Digital Entrepreneurship Cyprus

Digital EntrepreneurshipThe current situation in Cyprus

Cyprus IT Enterprises AssociationAndreas Hadjioannou

Member of the Board of Directors

Going Local II – Cyprus 25-Nov-2011

About CITEA Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association Under of the auspices of the Cyprus Enterprises and

Instustrialists Federation (OEB) Established 1987 Mission:

◦ To play a determining role in the balanced growth of information technology in the Cyprus economy acting as a vehicle of change for the development of the information society

65 Members (Almost 100% of ICT companies over 4 employees)


Digital Entrepreneurship We define Digital Entrepreneurship as the exploitation and use

of Information and Communication Technologies by Enterprises in novel ways to create commercial opportunities, disseminate information, and collaborate with clients and partners

Digital Entrepreneurship is changing the way we do business, collaborate and perform transactions and manage our business

It provides the means by which Enterprises can take advantage of the Digital Strategy transforming our organizations and in general economy into a knowledge based economy

Significant Return on Investment (ROI) and impact on productivity, growth competiveness and the work environment, in our business, society and our economy.




Nov 2011


Local Issues◦ Economic Crisis◦ Post-July 11 created situation◦ Energy hype and potential repercussions (Good and Bad)◦ The Cyprus problem

Globalization◦ Demands of EU Legislative and regulatory framework◦ International competition at our door steps◦ Lower profitability◦ High running costs

Our Society◦ Large number of small companies◦ Heavy competition from large companies◦ Knowledgeable customers◦ Increase of Demand for high quality services

Challenges faced by Enterprises in Cyprus


Findings of the “Recovery is Digital” conferenceMarch 2011

Cyprus falls considerably behind the rest of Europe in the Information and Communications Technologies sector

Lack of Digital Strategy or any action plan that will in a satisfactory degree accommodate benefits of digital economy

Investment in ICT Research and Development has been minimal It is evident that Government and semi-Government institutions and

departments that have the role of managing the Information Society of this country do not have the flexibility or the level of productivity and efficiency they need in order to implement the change this country requires

We need to implement the proposed strategy and increase the pace by which we are implementing things


Enterprises in CyprusCompany size Number %

1 – 9 (Micro) 56,048 93.7

10 – 19 (Small) 3,139 5.2

50 – 249 (Medium) 529 0.9

> 249 (Large) 79 0.1

TOTAL 59,795

Includes Ltd, Partnerships, associations , coops, Individual companies


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ICT Companies in Cyprus Approximately 65 companies Share of the ICT sector in Cyprus is small as a

percentage of employment: approximately 2% compared to a EU average of closer to 6%

A number of global name brands With a few exceptions, a fragmented group of SMEs

that supply locally and do not have the capability to grow and develop.

Very little R&D is undertaken and there is little innovation


Estimated market size Total market 2010 approx. € 150M Broken down by

◦ Infrastructure 55%◦ Applications and Services 35%◦ Tools 10%


How we see the Digital Strategy of Cyprus

Proposed Digital Strategy includes measures required to level with the EU Digital Agenda

It is broad, flexible and covers Public and Private sector There is a lot to do and requires collaboration by all

stakeholders to make it succeed In doing so, the rest of the countries will have moved

forward keeping the digital gap with Cyprus but at a smaller size

Requires prioritization and a feasible action plan Requires political commitment and investment


Strengths

Framework by which we can achieve compliance to EU Digital Agenda and also set the foundations for an action plan towards Digital Entrepreneurship

We are so behind that any action we implement will have an immediate impact

High number of university educated workforce (over 70% from countries abroad)

Though late enough, it will help towards a Digital Recovery


Weaknesses as a country

Large number of small companies Too good in Strategy formulation BUT very bad

implementers We have the most expensive and slowest Internet Lack of political commitment Lack of vision for ICT Delays in the finalization and implementation of the

Digital Strategy Heavy bureaucracy


Weaknesses as Enterprises Lack of culture and incentives towards innovation and

investment for ICT companies for Enterprises Measures and plans towards research on ICT and

innovation are focused on long term academic research than industry related research

There are considerable delays in introducing government ICT projects (new and upgrades)

Delays and heavy costs in procurement Difficult to participate in Government projects Lack of Private Public Partnership


Opportunities Promote Cyprus as a center of services using ICT Small country, ideal for Pilot ICT projects Utilize skills from young people, currently unemployed Build datacenters to host cloud applications Ideal for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Services Green ICT Research and Development ICT can become a major pillar for the Government

towards converting Cyprus in a regional center for high quality services


Threats Globalization Presence of dynamic regional competitors Other countries around us are exploiting our

opportunities


Suggested Measures – Enterprises and ICT Incentives towards ICT with emphasis on improving productivity

and minimizing costs ICT innovation in Enterprises Measures towards allowing ICT companies to penetrate other

markets Measures towards cooperation between the Industry and

Universities or Research and Development Focus on short term R&D involving ICT companies Promotion of collaboration with international Organizations on

Research transfer of technology Measures towards research and development of new products

and services Public Private Partnership


Major ICT trendsas defined by Gartner and Forrester Research

Cloud Computing◦Software as Service (SaaS)◦Platform as Service (PaaS)◦ Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Collaboration Next generation Business Intelligence and data

analytical tools Mobility Social Media Business Process Management (BPM) Green ICT


Domino Effect

ICT Measures

CompetivenessInnovation

CollaborationInvestment

Costs ReductionE- Skills

Knowledge WorkersProductivity

ECONOMYRECOVERY


Don’t ignore the new generation

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/503165914_a680a56c77_z.jpg?zz=1

http://pictures.inspirationfeed.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-logo1.jpg

http://venueinsider.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4sq-specials-image.jpg?cda6c1

http://venueinsider.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4sq-specials-image.jpg?cda6c1

Thank you for your attention

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