Company story & timeline

From SMP Computer Services Ltd. to SMP Solutions Plc.

Overview

SMP was founded in 1989 under the name SMP Computer Technology Ltd., the year in which the market economy was reborn in Hungary. Over the course of three decades, we have grown from a IT trading company into a solutions group with six business divisions. We adopted our current name, SMP Solutions Zrt., in 2016.

The group currently generates turnover of 230 million euros across 8 countries, with 1,159 employees. We offer comprehensive, customer-focused IT services to major domestic and international companies. We carry out our work to a high standard, in line with the philosophy set out in our motto: service, motivation, partnership.

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1989

We're founded: SMP Számítástechnikai Kft. is launched

Our company was established in 1989, at the dawn of the Hungarian transition to democracy, as a British–Hungarian joint venture. As one of the first new domestic enterprises, we initially sold computers, IT equipment and data storage media. Our first office, located on the Grand Boulevard, was a mezzanine within a shop, but our international connections were already shaping our operations at that time: we imported the latest IT equipment, floppy discs and magnetic tapes of the time into Hungary via our suppliers in England.

1991–1992

Our service business is launched

Our rapidly expanding product range has created an ever-increasing demand for professional after-sales support, which is why we established SMP Service Ltd. This new division is responsible for providing technical support for the equipment we supply and ensuring a reliable service infrastructure. At the same time, we broadened our scope of activities: we began distributing banking and security equipment and systems, thereby laying the foundations for our current comprehensive technology portfolio.

1992

Strategic partnership with OTP

In 1992, we became involved in OTP’s large-scale technological developments. Following the establishment of the two-tier banking system, OTP embarked on a comprehensive modernisation programme, for which we, as a partner, supplied the very latest international technologies. Among other things, we introduced plastic and bank card personalisation equipment to the domestic market that had previously been unavailable in Hungary.

1990s

Continuous growth and expansion

Thanks to our dynamic growth, we soon outgrew our first office in the city centre. First, we moved to the 13th district, into the premises of a former florist’s, and then, due to our continued expansion, we took over the neighbouring restaurant premises as well. We converted the huge air-raid shelter beneath the building into a warehouse, enabling our new premises to meet our increased sales and logistics requirements. By the mid-1990s, our business had expanded so much that, in 1995, our company’s name was officially changed to SMP Computing, Banking and Security Technology Ltd.

2004

We enter the international market

By the early 2000s, our expertise had taken us beyond Hungary’s borders. Accompanying OTP’s international expansion, we played an active role in assessing and modernising the security systems of Bulgaria’s DSK Bank, ensuring that the overseas network also met the high technological standards of the domestic systems. As an official milestone in our international expansion, we also launched our security and IT operations in Slovakia in 2004.

2000s

Building an international group

Our international presence expanded to a regional scale in the years that followed. In 2005, we established our first subsidiary in Croatia, then expanded into Romania and Serbia, and in 2008 we launched OOO SMP-Systems in Russia. Our multi-country projects required significant logistical and administrative effort, particularly in the area of international customs clearance coordinated from Hungary. By 2012, we had grown into a stable group of companies linking eight countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Serbia).

2015

A generational change in ownership

After more than two and a half decades of successful operation, our story has reached a turning point. In 2015, our founder and majority shareholder decided to step down. For the founding generation, this marked the end of a long era they had built together. At that time, our company was characterised by stable client relationships, a strong professional reputation and a close-knit corporate culture, with a team of around 20–30 people. The aim of this deliberate generational handover was to ensure that a new outlook and fresh impetus would sustain our company’s uninterrupted growth into the future.

2016

A new era, a new strategy

In January 2016, Edward Papp took over the management of the company as owner and Chief Executive Officer. Building on our strong client relationships and professional credibility, we embarked on a new, ambitious growth strategy. Our previously product- and technology-oriented operations were increasingly replaced by business and IT services, whilst we expanded our portfolio with new specialist areas and capabilities. This shift in approach was also reflected in the rebranding of our company: in 2016, we adopted the name SMP Solutions, clearly signalling that we had become a provider of complex solutions.

2016–2026

Growth and diversification

Thanks to our new strategic direction, our size and workforce have grown steadily, whilst our activities have come to cover an ever-wider range of industries and service areas. Alongside our traditional banking and security technology expertise, IT, digital business and systems integration services have also become key areas of our business. Our service-centred vision, formulated in 2016, has come to fruition: we have developed into a recognised provider of technology and business solutions with a broad portfolio. Edward Papp summed it up in 2026 as follows: “The greatest success of the past ten years is the dynamic growth, expansion of our workforce and diversification that characterise today’s SMP Solutions”.