Bratislava, 15 October 2008 – Blue Media, an integrator of innovative information technologies, with astounding growth of 10,027 percent tops the list of the fastest growing companies in Central Europe for the third time in a row. The Central European Technology Fast 50 ranking showcases the fastest growing technology companies in Central Europe based on revenue growth over the past five years. This year’s ranking, for the first time in its history, consists of companies from nine countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Estonia which is the most diverse in its history.

In the competition, Slovakia was represented by 19 companies, mainly from the software sector (14 of the 19 competitors). Four Slovak companies scored in the main competition, the fastest growing Top 50, in which the company’s growth is measured over the past five years.

The fastest growing Slovak high-tech company is InterWay, s.r.o. with growth of 1,761 percent. InterWay is a provider of web applications and offers new concepts and ideas in the database applications segment.

„Our ranking in the FAST 50 confirms that our company has taken the right course and maintains a significant position on the Central European market. This is recognition of our hard work, expertise of our employees and a guarantee of seriousness for our clients,“ says Peter Weber, Managing Director of InterWay, s.r.o.

The second fastest growing Slovak firm is ESET, spol. s r.o. with growth of 1,354 percent. ESET has been a regular participant in the competition for several years and compared to the previous year, its position dropped by one place. The company is the developer of the very successful NOD 32 antivirus software, which is one of the world’s most effective and efficient data protection solutions.

Third place among Slovak companies was held by Millennium 000, spol. s r.o. with growth of 523 percent. The company is a leading Slovak provider of comprehensive e-business solutions.

„Our position in the ranking represents rewarding appreciation of our work and a confirmation of our course. It is a bonus as well as an incentive. Such recognition can open doors to new markets, partnerships and cooperation. This means even more to us because it is an international competition. We want to show our solutions to the outside world,“ says Radoslav Balajka, Director of Millennium 000, spol. s r. o.

2 Ring, spol. s r.o. took fourth place with growth of 384 percent. The company operates in the field of IT services for call centres and IP telephony.

„Software companies continue to dominate the competition taking 24 spots on the overall ranking; however, we can expect that Internet companies will close the gap next year as we see a lot of software applications being moved to the Internet and Internet users are still growing significantly in Central Europe,“ pointed out that Dariusz Nachyla, Deloitte Managing Partner for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry in Central Europe.

„The CEO survey^PDF, which is part of the annual ranking, illustrates that companies are facing the same challenges as in previous years. 54 percent of Fast 50 CEOs cite finding, hiring, and retaining qualified employees an operational challenge, a slight increase from last year’s 51 percent. Additionally, the survey indicates that CEOs are facing new challenges such as strong leadership and being well advised which might mean that being in the technology business in Central Europe is becoming more complex,“ added Nachyla.

The Hungarian navigation software developer Nav N Go dominated the. „Rising Stars” category with growth of 7,838 percent over the last three years.“This is quite extraordinary performance and Nav N Go will most certainly be a future leader of the Fast 50 mainstream programme,” said Dariusz Nachyla.

The fastest growing Slovak company in this category is Sygic, s.r.o. with growth of 507 percent. The company offers solutions for GPS navigation for a wide range of mobile devices and its products are mostly used by distribution and logistics companies as well as carmakers.

The second fastest growing Slovak company in the “Rising Stars” category is pelicantravel.com which achieved growth of 418 percent. The company sells air tickets, accommodation, travel insurance and supplementary travel products via the Internet.

For more information about results visit: www.deloitte.com/fast50ce

About Deloitte

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Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in 140 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte's 165,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

Deloitte Central Europe is a regional organization of entities organized under the umbrella of Deloitte Central Europe Holdings Limited, the member firm in Central Europe of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Services are provided by the subsidiaries and affiliates of Deloitte Central Europe Holdings Limited, which are separate and independent legal entities.The subsidiaries and affiliates of Deloitte Central Europe Holdings Limited are among the region’s leading professional services firms, providing services through more than 4000 people in more than 30 offices in 17 countries.

In Slovakia, the services are provided by Deloitte Audit s.r.o., Deloitte Tax k.s. and Deloitte Advisory s.r.o. (jointly referred to as “Deloitte Slovakia”) which are affiliates of Deloitte Central Europe Holdings Limited. Deloitte Slovakia is one of the leading professional services organizations in the country providing audit, tax, consulting, risk services and financial advisory services through over 250 national and specialized expatriate professionals.