Microsoft Office Marketplace Update

Smart Analytics has commissioned a bespoke Report to assist Microsoft Office Marketplace promote the Office Marketplace service and the value of third party 'add-ons' to their US Office user-base.

The Report is entitled, ‘US Consumer Electronics – Forecast for the 2007 Holiday Season’. As well as providing research data, the Report will also demonstrate the benefits of Microsoft web services and the use of Smart Tags within 'dynamic' documents. Office Marketplace Users who download the commissioned Report will be able to automatically update its content as new data is added by Smart Analytics.

This custom report will be published to the Smart Analytics portal at the end of the month. Oh yes, and it will be free of charge!

Tackling Broadband Woes

The New Zealand Government yesterday announced it plans to enforce a three-way operational separation on Telecom as it strives to boost competition in telecommunications and cut prices for consumers.

Communications Minister David Cunliffe said that the Government hoped to increase competition and investment in the sector for the long-term benefit of all New Zealanders. The details of the announcement are broadly in line with plans the Government outlined in April, which mimic the breakup of British Telecom.

Yet what is happening in the UK? On the same day that Cunliffe was making his statement in NZ, the Broadband Stakeholder Group in the UK was saying that,'Labour's dreams of broadband Britain could come to nothing, and the UK's international competitiveness be damaged irreparably, unless Internet access speeds on these shores keep pace with rival economies.' That statement has prompted Ofcom to launch a major consultation on "next-generation web access".

Ofcom, the UK's media and telecoms regulator has noticed that rival economies from South Korea to France already have broadband up to five times faster than the UK top rate of 20 megabits per second.

20 megabits per second? Where does that leave me in Tauranga? I can only dream of 20 megabits per second. NZ has a long way to go to even play catch up with the rest of the developed world in this critical area of key infrastructure development. David Cunliffe's announcement yesterday might have been the start. Believe me, that's all it is. A start.

Export Year 2007 Breakfast

7.00am tomorrow morning and I will be attending an NZTE Bay of Plenty sponsored Export Year 2007 breakfast meeting here in Tauranga.

The guest speaker is Stephen LeFebvre, BioVittoria Co-Founder, Managing Director Sales and Marketing. BioVittoria Limited is a research-based, product development and marketing company that develops, markets, and sells proprietary active compounds that are naturally derived and biologically proven.

Stephen is asking the simple question. Does your desire to grow match the size of the opportunity? He is talking about the opportunities offered by the growing China, India and ASEAN markets. He is also talking about sales opportunites in the United States.

These Export Breakfasts are a 'must do'. They provide good speakers, great networking opportunities and a neat (well subsidized) breakfast. The alarm is set.

The $6 Million Investment Challenge Update

The $NZ6 million Investment Challenge is being organised by UK Trade & Investment and Unlimited Magazine. Applications closed two weeks ago.

Together with other applicants, I have been invited to an Investment Challenge forum in Auckland on Monday. I have received the agenda and it sets out the first steps towards a road map for the Challenge.

I am not too sure what is public, and what is not, at present. So in the best interests of confidentiality (and safety!), I will now wait until next Monday's meeting before revealing more.

All Pain, No Gain...

For one hour this morning, normal life will be suspended.

I will be reminded of my own mortality. I woke up this morning to the news that scores of people fled from Mt Ruapehu in central North Island, NZ after an eruption shook the volcano at about 8.20pm last night. I know exactly how they felt.

Sadly, I will not be in a position to flee this morning. Instead, I will be flat out whilst a masked figure probes my mouth with an array of threatening gadgets. And after numbing my gums, the terrible drill will spring to life. All the time, the hideous figure in the mask will be asking inane questions to keep me awake. And I will nod and gag like an idiotic, slightly deranged doll.

And then it will be over. I will be free. Free to walk away. Free to blog, social network and breath once more. Normal life will be restored.

It's Grabaseat Mania

GrabaSeat is Air New Zealand's domestic online 'bucket-shop'. Each day, it advertises discounted rates on internal NZ flights.

It is a great piece of marketing. I have it bookmarked as a 'favourite' and have used the service to buy cheap flights before. Today, being based in Tauranga, I will not be alone.

It would appear that today is a Tauranga 'Grabaseat' special. Flights are to be advertised at NZ$15 each way from Tauranga to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Blenheim. The price was set on TVNZ's Breakfast Program and the tickets are due to go on sale, online at 10.00am. Prepare for Internet meltdown.

I will let you know how I get on.

10.10am Update: Gotcha! 2 tickets: Tauranga - Blenheim (return). Confirmed.

Calling Ad:Tech London

Ad:Tech London, the premier interactive marketing event in the UK is being held today and tomorrow. John Beer of Pingar is there.

Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Affiliation, Syndication and Search Engine are re-shaping advertising investments and are quickly becoming the advertising industry standard for reaching, targeting, engaging and selling to businesses and consumers alike.

Businesses are always looking for a way to save money, reduce the sale cycle, and increase Return On Marketing Investments. With the rising cost of print and broadcast marketing, marketers are quickly turning to Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Affiliation, Blogging or Real Simple Syndication as they all appealing to Internet users because it effectively puts them in control.

We know. That is what we do.

Ad:Tech London is designed to bring companies operating in the "digital advertising and marketing space" together with UK decision-makers who understand the value of investing in interactive media.

I wish I was there.

Office Marketplace Holiday 'Gift'

Microsoft has a proposal for Smart Analytics.

Office Online is considering putting together a “Holiday Gift Guide” which would include offerings from Office Marketplace providers, including Smart Analytics. This gift guide will be targeted to all Office Online customers in the US during the holiday season (November & December).

Microsoft has asked if we could let them know if we have a product or service which would be appropriate to be given as a gift. The answer of course is 'yes'.

Smart Analytics will be commissioning a custom report for this purpose. The plan is to provide Office Marketplace users with an opportunity to experience the benefits of web service enabled publishing and dynamic reporting.

We value our Office Marketplace relationship. This proposition provides Smart Analytics with a great 'route to market' and is too good an opportunity to miss. The decision now is to determine the content of the 'gift'. For those not familiar with our Office Marketplace presence, you can check it out here.

Updating Smart Analytics

Overnight, I received an email from Girish Kulkarni, Head of Content at HBI Software in Bangalore.

It contained the latest quarterly financial updates for nine mobile companies which Smart Analytics track for competitive intelligence. Over the next few weeks, Girish and the team at HBI Software will update further Competitive Intelligence reports to companies in both the electronic document and print, and the software company sectors.

We started building Smart Analytics over three years ago. It can now be accessed via Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 2007 by downloading a web services utility from the Smart Analytics page on Microsoft Office Marketplaces.

All that changes when Microsoft launch Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Office 2007 Suite in the next quarter. Microsoft are then integrating Smart Analytics into the core Research ribbon in Microsoft Office 2007 Suite. All Office users will then be able to access Smart Analytic's research and analytics sources directly from within their Office applications.

It's been three years in the making. The end game is just a few weeks away.

From a New Zealand perspective, our relationship with Microsoft globally follows pretty much the same path as described in one of Rod Drury's blogs yesterday. A Microsoft partnership is a valuable technology tool as well as being a great potential route to market. It needs working at though. Microsoft have their own route map and it is important that partners understand that and align part of their own development and marketing strategy to map that. Then the potential can be realised.

Understanding FRST

Today, I am looking to learn a little bit more about FRST, The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

FRST invests in research, science and technology (RS&T) on behalf of the New Zealand government.

They aim, according to their website, to stimulate prosperity and improve the well-being of New Zealanders and the environment through investing in innovation and fostering the creation of new knowledge. We need to meet!

With Pingar's on-going development and imminent roll-out, any support we can secure will help that development process.

TechCrunch40 - 3 to Watch

A number of start-ups (40 to be exact) publicly demonstrated their product for the first time at TechCrunch40 in San Fransisco earlier this week. A 10 - 15 minute 'dog and pony' to an impressive line-up of industry guru's and Valley VCs allowed these businesses to demo their wares.

I have looked at them all. You too can check out all 40 by clicking here. I thought three stood out.



Yap provides voice-to-text translation services for mobile phones. Users can say anything they like and Yap will send a text copy to anyone of their contacts. The service is completely automated so you won't have intermediary Yap employees listening to your messages, typing them and then sending them out. They also have a text messaging application call Yap9 that allows you to keep in touch with friends, family, and co-workers. Users can also use the application to instantly query mobile web services just by talking. They can search Google, Wikipedia, Yahoo, and YouTube, or interact with Facebook without using their phones' miniature keyboards.



Orgoo is your personal communications cockpit, where every tool you need to communicate and express yourself online is organized and integrated together in one place. All of your email accounts, IM accounts, video chat, video mail, SMS, voice, all working together to give you one seamless experience. Orgoo is free, requires no downloads, and can be accessed from any web browser or mobile phone.



Viewdle is a media platform for indexing, searching and monetizing video. The technology they are developing will let video content owners extract metadata from news, shows, movies, and Internet video. Content owners can leverage both their new and old content with Viewdle's internal and white-label search and indexing capabilities to maximize relevance, usage, audience and monetization. This is much more effective than the old method of text-based metadata indexing. Viewdle has a killer feature in its facial-recognition technology. It is able to index video frame-by-frame and create a "real-time index of true on-screen appearances with unrivaled accuracy and relevance." They plan on building one of the largest databases of people-in-video references.

Special mention goes to Ponoko. The world's first personal manufacturing platform, Ponoko is the online space for a community of creators and consumers to use a distributed network of digital manufacturing hardware to co-create, make and trade individualized product ideas, on demand.

....And it is based in Wellington, NZ. Well done Ponoko. You did the country's ICT space proud.

Blogs v Social Networks

I Blog. I am also a member of two online Social Networks, LinkedIn and FaceBook.

Over the past few months, I have seen an interesting trend amongst the use of both 'channels' by people I know. Is this just a coincidence, or does it mark a more widespread shift in terms of online engagement?

Essentially, the move has been in favour of the Social Networks. This is particularly marked in the UK. Regular 'bloggers' have become almost obsessive 'social networkers'. I think in part this is down to the increasing number of interactive features and applications which have been created for these networks. Blogs, I suspect, are seen as being fairly passive, whilst social networks provide significant more opportunity for individual and group interaction.

From my point of view, I enjoy the benefits of both. For those familiar with this Blog therefore, I thank you for visiting and sharing my thoughts.

For those who would prefer to make more direct contact, then you can join my Social Networks via the following two links:

Peter's LinkedIn Profile
Peter's FaceBook Profile

To those, I look forward to meeting you soon.

TechCrunch40 - Check it Out

TechCrunch40 opened overnight in San Fransisco. It provides a showcase of 40 of the hottest start-ups from around the world about to launch their stuff.

Check out the 40 here. I have already gone through several. TechCrunch40 is a neat idea and so from the link above are some of the start-ups involved.

Understanding MT103 Forms

Working in Bangalore is fun. Transferring funds to Bangalore is not.

I have learnt the hard way. Go for a standard bank to bank transfer from either the UK or NZ, and it can take from 3 days - 3 weeks for the cleared funds to reach the beneficiary account in India.

To accelerate the transfer, the SWIFT payment system must be used. To support that, ask your UK or NZ bank to provide you with a MT103 transfer form at the time the transfer is made. This will enable the Indian receiving bank to track the incoming payment. Without it, 15 working days can be a very long time.

Use the SWIFT payment system and the funds should be credited to the beneficiary account in 48 hours.

Microsoft Partner Research Panel

I received an email from Microsoft this morning confirming that I was now a 'Member of the Microsoft Partner Research Panel. As mentioned before, the Partner Panel will give you an opportunity to help evolve and improve the Microsoft Partner Program and the Microsoft products that are a part of your business. We are very excited to have you on board'.

It's nice to be here Bill.

Daily Telegraph - Where are you?

Tuesday AM Update: The online Telegraph is back!

So is the Alert window on the Business page that says 'This player requires a faster connection to ensure a smooth playback of video. The connection speed detected will cause a potentially unviewable experience.'

Telecom Xtra broadband....Grrrrrrrrrrr.

I have not been able to access the online Telegraph since Saturday.

I feel lost. Help!

Microsoft Lose EU Appeal

Microsoft has lost its appeal against the record 497m euro (£343m; $690m) fine imposed by the European Commission in 2004. The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position.

Microsoft has two months to appeal at the European Court of Justice.

This one could run and run. I blogged earlier today about the potential importance of this case, even to software developers in New Zealand. That significance remains. Keep watching this space.

Fox - Reflecting The American Pulse

Sky TV NZ recently added Fox News to its available digital channels. I first experienced Fox earlier this year in the States.

Then, the coverage was 24/7 Anna Nicole Smith, her death, the legal battle over paternity and her funeral arrangements. It dominated the news, even whilst US troops were dying by the dozen in Iraq.

Today, it is 24/7 O J Simpson and his arrest on charges related to the (alleged) armed robbery of sports memorabilia in a Las Vegas hotel room. It is vintage Rupert Murdoch at work.

Subtle, it ain't. But perhaps it is the sheer mindlessness of it all that makes it so easy to watch. Confronting 'real' drama and let's face it, Iraq is as real as it gets, is difficult. For people in the States in particular, focusing on the fate of O.J. must seem like a welcome distraction.

The question of course is why New Zealand is subject to Fox News and its American theatre. It could be of course that Sky News NZ and Fox TV are owned by the same proprietor. Step forward please, Mr Rupert Murdoch.

European Union v Microsoft

A long-running dispute between Microsoft and the European Union is set to be decided in a few hours time. Microsoft will learn if it has succeeded in a legal challenge to an EU ruling that it had abused its dominant market position.

A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players. It was ordered to change its business and fined 497m euros (£343m; US$690m).

How does the decision later today effect us here in NZ?

The 2004 ruling ordered Microsoft to ensure its products could operate with other computer systems by sharing information with rival software companies. So if the European Court of First Instance today upholds the 2004 decision, Microsoft could be forced to change its basic business model and practice. That will have a major impact on all software developers, including those of us here in NZ, as to how we build on the Microsoft platform. More understanding of the underlying code, in my view, means more potential for new exciting, innovative applications by third party developers.

The ruling in a few hours time could have ramifications far beyond the European borders. It is one to watch.

London Calling

Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London

It's Monday morning and I am about to skype John Beer back in the UK. It is a deja vu moment.

John and I used to meet at the cafe in Russell Square for breakfast on Monday mornings when I lived in London. It enabled us to cover off the upcoming week's activities and co-ordinate our diaries. Nothing has much changed except now we communicate on Skype and of course it is still Sunday evening back in Blighty.

Skype does make a difference. Recently, I have been involved in a project that has been using the resources of HBI Software in Bangalore as well as an application architect in France. Skype has enabled us to hold three-way conference calls and bridge the global divide.

This morning's call with John will do the same. Except that unlike 3 years ago when we met in Russell Square, toasted bacon sandwiches and cappuccino will definitely not be on the menu.

Frank Vosper - Supreme Winner!

Frank Vosper (above) has been named the supreme winner of the inaugural Tauranga Community Spirit Awards.

The award is well deserved. Frank has raised significant sums of money for deserving charities and causes in Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty. His charity auctions do not end there. Frank has traveled the length and breadth of New Zealand in his service to the community.

Frank and his partner Pam are good friends of Jacqui and mine. We joined him for a celebration on Thursday evening and met up again last night. So what follows is a wholly indecent plug for his new enterprise, Vosper Realty.

Frank set up his new real estate business a few months ago. He's good. So it is easy for me to recommend his services to anyone looking at relocating to the Tauranga region. In the world of residential property, Frank really is the man.

BOP - Regional Economic Development (New)

Last night, I attended the BOP ICT Cluster meeting to learn more about KEA.

What the meeting agenda had forgotten to include was that a second presentation was planned. Entitled, 'Regional Economic Development - A New Pathway', we learnt that Environment Bay of Plenty and NZTE wanted to enrol our support for the development and implementation of a Regional Economic Development Strategy for the Bay of Plenty.

Exciting stuff.

It would appear that the Regional Economic Development initiative requires a Board of 7, including 3 business representatives to implement the new Ministry of Economic Development (MED) framework to provide an opportunity to build on local initiatives already underway, put together and then implemented as a Regional Economic Development Strategy.

Almost breathless, but now I begin to understand.

So we have a body corporate made of of representatives from TCC, WBOP, EBOP, PI, CoC, GlobalBOP, (apologies to the 7 stakeholders in Rotorua - I cannot identify you all), who all then hand over their initiatives to the BOARD, and hey presto. And all from a three year budget of $750,000.

Nice one.

KEA Comes to Tauranga

KEA brings together expats and 'friends of New Zealand' to create a powerful global knowledge network for the benefit of New Zealand.

I joined KEA as an individual member about six months ago. In truth, I have not really understood or exploited some of the opportunities it provides. So it is good that the BOP ICT Cluster has organised a presentation from KEA in Tauranga tonight. The concept behind it is compelling. What I hope to learn at first hand is the opportunity it actually offers.

Broadband Woes Continue

I read the online Daily Telegraph to keep in touch with a UK perspective on world and business events.

They recently introduced an online video updated daily on their Business pages. I saw it for the first time in India last month. I liked it.

I am now back in NZ of course, and am plugged into the Net using Telecom's Xtra Broadband service. The web server at the Telegraph knows. It displays the following message when I try to view the latest video.

'This Player requires a faster connection to enable smooth playback of video. The connection speed detected will cause a potentially unviewable experience.'

Welcome to the wonderful world of broadband in New Zealand.

Red Sky at Night

Sunset from the home deck looking towards the Kaimais.

I had a Skype conference call with the HBI Software team in Bangalore two hours ago. Whilst we spoke, the sun went down over the Kaimais. Jacqui took the photograph.

Spring is here. Enough said really.

LinkedIn to Martin

Social networks have many uses. Linkedin yesterday fulfilled one of them. They hooked me up with my cousin, Martin Wren-Hilton, back home in the UK.

It doesn't say much for my interpersonal skills, but that's distance for you. Staying in touch all the time can be difficult. It was good to see though that Martin is ahead of the game as always, this time at the cutting edge of mobile.

His titles, Head of Mobile Strategy at Carphone Warehouse and Head of Mobile Strategy at Opal Telecom, says it all. And so does his Linkedin Profile. As a neighbour in NZ might say, 'nice work, cousie 'bro".

HBI Software is 6 Years Old!

Six years ago today, HBI Software opened its doors for the first time in Bangalore.

I wish I was there. A Kingfisher in hand, we would be spending tonight at the Tivoli Gardens at the Capitol, the Eden Park 'chicken' restaurant or the Blue Bar at the Taj. Instead, it's a glass of beer here in Tauranga and six years of great memories.

To Santosh, Rajesh, Aravind, and all the HBI Team, Congratulations. You have built HBI Software and have managed it well. Any company is about its people and the success that HBI Software has enjoyed is down to your hard work and collective commitment. This drink is for you.

The Benefits of Blogging

I found Frank Arrigo talking about the value of Blogging at Builder.au

It's a good piece and pretty well sums up my own view about the medium's value to those that know me and those that don't. Blogging is a great way to put a 'human face' on a company's activities. People can and do relate in a way that a press release or white paper can't. Just ask anyone on my 'List of Blogs'.

All Eyes on Paris

The waiting is finally over. The 2007 Rugby World Cup kicked off in the early hours of this morning and the whole of New Zealand is now on alert.

Argentina's defeat of France in the opening game has electrified the tournament. Can Italy beat the All Blacks in their first outing tonight? Not likely! But it sets the scene for the next month.

Late nights....tired eyes....and the odd sore head. Anyone for England?

$6 Million Investment Challenge

I have just submitted a Registration of Interest for the $6 Million Investment Challenge.

UK Trade & Investment & Unlimited Magazine, together with a world-class team of investors, entrepreneurs, business experts and sponsors, will help Kiwi companies develop their business so that it is investment ready and able to expand into the UK market.

This is an exciting initiative. It will be fascinating to see the scope and range of NZ businesses looking to take part in the challenge. More news when I get it.

IPod Upgrade Still No Substitute

The latest version of the IPod music player, just announced by Steve Jobs, is 8mm thick, comes with a 3.5in colour screen, built in WiFi internet access and Apple’s Safari internet browser. It looks like the iPhone, but without the phone part.

For the first time, users are now able to buy tracks from iTunes, Apple’s online media store, directly to the iPod without having to use a separate computer. An 8GB version will cost approx NZ$600, a 16GB version, (enough to hold 4,000 music tracks) $NZ720. So will I buy one?

Probably not. I actually like to 'feel' my music. That's why I use a CD Walkman player when I am on the move. Better still, I really like Vinyl. Each scratch holds a memory. My collection of later 50's / early 60's vinyl might have gathered some dust, but listening to the original Righteous Brothers, 'You've lost that loving feeling' sounds better than anything the 'oh so cute' IPod can reproduce.

I really admire great technology, but I truly love great music.

Just One More Day....

John Beer, my UK Pingar partner, departs tomorrow for LA, en route to Heathrow.

John arrived last Tuesday and we have since had a hectic week of meetings with both partners and suppliers. It has been a fascinating, though tiring eight days. The temptation, which we have both succumbed to, has been to fit in as many meetings as possible in the time available. The benefit though is that we now have a strategic plan to take Pingar to the next stage.

The planning therefore is now over. It is time for the execution to begin.

Mugged!

I am still feeling slightly dazed.

Two weeks ago, I made one call on my mobile phone in Bangalore. It lasted 3.11 minutes. I also received one call. Time spent 4.06 minutes.

This morning the Vodafone bill arrived. Between them, these two 'calls' came to NZ$36.59. That's a lot of money for 7 minutes. With the growth of Skype and other IP-based telco solutions, the dinosaurs are clearly drinking up in the last saloon. Next time I travel overseas, the mobile will stay switched off. At least then I will have enough money left to join them for their final hurrah.

'The Vision' is on

'The Vision' is on.

This is not about Tauranga. It is not about the Bay Of Plenty. This is about building a sustainable, or series of sustainable relationships - both in NZ and offshore. Today's meeting in Hamilton was 'Step 1'. There are many more to follow.

BOP Innovation Park Vision

"I have a dream...."

One of the biggest challenges facing Pingar is the existing research and development environment in the Bay of Plenty. The region does not have a University and so research collaboration between the private and academic sectors is limited.

Today, John Beer and I are visiting Hamilton to meet up with WaikatoLink, the commercialisation and technology transfer company of the University of Waikato. We want to look at what joint research collaboration opportunities might exist.

Beyond looking at specific opportunities for Pingar, we are also looking at the wider potential for establishing an Innovation Park in the BOP region. One that is not only supported by public sector stakeholders in New Zealand, but one that can attract the global technology partners necessary to drive such an initiative.