The Bay's Vision

I had coffee this morning with Mike Dennehy, CEO of Vision Software. Vision Software is based locally in Mount Maunganui. They have been around since 1988 and today focus on developing Property Management and Corporate Real Estate Management Software.

One of the benefits of working in a community of our size is that it is not too difficult to connect with people working in our space. Mike was guest speaker at the last BOP ICT Cluster meeting and he then shared his vision of business development and export opportunities for Bay of Plenty-based software businesses.

A lot of what Mike had to say could have been scripted from one of my own company presentations. Mike provided practical advice on making funding applications to FRST and NZTE and shared his own experiences of establishing a presence in Australia for Vision.

We discussed one of his key points this morning. In order for NZ software companies to make any impact in an overseas market, that company has to make a real effort to spend time in that market. This is an expense that the company has to bear, but a necessary one to establish whatever sales channel and technical support model has been identified.

Within our local BOP ICT Cluster and also Export BOP, there are a small number of software businesses that are directly engaged in export. The Cluster, in particular, provides a framework for the whole ICT sector to meet up on a regular informal basis. From these meetings, bilateral meetings such as that with Mike this morning can flourish. Exporting can be quite a lonely place. Sharing experiences with others in this space certainly helps. You realise you are not alone.