Thursday, 31 May 2007

More Online Advertising Buzz

More coverage of last week's 'Internet Bureau Presents' seminar in Auckland (see my blog report), this time in today's New Zealand Herald.

According to Shane Bradley, apnfinda chief of products, "It wouldn't be a risky bet to say that in the next three years, online advertising is going to double in this country."

Currently in New Zealand, online's share of total advertising spend is just 2.9%. In Australia it amounts to 8.5%; in Britain it is 18%. NZ has a lot of catching up to do, but the turn-out at last week's 'Internet Bureau Presents' seminar suggests this process has finally started to heat up.

Auckland Bound



Jacqui and I head off for Auckland in a couple of hours. It is a fairly packed agenda over the next two days and it will be good to catch up with some very interesting people.

Apart from the Microsoft team at tonight's dinner, it will be good to meet up with Hans Frauenlob and Greg Cross. Hans is Sector Director ICT, NZTE. As reported in previous blogs, Hans and his colleagues have been incredibly helpful in providing assistance to Pingar both here and through their overseas offices. Greg is Chairperson of the New Zealand Beachhead Advisory Board. The Beachhead programme is one of NZTE's best. It was good to see an increase in their Budget earlier this month. A definite 'plus' for NZ businesses seeking offshore growth.

Tomorrow, it's the Small Business Expo and an opportunity to see what is happening in the SME space here. The afternoon sees a meeting with Rick Shera, of Lowndes Jordan. Apart from imparting good legal advice, Rick is also Chair of the Internet Safety Group. NetSafe, the Internet Safety Group's key programme, is cybersafety education for all New Zealanders - children, parents, schools, community organisations and businesses. It's a great programme, doing a great job.

So its an interesting 36 hours ahead.

Wednesday, 30 May 2007

First Tuesday is Back

So said an email that came in overnight from 'Christer'. I checked the First Tuesday link. The genre had clearly changed.

I remember First Tuesday in London seven years ago. It was an exciting time. The new-look First Tuesday site does nothing for me. That genre is dead.

So to Microsoft which looms large this week. I am having dinner with Claire O'Halloran from Microsoft UK in Auckland on Thursday night. Sean McBreen and John Bessey from Microsoft NZ will also be there. On Friday, it's off to the Small Business Expo at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland. I am scheduled to meet up with Anne Taylor, Microsoft NZ Product Marketing Manager, Office Systems to discuss some joint PR on Smart Analytics.

So having looked up the new First Tuesday portal, I decided to revisit Microsoft's Start-Up Zone. It doesn't really do it for me either. Maybe it is just the presentation. The layout reminds me of 'corporate' meets 'start-up'. It is also geographically agnostic. I typed 'New Zealand' into the site's Search box and came up with one Search Query result. It contained an oblique reference to the Microsoft Innovation Centre. That was it.

Bridging the cultural gap between corporate and SME is always a challenge. Corporates can afford to invest time to work on their business. Most owner-managers spend all their time working in their business. To connect with SMEs, corporate communication strategies should recognise and address this gap.

Tuesday, 29 May 2007

Broadband from the Boardroom

Today's New Zealand Herald contained a 'Mood of the Boardroom' supplement. It made interesting reading.

The issue of Broadband will not go away.

When asked, 'should the Government invest directly in broadband', 41% of CEO's interviewed said 'yes'. When the 'yes' vote was analysed further, 74% said the Government should buy Telecom's copper and optic networks, 56% said it should take a stake (with other telcos) in Telecom's network and 76% said the Government should invest directly in a new network.

12 month's ago, I remember that the NZ Government's own Digital Strategy supported a team at the MOE to actively encourage and fund investment in community-based, community-owned fibre optic networks. 6 months ago, the money ran out and key members of the MOE team, including its head, Peter Macauley left.

The need for an improved broadband network in New Zealand is real. Unfortunately, with the ongoing regulatory discussions focused on Telecom's future, I do not see it happening any time soon. And NZ business will continue to suffer as a result.

Monday, 28 May 2007

Telecom's Ferrit

Ever since I arrived in New Zealand at the end of 2003, Telecom has never been far from the news.

This morning I had a quick look at Telecom's online shopping site, Ferrit. I have wondered previously where this sits in Telecom's overall strategy. I still cannot work that one out. I have been searching for the 'value add'.

In the UK, BT recently launched a portal aimed directly at the SaaS Applications Marketplace. It is called BT Applications Marketplace. It seems to have the strategic value that Ferrit is missing.

It provides SaaS application developers and ISV's with a route to market, by targeting the UK's SME business base. Given their take-up of SaaS applications, this drives the demand for broadband and the other network services that BT provides. That's my idea of 'value add'.

In the UK, Microsoft UK has worked closely with BT to populate the Applications Marketplace portal with applications from their Partner base. Is such an initiative possible here? As Telecom adapts to a new future, one certainly hopes it might.

‘Due to Contractual Obligations’


It’s 3.51am and I have just spent 105 minutes watching Blackpool FC beat Yeovil Town 2-0 in the English Football League Division One Play Offs.

‘Watching’ is actually too strong a word for it. Reading the BBC’s ‘LiveText’, updated every two minutes, is sadly more like it.

The build up on BBC Radio Lancashire had been great: Interviews with fans and players, the Wembley roar, the national anthem; and then, with one minute to go before kick-off, the BBC’s continuity lady.

‘Due to contractual obligations, your local BBC radio station cannot broadcast the current event.’

So 12,000 miles away, in New Zealand, I watch (read) Blackpool FC’s finest hour (and a half) in 30 years. Back in the top-flight of English football where we belong, I celebrate alone with a bottle of Heineken and a sudden and quite acute dislike of ‘Auntie’ (The BBC). I’m not sure I understand what ‘contractual obligations’ prevented a ‘Pool supporter in NZ from listening to its coverage from the UK. And then…..

But focus for a moment on the positive: Promotion to the Championship League and the last mention of the super ‘Pool on this blog until the start of next season. Another beer please, Auntie. No. let’s make that two! And then to bed.

Sunday, 27 May 2007

The Global Entrepreneur Programme

Congratulations to Rod Drury and Xero on their International Technium Challenge win in Wales. It is great news for all New Zealand software developers that such recognition should be given to 'one of our own'.

Entry into any offshore market is a challenge and there is no doubt that Xero's UK market entry will be assisted by the support that goes with their success in Cardiff.

Though I am now based in New Zealand, Pingar has its own well established network in the UK. It's not surprising given our ICT background there. In February, we added to that network.

The Global Entrepreneur Programme
gave Pingar 'Geenlight' status as a 'Technology of Enormous Potential'. The Global Entrepreneur Programme is sponsored and managed by UK Trade & Investment.

By engaging with programmes such as this, Pingar can access key networks for advice and assistance in both Government and private sector organisations. A 'dealmaker' has been assigned to Pingar by the Programme and we are beginning to explore the opportunities this might bring. This type of 'global engagement' is key to New Zealand ICT offshore ambitions, as evidenced by Xero's own success last week. Long may it continue.

Friday, 25 May 2007

Skam Alert - A Solution

A couple of very worrying examples of spam over the past two weeks. Text based pop-up boxes that have appeared from total strangers from the Skype icon in my Quick Launch bar. Apparently, this is called Skam.

Skype is an important desktop application for me. I use it daily to touch base with partners, associates and clients, particularly overseas.

A possible solution. Go to Tools - Options - Privacy. The default Skype setting for 'Allow Calls from' and Allow Chats from' is Anyone. Check the 'Only people from my contacts list' option. Then select 'Save'.

Hopefully, this will do the trick and banish the skammers from your desktop.

The Internet Bureau Presents

I traveled up to Auckland yesterday for The Internet Bureau Presents: New Generation Search seminar.

The presentation had switched venue to The Richmond Yacht Club in Westhaven because of expected numbers. That itself was a good sign. Interest in online advertising in New Zealand is on the up.

Y!SM's Australasian Managing Director Craig Wax introduced Yahoo!Search Marketing's new advertising engine. I think, having viewed it, that Yahoo! faces an uphill challenge in its quest to topple Google from its number one perch in NZ. The new engine did not appear to add a lot to what Google already offered and it was hard to see 'the value add'. Time will tell however and perhaps Yahoo's tie up with Xtra will make a difference longer term.

Also on show was the new redesigned Yellow Pages (sorry - make that Yellow) portal. This certainly appeared to be an improvement on the existing site and demonstrated the difference between the needs of web search (as in Google / Yahoo) and local directory search. Expect this to be launched in the next few weeks.

Dinner in Auckland delayed the return to Tauranga. It provided a good opportunity however to discuss what had been said. There is another major Internet Bureau Presents conference on 18th July which promises to bring a wider group of search industry leaders together. That's definitely one for the diary, methinks.

Thursday, 24 May 2007

It's 11.45am in Tauranga

Normal service resumed.

I have spent the last couple of hours talking (Skyping) to offshore-based partners about two different projects. I feel a bit more 'global' again.

I am heading off for Auckland in an hour to attend The Internet Bureau, New Generation Search Seminar at Westhaven. I am traveling with Ian Carter of Xegen. Ian is a well-known NZ software entrepreneur and his company was recently recognised as such in the National Business Review. It should be an interesting ride.

Later tonight, more skyping is necessary to touch base with HBI Software in Bangalore and a couple of associates in the UK. Global is fun. Shame about the hours though.

It's 7.35am in Tauranga

I still find the idea of watching midweek soccer (Liverpool v AC Milan - Champions League Cup Final from Athens is live on Sky at present), whilst eating breakfast weird. Back in London right now, it would be Wednesday evening, the Black Lion in West Hampstead and a pint of Fullers.

I had the same feeling earlier, reading Rod Drury's latest diary entries from Wales. He talked about the revelation of speaking to people focused on building a Knowledge Economy, co-ordinated Agency planning, digital infrastructure and the fact that people don't use the word 'Export'. In the UK, he says, all the talk is about participating in the global economy. Sound familiar? - (see previous blog posts)

New Zealand exports. Things like logs, dairy, beef and sheep body parts.

In a Knowledge Economy, you do not export. You do not disengage from the global economy and say - 'hey, this is a great New Zealand SaaS application...let's export it'. In the global Knowledge Economy you engage, you partner, you participate. In the global Knowledge Economy, you access a market of hundreds of millions of users. That's as it should be.

Sitting in Tauranga right now, eating a bowl of weet-bix, London really does seem a long way away.

Wednesday, 23 May 2007

Microsoft UK in Auckland!

This is sort of related to my earlier blog on 'It's Global, not Export'.

Claire O'Halloran of the Microsoft UK Partner group flies into NZ next week. One of Claire's Microsoft UK roles, includes 'Partnering for the Future'. This is of special interest to me. Strategy Analysis, one of our UK-based network affiliates, is a Microsoft UK 'Partner for the Future'.

This week, Claire is in Hanoi as part of a UK Trade & Investment Mission to Vietnam. It is all part of an initiative by UKT&I and other parties, including Microsoft UK, to examine opportunities in Vietnam's rapidly growing ICT sector for UK businesses. That's what I mean by a 'Global' mindset.

I will be meeting Claire next week in Auckland together with some of her Microsoft NZ colleagues. I hope we learn something of Claire's experience this week in Vietnam and others she has picked up in her Microsoft UK role. It will be interesting to learn if Microsoft NZ, maybe in association with NZTE, has any plans to provide NZ partners with the opportunity of visiting and exploring selected offshore markets in a similar fashion.

That's the global approach I believe New Zealand ICT businesses must adopt.

It's Global, not Export

I have enjoyed reading Rod Drury's travel diary from Wales. It is putting New Zealand's investment in ICT infrastructure into perspective.

Over the past few months, I have realised more and more, the depth of the challenge facing the software development sector here. And it is not just about investment, broadband and attitude.

A key challenge facing Pingar in New Zealand is that some of the key global players we might want to partner with have no direct representation in the country.

We are lucky. We have a strong presence in the UK, so meetings can be organised there. Without that presence, building a global platform from New Zealand alone would be a much greater challenge.

I have been a strong supporter of the motives behind 'NZ Export Year 2007'. But to export, software developers in NZ must first connect with offshore partners to grow. Without that connection, that global approach, exporting becomes very hard.

Tuesday, 22 May 2007

Back to the Future

Back in Tauranga and back to the future.

When I opened my email today, I received a reminder from The Internet Bureau about their New Generation Search seminar in Auckland this Thursday. It's a five hour return trip from Tauranga, but I think I will go.

The 90 minute seminar features a presentation by Y!SM's Australasian Managing Director Craig Wax of the new Yahoo!Search Marketing's advertising engine, as well as a viewing of the new Yellow Pages portal.

Targeted online advertising has a chequered history in New Zealand. This is partly down to the historic development of the sector, but is mainly down to the limited number of NZ eyeballs. As the Internet Bureau flyer says, New Zealand has been dominated by one large site that has accounted for a significant amount of traffic from this limited eyeball quota. The result has been the widespread adoption of online ad models that really went down with the Ark.

So it is good that this seminar is taking place and good that a new targeted advertising model is becoming available to NZ advertisers and content owners. It will be interesting to see how advertisers and new media agencies resource up to meet the new opportunities that this targeted advertising can bring.

Monday, 21 May 2007

Taranaki - The Weekend



It's Monday and I am still in Taranaki.

On Saturday, Jacqui and I attended a medieval themed wedding in New Plymouth. It was distinctly warm for the time of year and Mount Egmont came out to party. It was Rob, the groom, who introduced me to Jacqui 18 years ago in London, so it was good that both of us could join him at his own wedding celebration.

Sunday saw us dining with the South Taranaki farming set at the 125th Egmont Racing Club Anniversary. Whilst I was still digesting the impact of last Thursday's budget, the talk here was all about fertiliser, nitrogen, carbon emissions and the fart tax. So not that different really.

Today, we visited Jacqui's former home time of Manaia and had our annual catch-up with old family friends. Tomorrow, it's back to Tauranga, the in-tray and mobile connectivity. From medieval times to the present, one might say.

Friday, 18 May 2007

Budget 2007 - The Postscript

Well I did wake up this morning (see yesterday's post) and nothing has fundamentally changed. No-one could accuse Michael Cullen of being 'radical'.

Corporation tax down to 30%, tax credits for R & D and a beefed up Kiwisaver regime. Looking overseas, it seems to be more of a case of NZ catching up to match other OECD norms. But at least the process has started; even if some of these 'new' policies don't actually kick in until 2008 and beyond.

As to yesterday's Blog 'wish list', NZTE's Market Development Assistance Scheme gets an extra $87 million spread accross the next four years. The focus seems to be on developing Asian markets. An extra $6.2 million goes to expand the Beachheads programme over the next four years. 3 out of 5 for effort, I would say.

On Monday, I speculated that the week ahead would be focused on developments offshore. Wrong. Medium-term it looks like the action is going to be focused very much on opportunities here in New Zealand. John Beer, my UK Pingar partner, flies into Auckland next Thursday and there then follows a hectic round of meetings. An interesting few weeks and months ahead, I suspect.

Thursday, 17 May 2007

Budget 2007 - The Hopes

Michael Cullen delivers his 2007 Budget in Parliament today. It has been heavily flagged as a 'Budget for Business'.

It comes at the same time as another NZ manufacturer, Dynamic Controls, moves 200 jobs to China.

Business in New Zealand now operates in a global landscape where fundamental structural changes have created a number of new models. Dynamic Controls did not blame Government policy for their move. It knew it had to move its supply chain closer to its market, its customers.

A drop in corporation tax to 30% and any tax credits for R & D in today's Budget will be welcomed. However when I wake up tomorrow, little will have fundamentally changed. The challenges posed both by, and in, offshore markets will remain.

My personal wish? An increase in funding to NZTE to expand their offshore presence to support NZ businesses reach new markets.

It is with this global mindset that I will judge Cullen's performance today.

Wednesday, 16 May 2007

Stay in the Bay Rocks

Following the Priority One newsletter, a number of Western Bay of Plenty businesses have joined the Stay in the Bay portal in the past two days.

An e-marketplace, the Stay In the Bay portal allows businesses in the Western Bay to do business together. By making the platform free to use, The WH Consultancy is adopting a targeted profile advertising model. As more companies sign up and online activity increases, this will become the preferred model for new B2B initiatives in the future.

Tuesday, 15 May 2007

Windows Mobile Opportunities

Following up from John's recent trip on the UK Trade & Investment Wireless Mission to Taipei, more opportunities in the wireless space have started to spring up. They have probably always been there, but like most things, its only when one's awareness is pricked that you become conscious of them.

Along with the opportunities, go the stats.

Windows Mobile® has more than 140 devices in the marketplace worldwide available from 125 mobile operators. IDC’s expectation is that Windows Mobile will experience the largest growth of any mobile operating system worldwide, at 75.6 percent, through to the year 2010.

From our point of view, Microsoft Mobile 6 comes with mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. That's good. In 2006, there were 9 million unit sales of Microsoft Office Mobile® and a total of 20 million global Windows Smartphone Users.

Talking to mobile handset manufacturers and mobile operators, the thirst for 'sticky' B2B mobile apps is real. So is the opportunity.

Monday, 14 May 2007

The Week Ahead

The focus of the week ahead seems to be targeted very much on developments offshore.

As part of the ongoing restructuring process, Monday will see a further tweaking of the medium term business plan. Given the pace of change and opportunity that seems to increase daily, the need to update the Plan is constant.

The week ahead also sees the need for some late nights. Skype conference calls have already been set up so that I can talk to the UK and the HBI Software development team in Bangalore. There are to be further calls to the US, where the intent and the need to open a sales office grow stronger. The focus is increasingly now on timing and structure.

In New Zealand, three meetings have been set-up, all focused on opportunities offshore. It is good that whilst much of the media focus in New Zealand is on the challenges facing exporters, on the ground many businesses are still very much on-side when it comes to assessing offshore opportunities.

The end of the week sees a trip to Taranaki, a wedding in New Plymouth on Saturday and a day at the races: The 125th Anniversary of Egmont Racing Club, in Hawera on Sunday.

A week is said to be a long time in politics. Let’s see what fate then throws up for this particular business in the next seven days.

Oldham 1 - Blackpool 2

That's the first leg of the Division 1 Play-offs over. Next, the return leg at Bloomfield Road next Saturday.

To celebrate the Seasiders win, I found this Blackpool Tribute song. I think it was recorded by the Nolan sisters 20 years ago. Apologies, but it is bad, very,very bad!

Friday, 11 May 2007

STIB - Launched. What Next?

Today is the day that Priority One distribute 1,500 newsletters to business owners promoting the relaunched Stay in the Bay portal. An online 'e-marketplace', Stay in the Bay provides businesses in the Western Bay of Plenty with the opportunity to either procure or pitch for new business.

The relaunched STIB portal is free for business to use. It is based on the developing revenue model of targeted, but discreet advertising. So what's next?

t2t is the New Zealand equivalent of the Stay in the Bay portal. It can be viewed today, though has yet to be formally relaunched. It too has the capacity of adopting the same revenue model, though with a nationwide target market. Within the next few weeks, that is the plan.

There is a great opportunity to develop B2B-centric, NZ-focused, web-based applications to help improve business productivity in New Zealand. The end-user cost model though seems to meet significant resistance; so the need to investigate and test alternative models is paramount.

It is not difficult to see where this might go. If a free-to-use 'e-marketplace' picks up friction in New Zealand, why not apply the same model to jobs, e-commerce, auctions, etc. Disruptive models have driven the web forward. They have encouraged user take-up and improved user engagement. Today's relaunch is just the beginning.

Thursday, 10 May 2007

UAE Revisited

Overnight, Emirates Team New Zealand defeated BMW ORACLE Racing in the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin 2 series in Valencia.

Six weeks ago, I visited the UAE, home of the Emirates, for the first time and met some great people. I was joined by John Beer, my UK-based Pingar partner.

We met Hesham Salah, Business Development Manager - Middle East New Zealand Trade & Enterprise at his offices in Dubai. I actually have a scheduled teleconference with Hesham tonight. We met Vimal Sethi, Developer and Platform Group GM for Microsoft Gulf in Dubai Internet City. Another great person to meet was ex-pat Kiwi, Lucia Dore, Senior Business Correspondent of the Khaleej Times.

From times past, it was also good to catch up with John Boutros, who is now General Manager of Grapheast, Middle East distributor of Adobe and Corel products. Sixteen years ago, I supplied Al Hayat and Sawt al Kuwait newspaper groups with Apple publishing systems. I met John and his brother Mourad in London during this time. Mourad remains one of the most eminent calligraphers of the Arabic typeface.

The UAE is made up of different emirates, the two largest being Abu Dhabi and Dubai. And they are everything you read about. Architects and planners there are not constrained by a New Zealand style Resource Management Act. Yet the region's growth, amazing as it is, is all part of a long-term plan. It is the living proof of one of my mother's favourite sayings. 'If you put your mind to it, anything is possible'.

Wednesday, 9 May 2007

The HB Internet Story - Part 1



As I look forward to the global restructuring referred to in yesterday's blog, it is perhaps time to reflect on where this all started.

I established HB Internet in London, back in May 1996. It was based in a converted garage in a cobbled street in Paddington. It was the ultimate start-up.

Over the next few years, we moved around various London addresses including Kew, West Hampstead and Kings Cross before finally settling into Russell Square. At our height in 2001, we employed 25 full-time designers, developers, sales and admin staff and worked with major corporates including BT, the UN, Canon Europe, the UK DTI and the UK NHS.

By 2002, we had opened HBI Software in Bangalore and had started to outsource development work there. The development team in London shrunk in size, so by mid-2003, it was possible for Jacqui and myself to consider the move to New Zealand.

Today, HB Internet still has a virtual office in Cannon Street. It continues to project manage long-term maintenance contracts for the United Nations as well as project manage other legacy accounts.

We still catch up with members of the old HB team when we visit the UK. HB Internet was for many, their first taste of web technology and development, and it is great to see how many are now recognised leaders in their respective fields. It's strange to think now that it all started in that converted garage in Paddington. Nostalgic indeed.

Tuesday, 8 May 2007

UK Government to Offshore Jobs?

Given the recent spate of outsourcing announcements made by some NZ manufacturers, I was intrigued by an article on Reuter's today, entitled: 'CBI Urges Offshore Civil Service Jobs to Save Costs'.

"There is no reason for back office functions to be replicated by many civil servants sitting in expensive office blocks or sitting in the UK at all," the CBI says.

Totally agree.

The CBI reckons most of the work they do could be streamlined and calculates that more than 500 million pounds could be saved over two years by combining or outsourcing it.

What's the argument, I say. We live in a world where offshoring can deliver high quality output and generate real cost savings. Savings that can be re-invested into more productive sectors of the economy or its social infrastructure. Seems to make sense really.

Restructuring

The WH Consultancy is currently engaged in a major restructuring process which includes HBI Software and HBI Sales in Bangalore, together with Strategy Analysis Limited in the UK.

Realigning a group of businesses around a product or suite of products, rather than offering explicit third party ICT development services, impacts in a number of ways. It has an immediate impact on management structure and focus, an immediate impact on capital and cashflow, and a wholly new set of business models to absorb.

Add to this the global dimension of the different parts, and the challenge might at first seem daunting. In fact, this is not necessarily the case. Because the different parts are located in significant but distinct geographic regions, it provides the restructured entity with a foothold in several important overseas markets.

Assisting me in this restructuring process has been NZTE and their global network of offices. As part of the due diligence process, I have, over the past few months, had meetings with their representatives in London, UAE, Singapore and Los Angeles.

Last week, I received a Beachhead Programme Application Form from NZTE. The Beachhead Programme is one of the best and, in my view, most useful of NZTE's programmes at assisting NZ businesses engage with offshore markets. It provides accredited NZ businesses with immediate access to a Local Board of experienced practitioners who each have that most invaluable local asset. A network.

Rather than focusing on the challenge of the restructuring therefore, I am focusing on the opportunities that it will bring. The support is there. So is the resolve.

'Stay in the Bay' Relaunch


We are relaunching the Stay in the Bay portal, together with Priority One, the Western Bay of Plenty EDA, this Friday.

The portal is an e-marketplace that businesses within the Western Bay can use to procure and pitch for business within the region. 1,500 newsletters are being distributed by Priority One to CEO's and business-owners to mark the re-launch.

Much is said of the take-up of online tools to improve productivity by business in New Zealand. There is no cost barrier to entry to Stay in the Bay. It is a 'free' service, supported by limited and targeted advertising. As a test of that take-up mentality, there can be no better case study than the outcome of this relaunch.

Monday, 7 May 2007

Search Wars

M & A activity in the ‘Search’ space continues to grip global investor interest.

The two big plays at present are Google’s proposed acquisition of Double Click and Microsoft’s tilt at Yahoo! Are these just the short-term realignments and positioning of major market players, or a signal of more significant developments ahead?

Ask the owners of traditional news and published content. Working with Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft (MSN) has in the past provided these content owners with some legitimate monetising of their IP. That was the basis of the relationship. Are times changing however?

Google, in particular, has been aggressively moving into the content space; text-based, mobile-based and video-based. YouTube, its video sharing arm, is currently facing potential legal action on a number of fronts for the unauthorised display of third party content on its site. Facing a $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom over copyrighted material, Google has claimed it is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. According to Google, by hosting content provided by others, the law's Safe Harbor provision protects it from liability so long as they act fast to remove copyrighted content once the owner notifies them. Viacom has rejected this claim.

The question surely being asked is: ‘When does an online search partner start to become an online competitor?’ Traditional news and content publishers have already seen some historic revenue streams cannibalised by online portals. Think Craiglist in the States or Trademe in New Zealand.

My own view is that the current M & A activity is the prelude to a much bigger play. The control of content and its dissemination is an end game with potentially huge rewards going to the victor. I suspect that battle has just been joined.

Investment Ready?

A couple of emails from Microsoft UK over the weekend drew my attention to an initiative being set up by Microsoft UK for their ISV Empower partner community.

Leveraging The Library House’s company research and analysis, Microsoft UK are searching for high-potential empower companies, selecting them based on public information including investment history, media attention and growth. A short-list of high-potential ISVs will be offered the chance to present at the inaugural Microsoft StartupZone Showcase (to be held on June 4th, Brussels). The event will offer an opportunity to mix with other high-potential CEOs, industry executives and VCs.

As part of the Microsoft - Library House initiative, ISV Empower partners are being allowed the opportunity to explore their investment readiness and receive feedback on their business with free online access to Run the Gauntlet. Entrants completing The Gauntlet receive a personal, confidential Report Card assessing their investment readiness, with an at-a-glance summary of strengths and weaknesses. By clicking on each of the 16 areas, they access in-depth feedback on how and why they have been scored and advice on how to improve their business and the answers they give investors.

Neat.

Sunday, 6 May 2007

On the Road to Wembley!



Blackpool FC's 6-3 win over Swansea means that the Seasiders place in the Division One promotion play-offs is confirmed.

We meet Oldham next Sunday at Boundary Park and then the second leg is set for Bloomfield Road on Saturday 19th May.

If the 'Pool win this two-leg play-off, its off to the new Wembley Stadium to meet either Nottingham Forest or Yeovil Town for the Division One Play Off final.

I cannot wait.

Friday, 4 May 2007

IntelligentView to be Launched

HBI Software has delivered the fully tested version of the IntelligentView portal. IntelligentView is the online version of PrintView, the premier global print industry intelligence source.

Over the next couple of weeks, several years of content will be uploaded before the Portal’s formal launch later this month.

We will be integrating IntelligentView into the Smart Analytics portal and make its content available to users of the Microsoft Office 2007 Suite. Check back for details of the formal launch.

Thursday, 3 May 2007

Setting Up in the US

At the end of February, I spent a week in Los Angeles with John Beer, my UK-based Pingar partner.

With the help of Calvin Cheong and the team based at the NZTE offices in Santa Monica, we visited local technology parks including The Girvan Institute of Technology and The Pasadena Technology Business Centre. Speaking to their respective Executive Directors, we began to learn about the opportunities and the realities of setting up a sales and technical support office in the region. We spoke to tenants of both these facilities to learn at first hand their experiences, both practical and technical.

This morning, I spent an hour on a telephone conference call with two legal attorneys based in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley. They were, and will be able to advice, on the many other realities of setting up a presence in the United States: Corporate structures, employment law, immigration, taxation, IP law etc. More conference calls will take place in the next few days and weeks. And then there will be the follow-up visits.

Setting up an effective presence in the US will require significant assistance to ensure that we not only match, but also personally understand, the business and cultural differences that working in the US entail.

I believe the market opportunity there is great. So are the pitfalls if we are not careful. Research and cost is therefore a necessary pre-cursor to any actual commitment to invest in this region.

Xero 12 - PlanHQ 8

Last night's BOP ICT Cluster meeting attracted a large crowd of software developers to hear Rod Drury speak. Is it my imagination, or are the number of software developers attending BOP ICT meetings increasing? I think that might be the case.

Rod talked about his background, SaaS and the way ahead. Ah yes, and he did manage to mention Xero and PlanHQ - a few times.

A good meeting, some good questions, a good night.

Wednesday, 2 May 2007

ICT Cluster Tonight - Rod Drury

I think about 60 people are planning to attend the BOP ICT Cluster tonight at Mills Reef. That's according to his blog.

I plan to open a book to count how many times the word 'Xero' crosses Rod's lips. And another one for the word 'PlanHQ'........

globalbop in Tauranga

Last night, I attended a meeting organised by globalbop, a joint initiative set up by the Tauranga Incubator and the Export Capability Projects.

The basic background as spelled out by the organisers was that the two organisations had joined forces to capitalise on the Export Led Economy by driving change and creating opportunity. Five key programs were identified as driving this:

1. Cluster Growth and Development
2. BOP Leadership Forum
3. Circle of Innovation (Incubation)
4. BOP Regional Framework (including Education and Training)
5. Measurement of resulting Economic Outputs.

The main presentation was given by ex-EDS Knowledge Management guru, Dr Donna Stemmer. Formerly based out of Texas and now out of Tauranga (they both have a capital 'T' in common), Donna gave a very effective presentation that covered off the key points identified in the initiative. It was the discussion that followed though that summed up in some way the concept that is 'economic development' in New Zealand.

For a country of its size, New Zealand has an awful lot of stakeholders in the business of assisting others in business. What differentiates these stakeholders from say, the UK, is that their governance is not always standard. Consider EDA's. Priority One, which is the Western Bay of Plenty EDA, has a very different governance structure to Positively Wellington Business or Enterprising Manukau. The same applies to Chambers of Commerce. Tauranga Chamber of Commerce has a strong presence with an experienced, professional staff. Other Chambers are manned or led by a part-time CEO together with his / her dog.

The upshot is that there is no standard agenda or programme for economic development at the local level. Some initiatives are led by the EDA, others by the local Council and others by a mix of the two, the three, the four etc.....

What last nights Q & A revealed was less a disagreement about the ideas and agenda of globalbop, more a discussion of where this sits within the scope of existing stakeholder initiatives in Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region. globalbop's biggest challenge is not going to win support for its initiatives. Its biggest challenge is going to be able to build an integrated platform which reflects and manages the interests of the many other stakeholders which exist in the Bay to support and deliver on those initiatives.

Tuesday, 1 May 2007

The HBI Sales Story - Part 1

HBI Sales Private Limited opened its doors for business in Sunrise Chambers, Ulsoor Road, Bangalore in 2003.

It's key objective was to create research and analysis reports on different sectors of the ICT space. Since its inception, its largest client has become Smart Analytics, which publishes the Smart Analytics ICT Research portal. This portal is now integrated and hard-coded into the Research ribbon of Microsoft Office 2007 Suite.



Since the launch of its Smart Analytics service, HBI Sales has prepared over 40 Competitive Intelligence reports on global companies operating in the ICT industry. These companies are monitored daily to ensure that the Subscriber Area of the Smart Analytics portal is updated daily with Breaking News and New Product Details.

The HBI Sales team work closely with the development team at HBI Software to ensure all their competitive intelligence reports and updates are fully smart tagged so that users get the full benefits of Microsoft Office's web services functionality.

Blogging Rocks

Since Annie Hill sent out her email from Priority One on Friday, The Bay has rocked to the sound of Blogging!

Maurice from Sprint Wireless has set up a brand new blog here. Ian Carter who is MD of Xegen (NZ's third most exciting company in a recent poll by The National Business Review - sorry Ian!) is planning to dust off his lapsed blog. And a telephone call yesterday from Craig Garner, formerly CEO of Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, but now CEO of The Stardome Observatory in Auckland, demonstarted the networking capabilities of the blog.

Its time is now! Rock on the blog!

Forget Export, Go Global

An excellent article in yesterday's The Business supplement to The New Zealand Herald.

Andy Lark, former Sun Microsystems Marketing Chief, is an ex-pat Kiwi who is now Chairman of the NZTE Silicon Valley Beachhead Programme. In the article, Andy complains that many NZ businesses seem content to base their people and investment structures entirely in New Zealand. Start-up companies in New Zealand that only start thinking about international markets after five years of operation are not going about things in the right way, he says.

It's a theme I have repeated many times in this blog. Thinking globally is a mindset and an attitude that growth companies should prepare for from Day 1. New Zealand might be isolated from its major markets by geography, but that makes global thinking even more important.

In New Zealand, there is no shortage of terrific ideas, says Lark. "It's about having the vision and the courage to put them out there on the global stage."

Game, set and match.