C++, C#, ASP.NET and Java in the areas of databases, networking, systems and applications, storage and virtualisation.
SolarWinds works closely with teams in other locations around the world. With the continuously accelerating growth of the office and new technical support, UX design, product management and marketing teams, SolarWinds is quickly becoming a key player in the IT/software-development industry in the Czech Republic.
“We have been tremendously pleased with the calibre of talent and the enthusiasm we have encountered here in Brno. Because we are able to hire smart, dedicated employees with great attitudes and technical skills, we’ve been able to quickly build a high-performance engineering team that plays a critical role in our business.”
Doug Hibberd, EVP Engineering, SolarWinds
Contact:
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