building a service to help tech smes internationalise: progress update

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Building a service to help tech SMEs internationalise:an update on progress

Friday, 27 November 2009

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SMEs don’t have the internal infrastructure or ready external support layer to optimise their efforts to internationalise

This is diminishing the opportunities available for UK Technology to grow

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

50,000 SMEs in UK technology sector

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

17,000 internationalising at any one time

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

17,000 internationalising at any one time

seeking growth, profits, reduced dependence on a single market

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lack of managerial time, skills and knowledge*

Inability to contact potential overseas customers*

Limited information to locate and analyse markets

*Crick, 2007: SMEs' Barriers Towards Internationalisation and Assistance Requirements in the UK

Need- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Limited firm resources and international contacts as well as lack of requisite managerial knowledge about internationalisation have remained critical constraints to SME internationalisation. These resource limitations…seem particularly prevalent among smaller, newly internationalising.”

p.5 OECD (2009), “Top Barriers and Drivers to SME Internationalisation”Report by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship, OECD

The opportunity- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UKTI's traditional activities alone cannot bridge the gap

The web offers the opportunity to facilitate collaboration by SMEs - inserting a layer of mutual support and sharing intelligence

UKTI and the UK Technology brand are contributors to that support layer, as are service suppliers and consulting companies

Tech SMEs

Mediaindustry

Tech SMEs

Service providers

UK Technology Global MarketsLinkedIn Group Membershipproportionate view showing members with completed profiles

What are their roles?MDPartnerBusiness Development ManagerSocial Business AdvisorConsultantDirectorOwnerFounderCo-FounderCEOCOOHead of OperationsTechnical Marketing ManagerIndependent Technology Transfer SpecialistPrincipal ConsultantStrategic Development ManagerTechnology Evangelist DirectorVP, Design & InnovationDirector of Business Development, Europe

Which Tech SMEs are represented?ExendexInternational Financial SystemsChoottaVecta ConsultingManaged NetworksSmarketsKineo21st Century NetworkAinstainer GroupLCCS LondonNetwork/Server Admin/SupportONLINETExactTrakCodeplay SoftwareinstaCommerceBlue JourneyEnforce-ITSysEnvirDeep VisualsCerulean VisionsAutoGlobal Business NetworkGreat Northern DesignNine Tiles NetworksGeo.me SolutionsResearch Optical FilmsCambridge Sensotec LtdNewzdog LtdBusiness CatalystTime Is LtdMayfield Solutions: CRM, Software, Marketing Data SolutionsSmartly Green LimitedW3 Digital LtdInfo StorWishpotSmart-ISOtmThe Planet GroupFocus InnovationGreyRidge SoftwareF2ITStarfish TechnologiesinCode WirelessRFIP Ltd: provider of RFID services & supportAetheric Engineering Ltdicomplete.commurphxIonsquareBookingBug embeddable, hosted booking and reservation system

UK Technology Global MarketsLinkedIn Group MembershipSME involvement by company name, location and title

Where are they based?ReadingSwanseaCoventryLondonBrightonNewcastleLiverpoolBristolCambridgeOxfordLeedsDerbyHarrowHemel HempsteadBathPortsmouthSouthamptonTwickenham

Which services are offered?Events NetworkPartner, Fitzgerald and Law LLP, Chartered Accountants and Global Expansion SpecialistsGlobal marketing and brandingMarketing manager at Mango d.o.oOwner, City House ConsultingExecutive Coach, Mentor, RevitalizerCo-Founder and Managing Director of OPENOwner, The European Marketing AgencyUS market entry specialistSocial Media for Sustainability ConsultantSolicitorsPRTechnology Commercialisation Catalyst,Technology Transfer Executive at BBCKukutanaDigital Grape Business ServicesGlobal Go-To-Market ExpertAccountants -- UK, US and globalSolicitors -- UK, US and globalUK-based Translation Industry Consulting, Training and SoftwareBusiness Link Japan & Electronics Link Japan

UK Technology Global MarketsLinkedIn Group Membershipservice provider involvement by service and market served

Which markets do they serve?UKUSJapanEuropeCanadaChinaAustraliaPan-AsiaAfrica

The idea- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

At the heart of the service is a set of collaborative tools for use by SMEs, the service companies supporting them - here and overseas - and by government and non-government agencies

The tools are designed to help SMEs ask the right questions, find useful answers and connect with the right partners

History

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Profile

Reputation

PopularityLatest

Context Accreditation

network

Market guide

The idea

History

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Profile

Reputation request for information

PopularityLatest

network

The idea

History

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Profile

PopularityLatest

network

The idea

History

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Profile

PopularityLatest

network

The idea

History

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Profile

PopularityLatest

network

The idea

Service definition- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

At the heart of the system is a framework for identifying expert content (and expert responses) relevant to a particular situation or opportunity according to geography, company profile and company goal or task.

The system enables participants to create or aggregate and add to useful content from across the web.

Content objects (Q & As, articles, PDFs, urls, videos, events, lists) are contextualised, persistent, dynamic and portable; this means they incorporate attributes such as related topics or goals, related content, metadata, ratings, comments, provenance, topicality and popularity with different participants

(And it means that content objects can be enhanced and accredited by the community and shared around the web across an open API)

time passes

So content is graded and filtered by the audience and aggregated around objectives

Content is not created or managed by the service. Content is aggregated by or created by and managed by the participants. The body of content grows over time.

Valued content becomes the most visible content, accredited for accuracy and value-in-context by experts and by the community, according to their reputation

Reputation (of participants) is a critical component of the service mechanism. The reputation of participants will derive from the quantity (how much, how often) and quality (how useful) of their contributions

Accreditation (of content) is provided by experts and by the community. Recent, relevant content regarded highly by participants with a good reputation becomes the most visible

The USP- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-- Laurent Duchateau, in-person interview

“I like this for three reasons: the fact that you prompt people on what to think about; the fact that information is contextual and categorised; the fact that it’s all in one place. I would use this, absolutely.”

And, there’s nowhere else on the web with this combination of features and focus, backed up by 600 UKTI staff on the ground

The USP- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What people said...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I’ve had a lot of pain internationalising. I figured it out the hard way and I spent a lot of money doing it. This service would have made all the difference.

It’s too late for me, but these newer, smaller businesses? They need it.”

What people said...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“This would be a huge value-add for my customers.”

What people said...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I like the competitive aspect. The country view or market view that shows market competitors and the effort required to get there -- that would really be helpful.”

What people said...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“This is the kind of thing my customers have been looking for.”

What people said...- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“I’m looking for a well-coordinated and connected peer group of people who want to export to similar countries.

I’d like to be part of an eco-system of exporters who can collaborate and share knowledge and experience, ideally at different stages of maturity, so the starters can learn from the veterans and avoid common mistakes.”

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