The technology industry in Australia has for a long time offered promises of great innovation, but never quite delivered on that potential. According to the boss of Australia’s largest telecom company, all that is needed is the confidence to support the burgeoning industry from investors.
David Thodey, Telstra’s CEO, yesterday told a conference in Sydney hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce that he sees no reason why Australia cannot produce the next technology giant, something that hasn’t yet happened for the industry, but investment is required.
“I’ve been in this industry for nearly 33 years, and I’ve talked a lot about the importance of innovation and technology within Australia, but the truth is it hasn’t nearly gone a tremendous way. There hasn’t been real sustainable investment in local technology companies within Australia.”
Thodey also said the country also needed to refocus its economy towards technology, as the mining resources that have fuelled growth in recent years cannot last forever. “We’re a lucky country, we’ve got great mining resources, we’re a great sporting nation, but can we really become the clever country? Many of the other things that our wealth is being created on are not necessarily sustainable over the long term. We have an incredible opportunity to change that focus to become a clever country, and I really think we need to do it.”
The industry has failed to take off in recent years. Last year, a number of US investment firms took stakes in Australian start-ups, such as Tiger Global Management’s buying 40 percent of e-commerce site Catch of the Day. However, none of these businesses have yet made an impression on the global tech industry.
However, Thodey doesn’t think it is up to the government to push this growth, but that it will come with a few successes. “We’re not looking for a hand-out. I think it’s about creating an environment where innovation is seen as good, we’re encouraging it, creating a vision for it. And success helps; if you can get a few good wins under your belt, then the industry will grow in its own right.”
Rapid socio-economic development in southeast Europe has put significant pressure on countries’ healthcare systems, at a time when costs are escalating. Dionysios Xenos outlines how med eHealthCY can help health organisations become more efficient through training in best practices and IT; and how countries can benefit from the company’s eHealth Network software.
The New Economy: What are the most important developments in the healthcare industry in Southeast Europe, both in the private and public sectors?
Dionysios Ksenos: There have been rapid and decisive developments in Southeast Europe, creating a new environment when it comes to healthcare.These countries and their health systems are in need of technical expertise, of knowledge and of IT in healthcare organisation. These are things that these countries do not have and so they must address these developments.What needs to be addressed? The cost. They must bear the cost of providing health services, which is very high.Secondly, they must integrate health into other sectors as well.And they must take advantage of their two great assets: the sun and the sea. Therefore, they need to enter the field of medical tourism. Third, countries that are located in Southeast Europe and belong to the EU will be required to implement the EU Directive on Cross Border Healthcare within the next months. This means they will be able to provide patients with a choice of doctors within Europe. As a result of the aforementioned factors, these countries must quickly reorganise their health systems.And this can only happen through participation in the eHealth Network. That is all.
The New Economy: Were there any regulatory changes or reforms that changed the field of healthcare and brought it in level with European standards?
Dionysios Ksenos: In the aforementioned countries, there have been no developments and no other reforms in the field of healthcare. Generally, these countries are undergoing a transition period between the old systems and a new era of modernization and democratization.These countries ‒ or most of these countries, I do not mean to generalize ‒ need to improve their health systems.Why? Because health in these countries, and generally in any country, is a factor in social and economic stability. So first they need to rationalise their health systems.And second, they need to bring in the required technical expertise and knowledge.They must reduce the cost of these, so they can get in line with European and international standards.
The New Economy: How can eHealth Cyprus stay on top of developments while ensuring that its customers can keep up to date with these changes?
Dionysios Ksenos: Ours is a company that is constantly learning. The intellectual capital of the company is its employees. That is what the company is. The company is not the chairs, tables or machines. It is its employees. This human capital gives us the ability to keep learning, keep improving and keep monitoring the developments in technology, particularly in health technology; it enables us to produce knowledge and pass that knowledge on to our clients, helping our clients get better, and benefit in the long term. Because if our clients benefit, we also benefit by extension.
The New Economy: What types of services does eHealth Cyprus offer and who are these services intended for?
Dionysios Ksenos: The company provides consulting services for health organisations located in any of the aforementioned countries. When I say consulting services, this involves the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise on health organisation management, on financial management, on IT, on information technology, on the process of preparing business plans. More broadly, it involves finding solutions to how we can change the operating model of health organisations and enter a new era, the era of the new economy.That is the first step of the process. The second is educational services.That means providing education and training to health professionals working in any type of health organisation. This is aimed at transferring knowledge to each and every employee. When it comes to doctors, we are teaching them how to use information technology, how to familiarise themselves with new technologies, how to use management processes and how to take advantage of the new developments in management at their respective health organisations.When it comes to our company, we are learning how to manage these changes – what we call the process of “change management” – that we are going through with some health organisations. This is the most important factor that hinders the process of implementing these changes within health services and organisations.We are figuring out how to achieve better financial management and make the most of the available resources.The third step is developing specific applications. There are health sectors that have to do with very specific people, such as, for example, rare diseases and chronic diseases.We can develop software for these rare and chronic diseases that can help doctors to better manage the illness. We are undertaking software development for information systems.We are developing new applications and, moreover, we have a great range of data for data analyses in health organisations; by enabling health organisations to access this information and data, we aid them in the process of decision-making. Finally, we of course also provide eHealth services (electronic health services).
The New Economy: Do you have any expansion plans? Where do you see your company in the next five years?
Dionysios Ksenos: The company’s motto is “people first”. With this goal in mind, we will expand to all countries in Southeast Europe,
starting from Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Palestine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and all the countries included in the broadest sense of the term Southeast Europe.We will suggest to these countries that they make use of the data centre services and of the software, which will be tailored to their needs. They will not be required to invest capital and raise funds now, but they will be allowed to either a) make use of the software and pay per transaction, with a transaction fee, b) pay per transaction and a fixed fee or c) pay a fixed amount for the next 25 years.
This will enable them to reduce the cost of services provision, to upgrade the quality of the healthcare offered and to remain competitive in the years to come, throughout the economic crisis.At the same time, they will be able to expand to other fields, such as medical tourism. The company also aims to enter vertical markets such as eLab, eMedical Offices, and eGovernment, that is to say, to be able to offer E-Services, electronic services within the health sector. This is very important. And we are already developing and running these.Another important service we will develop and expand to include is the eDisease Rare Disease Management. This will allow rare and chronic diseases patients to use the software and to enable them to self-manage their disease; we call this self-management. And finally, a very strategic area for us and one that we want to develop consists of the so-called healthcare games. That is, we will develop games that aim to educate physicians, children and students, including university students, on health issues. This education is crucial. Of course, will also continue to develop technical expertise and provide services, in order to put into practice what we call the “people first” approach.
The New Economy: What is the contribution of eHealth Cyprus to the development of an efficient infrastructure in the area of healthcare in the region and beyond?
Dionysios Ksenos: The company, through its proposal to promote the health project and the creation of an eHealth Network in the countries of Southeast Europe from Algeria to Romania, enables countries and their governments to implement and build an eHealth infrastructure without the cost that this implies and without buying the software; they can simply use the software and pay the cost or remuneration through one of three options. These options are either a) a transaction fee, i.e. a fee paid per each transaction made by the health organisation, b) a fixed amount and a lower transaction fee or c) a fixed amount alone for the next 25 years. This does not require health organisations to invest huge amounts but rather allows them, through the utilisation of the platform and the rationalisation and reorganisation of their systems, to create the capital that will finance the eHealth project through the project itself.
The New Economy: Dionysios Ksenos, thank you very much.
Dionysios Ksenos: Thank you for this opportunity and for the award. I would like to thank the New Economy once again.
I want to offer this award and all the effort that went into it to the citizens of Southeast Europe, because they deserve better health and a better quality of healthcare. I also want to make sure you also understand what for us is a very important message: When we talk about health, we are talking about life itself. And that is something all citizens have a right to. Thank you.
A war torn strip of land in the Middle East is not somewhere one traditionally thinks of as a hotbed of technological innovation, but according to a report the West Bank is emerging as just that.
In an article in yesterday’s New York Times, journalist Isabel Kershner discovered that the Palestinian Authority is pursuing an ambitious goal of growing a technology hub that could spur the area’s economy and open it up to international trade.
According to Murad Tahboub, the managing director of software outsourcing firm ASAL Technologies, the tech industry is one that is particular attractive to the region, as it is cross-border. “This is a sector that has no borders. You just need electricity and a telephone line.”
As a result of the conflict with Israel, the West Bank’s economy has struggled, although signs in recent years show it is growing, with it reaching nine percent last year.
Following an investment by Cisco Systems of $10m in the area four years ago, the industry is now said to have grown from just one percent to five percent of the economy. Tahboub believes this will increase significantly in the coming years. “We are in the right position to have exponential growth.”
The difficulty, however, is growing an industry in a region that is not recognised by the international community. A relatively small economic output of nearly $6bn is not enough to create waves in the international economy, nor can it provide the infrastructure and stability required for a growing tech hub.
It is hoped, however, that the tech industry could transcend international conflict. Tareq Maayah, CEO of mobile communications firm Exalt Technologies says that even though the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continues, business will continue to be done between the two. “The occupation is frustrating, but Israelis and Palestinians have been working with each other in the worst of times.”
Maayah says that it’s even Israel’s approach to growing the tech economy that the Palestinians have been eager to copy, with “innovation, creativity and being ahead of the curve,” the key areas they are striving for, “rather than relying on a huge quantity of basic skills.”
Demands for mobile broadband connections are increasing rapidly, as consumers become ever more desperate to be online whenever and wherever they are. Added to this demand is the advancement of the devices that use the networks. The next generation of mobile broadband, dubbed 4G, is intended to provide this extra speed and capacity.
However, take up of 4G has been slow. According to a recently published report by the Wireless Intelligence group, 87 percent of all 4G networks are based in the US, Japan and South Korea. The US leads the way, with 47 percent of the global total, with 12.7m people connecting to the networks this year.
Elsewhere, 4G has struggled to get off the ground. Just six percent of all connections to 4G are in Europe, while the UK has yet to even launch a 4G network, as legal battles between operators has prevented the government from launching the auction for the bandwidths until mid-2013.
Another problem that faces 4G take up is the lack of standardisation. The US and Singapore have chosen Long Term Evolution (LTE) as their network, while South Korea and Malaysia have gone for Wimax.
Apple’s new iPad was trumpeted as the first mainstream tablet to offer 4G speeds. However, Apple was forced to remove advertising claims of 4G network speeds outside of the US because the LTE chip in the iPad only worked with US LTE networks. The US firm was even fined $2.2m in Australia for misleading advertising.
Finding a standard system is vital if the capacity needs are to be met. It’s likely that pressure from device manufacturers will lead to a standard system as they look to keep down design costs. However, governments must come together to settle on a platform that will allow consumers to remain online all over the world.
Although promised for a number of years, internet optimised televisions have yet to grab consumers’ attention in the way that many media and tech firms had hoped.
Apple famously labelled their Apple TV set top box a “hobby”, unwilling to commit serious resources to a product that the average consumer might not be quite ready for. However, rival firms have sprung up in recent times. Google released the Google TV set top box in 2010 to a lukewarm reception, while Microsoft has enabled an internet TV service through their Xbox 360 games console.
There have also been start-ups that have carved their own niches in the area, such as Boxee and Roku. However, traditional media providers have been wary of allowing their content to be available on these platforms, concerned that they will damage their tried and tested delivery platform that relies heavily on advertising. Similarly, services like Netflix have taken a large chunk out of many channels film services, as the website allows users to access a vast library of films that they can watch when they want.
It seems this is starting to change. Newscorp and BSkyB on Wednesday invested $45m in Roku, with the intention to help the firm grow its business internationally. It also shows that content providers realise the future of television will be through the internet, and so want to be able to profit from such services. Last year, Roku saw its revenue increase to $100m, from the previous year’s $47m.
Roku’s CEO Anthony Wood said the investment from Newscorp was “a lot of money” for the company, and meant that content providers saw the value in their offering. Newscorp’s Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller, who will join Roku’s board, added: “We have watched Roku maintain market leadership since the launch of its streaming platform four years ago and we look forward to deepening our relationship.”
Enthusiasm for these services is steadily growing. In the UK, a partnership between terrestrial television providers like the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV has resulted in their own set-top box being launched. Dubbed Youview, the box allows users to access online databases of each channels programmes. Apple is also expected to launch a massively upgraded version of their Apple TV in the next few months, perhaps a fully integrated TV set, which may yet further revolutionise the industry.
The nascent electronic car market has received a significant boost with the news that BMW has invested in Coulomb Technologies, a five year old start-up that specialises in making electronic vehicle (EV) charging stations and software.
Coulomb operates around the world and has signed development deals with Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Fisker in the past. The California-based firm announced in May a round of funding that reached $47.5m, which also included support from Toyota Tsusho and Kleiner Perkins.
BMW invested through their New York based venture capital subsidiary, which last year was launched with a fund of $100m to invest in future technologies. They have also announced that in 2013 they plan to release their first electric cars, dubbed the i Series.
Until recently, the electronic car market has been relatively small, with only a few major auto firms developing their own models. Part of the reason for this is that the cars are relatively expensive, as a result of the cost of their lithium-ion batteries. Another reason is the lack of infrastructure to support the vehicles, with not enough charging stations provided to the public.
Some governments announced proposals to reduce these barriers to the market, with the US pledging $2.4bn in grants towards bringing down the cost of the vehicles, while China intends to invest $15bn to kick-start the industry in Asia.
Without these forms of government support the industry will struggle to attract customers. However, if BMW is willing to bet on companies like Coulomb, it may be a sign that private firms can see a way of profiting from the industry’s future.
VMware, the market leader in software that allows users to virtually access computers, is hoping that its acquisition of Nicira for a comparatively huge $1.26bn will help it dominate the virtual networking space.
Virtual computing, which allows a single computer to act as though it is many computers, allows for far greater portability and cost effectiveness for users. Through the use of cloud computing, VMware has dominated this market, launching in 1998 and going on to work on all major computer operating systems. Last year, their total revenues were reported to be nearly $3.77bn.
Nicira was launched in 2007 with a $50m start-up fund, with one of VMware’s original founders, Diane Greene, one of the early investors. Their niche is in virtual networking, which looks to transport large files and systems over a virtual infrastructure.
Marc Andreessen, an investor in Nicera, told Forbes: “Nicira validates the idea of software-defined networking,” Andreessen says. “It creates a new industry for networking software. There’s all kinds of benefits for customers. It’s much easier to deploy a network. It pulls a lot of the logic from the routers and switches to the software.”
Announcing the deal yesterday, VMware’s CEO Paull Maritz said: “VMware has led the server virtualisation revolution, and we have the opportunity to do the same in data-center and cloud networking. The acquisition of Nicira adds to our portfolio of networking assets and positions VMware to be the industry leader in software-defined networking.”
In a few weeks time, when the London Olympics come to an end, the government hopes that part of the Olympic park will be converted into a creative hub for tech companies.
Prime Minister David Cameron, fearful that many of the buildings constructed for the Olympics might sit unused once the games are over, wants to convert the vast media centre in Stratford into a place where tech start-ups can grow together, swapping ideas and advancing the UK’s burgeoning tech industry.
The trouble is London already has a tech hub, a few miles away in Shoreditch. Dubbed Silicon Roundabout, the area houses many innovative start-ups that grew independently of any government help. These include music social network Last.fm, which US media firm CBS bought for £140m in 2007; popular Twitter app Tweetdeck, and online card maker Moo.com.
A recent report by think-tank The Centre for London estimated that Silicon Roundabout employs a total of 48,000 people, with 3,200 firms operating in the area. Creating a digital hub nearby would threaten this thriving tech community, the report argues, dispersing the creative types that have propelled the area into one of the world’s most important development areas.
Last week, online retail giant Amazon announced plans to open a huge base for design and development near the Barbican, a short walk from Silicon Roundabout. This is a significant move, as it represents a massive vote of confidence in the area, while potentially dealing a blow to Cameron’s plans for the media centre in Stratford.
Announcing the new 47,000 square foot hub, Amazon spokesman Paul Byrne said: “London is a hotbed of tech talent and testament to that fact is Amazon choosing the capital as the location for the new global digital media development centre.
“Innovation is part of the Amazon DNA and we are creating a British centre of excellence to design and develop the next generation of TV and film services for a wide range of digital devices.
With the internet providing a platform for political opposition, politicians in Russia have sought to gain greater control over what can be viewed and discussed online.
This week, the upper house of the Russian parliament passed a range of bills that would allow the government to block websites deemed dangerous to children, as well as repealing former President Dimitri Medvedev’s relaxing of slander laws.
Russia’s most popular websites, including blogging site LiveJournal and search engine Yandex, protested against the passing of the bills, which they said would “lead to the creation of a Russian analogue to China’s great firewall.” However, this seemed to make little impact on politicians, who passed the legislation with 147 votes in favour, three abstentions and not a single opposition vote.
Censorship of the internet has grown in recent years in authoritarian countries like Russia and China; perhaps conscious of the effectiveness social media has had in mobilising dissidents in politically fragile countries in the Middle East.
China has been particularly strict in monitoring the internet activities of its citizens, as well as cracking down firmly on those that break the rules. According to Amnesty International, China “has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world.”
The UN responded to the law change by stating its concern that Russia was slipping back towards its Soviet past. Navi Pillay, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, said: “In just two months, we have seen a worrying shift in the legislative environment governing the enjoyment of the freedoms of assembly, association, speech and information in the Russian Federation.
“I urge the government to avoid taking further steps backward to a more restrictive era.”
A team of German researchers claim that fertilising algae found at the bottom of the ocean with iron could lock away carbon dioxide, helping combat the effects of climate change.
The method has been looked into many times over the years, and it was thought that it wasn’t a realistic form of geo-engineering. However, in February 2004 a team of scientists fertilised 167 square kilometres of the Southern Ocean with several tonnes of iron sulphate.
Eight years later and the results have started to show that algae absorbs carbon dioxide, and even when they die the carbon remains at the bottom of the ocean for centuries.
The research was carried out as part of the European Iron Fertilisation Experiment (EIFEX), which is one of many studies look at technical ways to reverse the effects of climate change. The initial theory behind this research stems from the late oceanographer John Martin, who suggested in 1988 that iron deficiency limits phytoplankton growth in parts of the ocean.
Announcing the research in the Nature Journal, marine biologist Victor Smetacek said that further experiments needed to be carried out to see what effects adding iron to the sea would have on other organisms: “We just don’t know what might happen to species composition and so forth if you were to continuously add iron to the sea. These issues can only be addressed by more experiments including longer-term studies of natural blooms that occur around some Antarctic islands.”
There are some sceptics, however. The University of Essex’s Dr Michael Steinke told the BBC that it was unlikely that this new research would be a guaranteed tool in the battle against global warming.
He added: “Of the twelve fertilisation experiments of this kind, this group’s experiment is the only example to date that demonstrates the all-important carbon burial in the deep sea sediments, away from the atmosphere.”
When Marissa Mayer agreed to join Yahoo from rival Google on Monday, she would have been fully aware of the task that faced her.
Announcing their quarterly figures yesterday, Yahoo’s revenues and net income were at similar levels to the previous year, although at $1.22bn and $228.5m respectively, were better than many analysts had predicted.
The internet giant has failed to grab a significant niche online, attempting to cover as many services as possible, not particularly well, as opposed to just one. In contrast, Mayer’s former employers developed their business around her former department, search, and grew into other areas from there.
It is Yahoo’s identity that has proven problematic for the Silicon Valley firm, with the company offering traditional online services like search and email, alongside media and content. It is hoped that Mayer, 37, will be able to bring some of the magic that helped Google to become such a significant player online and to attract advertisers back to Yahoo’s platform.
Upon joining, Mayer said: “Yahoo has a very healthy search advertising and display advertising business. I’m interested in what Yahoo can do with video and mobile, both of which are very promising.”
However, she is the fifth chief executive to head the firm in the last five years, and so finding a clear path in such a muddled company may prove an insurmountable challenge, not least with the news that she joins with the added challenge of being pregnant.
The British government has announced plans to allow members of the public to access scientific research materials online for free by 2014, in the hope that access will inspire innovation and the commercialisation of work that has already been paid for by taxpayers.
The research is traditionally published in science journals and requires people to pay an additional subscription to gain access to it. However, as the research has been paid for already by taxpayers, critics argue that it should already be freely available. Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts told the Guardian newspaper: “If the taxpayer has paid for this research to happen, that work shouldn’t be put behind a paywall before a British citizen can read it.”
The government plans to pay a £50m a year subsidy to the science journals in order to provide this access, which is hoped will be used by universities and businesses. Willetts believes it will also boost the British economy: “Removing paywalls that surround taxpayer funded research will have real economic and social benefits.
“It will allow academics and businesses to develop and commercialise their research more easily and herald a new era of academic discovery.”
There has been criticism, however, that the funding for this access will come out of the existing science budget, which may lead to less extensive research. Currently, universities pay £200m a year for subscriptions to research information.
Open-access to scientific research is a hotly debated subject in many countries, with many advocates in the science and education communities in both the US and throughout Europe. The EU is set to launch its €80bn research program Horizon 2020, which will allocate funds to projects from 2014 until the end of the decade, and it is unclear whether there will be an open-access mandate.
Professor Adam Tickell, pro-vice chancellor of research at Birmingham University and member of Finch group that advocated open-access, added: “If the EU and the US go in for open access in a big way, then we’ll move into this open access world with no doubt at all, and I strongly believe that in a decade that’s where we’ll be.”
