Search Leads the Way

Outsell 2008 has just been published. In its report, Outsell forecasts steady and moderate growth for the information industry from 2007 to 2010, with performance varying among segments, and predicts that successful companies will be agile and adaptive solutions providers.

The Search, Aggregation & Syndication (SAS) segment of the information industry is projected to surge far ahead of other segments, achieving a 22.7 percent CAGR, hitting $75 billion in revenue by 2010. Online advertising is the engine behind this fast pace of growth, since it's shifting ad dollars from other marketing media, and diverting audiences that used to belong to publishers.

The overriding issue for information-industry execs in the coming year is agility, according to Outsell Chief Analyst Leigh Watson Healy.

"The growth of the SAS segment alone is a powerful demonstration of the fundamental shifts in product creation, distribution, and business models being driven by nimble competitors with 'e-DNA,'" she said.

I really like that line. I will use it a lot. Pingar has e-NDA! Now that's cool.

Pingar Meets Inferno

John Beer is talking to Inferno PR this week, in London to help communicate Pingar's strategic relationship with Microsoft.

In New Zealand, I am working with Julien and Kim at JML Communications to help communicate our complete brand message.

Between us, we are building a compelling Communications and PR platform to take the Pingar platform to the global market. It's exciting times ahead.

Goodbye VerticalNet

One of the last relics of the 2000 DotCom boom was finally put out of its misery yesterday.

According to Yahoo Finance, VerticalNet has been acquired by an Italian company called BravoSolution.

I have blogged about VerticalNet before. Its demise marks the end of a bygone era for me. Goodbye VerticalNet. Goodbye 2000.

The Tauranga Round Table (The Report)

The Sebel Trinity Wharf hosted the Forum

I attended the Regional Business & Central Government Economic Forum as planned in Tauranga yesterday. Central government was well represented with Helen Clark leading a large delegation of senior Ministers.

I had pre-selected my two preferred workshops: Tertiary Education, research and development chaired by Dr Michael Cullen and Export Year 2007, chaired by the Hon Trevor Mallard.

Both sessions were closed so no comment possible. It was good however to meet Doug Sutton, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Waikato and catch up with Roy Simpson of Origen Technology. It's good to see a local Tauranga ICT company doing so well.

The occasion actually lent itself to some good networking, so I obliged. As to HC, we shook hands, she looked at my lapel and said: 'Ah, a consultant'. A consultant? Gutted!

The Tauranga Round Table

Tomorrow's visit by Helen Clark and leading Ministers to attend the Western Bay of Plenty Economic Development Forum in Tauranga provides a good opportunity to address some key long-term concerns for the region.

I am attending the Tertiary Education and Research and Development Workshop. It is being chaired by Dr Michael Cullen. I cannot think of a single non-physical infrastructure issue more important for the Bay.

I believe there are solutions to this issue, but they require the input of both the public and the private sectors. Tomorrow's Economic Development Forum is I hope just the first step in that process.

Re-charged from Rotoiti

The bach in Rotoiti

I have just experienced my first 'unconnected' 48 hours in almost 4 years. No email, no internet access, nothing. I survived.

Back in Tauranga, Rotoiti seems a long time ago. This is a busy week on many fronts. That will become obvious as I blog through the next few days. The wireless weekend however has done exactly what I needed. It gave me a break from the never ending call to action that email in particular demands. I was able to relax. I must do this again.

Potton House, Wyboston Lakes

Potton House, Wyboston Lakes

I have kept in regular contact with Jan Andrews of East of England International since her recent visit to Tauranga. We have been looking at sourcing potential offices for Pingar in the Cambridge area. I expect John Beer, of Pingar UK, to visit a suite of offices in Potton House, next week.

Wyboston Lakes is close to the heartland of Silicon Fen and Cambridge is only one hour from London by train. Cambridge is home to Microsoft Labs and a number of other leading global technology companies.

In identifying Pingar's needs, particularly the needs of an NZ-based ICT company setting up a UK facility, it has raised other possibilities. If Pingar can get it right, is it possible to set up a 'Cluster' of NZ ICT businesses inside the same UK facility? I pose the question.

Microsoft DirectioNZ 2007 - The Aftermath

As blogged yesterday, I attended the Microsoft DirectioNZ 2007 workshop here in Tauranga yesterday.

The key presenter was Microsoft Evangalist, Carlos Miguel Martinez. Carlos basically took the audience through Microsoft's core infrastructure and business application roadmap for the next 12 - 18 months. At the half way stage, I had actually thought of leaving. The first part of the presentation had focused on the technical aspects of different server platforms - core infrastructure. That's too techie for me.

I decided to stay and I am very glad I did. The focus of the second session was much more on business applications, particularly on Communications. The session made me think. As Pingar begins to roll out to the UK and the US, with existing offices in NZ and Bangalore, I realised that this was one aspect of the roll-out that had not been totally documented. Carlos demonstrated new features in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2007 which really can benefit the technical infrastructure and comms between the various offices.

The Aftermath starts today with a requirements and technical specification document being drafted to define Pingar's global technical comms strategy. Then will come its implemenation.

Microsoft DirectioNZ 2007

I am attending the Microsoft DirectioNZ 2007 event today in Tauranga.

It's a slightly surreal feeling. Although Pingar and Strategy Analysis have worked closely with Microsoft for a long time now, this is (I think) only the second actual Microsoft event I have been to in the four year's I have been in NZ. I have attended a couple in the UK on return visits though. So what do I expect?

Good question. I have blogged before over the differences I have seen in the Microsoft - Partner relationship over the past few years. I would hope to see this reflected in today's presentation.

I remember well a pre-launch Microsoft CRM event near Heathrow five years ago. Perhaps a couple of hundred partners had been invited, with maybe 50% being directly engaged in CRM-based technology innovation. I remember well as the colour drained from the faces of many as they realised that Microsoft's beta core CRM application targeted their own niche development activities. The Microsoft mantra of the day was that Partners could build revenues by supporting the new Microsoft CRM platform. There was no mention of the devastating impact on existing Partner revenues, development and business plan strategies. Have things changed? I believe the answer is yes.

My advise to any partner attending today is to sit down with their Microsoft account manager and work through any Microsoft-focused activity business plan together. Try and remove any doubt about Microsoft's future intentions. They are now far better at publishing their longer-term road maps. This is the key to improve that Microsoft - Partner relationship. 'Remove the Fear'. Today's meeting should be interesting.

Back to Work!

Tauranga Art Gallery Opened at the Weekend

So it's back to work after a very full Labour Weekend.

A day dominated by sport (Rugby World Cup Final and Blackpool v Crystal Palace) was followed by a day dominated by culture. Tauranga hosted its own Art Festival and I visited the new Tauranga Art Gallery. It's very impressive.

Today, it is the equinox wind that dominates the City. Together with email, the blog and the business plans. Normal service is resumed.

Monsoon in Bangalore

Monsoon rains predicted

Whilst New Zealand is entering its warmer summer months, with a fine Labour Weekend on the cards, the North-East monsoon is all set to enter Bangalore and rainfall is expected to increase significantly.

Heavy clouds over the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal are an indication of the onset of the rainy season. According to today's Times of India, satellite pictures taken on Thursday showed clouds passing over south-interior Karnataka, Western Ghats and coastal Karnataka.

Expect it to get worse. At this time of the year, I always feel for the team at HBI Software. During the last monsoon, the company's underground carpark was severely flooded on several occasions. Just moving around the city becomes almost impossible. Major roads, including MG Road, KG Road and Hosur Road will be choked with slow-moving vehicles.

When we complain about wet weather and slow traffic in New Zealand, it is relative. In Bangalore, it is not. In Bangalore, it is real and sadly on occasions, very deadly. Let's hope that this year's rainy season is no worse than normal.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot..

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot...

Five weeks World Cup rugby comes down to the final 80 minutes, early on Sunday morning NZ-time. The outcome of England v South Africa will define rugby's international bragging rights for the next four years.

In a tiny part of Tauranga on Sunday, a sea of white will prepare for the game ahead. Well not exactly a sea, but definitely a confident puddle. Surrounded by still stunned All Black supporters, England will take on the might of the Boks.

English grit or South African flair? By 10.00am on Sunday, we will know the outcome. Let the battle commence.

Tertiary Courses in the Bay

In advance of Helen Clark's visit to Tauranga on 30th October for the Regional Economic Forum meeting, I received an email from Jodie Topping at Cucumber Software.

The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and University of Waikato will be presenting an inter-institutional proposal for expanded tertiary education in the Bay. University degree level ICT provision is a very important part of the case being made.

The University of Waikato’s School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences is working to scope possible expansion of ICT degree-level teaching and research in Tauranga. This would involve the development and delivery of high-quality courses which are relevant to the present and anticipated needs of the Western Bay of Plenty ICT Cluster.

Skill shortages in the ICT sector are real. I have blogged before about the need to develop the tertiary education sector in the Bay of Plenty, one of New Zealand's fastest growing regions. The initiative above is a hugely positive one. Let's hope that the Ministers joining Helen Clark on this visit understand that.

The Advisory Board

Over the past week, I have been working on the Investment Challenge Business Plan which is being organised by UK Trade & Investment and Unlimited Magazine.

One important aspect of any management structure is the support offered to the Executive team by its Advisory Board. Although I have blogged in general about Pingar many times before, this is one aspect that I have not directly commented on. So who are our Advisory Board? Members include:

The Earl of Errol who is a Member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. 'Merlin' is a Council member of both PITCOM and EURIT, and

Steven Willmott who lectures in Knowledge Engineering and Machine Learning Group, Llenguatges i Sistemes Informàtics Dept. (Software technology):Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona.

Pingar is supported by professional advisers in both New Zealand and the UK. These include of course both lawyers and accountants. And we have recently recruited JML Communications of Auckland to advise on our global PR and Communications strategy.

Working closely with our technology partners, who include Microsoft, Global Graphics and FAST, together with the HBI development team in Bangalore, the executive team at Pingar are able to plan and execute strategy using the best human resource available to it: It's own built-in network.

Vodafone Roaming

I can feel the pain

Driving back from Hamilton this afternoon, I received a txt from Vodafone NZ. It advised that important changes to roaming changes had been made and to find out more about 'Traveller our zone' prices, I could freecall 495.

'Roaming Charges'. I have been stung before. Badly. Traveling offshore necessitates some mobile use. And this is when Vodafone strike.

Skype helps enormously when connected to a PC. In the UK, I use 'pay as you go' SIM cards. In India that is not possible. You need to be a resident to purchase a SIM card. So the roaming charges kick in and they hurt.

I have not yet called freecall 495. I need a strong drink first. I'll pour it now.

It's CORDIS, stupid

Engaging with Europe

I've blogged about CORDIS before. And I will again.... and again..... and again. OK. So you get the picture.

It's all about the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme. It is something that people concerned about the state of R&D in New Zealand should learn about. Like now.

I am spending tomorrow in Hamilton at the Waikato Innovation Park. My meeting includes lunch. As well as soup, I expect FP7 to be on the menu.

Geographically, Hamilton may be a long way from Europe. In NZ's desire to be at the forefront of global research and innovation however, distance means nothing. Engagement and collaboration with Europe does.

Tauranga Council 'On Trial'

The results for the Tauranga Council elections came in over the weekend.

As expected, Stuart Crosby was re-elected as Mayor by a big majority. In the contest for Council seats however, there was a significant shake-up. The jury is out on the effects for the City.

The first and most obvious headline is that major projects such as the Waterfront Museum and the proposed Memorial Park to Strand Walkway are out. These are headlines only.

Of more concern is the confrontational tone of the victors of this election, collectively known as 'Pick 6'. (The electorate perhaps wisely only picked 4). Their spokesman, Murray Guy, is already clearly targeting Mayor Crosby and City CEO, Steven Town.

So who is Murray Guy and his band of merry men, and one woman. Only time will tell. My first impression is that '$10 Tauranga' is alive and well. For the sake of the City's long term development, I only hope I am wrong.

Research and Development in the Bay

I received a letter yesterday from the Prime Minister, Helen Clark. It invited me to attend a Regional Business and Central Government Economic Forum on 30th October.

A number of Ministers will be joining the PM and I have elected to attend the Tertiary Education, Research & Development workshop being chaired by the Minister of Finance, Hon Dr Michael Cullen. The workshop will discuss the particular challenges and opportunities specific to economic growth in the Western Bay of Plenty.

I have blogged before about the importance of tertiary education and its potential impact on R & D in the Bay. Pingar's recent work with the University of Waikato is evidence of this.

Back in 2003, when I was still based in the UK, I was asked to provide oral evidence to the House of Lords Science & Technology Select Committee investigating 'Science and Regional Development Agencies'. You can read a summary of its report here.

Support for Research & Development activity is a key task for regional and central government. Without the correct frameworks in place, government organisations and the private sector will not deliver. At a time when a key focus in New Zealand, like so much of the world, is on developing a 'Knowledge-based Economy', meetings such as the upcoming Economic Forum in Tauranga are essential to build the strategic platform from which a meaningful Research & Development policy can be delivered.

Accessing MediaPost Publications

Being based in New Zealand means I am some distance from industry 'chatter'. So access to online resources is essential.

I subscribe to various newsletters and have a number of good blogs bookmarked. One resource I use a lot is made available by MediaPost Publications. Registration is free and both the content and comment is good.

If you work in the online advertising and marketing space, they are definitely worth checking out.

Priority One in London

Priority One are in London!

To find out why the Western Bay of Plenty is such a great place to work and live in, you can meet up with Andrew Coker and Annie Hill of Priority One at The Peninsular Room, New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4TE on Monday 15th October, starting 6.30pm.

freeconference.com

I was tied up in a long conference call yesterday with potential new Pingar partners in South Africa and the United States.

Usually I Skype when I communicate offshore. This time however, we had to revert to landline. To facilitate the call, we used freeconference.com, a US-based ASP service. The name says it all. I dialled into the US Conference number using an NZ Telecom landline and the 0161 International dialling code. At about 8c per minute, there was no degradation to the line and there does not appear to be a cap on the number of people joining the call. I will be using this service again.

Improving CORDIS

I received an email overnight from CORDIS, the official information service of the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission.

I have been a registered user of CORDIS for some time now. The email advised that I had been selected as a relevant contact to help improve the CORDIS service. I am happy to do this.

I would encourage all NZ based research-focused companies, universities and organisations to register. CORDIS provides an excellent overview of the Seventh Framework Program which in turn provides great opportunities for both funding and European collaboration. It is time that NZ engaged.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau

Yesterday, I joined the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Today, they released the press release. The two were not related!

The inaugural Interactive Advertising Bureau Insight report prepared by the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that online advertising spending in New Zealand in the first half of 2007 was $57.6 million. The report gathered revenue information from 27 media companies, representing dozens of websites, and is the largest study of its kind in New Zealand.

Online advertising expenditure in New Zealand is therefore much bigger than previously thought and accounts for about 5 per cent of total advertising spending, according to the survey.

This is certainly an improvement on previous estimates, but New Zealand still lags far behind other countries in terms of online advertising spend. In the UK, online advertising accounts for almost 15% of total ad spend. But the news from this survey is positive.

I am looking forward to attending IAB functions and meetings in the future. It will be good to engage directly with the New Zealand Interactive Advertising community. Even if it does mean spending yet more time in Auckland......

Globalising Microsoft NZ

It has been an interesting few weeks. And this could be a long post. My longest yet.

I have been engaged in a review of our various business activities. This includes the relationships we have with our major technology partner, Microsoft.

One of the benefits of working in the global village is that we have different relationships with Microsoft. This includes accreditation with Microsoft NZ, Microsoft UK and Microsoft India. These relationships enables us to compare Partner performance and Partner return.

At the outset, let me state the following. We enjoy what I believe is a very strong and ongoing relationship with Microsoft Inc. We value this relationship and have an enormous respect for the Microsoft people we work with. As a Partner, Microsoft has progressed leaps and bounds in recent years. Their increased focus on, and support for, their third party developer platform has been a win-win for both sides of the relationship.

So why do I feel that Microsoft developers based in New Zealand are disadvantaged to their peers in say, the UK?

It has nothing to do with the passion of Microsoft NZ's own people. I know several and admire their commitment. No. This has everything to do with Microsoft NZ's own structure, orientation and resources.

I believe Microsoft NZ operates as a closed-border silo. The focus is on internal countrywide product sales and support for developers in the local market. When questioned, Microsoft NZ will say it is keen for its developer partners to engage globally. It simply does not have the programs or the matching resources however, to support this focus.

By comparison, Microsoft UK has a number of excellent programs available to assist its Development Partners grow their business globally. These include 'Partners for the Future', 'Cross Border' and the new Startup Accelerator Scheme. Why are such programs not made available to NZ-based Microsoft Developer Partners?

They are extremely valuable. I should know. Through our association with Microsoft UK, we are actively engaged in pursuing the benefits that these programs offer. They will provide us with long term access to the global Microsoft developer market and enable us to build up our own Knowledge Resource as we share and experience cross-border engagement. It is a win-win proposition.

Given New Zealand's geographic location, the need for this level of support is perhaps even greater that most other Microsoft centric-regions. There is an amazing cluster of Microsoft partners in New Zealand who are creating ground-breaking, innovative applications and platforms. They not only deserve improved access to the Microsoft global family. I believe they deserve it.

Microsoft NZ is currently recruiting a new Managing Director. One of the first tasks the successful candidate should address is the support provided to its Developer Platform to engage in this global market. That is not an option. It is a must.

The View from the Paddock

And that's my last word on the matter.

Life After Cardiff

All Blacks in Mourning

I woke up this morning and the sun was shining. That is a big relief.

Following yesterday's 20 - 18 defeat at the hands of the French in the Rugby World Cup, you would have been forgiven for thinking that the end of the world was nigh in New Zealand. But no!

The birds are still singing, the TV still works and coffee still tastes like coffee.

So all eyes will now be focused on Paris for the first of the two semi-finals next Sunday when England meet hosts, France. In this part of Tauranga, the dream still lives on.

Plugging Tauranga into the UK

During Jan Andrews visit to Tauranga yesterday, we managed to set up a meeting with local business leaders. Local representatives from Priority One, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and NZTE attended.

It provided a forum to discuss the support that East of England International can provide to Tauranga-based businesses wishing to export to, or set-up an office in, the UK. It was a really positive meeting and follow-ups are assured.

UK Trade & Investment and NZTE have good close relations. This is a real help for the two-way trade that is so important to both countries.

What was very clear from Jan's presentation was that the UK provides a great landing place for NZ businesses wishing to engage with the wider European market. That now accounts for over 400 million consumers. More talks between EEI and Tauranga are guaranteed.

EEI in Tauranga

Cambridge University, England

I am meeting Jan Andrews, Head of Asia Pacific, East of England Limited in Tauranga today. EEI are part of UK Trade & Investment.

Jan is visiting New Zealand this week and it is a good opportunity to talk about possible research initiatives in the Cambridge region of the UK. The region is very strong in ICT research and is known colloquially as 'Silicon Fen'.

Having spent some time with the University of Waikato in recent weeks, I am warming up to the need for closer links to the academic and research space. Today's meeting will demonstrate just how global collaboration might work from the Bay of Plenty.

Tauranga Innovation Park

Waikato Innovation Park, Hamilton

I have just returned from Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton. It is my fourth trip in six weeks.

Waikato Innovation Park has been established from a public/private partnership to enhance Waikato economic growth by strengthening Innovation in the region's world leading Agritech and Ag-Bio sectors and is currently home to over 50 companies.

The Waikato is already the country's leading location for science research, with approximately 1000 research scientists working in Hamilton, giving the city one of the highest ratios of scientists per capita in the world. A quarter of the research undertaken in New Zealand occurs in Waikato organisations. Hence my recent trips.

Hamilton has one big advantage over Tauranga. Hamilton has a University; Tauranga does not. That fact hurts businesses in Tauranga / Bay of Plenty. It is a situation that has to be addressed.

My own take on this is that Tauranga, as the one of the fastest growing cities in New Zealand, should do a deal with the University of Waikato. Up-front and now. I've heard the talk. It's time to do the walk. So in election month, this is my Manifesto.

1. Make land available at Windermere on the outskirts of Tauranga to enable the University of Waikato to build a campus.

2. Focus on a core area of research activity. Let's call it 'ICT'.

3. Build the Tauranga Innovation Park and attract a cluster of private companies to it. Locate it adjacent to the campus and create active engagement between the research scientists and the commercial sector. Build great, innovative businesses and throw in a free surf board to remind them that they are only minutes from the Mount's Main Beach.

Now I'll vote for that.

Daylight Saving

The clocks moved forward this weekend in New Zealand by one hour, which means we are now on Daylight Saving.

For most Kiwis, the key significance is the extra one hour's daylight at the end of the day - more time for the post-work BBQ. For those of us engaged in offshore contact however, it has another effect.

It moves our timing for overseas communication. In three weeks time, the situation, particularly with Europe worsens. With their clocks then going back one hour, it means the time difference between New Zealand and say, the UK, extends from 11 hours to 13 hours. Offshore Skype calls therefore move later into the night, NZ-time, to accommodate the extra two hour time zone difference.

Lighter nights are the positive. Not so the timing for offshore communication.