Monday, 29 June 2009

Taxing the Cloud


In Hong Kong, I had a very interesting meeting with KPMG.

We looked at the business model and started talking about Microsoft's Azure platform. As previous postings to this blog will verify, this is Pingar's preferred hosting platform.

Most of the discussions I have had around 'Cloud Computing' relate to technical issues. The meeting with KPMG highlighted another - tax.

If one follows the basic Microsoft Azure premise that server and broadband capacity can be replicated across multiple servers as demand requires, it is quite possible that e-commerce transactions could be transacted across numerous locations. That leads to some interesting tax-related scenarios. This is not a discussion I have had before.

At this point, I do not know enough about the Azure platform, to understand how the system might manage this process. Sure as hell, if the IRD or IRS come knocking on the door, we will need to be able to audit and date stamp each transaction. This is going to lead to some interesting conversations. Starting now.

More about this particular line of enquiry as I process through it.

Tauranga - The Week Ahead


It's amazing how the in tray piles up when you are away from the office. I am currently working my way through correspondence of all sorts. This is not unimportant.

On Wednesday, I am traveling to Wellington for the NZ SharePoint Users Conference. Before then, there are a stack of engagements I need to set up around NZ. That's part of the joy of offshore market visits. They set up a whole new set of files and folders. Hong Kong already has its own set of drop-downs in place.

Several stories have surfaced whilst I was away. One very positive one is the news that Sparkbox founders Andrew Duff and Henry Tait are fundraising for a new $50 million venture capital fund to invest in early stage New Zealand technology companies. It has received a $20 million funding commitment from the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund.

The fund is called the '2 Ignite' fund and it will apparently target technology-based investments in areas such as information and communications, the medical and bio-tech sector, and the Internet.

Last year, I spoke to Greg Sitters of Sparkbox and he identified a hole in current NZ capital markets for emerging technology companies. I very much hope that 2 Ignite is one way to begin to address and fill that hole.

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Shanghai Expo 2010


A sketch of the NZ Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about the intended presence of Export NZ (BOP) at the Shanghai Expo 2010. Although I am now back in NZ (fog at Auckland was the problem, not the expected typhoon off HK), my mind is still working on this past week's meetings.

The Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors between May and October. At least 40,000 are expected to visit the NZ Pavilion over this period, EACH DAY. That's some exposure.

The New Zealand Pavilion, themed "Cities of Nature: Living between Land and Sky", will be located on a 2,000-square-meter land in Pudong side of the Expo site. The New Zealand Government will invest nearly NZD30 million (US$23.05 million) at the Shanghai Expo 2010. That's some spend.

Which brings me neatly back to 'my thoughts'. How can we benefit from and leverage this presence? The opportunities I have witnessed this week are real. They are also enormous. Keep thinking Peter, 'keep thinking'.

Friday, 26 June 2009

Auckland Bound


The market visit to Hong Kong has come to an end.

The visit has surpassed all expectations. The opportunities here are immense. A return visit is already scheduled.

Right now, my focus is directed at the NZ SharePoint Users Conference to be held in Wellington next week. It will be good to connect with the NZ SharePoint user community and engage with some Microsoft professionals.

Between then and now however, there is the small matter of the commute home. And the in-bound typhoon. Hmmmmm......

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Awesome - NZ Chamber of Commerce

As those who follow this blog will know, Pingar is a member of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce.

So tonight, it was a privilege to be invited to meet up with the NZ Chamber of Commerce, here in Hong Kong. I have to say, it was full on. Networking here is both instant and fun. I have more business cards tonight in the wallet than after 5 Tauranga CoC BA5s. So what's the difference?

I guess in part, it is the business networking environment. This is a business city. For most of the people I spoke to tonight, this was just one of three or four such events this week. They love it. And it works.

Last night, Jacqui and I attended the NZTE Summer BBQ at the Pacific Club. The two events are related. There is a very strong Kiwi business community here. Jacqui and I have been privileged to meet them.

So if you are a business in New Zealand and are looking to set up here, then check them out. We have, and we will again.

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Awesome Cyberport


Hong Kong's Cyberport

Last time I visited Hong Kong, it was the Science Park at Shatun in the New Territories that caught my attention. This time, it is Hong Kong's Cyberport.

It is home to Microsoft HK, plus a significant number of other ICT companies. It is also home to Smart-Space, an incubator for start-up companies. I am interested.

The first two days of this market visit have been packed with meetings. Last night, NZTE hosted a reception at the Pacific Club in Kowloon. It was a great opportunity to meet great Kiwis doing great things in the region. There are now even more dots to connect.

At a meeting yesterday morning with Microsoft HK, I was surprised to learn that Pingar could well be the first Microsoft NZ partner to set up an office here. At Cyberport however, the story was different. It was clear that an existing engagement existed with Growth Wellington around the digital / creative industry space. The name WETA comes to mind.

This market visit is going quickly, but after two days, many of the original milestones have already been met. More updates when I am back in NZ.

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Awesome - Dim Sum


My umbrella is at the ready.......

On 23rd April, I blogged that it was cloudy and drizzly outside.

The words of the captain 6 hours ago were not that comforting. "We are skirting a typhoon", he said before ominously adding, "there are thunderstorms in the Hong Kong area". So 2 months on and the same wet and humid reception awaited.

This time I am here for a week. On the last trip, I talked about discovering 'dots' and possible 'networks'. This week, it is all about joining them up. Meetings have been organised and a busy schedule lies ahead.

First things first however. Finding that awesome Sunday Dim Sum is my next quest. Kowloon, here I come.

Friday, 19 June 2009

SunLive



Tauranga has a new daily News online portal. It is SunLive and looks as though it is published by the publishers of The Weekend Sun.

Up to this point, The Bay of Plenty Times has been the main local online news source. Its one fault however is that it seems to update local news only once a day and this is taken from the day's printed paper. By contrast, SunLive appears to be updated throughout the day.

It's good to have an alternative local news source. It will be interesting to see how the BOP Times responds. Or if, as part of the online APN publishing portfolio, it can.

Bing

I've bookmarked Bing.

Support the small guy. That's my mantra. (A US 12% market share is small - even if the owner isn't)

I am still working through some of the search functionality. I want to determine if the owner has used any of the really valuable search IP it has acquired in the past 12 months: namely PowerSet and FAST. Both acquisitions have in my view accelerated Microsoft's move to the smart end of contextual and enterprise search. And at the fraction of the cost of the expected Yahoo acquisition.

Copying Google is not the way forward. Improving on the search and user experience is. PowerSet and FAST both provide that opportunity. I am just trying to figure out what they might have added to Bing.

[Updated: An interesting related story I read on Reuters following this posting. It's all about timing, they say!]

'Microsoft Corp is willing to invest up to 10 percent of its operating income in its Internet search business for up to five years', Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday, as its "Bing" search engine starts to gain ground with Web surfers.

Bing -- part of Microsoft's perennially money-losing online services unit -- has been winning market share from rivals, according to industry data released this week, but still trails market leader Google by a long way.

"Our shareholders, I told them we were willing to spend 5 to 10 percent of operating income for up to five years in this business, and we feel like we can get an economic return," Ballmer told a business lunch in Chicago, without elaborating on the timeframe.'


Now that's serious money.

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Microsoft - Connecting to Wave 14


Credit to UX Evangelist for the Wave 14 road map above....

That's some list. It's quite a bit longer than the one posted in the previous blog. It just goes to show.

Next plan is to find the blogs for each of the 'Wave 14' products. And then bookmark them. I used to think that the Mount Main beach provided big waves. Nothing touches this however for a comprehensive roll out.

I now expect the 2009 Microsoft Worldwide Partners Conference in New Orleans next month to be an even more hectic affair. What will inflate the interest is this combined roll out and its interaction with Azure - 'The Cloud'. My own guess is that more and more of these roll outs will see increasing integration with 'The Cloud'.

I am now first however preparing for 'The Wave'. According to Mr Dive, it is all about getting the initial set-up right.

Microsoft - Looking Forward to 2010

I have been looking at Microsoft's apparent launch schedule for 2010. It looks like it's going to be a major year for some pretty serious product upgrades. Amongst the most obvious are:

Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2
Office 2010
Exchange Server 2010
SharePoint 2010

They have been clustered around a project plan called 'Wave 14'. The penny has only dropped in recent days. God, I am slow sometimes. Or just not connecting to the right blogs. I hope to be fixing that up to day.

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

H1N1 Flu just got closer....

When I landed at Auckland Airport a few weeks ago from San Fransisco, I was met by a bevy of health professionals. Today, I guess they are spread thinly across New Zealand's landscape facing the almost inevitable pandemic.

News in today's Bay of Plenty Times reported the second confirmed case in Tauranga. The victim worked in Briscoes. That's 100 metres from this office. And 5 co-workers have gone down with flu-like symptoms - all are now in isolation and taking Tamiflu.

I went into Briscoes a couple of days ago. Not surprisingly, there is no bevy outside the store today. We are way past that. Swine flu is here and it's getting pretty damn close.

NZ Online Ad Spend Up

The New Zealand Interactive Advertising Bureau reports strong year-on-year growth for the first quarter of 2009.

In its PriceWaterhouseCoopers-audited survey for the first three months of the calendar year, the IAB found online ad spend had increased 7.99% over the same period in 2008, hitting $46.26 million.

During the same period, advertising in traditional media was down at least 10%.

The IAB’s trailing 12-month total for NZ’s online ad spend has now hit an all-time high of $196.55 million.

These numbers follow my recent postings on the challenges facing traditional media. Whilst current online spend is perhaps down on the rather more optimistic forecasts of 12 months ago, they still demonstrate growth and resilience at a time of entrenched global recession.

Longer term, they also demonstrate the continuing drift of ad media spend from the offline to the online space. That drift is now structural and is here to stay.

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Thinking about China

I received an email from Export NZ (BOP) on Saturday inviting me to a briefing next Wednesday at the Chapel Street offices.

Export NZ Bay of Plenty is planning a business delegation to China next year for both their 'Sister Cities' relationships and to coincide with the Shanghai World Expo 2010. For me, this might just map some longer term thoughts.

New Zealand business is uniquely placed to take advantage of the 2010 Expo. As the first, and at this point, only country in the world to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China, it provides NZ business with a great opportunity.

The NZ Government has already committed considerable resource to build an NZ Pavilion at the event. A number of other initiatives are underway to facilitate engagement between Kiwi and Chinese corporations.

So far as Wednesday's invite is concerned, I am signing up. Time perhaps to build some more substance around those thoughts.

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Battle in the Cloud

Following yesterday's post on tonight's (NZ-time) Azure presentation in Swansea, I read an interesting article on Reuters today.

Google has introduced software to make it easier for businesses using Microsoft's Outlook to switch to its Web-based communications and collaboration products. Google says that its new software can easily transfer data from a Microsoft Exchange server to its own cloud-based online service.

The new product allows business users to continue using the Outlook client for email and other tasks, but the back-end functionality and data storage would move to Google, instead of residing on a company's internal servers running Microsoft software.

The product, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, will be available immediately as part of the existing Premier version of Google apps, which costs US$50 per business user but is also available to educational and nonprofit customers for free.

This is not so much a battle, as a preliminary skirmish. Expect plenty more of the same however as the Clouds gather. At the moment, it is 'handbags at dawn'. Down track, the battles for eyeballs, hits and dollars will become much more intense.

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Understanding The Cloud

Today, in Tauranga, it is raining.

Tomorrow, at the offices in Swansea, we are hosting an event: 'Azure - The Cloud' for a number of invited delegates. The event is being jointly hosted with Microsoft UK.

Understanding The Cloud is something that Pingar is 'deeply engaged' in. Azure is our long term Cloud 'platform of choice' and resource is now being committed to it.

Cloud computing is not however just a case of uploading an application to a Cloud network. It requires specific Azure 'coding'. Even though we work with the standard Microsoft technologies, that additional layer of Azure coding is still required. We are now working on that.

This will be the first Pingar hosted event in Wales. It is in fact one of the first formal Azure presentations in the principality. I hope to be able to publish a report (plus photo's) of the event on Thursday.

(In the meantime, apologies for the opening paragraph pun. Even I am cringing....)

Monday, 8 June 2009

The CEO Club

Later today, I am meeting up with several CEO's here in Tauranga for an informal get-together. It is a good way to engage locally and share common experiences with peers.

Tonight, we will sit down for dinner and be joined by John Cunningham, Executive Director of Ignition Partner Limited and Eileen Basher, Director, Technology New Zealand. Both are presenting at the Technology NZ roadshow tomorrow.

It is perhaps one of the truly amazing things about Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty. It has a reputation in New Zealand for being a retirement town. It isn't. Pingar is a member of both Priority One and Tauranga Chamber of Commerce. We are also members of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. We are regularly invited to events organised by Export NZ, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and The Institute of Directors (I am a member).

I calculate that if I said 'yes' to every business invitation, I would never spend a night at home. Tonight however is a night when staying away from home is a not a bad thing. This is one dinner I would not want to miss.

Sunday, 7 June 2009

Research Focus

On Tuesday, I am speaking about Pingar's experience of working with a University research partner at a Technology NZ workshop in Tauranga. As those who have followed this blog would expect, I will be talking about our relationship with WaikatoLink and how it has evolved over the past year or so.

Pingar's current research strategy however extends far beyond WaikatoLink. Later this week, John and Emma will be recruiting three computer science graduates to join Kaimai Research at the Technium in Swansea. They are going to focus on Pingar's integration into Microsoft SharePoint.

Also this week, I hope to start an engagement with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) to help commercialise a truly exceptional algorithm being developed there.

Research & Development (R&D) is a critical function at Pingar. Whilst most focus is still on the imminent launch of Pingar, we are already looking at the next phases of research. The AUT and POWIS initiatives are just part of that process.

Tuesday's Technology NZ workshop is designed to encourage companies in the Bay of Plenty to take advantage of innovation as a means of tackling the recession and preparing for the inevitable economic upturn. For me, innovation and R&D is not such a transitory activity. For me, it is what Pingar is all about.

POWIS Update


John gets up close to HRH Charles

I traveled to the University of Waikato on Thursday to touch base with the Computer Science Dept to discuss POWIS. At the same time, John Beer, Pingar's UK-based, co-founder, was snuggling up to the POW at Clarence House. Hat doffed, Sir.

Our initiative is to connect the University of Waikato with the University of Swansea in Wales on a joint Pingar research and development initiative. POWIS funds a Waikato graduate to spend two years in Swansea to qualify for a PHD on a Pingar focused project. It's a great initiative from POW and the University of Wales.

Over the next few months, we will hopefully work through the process and commence that engagement. More news when I have it. Now where's that cucumber sandwich?

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

HBI Software - Same address: New Office


HBI Software Pvt Limited opened its doors in Bangalore in September 2001. The address was and remains, Sunrise Chambers, 22 Ulsoor Road, Bangalore.

This week, the company moved into its third suite of offices. I have only seen the photographs but the news from Bangalore is good. And the local telco managed to move all the telecoms across 'just like that'. Hum, I say, as I look at the redundant wireless modem here. If only.

Online Newspaper Subscriptions?

The timing of the previous blog was coincidental. Minutes after publishing it, I can across the following story from Editor and Publisher.com

The nation's top newspaper executives gathered at a Chicago O'Hare airport hotel today to discuss charging for online content and protecting intellectual property.

The summit was initiated by the Newspaper Association of America in response to the recent hearings on Capitol Hill. John Sturm, the NAA's CEO, told E&P the event's purpose was to bring together top publishers to "discuss how best to support and preserve the traditions of newsgathering that will serve the American public."

Sturm said those gathered discussed such topics as protection of intellectual property rights, as well as possible approaches to Congress and Administration to address these and other issues.


I took this as being a slight nod in the direction of Google and others. Intellectual properly and content rights management is becoming a more central area for online debate. It is one that Pingar welcomes. The Newspaper Association of America's concerns are well founded. Democracies require fiercely independent media. That relies on having the resources necessary to find the stories, research and then publish them. That costs. So revenue generation AND protection becomes more important.

It is a debate to follow.

Newspaper woes deepen

The challenges facing traditional print news media are increasing. Their online offerings are not delivering.

In the US, amid the ongoing story of revenue declines among print newspapers comes the news that online ad revenue dropped 13.4% industry-wide during the first quarter of 2009, for a total of $696 million. The drop represents the steepest online decline since the Newspaper Association of America started breaking out online revenue as a separate category.

I put this down to two reasons:

1. Pure internet plays are not concerned about cannibalising offline ad sales. They can therefore be adventurous and focus entirely on online delivery. Their online print cousins are still doing everything to protect their offline ad revenues. It is a difficult bridge to cross.

2. Talk of traditional print media (newspapers) starting online subscriptions (charging for access) will decimate online ad sales. Digital ad agencies want volume. Subscription sales do not offer that.

This is clearly a difficult time. New Zealand's two major newspaper publishers (Fairfax and APN) have both been laying off staff as they try to restructure. And that is the key story today. This is not just about recession. This is about a fundamental restructuring of information delivery.

Today, a revolution is taking place - evolution was last year's story.

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

Pingar LP Moves Office


Pingar LP is moving!

Our new address details are as follows:

Pingar LP
Smart Business Centre
Bay Central
65 Chapel Street
Tauranga, Bay of Plenty
New Zealand

Telephone: +64 757 888 00

The Smart Business Centre is the building at the left of the complex.