Behind the Scenes at DLL Poland: How Local IT Thrives in a Global Framework 

DLL Poland is an integral part of DLL’s global IT structure, which operates under a centralized model. Local teams are responsible for implementing and supporting solutions aligned with global standards while adapting them to the specific requirements of the Polish market.  

Additionally, our local IT team oversees the technology stack used in the country and performs partial development of solutions that are critical for local business processes. This balance ensures global consistency while maintaining local efficiency.

Centralization brings 3 major benefits: 

1. Consistency in technology and security across the entire organization – one standard, one policy.
2. Cost efficiency through shared platforms and tools.
3. Faster innovation deployment globally by leveraging solutions tested and developed across multiple locations. 

The biggest challenge is limited flexibility in responding to local needs and longer adaptation times for market-specific requirements. Additionally, aligning with diverse legislative, tax, and process requirements across different countries is complex. Sometimes, achieving a “one-size-fits-all” approach is simply not possible. It requires creativity and compromise.

The key is maintaining an open dialogue with headquarters and clearly articulating local needs. We have autonomy in adapting processes to national regulations, but always within global security and compliance frameworks. Equally important is the trust and understanding of what is happening in the local market while considering HQ expectations. 

Success depends on building solutions that align with the central architectural vision and choosing technologies supported by the infrastructure team.

Communication is critical. Without it, delivering projects in such a complex environment would be impossible. As Eric Schmidt once said, “Communication is the real work of leadership.” 

Over the past years, the importance of communication in IT has grown exponentially. Twenty years ago, the internet world had a single webmaster role managing entire websites. Today, system development involves many specialized experts. Similarly, corporate IT is no longer just infrastructure, it’s an entire ecosystem: governance, risk management, enterprise architecture, investment committees, privacy and compliance, plus agile project management. Without effective communication, no one could navigate this complexity and deliver projects that meet all standards.

We address this through close collaboration with the legal and compliance teams in Poland and by escalating requirements to global project teams. In practice, local regulations are integrated into the project process from the start to avoid compliance risks.  

Having a framework and governance in key areas such as legal, compliance, and finance at the European level significantly simplifies this process. It provides consistent guidelines and mechanisms that help us adapt global solutions to local realities faster.

From a business culture perspective, we are in a privileged position. I don’t see significant differences. Poland has nothing to be ashamed of; in fact, we often set an example of how high standards can be. That’s something we’re proud of. 

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about market conditions. Comparing national requirements in areas such as broad compliance (e.g., anti-money laundering) or tax regulations, Poland remains highly complex. It’s not always clear why regulators don’t allow the use of existing IT solutions to streamline business processes. 

Sometimes I feel that in the consumer segment, we have excellent solutions like mObywatel, which make life easier. On the other hand, in the commercial segment, we have tools like the Central Register of Beneficial Owners, but legislation doesn’t keep pace with technology. Manual steps are still required around AML-related processes. This illustrates the challenge of adapting global IT standards to local regulatory realities.