*hyperLINK***hyperLINK***hyperLINK***hyperLINK***hyperLINK*
Here is the latest issue of Canterbury Software Inc's hyperLINK weekly e-newsletter. Keep reading hyperLINK if you want to be up with the play in the Canterbury tech sector. This newsletter is proudly sponsored by Telecom NZ, who provide financial and other support to ensure that hyperLINK continues to reach your inbox. Visit www.telecom.co.nz to learn how Telecom can further benefit your business. See the full version of hyperLINK at http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/current.htm Sign-up options at http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/news.htm + Please forward this newsletter. You can freely re-use the feature stories, provided you acknowledge the credited feature story writer and hyperLINK as source. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JULY EVENTS JULY 2: Free Elevator Caf�, Canterbury Innovation Incubator (200 Armagh St) at 5.30pm. The upcoming elevator features insights from the following speakers: Stuart McKenzie of Endeavour capital: "What you should know about venture capital" Endeavour Capital is a leading New Zealand venture capital company, investing both directly and indirectly into New Zealand growth opportunities, particularly in biotechnology, software and medical sectors David Goodman: "Prepping yourself for contracts with key investors" David Goodman works with a large number of software companies building on experience with international law firms and the CDC Hi- Tech launch programme. His presentation will cover licensing agreements, joint ventures, distribution and reseller agreements (local and international), software development agreements, website terms and conditions, hosting agreements, and franchising. Lincoln Berkely: "When technology is irrelevant" Lincoln Berkely is a new member of Canterbury Software who would like to share his experience in helping South American technology SME's access export markets. RSVP: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: 03 379 5575 X 818 For further information: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/events.htm JULY 9: Tech BBQ, 5.30pm, at Canterbury fare Gallery, 24 New Regent Street, 377- 8896 (www.canterburyfare.co.nz) or other venue as advised. ############### hyperLINK contents: Issue 48 July 1, 2004 + Research Report: Worldwide Application Deployment Software Market + Tech Newsbytes from all around the world + CSI website happenings + Meanwhile, at the forum + Contact us, subscribe/unsubscribe etc ############### *RESEARCH REPORT* WORLDWIDE APPLICATION DEPLOYMENT SOFTWARE MARKET The worldwide application deployment software market edged over $11 billion in 2003 and is set to continue growing. Michael Herman reports. IDC has released research that shows total revenue in the worldwide application deployment software market to have reached $11.1 billion ($US7 billion) last year, growing 4.4% year-on-year. The market includes application, web and integration servers, and message-oriented, transaction-server and access-integration middleware. [more here http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/current.htm#feature1 ] ############### *TECH NEWSBYTES* June 29, 2004: Development of new "smart guidelines" for public sector ICT procurement has been recommended by a group established to review interaction between state agencies and IT businesses. The ICTX Group report addresses several issues of concern to suppliers, including ways of avoiding prolonged contract negotiations. President of the Information Technology Association of New Zealand (ITANZ), David Irving, said he was hopeful that the guidelines, if adopted, would go some way to reducing the significant time and cost burden placed on both the state sector and the IT industry through the bid process. "The ICTX working group quickly identified that the Policy for IT Procurement was perfectly adequate, but with more specific guidelines for its application some major efficiencies could be gained for both the state sector agency and the IT vendor community. "On occasions, the costs involved from state sector agencies in evaluating prospective IT vendors for a contract can be more than the contract itself is worth. There was universal agreement that this was never intended and we could easily develop some smarter and more appropriate ways of working." Irving said there was still a need for contestability and transparency in IT procurement but the complexity of the approach needed to take into account the risks involved. "You don't need to run a three-month bid process for a small contract," he said. There was strong agreement within ICTX that the guidelines should include requirements for transparency and contestability, Irving said. The report will now be circulated within government and industry for consultation. For further information contact ICTX Co-ordinator Warwick Jones on (04) 499-1648 or (027) 443-0677. June 29, 2004: Seven Christchurch organisations are part of a field of 23 on this year's New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Export Awards finalists list. Local ICT giants iTouch Business Mobility and Pulse Data International are flying the Christchurch colours along with Canterbury Scientific, Linden Leaves, University of Canterbury, Solid Energy New Zealand, and KURAN (NZ). The annual Export Awards recognise and celebrate the success of outstanding New Zealand exporters across a range of sectors. To enter companies must have been exporting for more than three years; show foreign exchange earnings of at least $500,000 in the last financial year; and have achieved minimum 20% year-on-year growth. The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise 2004 Export Award winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Friday 23 July at the Auckland Town Hall. Last year ZESPRI International won the Supreme Award from among the 10 category winners selected from 31 Trade New Zealand Export Award winners. For more information about the finalists and the Awards, go to www.nzte.govt.nz/section/11771.aspx#back. June 29, 2004: Macromedia has launched Flash Lite 1.1, the Flash Player profile for mobile phones. The new version supports the W3C standard SVG Tiny (SVG-T) and offers improved network connectivity, audio support and APIs to integrate Flash content with phone functionality. "Flash Lite uses industry standards to light up today's mass market mobile phones with even more interactive multimedia functionality," said Juha Christensen, president of mobile and devices, Macromedia. "This rich experience is possible because of the pervasive technology of Flash and the skills of the strong community of Flash developers and designers." The company says that new network connectivity enables Flash content to make dynamic server queries, bringing the power of rich Internet applications to mobile phones, and that new scripting commands enable developers to create Flash content that can access core handset features such as sending multimedia messages, dialing, checking the network status and battery level. The update also adds improved audio functionality, with support for MP3, PCM, ADPCM and SMAF audio formats. NTT DoCoMo, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, Texas Instruments and T-Mobile among the companies already using Flash Lite or partnering with Macromedia in advancing multimedia for mobile devices. For more information on Flash Lite 1.1, visit www.macromedia.com/go/flashlite. June 29, 2004: An international conference hosted by Waikato University's Computer Science department and featuring computer experts from 17 countries is underway in Rotorua. The Asia Pacific Computer-Human Interaction (APCHI) 2004 conference is the sixth biennial gathering of computer-human interaction experts. This is the first time New Zealand has hosted the event. The theme of the four-day conference is usability, which is all about reducing the frustration and confusion often associated with technology. Professor Don Norman, author of The Design Of Everyday Things, is one of the keynote speakers. Norman has been credited with changing the way a generation of designers see the world. A former vice president of Apple Computers, he is also a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, a consulting firm that helps companies produce human-centred products and services. Eighty papers will be presented and there are also full-day and half- day tutorials, such as designing mobile applications, an area where New Zealand is leading the way. APCHI is being held at the Royal Lakeside Novotel in Rotorua and runs until Friday 2 July. Visit www.apchi2004.org.nz for more information. June 29, 2004: Auckland-based data visualization system company iVistra Technology has been named 'Innovator of the Year' at the 2004 Computerworld Excellence Awards, just months after launching its first product - Enterprise Visibility System (EVS). As well as mapping the location of moving assets in real-time, EVS displays a variety of operational and financial information to give a business greater visibility. The system integrates live tracking data with a business's enterprise systems and layers the information in a sleek interface. According to the judges, "the key factor that distinguishes iVistra Technology from its competition was the simplicity and beauty of its visual interpretation of complex business activities." Craig Meek, iVistra CEO, says EVS turns data into pictures so a business can see its entire operation in real-time and make better informed decisions more quickly. EVS has been successfully piloted and installed at Toll TranzLink. The country's largest infrastructure supply chain mover of chilled, frozen and dry goods around Australasia was also acknowledged at the annual Computerworld Awards, winning 'Best Overall Excellence in the Use of IT' for EVS. The company's General Manager of IT, Garry Collings, was named CIO of the Year. You can find out more about iVistra at www.ivistra.com. June 28, 2004: Microsoft will be donating millions of dollars over the next five years to address the digital divide in New Zealand as part of its Unlimited Potential campaign. Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, Bill Gates, launched Unlimited Potential (UP) in Australia on Monday, announcing a $43 million ($AU40 million) donation to its community organisation partners between now and 2009. UP is the primary focus of Microsoft's charitable initiatives. The campaign aims to overcome technology exclusion by reaching out to disadvantaged and marginalised people through community-based technology and learning centers (CTLCs). Gates said that by partnering with community groups, Microsoft was able to provide technological resources, skills, training and support to ``people who need help overcoming the digital divide''. Microsoft New Zealand's managing director, Ross Peat, said the software giant would be announcing the value of its New Zealand grant in the next four to six weeks and was not yet in a position to disclose its New Zealand community partners. UP Australia will be working with The Smith Family, Australian Seniors Computer Clubs, WorkVentures, Inspire Foundation, and Yarnteen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Corporation. June 25, 2004: IBM and the New Zealand Kindergartens Incorporated have launched an educational initiative to provide disadvantaged 3 - 6 year old children with access to technology. The KidSmart educational programme provides kindergartens with custom built PC-kiosks, award-winning educational software and teacher training in how to use the technology. IBM has donated 10 KidSmart units to kindergartens in the Wellington Region so far and announced a public-private partnership with New Zealand Kindergartens to install a further 80 KidSmart units in early childhood centres throughout New Zealand by the end of 2004. IBM is training early childhood teachers in use of the KidSmart technology so that they can work with other teachers in kindergartens and early childhood centres that have a Kidsmart unit to encourage them to incorporate the KidSmart programme into their program. IBM's KidSmart programme aims to attract and involve parents to support the use of technology in the home and at school. IBM's KidSmart programme is part of the company's Corporate Community Relations programme, which aims to make strategic investments that help benefit communities by using IBM's technological expertise in the important mission of corporate citizenship. � IBM also launched its second TryScience kiosk in New Zealand at Science Alive! last week. TryScience is a custom-designed educational resource for 8 - 12 year olds. It includes an interactive computer kiosk that acts as a "virtual science centre", linking to activities at science museums around the world. TryScience content is developed by the New York Hall of Science and ASTC museums and the entire network is centrally managed and updated by IBM. The first Kiwi TryScience kiosk was launched at the Otago Museum in Dunedin last month. June 24, 2004: New Zealand's top ranking bank for customer satisfaction, TSB Bank, have migrated their 15-year old legacy mainframe based LINC systems to a JADE platform. The shift will cut system operating costs by over 50% a year by enabling the bank to replace its costly and limiting mainframe infrastructure with IBM xSeries eServer technologies. The transition of the entire banking system from legacy hardware and software, which involved the extraction of 70-million records, was achieved without any major rewrite of the existing systems. Capable of running over 550 reports, the new system has reduced production times, in some cases, by two thirds. "Our systems are complex and mission critical. The migration to JADE meant that we didn't need to start from scratch, eliminating the need to retrain our staff, improving processing performance and reducing operational costs - all without disruption to our service delivery," said Kevin Rimmington, Managing Director/CEO, TSB Bank. TSB handles depositors' funds of $1.9 billion and has a total home- loan portfolio exceeding a billion dollars, and has rated highest for customer satisfaction and loyalty in the University of Auckland Residential Bank Customer Survey for the last five years. ------------------------------ *CSI WEBSITE HAPPENINGS* EVENTS: If you're planning a software-related event in Canterbury, or a business-related one which could be of use to the software community (such as how to get government funding or great marketing strategies!), we've now got an easy Events submission form on the Canterbury Software Inc Website. Get more people along, by letting the software community know what you've got planned. Use the form at: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/events.htm#evform ------------------------------ *MEANWHILE, AT THE FORUM* The Forum is your online community, where you can: + air your problems and concerns about marketing your software internationally + get rapid and effective suggestions from others like you, who've already done it + raise and discuss subjects of general concern to members Go to http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/forum.htm ------------------------------ CONTACT US ... SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE hyperLINK email options: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/news.htm Contact the editor, Michael Herman: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --> via Canterbury Software email forum: Success through Connections Replies will go to the CSForum. Leave or rejoin the list: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/forum.htm Searchable list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
