Bangkok--Nov 25--PC & Associates Consulting
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) successfully organized its first Regional Innovation Forum 2005, which concluded this week at Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Supported by the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry, Malaysia (PIKOM) and the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC), the event brought together a distinguished group of high level government officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, along with expert speakers and discussion panelists from Asia, Europe and the United States, who discussed fundamental issues relating to innovation and the future of the IT industry.
“The forum provided a unique opportunity to bring together numerous experts in the area of technology policy,” said Robert Holleyman, President and CEO of BSA, who hosted the forum on behalf of the Alliance. “The discussions between key technology decision makers in the region provided valuable insights that will go a long way towards developing sound policies that foster innovation in the region.”
BSA also announced the results of its recent survey at the forum, which illustrated the views of Asian IT Professionals on the domestic software industry.
Topics discussed at yesterday’s forum:
Cultivating Competitiveness through Government Policy
Moderated by BSA’s President and CEO, Robert Holleyman, this session explored a range of perspectives on the role of governments in promoting competitiveness and growth in the software and technology industry.
Delegates discussed the pros and cons of software development methods, recognized competition to be the true enabler of good outcomes in the long term, and emphasized the need for governments in the region to move away from adopting preference policies, but rather concentrate on innovation-promoting outcome instead.
“People innovate because they respond to market forces,” said Julian Ding, Managing Director, First Principles, Malaysia.
The session concluded with some views on the principles of innovation, as well as the competition that drives it. There was consensus that governments mostly need to remain technologically neutral in order to foster innovation, allowing the evolution of a healthy and dynamic software marketplace.
Enabling Innovation through Technology Standards
Headed by guest keynote speaker Dr. Stan J Liebowitz, Director, Center for the Analysis of Property Rights and Innovation, and Professor of Managerial Economics at the University of Texas, Dallas, the session offered delegates the opportunity to examine the importance of technology standards on innovation.
Dr. Liebowitz highlighted that one role for government in facilitating creativity was in having good infrastructure in place, which would provide a level playing field for market players. He was of the view that innovation would then ensue through the promotion of voluntary processes, rather than through rigid mandates.
Said Dr. Liebowitz, “Once you have the infrastructure set up and you have people in the market that are capable of participating, you have to step back and let them make their choice because the market will choose the better products… If you try to pick ‘winners’, it is a loser’s game.”
Benoit Muller, Director of Software Policy (Europe), BSA added, “In an increasingly networked world, interoperability is important in getting value from products and services. And because it is such a fast evolving environment, it is best to let the market drive naturally which technology standards prevail over time, instead of picking winners and losers in the marketplace.”
Dr Yusseri Yusoff, the Project Director of the Malaysia Public Sector Open Source Software Initiative surmised that the objective for software developers was to strive towards creating and improving on good products, and such good products would eventually win in the market.
Spurring Industry Growth through Research and Development (R&D)
In the final discussion of the forum, government officials and expert panelists discussed the role of intellectual property (IP) in facilitating R&D and enabling growth. Delegates had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how different forms of IP protection and licensing enabled competing companies to work together and create new innovations and technology standards. These elements were essential in creating the necessary incentives to sustain a virtuous cycle of R&D and innovation in the industry.
Goh Seow Hiong, Director of Software Policy (Asia), BSA, who moderated the session, noted that IP protected both large and small companies, and provided an important leverage for smaller companies when negotiating with bigger companies on their inventions and innovations. Asian companies desiring to grow into significant players in the international market place must lead in innovations, instead of being mere followers or adopters of technology.
“Without the protection of intellectual property, people would not devote the time, effort and resources to innovate,” said Lau Kok Keng, Partner, Rajah and Tann, Singapore. He further elaborated about how different forms of IP were used to protect breakthroughs in the IT market, thus producing the necessary commercialization revenue to be reinvested in further R&D.
BSA’s IT Professionals Survey
The results of this survey indicated that IT professionals in Asia believe there is an important role for the government to play in facilitating the development of the domestic software industry, particularly with respect to training and education.
It also showed that industry self-regulation is also preferred by IT professionals over government-defined policies and that they believe that the role of the government is to foster an environment of free competition, such that all parties can compete in the marketplace.
Surveys such as this are part of BSA’s broader efforts in helping to compile data and research on issues specific or unique to Asia, where it is otherwise lacking. Through the survey, BSA hopes to provide insights to policy makers as they consider their national strategies and policies.
More information about the Regional Innovation Forum 2005 can be found at www.bsa.org/asia-eng/innovationforum.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Dell, Entrust, HP, IBM, Intel, Internet Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, PTC, RSA Security, SAP, SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, The MathWorks, Trend Micro and UGS. Local members in Asia include Agilent (Taiwan), Altium (China), Andal Software (Indonesia), ARM (Taiwan), Biztrak (Malaysia), Cimatron Technologies (Taiwan), Electric Angels (Malaysia), Innodium (Malaysia), Justsystem (Japan), Morisawa (Japan), National Instruments (Taiwan), SAP (Taiwan), Software Industry Information Centre (Hong Kong), Syscom Computer (Taiwan) and UBS Corporation (Malaysia).
In Thailand, BSA works closely with the Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI), Association of Thai Computer Industry (ATCI) and Prevention and Suppression of Intellectual Property Infringement Committee in the promotion of intellectual property rights.
For more information please contact:
Pranee Chalermtanasak
PC & Associates Consulting Co., Ltd.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0 2971 3711 End.