Countdown - 62 Days 2Go

I am looking at a very long list. I have inherited this disease from Jacqui.

It is called 'Lists are Very Important' and my list has both a significant number of headings and a frightening number of sub-headings. Plus dates. 62 days is not long enough! But like Napoleon who could offer his generals more troops, more cavalry and more guns, the one thing he could not offer them was more time. So like Napoleon, we will be ready on the day.

This morning's main focus has been, 'The Stand'. I had it all mapped out until an email arrived from the Expo organisers. Branding issues, restrictions and State of Nevada regulations have meant a total rethink. Fortunately, John at the excellent Textiles Alive has come to the rescue. New plans are being drawn up as I type.

And so to the marketing of 'The Stand'. Julien at JML Communications has taken this baby on board. We are meeting in Auckland to work out the logistics. And hopefully start the process of knocking off some of those threatening sub-headings.

Tomorrow, the focus is product. A meeting at WaikatoLink followed by a meeting with FRST to discuss their new Postgraduate Internship Program.

The list goes on.........

Palo Alto has Attitude

The meeting in Palo Alto yesterday was upbeat. It says a lot about Americans approach to life. VC start up deals in 'the Valley' might be down by about 25% this year - but they still represent around USD 9 billion of new money. It backs up my post yesterday. It is all about size and scale.

It's also about attitude. Start ups looking for investment today have what was referred to as 'balls'. The fact that they are still actively pursuing funding in this market marks them out. Cheque books in this part of the world are certainly not closed at this point. Word on the street is that one NZ tech company is about to announce a major VC win here.

What I had not fully appreciated until my visit was the significance of the presence of Stanford University. Palo Alto is what it is because of Stanford. Tech spin outs and VCs have clustered around the University campus making this a key play in the US technology market.

The striking thing about this was how it mirrors Pingar's own engagement with the Universities of Waikato in NZ and Swansea in Wales. In both instances it might be small scale stuff by comparison, but the model is right. It reinforces my own view that this is one model that should be actively promoted in NZ. The structure is in place. It just requires significant extra funding. Is this possible?

I believe the answer is yes. Another key lesson learnt from yesterday is a changing perception and attitude towards high growth potential NZ tech companies by Valley-based VC. Our geography is no longer such an issue. The opportunity is. It's a message I will be taking back home. Right now, 'The Valley' is open for business.

Tauranga ICT Expo

Date: Wednesday 21st May
Location: Baycourt, Tauranga
Time: 12.30 - 18.30

All day, check out the Pingar stand in the main Exhibition Area and view the online demos.

At 15.00, check out the Waikatolink presentation in the Speaker presentation hall. And at 17.30, check out the free nibbles, cash bar and meet the team.

The Tauranga 'Technology for Smarter Business' Expo has finally arrived.

See you tomorrow.

Wake Up Bay Of Plenty!

It's getting bigger...

I have just spent 48 hours in Raglan. The bach had no Sky, no internet access. It was a weekend of firsts.

It was the first time I had read the Waikato Times. An article on the front page of the 'Business' section caught my eye. Headed Extra Innovation, the article said that the Waikato Innovation Park will triple in size over the next three years thanks to NZ$8 million in grants.

According to the article, the Economic Development Ministry has stumped up with $NZ4 million from the Enterprise Partnership Funds, NZ$2.4 million has been provided by Hamilton City Council and the remaining NZ$1.6 million has come from Innovation Waikato Limited. The investment will be used to build and develop a new building, provide infrastructure to attract more multi-national companies and to expand the Innovation Park's business development services.

I have spent a lot of time in Hamilton in recent months and have blogged about the benefits that such a Park can have in terms of both adding value to the private sector and assisting accelerate regional economic development.

The drive and ambition in Hamilton stands in stark contrast to the current status quo on my side of the Kaimais. The fact that Hamilton is home to the University of Waikato is clearly a major factor in the positioning of the Waikato Innovation Park. It is the status quo though the Bay Of Plenty needs to address.

Last week, I attended the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum in Rotorua. The Forum was presented with a series of questions designed to map a 10-year strategy for boosting regional economic development. Ten years? Call me a sceptic but I guess that the economic landscape will have changed a tad by then. In the larger central north island macro-economic region, the expansion of the Waikato Innovation Park will surely generate some of this change. With its focus on fostering collaborative R&D between the tertiary and the private sectors, Hamilton will continue to attract high value businesses.

Realistically, the Bay of Plenty is NOT going to secure its own University any time soon. It is therefore important that the Bay Of Plenty's key business, local government and Iwi stakeholders engage directly with external research institutes such as the University of Waikato to attract their active presence in the greater Bay.

This engagement will lead to the fostering of a new awareness of value added R&D and assist promote the Bay as a destination for inward investment. Both are necessary if the mission of the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum is to be achieved.

R & D v ROI

As per previous postings, Pingar is instinctively committed to Research & Development. It is a key aspect of our long-term Business Plan.

As well as deploying our own internal resource, we work closely with 'best-of-breed' technology and business partners. These include Microsoft, FAST Search, Global Graphics and HBI Software.

Closer to home, and hot on the heels of yesterday's blog, Pingar is also actively engaged with Waikatolink; (University of Waikato). Over the next few weeks, I want to talk more about the importance of private sector / tertiary education engagement. It seems to me that there is real failure of the private sector in NZ to understand the benefits that such engagement can bring.

Let me spell out my position on this.

The Pingar / University of Waikato relationship is not academic. It is commercial with a capital C. I do not regard Research as not a cost. I regard it firmly as an investment. To understand this, I will introduce you to my 'x5 valuation' theory. It is not scientific, but is based rather on offshore experience of this space. It is my take on the Return of Investment (ROI), Pingar and its shareholders can expect from hard-core Research.

In simple dollar terms, every dollar spent on Research, increases the value of IP within the company by a factor of 5. So you spend NZ$200,000 on a specific Research project and the impact of its successful development and deployment increases its value to NZ$1 million at the point of commercialisation.

This increase of valuation of course appears on the Balance Sheet, not the P&L. So cash flow does dictate the level of investment that can be committed to Research at any one time. This is particularly important for SME's where cash flow is critical. The important lesson for business however is that Research should become a core value within the Business Plan model. It will create the innovation necessary to both build value and ignite competitive edge.

Because of their skill-sets and researcher resource, Universities and others engaged in tertiary education make the perfect partners for the private sector. It is unlikely that most SMEs will have the internal resource necessary to manage the whole Research process.

In March 2003, I gave evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science & Technology on the subject of 'Science in the Regions'. A key aspect of the Committee's study was to identify routes by which SMEs could engage with University and Polytechnic research functions. It was clear during that study that both real and imaginary obstacles and perceptions existed and neither the private sector nor the tertiary education sector were engaging effectively.

I guess those same forces exist here today. The private sector in NZ does not understand the value that tertiary education and Research can bring through joint engagement. And Universities and tertiary research providers have collectively failed to convey the value such engagement can bring to the private sector.

The impact in New Zealand is clear. Spend on R&D by the private sector falls well below the OECD average. So does productivity. So does pay. This issue has to be addressed.

Introducing Waikatolink

I spent yesterday in Hamilton with the team at Waikatolink. They are based in the Waikato Innovation Park.

I have blogged before about Pingar's relationship with the team at Waikatolink. So yesterday, Tania, Carl, Nick, Paul and others were at the meetings to discuss both the current stuff and the long-term stuff. The long-term discussion threw up some interesting opportunities.

When you engage the commercial arm of a University to work on a research & development project, it is easy to focus on the technical skills that are on offer. Yesterday's meeting however introduced a new 'play' into these discussions. This focused on the potential longer term involvement of the Waikato Management School.

Early days yet, but the Management School clearly has a totally different, yet complimentary set of skills. These relate of course to issues such as business analysis, business process. These ARE relevant to the Pingar experience. It's a slightly different tack, but one I think we might just follow.

On May 21st, the WBOP ICT Cluster is organising a Technology for Smarter Business Expo in Tauranga. I raised the opportunity of attending the Expo with the team in Hamilton yesterday. I understand the benefit, direct engagement with the University could offer other Western Bay businesses. I think they were keen. I hope they are there.

News from Wellington

The Forum starts in less than 12 hours.

So it was great to see the Dominion Post in NZ publish this article in today's edition about Pingar's presence at the event.

It gives credit to Waikatolink for their development role. It also gives credit to the Foundation for Research Science & Technology for their funding support. Both have been key contributors to the development of the Pingar platform.

Going into the UK Technology, Innovation & Growth Forum tomorrow morning, I am delighted that their roles have been acknowledged in this way. NZ today, does not seem that far away.

Innovation Funding Boost

Helen Clark has today unveiled a $700 million funding boost for research, development and innovation projects and said the fund would grow to around $1 billion as it earned interest over the next 10 to 15 years.

OK, so the funding is targeted at New Zealand's pastoral and food industries. But it is a move I applaud. The timing of the announcement was fortuitous.

I spent this morning with Waikatolink, the commercialisation and technology transfer company of the University of Waikato. My trip included a meeting with Shane Stuart of FRST. The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology have made a research and development grant available to assist Pingar contract Waikatolink to design and develop some of the complex algorithms necessary for its publishing platform. This funding has allowed Pingar to speed up the development process and provide skills we did not possess in-house.

Next Monday and Tuesday, I will be attending the UK Technology, Innovation & Growth Forum in London. The Waikatolink input into the Pingar platform has been crucial. Today's announcement will hopefully allow companies engaged in New Zealand's pastoral and food industries to take advantage of similar funding sources to enable them to commercialise their product in the global market. Today's announcement is welcome.

PriorityOne CEO Announced

PriorityOne, the Western Bay of Plenty's Economic Development Agency today announced their new CEO. He is Andrew Coker, formerly P1's Business Development Manager. Congratulations Andrew!

The WH Consultancy developed the Stay in the Bay portal with Priority One two years ago, and this continues to attract regular Business 2 Business traffic in the Bay. Working closely with P1 is a good way to stay in touch with econmic development in the region.

Today's announcement is a happy coincidence. I have a meeting planned with Andrew tomorrow to discuss regional economic development, focusing particularly on the engagement between Western Bay business and University input. Even a greater coincidence then that following that meeting, I travel to Waikatolink at the Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton, to do as I preach.

Strong coffee will be the order of the day. Tonight's line up of calls overseas mean no early bed for me. White then, but no sugar please.

Tauranga ICT Innovation Centre

What a Tauranga ICT Innovation Centre could look like...

Since I returned to New Zealand three days ago, I have heard from more than one person about the prospects of an ICT Innovation Centre in Tauranga. Members of the BOP ICT Cluster are being surveyed on their views and a number of local agencies appear to have bought into the potential. So here is my quick take.

If the idea is to build a modern facility with a large pipe and pack it with a spectrum of local IT related businesses, it probably will not work. That is not what ICT Innovation Centres do. To understand this, you could do better than to visit the Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton. I am actually there on Monday. Now that in my view is what an Innovation Centre is all about.

Waikato Innovation Park is New Zealand’s growth hub for Ag-Biotech businesses. This is where leading primary sector science, technology and research meets the catalyst of entrepreneurship in the form of the Park's 50 resident companies. Its proximity to the University of Waikato campus provides the scientific and academic input into the Park's available research pool.

It is a model that the architects behind the Tauranga ICT Innovation Centre should consider. They need to identify vertical sectors within the ICT space and map those against available academic research partners. By providing a research hub of this type, a Tauranga ICT Innovation Centre could become a Centre of Excellence attracting companies, researchers and investment from outside the region.

That's my quick take. No doubt, more detail later.

FRST for Pingar

Part of Pingar's platform development strategy involves working with the University of Waikato Computer Science Department. This Department has a world-class reputation for its knowledge of this area. We are contracting Waikatolink to work alongside our own development team in Bangalore to create complex algorithms that will support different elements of machine learning technology.

So it was great to receive the news that FRST has agreed to provide the Technology for Business Growth grant that Pingar has applied for to part fund this work. For companies engaged in research and development in New Zealand, FRST fulfills a key role. Its grant will enable Pingar to accelerate its development program and deliver a more complete solution in the shortest possible time.

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.

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.

'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.