hyperLINK Issue 3 May 22 2003
Welcome to hyperLINK, a weekly e-newsletter produced by Canterbury Software Inc to promote CSI's objective of "success
through connections" for the Christchurch IT and wider tech sector. hyperLINK editor is Christchurch business and IT
journalist Carol Webb.
An html version, complete with photos and graphics, is available here http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/current.htm
hyperLINK is emailed free to CSI members and the wider Canterbury tech community every Thursday. You can subscribe or
unsubscribe here: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/news.htm
hyperLINK carries IT sector news and views from Canterbury's movers and shakers. It will also keep an eye on what's
happening around New Zealand, and provide a glimpse of IT sector news from around the world. Your suggestions are
welcome. hyperLINK will also carry information about the CSI's Friday Tech BBQ and other CSI events.
You are welcome to forward this newsletter or freely re-use the feature stories provided due acknowledgement is made of
the credited feature story writer and hyperLINK as source.
FRIDAY TECH BB
qCanterbury Software Inc is keen to promote the Friday Tech BBQ as a meeting point for the Christchurch tech community.
If it's been a while since you last checked out the BBQ scene, now could be the time. If you know of anyone who might be
interested in coming along, especially those new to the sector or new to Christchurch, forward this to them. The BBQ is
an informal social and networking event that takes place every Friday, 5.30pm to around 7.30pm. It gives members of the
tech community a chance to meet other similar people in a relaxed environment, talk shop, network and get to know each
other better.
MAY 23: The venue for tomorrow's Tech BBQ is LA's Bar and Cafe, 31 Dundas St, from 5.30pm. The delightfully decorated
Marilyn's Room (named for that early tech luminary Marilyn Monroe) is being made available to CSI. Food and drinks
available at the bar. Dundas St runs off Colombo St between the Smiths City buildings and behind Pak'n Save. Parking is
(usually) pretty easy.
MAY 30: to be hosted by Activate Design's Kevin Addison and James Newton at Suite 71, 224 Cashel St. That's in the
Cashel Business Centre with the entrance off the Madras St end of Bedford Row. (http://www.activatedesign.co.nz)
For further information (and to see who got snapped by the CSI paparazzi at recent events) go to the Tech BBQ page at http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/bbq.htm
hyperLINK contents: Issue 3, May 22 2003
+ Glittering prizes for Chch exporters + Spreading the word on IT careers + Tech Newsbytes from all around + Incredibly
useful website of the week + What's happening at http://canterburysoftware.org.nz + Hot topics at the forum + Contact us, subscribe/unsubscribe etc
Coming next week in hyperLINK: + Doors open to seed stage entrepreneurs
*FEATURE STORY*
GLITTERING PRIZES By CAROL WEBB There'll be some nail-biting moments at the Christchurch Convention Centre on June 12
when some of the city's brightest IT and electronics sparks wait to see if they have scooped the big prizes in the 2003
Export Awards. [more here http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/current.htm#feature1 ]
*FEATURE STORY*
TECH CAREERS STYMIED AT CHALKFACE
“Supply chain” issues that are starving Canterbury businesses of qualified and work-ready “made in New Zealand” staff
will not be solved until secondary schools are better resourced and curriculum problems are resolved. This was the
message teachers and careers advisers had for IT and electronics sector representatives at a meeting last week. [more
here http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/current.htm#feature2 ]
*EXPORT FOCUS*
EXPORT PLAN You are much more likely to be a successful exporter if you are proactive and do your homework first. Taking
the time to develop a practical and flexible business plan will help you create a profitable and sustainable export
business. It will help you manage the growth of your company and identify potential threats and challenges. This guide
includes an export plan template to get you started. http://www.marketnewzealand.com/common/files/exportplan-htg.pdf
+ From a Trade New Zealand series of very useful How To guides for exporters. Next week's featured guide: Agent and
Distributor Selection.
*NEWSBYTES*
SMARTSTART: Technology New Zealand has announced a new funding scheme that could help bring more work to IT product and
services companies. Called SmartStart, it aims to assist businesses to increase their awareness and use of technological
innovation. SmartStart will contribute up to 50 percent of the cost of using external consultants or appraise a
company's current use of technology and to identify opportunities. SmartStart applications for grants of up to $5000
will be approved by Economic Development Agencies while larger applications for special projects will go to Technology
New Zealand. [more http://www.frst.govt.nz/publications/guides-forms/TNZ-innovate.pdf ]
WEBBY CONTENDER: Lucire ( http://www.lucire.com ) a Wellington- based international fashion website, is in the running for the 2003 Webby awards. Shoestring venture
Lucire will be fighting for top honours in the Best Fashion site category against the likes of Vogue and Dolce & Gabbana's international website. Publisher Jack Yan, who founded the site in Wellington in 1997, hopes to get plenty of
Kiwis voting for Lucire in the Webby's People's Voice Awards ( http://www.webbyawards.com/peoplesvoice/index.html ). The Webby's usually glittering awards ceremony in San Francisco will be toned down this year with many award
nominees from around the world reluctant to travel in view of Sars and other world events, so the organisers are moving
to a more comprehensive online format for the June 5 event. A new addition to the Webbys programme this year is the
First Annual Webby Business Awards ( http://www.webbyawards.com/businessawards/index.html) honouring websites that excel in fundamental business goals such as increasing sales lead generation or enhancing
customer loyalty and retention. Entries close May 30.
WAKE-UP CALL: . New Zealand needs to catch up quickly with other countries in developing high-speed networking and
Internet 2, according to the recently released Biotechnology Taskforce report. "This is a critical enabling
infrastructure for biotechnological and medical advancements," says the taskforce. It also calls for access to public
international bioinformatics databases that store DNA sequence data, protein structure and functional domain profiles,
suggesting that a mirror website of the databases should be set up so that New Zealand organisations can retrieve data
without incurring international traffic charges. It also wants to see world-class biotechnology education programmes and
modules building on state- of-the-art visualisation and learning techniques. The taskforce targets over the next 10
years include a tripling in the size of the New Zealand biotechnology community to more than 1000 organisations, from
350, and increased yearly export values from the current base of $250 million to more than $1 billion. Biotechnology
taskforce members include Christchurch-based Paul Tocker, Crop and Food Research chief executive. [report here http://www.biospherenz.com/download/biotech_taskforce_report.pdf]
INCREDIBLY USEFUL WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
E-GOVERNMENT - NEW ZEALAND Thanks to the Aussies for this one. From Broadband to Toxinz, this page on the Victorian
Government website provides a comprehensive listing of articles and references to the multifarious aspects of
e-government in NZ. A good way to find out what's happening, and what's being said, in this often- confusing area. Of
course, there are also links to comprehensive listings of Australian e-government activity. http://www.egov.vic.gov.au/International/AsiathePacific/NewZealand/newzeal.htm#broadbandaccess
+ Tell the editor ( mailto:editor@canterburysoftware.org.nz) about any sites you'd like to share with hyperLINK's readers
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CSI'S WEBSITE
MENTORS It's easy to come up with a good idea and if you are a programmer, to develop that idea into an application. You
are then faced with the issues of what you need to sell it, a cunning plan to make people aware that they can buy it, a
price, a way to ensure no one steals it, and many other things. That's where the help and advice of a mentor can make
all the difference. Check out the criteria for getting mentoring help, or inquire about how you can use your IT skills
and experience to help put a Christchurch company on the path to success. http://www.canterburysoftware.org.nz/mentors.htm
MEANWHILE, AT THE FORUM
+ Will the Government ever get the message on the need to make significant changes to enable tax deductibility for R? How would you go about convincing the boys and girls at Treasury, and their ministerial bosses, that this issue needs
to be addressed, and soon?
Tell us what you think about these hot issues by posting your thoughts to Canterbury Software Inc's Email 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