Global Economy. The slowdown in overall economic growth has continued. For 2009, economic research institutes as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are predicting the worst recession since the Second World War, with the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe likely to be hardest hit.

Developments in the Banking and Retail Industries. The effects of the current economic crisis are clearly visible in the retail banking and retail industries, with both suffering from a downturn in the scale of proposed investment. Nevertheless, we are seeing demand for modern IT-based concepts that aim to maximize efficiency and minimize costs in response to ever increasing competition.