South Wales Business Review V4 I4 by Lucy Griffiths

Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

The Tech

Tonic Can Technology Cure our Economic Ills? â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Rising Tide Floats all Boatsâ&#x20AC;? Neil Cocker on the Importance of Tech Clusters Man Versus Machine Will Robots Replace Human Labour? Rethinking the Future Wales Leads the Way in Developing Sustainable Technologies Disruptive Technologies The Game-changing Tech you need to know about Silicon Valleys? We Compare Cymru and California Time-Saving Tech Tips 10 Cloud-based Essentials for Small Business

Swansea Business School Ysgol Fusnes Abertawe

h c Te ue e s h T Is

inside 3 Editorial:

summer/autumn 2013 Volume 4 Issue 4

SILICON VALLEYS? We Compare Cymru and California

If you require this document in an alternative format (e.g. Welsh, large print or text file for use with a text reader), please email swbr@smu.ac.uk

Fformatau eraill

Point of View: WHAT HAS TECHNOLOGY DONE FOR US? Chris Thomas assesses the impact, and looks to the future

Policy Perspective: RETHINKING THE FUTURE Paul Allen from CAT on developing Sustainable Technologies in Wales

Industry View: INVESTING IN TECH Avril Lewis from ESTNet calls for more tech investment

16 Alternative formats

10 Minute Guide:

Think Piece: MAN VERSUS MACHINE Why the ‘Luddite Fallacy’ may not be false

TIME-SAVING TECH TIPS 10 Cloud-based Essentials for Small Business

NEIL COCKER “A rising tide floats all boats”

6 Points Of View:

TECH TIPSTERS Tech companies share their tips for success

THE TECH TONIC Can Technology Cure our Economic Ills?

4 The Big Interview:

In Profile:

News and Events

Books: We review ‘The New Digital Age’ By Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

Next Issue: GREENWASHED? Moving the Sustainability Debate Beyond ‘Green Issues’

Os hoffech y ddogfen hon mewn fformat arall (e.e. Cymraeg, print mawr neu ffeil tesun i’w ddefnyddio gyda darllenydd tesun), anfonwch e-bost i swbr@smu.ac.uk ISSN 2049-5544 Disclaimer: The articles in this publication represent the views of the authors, not those of the University. The University does not accept responsibility for the contents of articles by individual authors. Please contact the editor if you have further queries. Ymwadiad: Mae’r erthyglau yn y cyhoeddiad hwn yn cynrychioli barn yr awduron, nid rhai UWTSD. Nid yw’r Brifysgol yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb am gynnwys erthyglau awduron unigol. Cysylltwch â’r golygydd os oes gennych gwestiynau pellach. Registered Charity Number / Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig 1139800 © UWTSD 2013. All rights reserved/ cedwir pob hawl. Front cover image: ©we are lucky This Page: ©iStockphoto.com/Alexsangel

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www.smu.ac.uk/swbr swbr@smu.ac.uk @SWBusReview Lucy Griffiths South Wales Business Review Adolygiad Busnes De Cymru Swansea Business School Ysgol Fusnes Abertawe Ty Bryn Glas Campus Campws Ty Bryn Glas High Street / Stryd Fawr Swansea / Abertawe SA1 1NE

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PRODUCTION TEAM Editor: Lucy Griffiths Editorial Board: Kathryn Flynn Samantha Morgan Christopher Thomas

Editorial: The Tech Tonic

Can Technology Cure our Economic Ills?

Design & Print: UWTSD Print Unit Selected Contributors:  Steve Griffiths

With a background in Economics and a strong interest in Business Ethics, Steve Griffiths has taught at Swansea Business School for many years, and is currently Assistant Dean, Faculty of Business and Management and Head of the Centre for International Development.

 Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas lectures in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship and Marketing at Swansea Business School and has a range of industry experience in these fields.

 Neil Cocker

Neil Cocker is a former musician turned internet entrepreneur who developed online music merchandise company ‘Dizzyjam’. He organises the Cardiff TEDx events and is a founder of Cardiff Start. He advises many organisations including the UK government on how to develop enterprise clusters.

 Paul Allen

Paul is External Relations Director at the Centre for Alternative Technology, where he heads up the Zero Carbon Britain strategy programme.

Lucy Griffiths Editor We all feel the impact technology has had on our lives every day – it enhances our ability to communicate, learn, create, and achieve. There can be no doubt that development of new technologies drives humanity forward, but the more we grow and develop, the more we seem to expect and the more we consume. In this issue we explore both the challenges and opportunities that fastpaced technological change presents for us here in Wales, with an array of perspectives from industry and academia. Neil Cocker, Entrepreneur, founder of TEDx Cardiff and champion for Welsh start-up clusters gives his thoughts on how Wales can build the right environment and culture to spark growth in our big interview on pages 4 and 5. Avril Lewis of the ESTnet calls on Welsh Government to invest in Wales’s technology infrastructure on pages and 14 and 15 and Paul Allen from the Centre for Alternative Technology gives a perspective on the future of sustainable technology development in Wales on pages 20 and 21.

We review Wales’s tech start-up culture in our feature on page 6, highlighting a range of tech businesses striving to make an impact in tough economic times, and our ten minute guide features ten lowcost cloud-based technologies that can improve business productivity on pages 12 and 13. As well as all this, Steve Griffiths considers the future of our labour force in an artificially intelligent world on page 18, Chris Thomas asks ‘What has Technology Done for us?’ on pages 16 and 17, and we review Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s book ‘The New Digital Age’ on page 23. Enjoy!

Lucy PS. To receive a regular copy by post or view earlier editions of the SWBR online visit www.smu.ac.uk/swbr.

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The Big Interview: Neil Cocker “A rising tide floats all boats” We recently met up with Neil Cocker - Cardiff-based entrepreneur, mentor and founder of DizzyJam, TEDx Cardiff, Ignite Cardiff and Cardiff Start - to talk about his work in championing a start-up culture in South Wales. SWBR: What drives you as an entrepreneur?

SWBR: Why is Wales a great place to start a tech business?

NC: The desire to wake up every morning knowing that it won't be a boring day, and the intention of building a life that gives me the freedom to make whatever choices I like. As it happens, I'm not sure I know a single entrepreneur who is driven by a specific desire to accrue massive wealth.

NC: Well, I can only really speak for Cardiff, but it is a dynamic, young, creative city. You can get from one side to the other in less than 10 minutes, and yet it's somewhere we have world-class sport, and world-class media. We have a great grassroots movement of tech startups who are all passionate about creating a brilliant technology ecosystem here. Plus, you can swim in the sea or be at the foot of a mountain in 20 minutes, but you're still close enough to London to be able to be there for a breakfast meeting.

...and what drives you to support other start-ups? NC: I love being around ambitious people who are trying to build something special. Plus, someone smarter than me once said that a rising tide floats all boats.

SWBR: Why are tech companies so important? NC: The internet (ecommerce, infrastructure and associated technologies) is responsible for over 10% of the UK GDP, and thus eclipses education and construction in that respect. The companies that drive the innovation that underpins that economic growth are tech start-ups. They're responsible for a huge amount of the technology, IP and new jobs that are created in this country each year.

SWBR: What are the challenges tech companies in Wales face? NC: The big one for me is access to relevant, tech-specific finance and investors. Tech start-ups usually need some kind of seed funding at least to help them grow to the large number of users they inevitably need. Just look at all the top technology companies in the world, from Facebook, to Tumblr, to Google, to Instagram - they'll all have taken angel and/or VC money in order to get where they are. And we just don't have banks, VC funds, or angel investors here in enough numbers to service the needs of these of the start-ups.

“We just don't have banks, VC funds, or angel investors here in enough numbers to service the needs of these of the start-ups.” Plus, start-ups here don't have the same experience, vocabulary, and knowledge of their London counterparts, who are surrounded by start-up culture, attitude and methodology. It's just in the air, especially around Old Street roundabout and the rest of East London.

SWBR: How do you think they can be overcome? NC: Ahh, that's the million dollar question. And I don't know the answer to that. But I am working hard with Cardiff Start, Welsh Government, Cardiff University, and particularly Cardiff Council to find some solutions!

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“The companies that drive the innovation that underpins that economic growth are tech start-ups. They're responsible for a huge amount of the technology, IP and new jobs that are created in this country each year.”

SWBR: What role do 'clusters' play? NC: They help by giving entrepreneurs a focal point, and they make the community visible. It makes it clear to students, investors, and start-ups both inside and outside the city that it's a place to do this kind of business. Without a visible cluster it can all look very disparate. "Tech City" has been a great PR vehicle for positioning London as a competitor to Silicon Valley. I hope we can demonstrate that there's great activity here, and it's a city worth working and investing in.

SWBR: What's your vision for the future of the tech industry in Wales? NC: I hope that within the next decade or so Cardiff will be recognised the world over as a brilliant, creative city of innovation which offers a fantastic quality of life to everyone who lives, works or plays here. Tech start-ups will be absolutely key to making this happen, and spreading the word.

SWBR: Can you tell us a bit about your work with the UK Government Technology and Business Cluster Alliance? NC: I've been invited to join this alliance, which was set up by UK Government and Tech City. It's effectively a group of people from around the UK who are looking at ways to improve the UK's economy by making sure that there are several economically viable tech clusters outside of London. I'm there representing Cardiff as one of those clusters. We've had two meetings so far (one with the PM's senior business advisor at 10 Downing Street, and one with Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace!) but the signs are positive that UK Government is serious about making this work.

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Opinion: Silicon Valleys Could Wales Create a Tech Startup Culture to Match California? Lucy Griffiths SWBR Editor, Lucy Griffiths, explores the emerging tech start-up culture in South Wales and asks whether Wales could grow to compete with California’s Silicon Valley. At first it may not seem that obvious, but Wales and California actually have a lot in common. We both have beautiful beaches, hills, valleys, surfers, singers…and not forgetting that both Cymru and California have been the backdrops for some of the world’s most important industrial innovations and developments. The industrial revolution, fuelled by coal from Wales, transformed human society, and the digital revolution, sparked in California’s ‘Silicon Valley’ is currently doing the same. What a difference a few hundred years can make, though. Wales’s economy has struggled in recent times, with significant social impacts on our communities, whilst California’s tech industries seem to grow and grow. However, there are a group of people here in Wales who are challenging this status quo and aiming to put us back on the industrial map by establishing a new, technology-driven start-up culture from the ashes of our industrial heartlands. So, what are the ingredients that make for a successful tech start-up culture? Government support and hand-outs? A concentration of skills? Availability of investment capital? Or simply great ideas? Well there’s no easy answer to that one, but what is clear is that despite the diaspora which global travel and the internet are capable of facilitating, 6 │ Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

physical proximity of clusters of creative and skilled people with similar and complementary interests, along with those willing to invest in them still seem to play a role – with Silicon Valley a classic case in point. So, what does it take to create a tech start-up culture in a town, city or region? Well, in his 2006 essay ‘How to Be Silicon Valley ’ author and venture capitalist Paul Graham suggests that it is possible for highly successful tech hubs to develop and form – perhaps even places which could rival Silicon Valley. What are the ingredients? Well according to Graham it’s simple: “you only need two kinds of people to create a technology hub: rich people and nerds” (Graham, 2006). Although this may seem somewhat flippant, his discussion of the ideal conditions is an interesting one, as he cites the need for the location to be an attractive place to live and work, with good universities and plenty of skilled young people along with those who have money to invest. A healthy disregard for bureaucracy and a community with a ‘personality’ are also high on his list. Whether this is an accurate list or not we can appraise South Wales against it and find that it does rather well.

There are is no shortage of young entrepreneurs in Wales with the drive to make things happen (see the next few pages for examples). Organisations like Cardiff Start and Swansea Start are seeking to create collaborative communities of tech start-ups who can share ideas, skills and spaces. In Swansea the growth of co-working spaces like IndyCube and The DeskDen show that there is demand for creative 21st century workspaces, and folks like Matt Warren are working to build this culture further through organisations like Swansea Start which he describes as “a community of entrepreneurs, developers, designers, marketers who are involved in tech start-ups in the Swansea Bay area. We hold regular meet ups and events for the community. We want to help and encourage people to start a

ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│ tech business by sharing our knowledge and experience freely without any expectation of any return.” The Swansea Start team highlight their choice to base themselves in Wales as a decision driven by lifestyle and the unique combination of city life, coast and country that our land has to offer. I also recently had the opportunity to visit Welsh ICE (Innovation Centre for Enterprise) in Caerphilly – a fantastic facility in which more than 50 companies are already collaborating and sharing ideas and workspaces. So, we have attractive spaces in which to live (places with personality at that), talented young people with technical skills, Universities with vision – maybe what we’re lacking is the rich folk to invest in start-ups? Well the answer to that could be found in a number of places. Yes we could lobby Welsh Government and the banks to provide more investment – but why not also seek to attract private investors to our shores? Sir Terry Matthews, Wales’s first billionaire has started the ball rolling by recently setting up The Alacrity Foundation, an organisation which recruits graduates and develops, nurtures and invests in their ideas to build new tech businesses here in Wales. One wealthy investment organisation does not a Silicon Valley make, however, and if Wales is to

become a really successful hub for technology based companies perhaps it needs to either find ways to attract more ‘rich people’ to settle here (national identity and destination branding become important here), or find new 21st century approaches to investment – maybe using the very technology infrastructure that supports the development itself. Can you Crowdfund a tech cluster? Maybe not just yet, but perhaps one day. What is clear to me; however, is that there is a groundswell of young companies, and those on the cusp of starting them who could create a creative, tech-based culture here in Wales that could compete on the world stage. Universities, businesses and the public sector must support this culture, without stifling it in bureaucracy, as our economic future could depend upon it. Reference Graham, P. (2006), How to Be Silicon Valley (online).

Image: ©iStockphoto.com/septemberlegs

Expert View: The Role of Universities in Developing Skills for Tech Businesses Head of the Swansea School of Digital Media, Dr Paul Hazel, gives his perspective on how Universities can contribute to the development of a hi-tech economy by producing graduates with the skills the industry needs. “Perhaps a key question in this debate is to ask how Universities know what skills are needed in the hightechnology sector, especially as this is an area that is subject to very rapid changes. Although there is no single one-size-fits-all answer to this, a number of common strategies can be identified. Firstly, academic staff themselves remain practitioners within industry typically as consultants, partners, or even running their own businesses. Secondly, every academic team undertakes a consultation process with industry when courses are being written, and in some cases this process is formalised into an annual Industry Liaison Group meeting where developments in processes, technologies, and skills are discussed and fed back into the course delivery on an on-going basis. Thirdly, the University organises events such as conferences where key aims are for industry leaders to disseminate innovative practice and to network with academia. A good example of this is the SAND conference organised by the Swansea School of Digital Media, an internationally recognised event that brings to South Wales major figures from the animation, VFX, and audio industries. Finally, the University is also involved with a number of Sector Skills Councils, government-legislated bodies whose specific aim is to bridge the perceived gap between industry and academia. The University has been working in conjunction with Skillset Media Academy Wales to develop and deliver a series of Master’s-level modules designed to enhance the skills of freelancers and SMEs working within the creative sector.”

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Industry Profile: Tech Tipsters South Wales’s Tech Companies Tell their Start up Stories and Share their Tips for Success

ELECTRONIC MOTION SYSTEMS Fact File Founders

CEO – Rolf Dahlmanns, from Germany.

Executive Director R&D – James Tompkins, based in Canada.

Start-up Date Electronic Motion Systems is a leading supplier for power conversion and electric motor drive markets offering a wide variety of customised electronic modules and systems designed to maximise system efficiency, reliability and performance. CEO Rolf Dahlmanns and EMS have been at the forefront of electronics manufacturing for the best part of thirty years. With bases in Canada and the UK, the group comprises of two specialist divisions – product and technology development and integrated design and manufacture of customised solutions. The two divisions interact seamlessly to offer integrated, turnkey solutions. Continual investment in the latest production technology and software systems combined with its size enables EMS to be a proactive and flexible partner. EMS focuses on quality through design and manufacture to final product build, ensuring products are produced to world class quality standards. The company has grown in revenue and profit since the management buyout in 2009, and in 2013 has so far achieved records sales and profit margins.

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Swansea is an ideal location for EMS due to the close proximity to transport links, a local workforce experienced in electronics manufacturing and automotive markets, and the opportunity to work with support from the Welsh Government and top quality local universities.

The business was originally started in Swansea by Los Angeles based International Rectifier in Spring 1999. The business went through a management buyout on 2009.

Location

HQ & Manufacturing is based “Swansea is an in Penllergaer, Swansea, with ideal location for a Design Centre based in EMS due to the Canada. close proximity to Web Site transport links, a www.electronicmotionsystems.com local workforce experienced in electronics Top Tips manufacturing • Don’t rely on being financially and automotive successful in a short period of markets, and the time. It takes time, and probably longer than you think! opportunity to work with support from • It’s also a good idea to build your network of contacts for the Welsh potential customers, suppliers, Government and partners, mentors, etc. Industry organizations like top quality local ESTnet are very useful in this universities.” regard. •

And finally, don’t give up!

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VEEQO

Fact File Founder

Matt Warren – ecommerce veteran of 12 years running UK's largest online luxury watch retailer.

Start-up Date 2013

Location Swansea

Web Site

www.veeqo.com Twitter: @veeqo Facebook.com/veeqo

Veeqo is an order and inventory app for ecommerce retailers to help manage all their sales channels such as eBay, Amazon and their website.

In May we raised £150,000 in seed funding through a crowd funding platform called Seedrs and were the first Welsh business to raise money this way.

Matt Says: “Having worked in ecommerce for a long time, I had got very frustrated with having to operate multiple software system for each of sales channels (retailer store POS, websites and Amazon), which also caused stock error and a lot of extra work to keep the separate systems up to date. So I decided to create my own online solution to the problem.

We have a team of 6 full time software engineers and 4 office staff currently. Our plans are to have 2,000 customers using the platform within 18 months, from around the world.”

One of the main points was that it had to be a cloud based system so that it could be used on any device and regardless of location. We have built the platform and it is currently in beta testing with multiple large retailers, who have praised how much time it has saved them, they also love the fact we have integrated with Royal Mail so they can print delivery labels inside the system.

“In May we raised £150,000 in seed funding through a crowd funding platform called Seedrs and were the first Welsh business to raise money this way.”

Top Tips •

•

Read the 'The Lean Startup' by Eric Ries and follow this methodology when starting out. It highlights important points that you need to validate your idea before spending 2 years building it and finding out there is no demand for it!

Build a team around you, for the skills that you lack (business, developer, designer) try and find someone in your network to bring on board, pitch them your idea and give them shares in your new venture.

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QUANTUM Fact File Founders

Steve Jones / Martin Jones – Founders Carl O’Roche – Partner

Start-up Date 1995

Location Port Talbot Quantum offers a specialist printed circuit board (PCB) design service along with full electronic design. Steve says: “Myself, Martin and Carl would meet on a regular basis in London to discuss our roles and the technologies we were involved with at our present companies. After many years of discussions we eventually made the brave step to leave the south of England and set up Quantum in Port Talbot with the help of the local council and what was then the WDA. Following years of working in electronics, we felt there was an opportunity to offer a high end PCB design service to the UK electronics industry, especially as the industry began to grow in Wales. We now offer PCB Design, full electronic product design, consultancy and training to the electronics industry throughout Europe. After several successful years of growth, we found that a significant number of our customers wanted more than just PCB design; they also wanted the full electronic product design solution. We responded to this by employing hardware engineers to enable us to offer this service.

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Keeping on top of new technologies is a must in this industry and we often partake in research projects alongside other companies. We worked on a particular collaborative European project that allowed us to be at the forefront of embedded electronic component technology, in fact we are one of the only design companies with this experience. The use of state-of-the-art design software along with bespoke data management systems, all governed by our ISO processes, allows us to reduce development time and new product introduction costs for our clients and indeed our own product development. We have also implemented web technology for real-time collaboration with our clients and supply chain which reduces travel costs, time and carbon footprint. Wales is definitely a good location for a technology business as the Welsh Government has significant funding opportunities for companies to push forward their technologies and achieve the growth they desire. Alongside this, there are amazing groups set up in Wales to help with networking and making business links such as trade associations and Welsh Government supported networks like the ESTnet.”

Web Site

www.quantumcad.co.uk

Top Tips •

Know your market.

•

Ensure the product specification is well defined.

•

• •

Aim for sustainable growth.

Instil good project management techniques to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Continue the sales/marketing effort even during “busy” times. Above all hard work hard and believe in your business’s ability to succeed.

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FOUNDEE Foundee matches young and established start-ups with highly skilled people, offering equity in return for their time and skills. The team say: “We had all started working with our own businesses in IndyCube Swansea Central, the new co-working space based at the Urban Village, High Street, Swansea. Back in 2008 Mike had had an idea about paying people with equity in return for their services and creative skills. Although he was an accomplished web designer and videographer, he was unsure of the best way to take the project forward. Upon meeting Matt, he found someone who had prior experience of successfully starting up new businesses and bringing in seed investment. Mike also met Dan, an accomplished developer with a track record of delivering high end web applications.

We all love working in Swansea. With an area of outstanding natural beauty on our doorstep it’s the perfect place to balance work and family life. With a host of new start-ups and members joining Indycube and the Swansea Start community it’s an exciting time to be involved.

Fact File

In the future, the Foundee team will continue to improve the existing features at Foundee.com while striving to create new ways of helping businesses improve, grow, or get off the ground. With investors on board and strong links to the UK tech community we are confident we can grow the number of active users quickly on both sides of the Atlantic, while also marketing Foundee to new start-up communities in less recognised parts of the world.”

Start-up Date

Founders Mike Scott Dan Smart Matt Warren 2013

Location Swansea

Web Site

www.foundee.com Twitter: @foundees

A team was formed and we realised quickly that we had the complementary skills and ability to deliver the original vision that Mike had had. It was decided that the three parties should form a new company each with equal shares and Foundee Limited was formed. Foundee quickly developed from initial designs and concepts into a working application and is now in a BETA test phase. Foundee has recently received seed investment, helping push the project forward and into the busy start-up market place. As a new product we are now testing with beta testers and encouraging signups from both start-ups and people who want to invest their time and skills.

Top Tips ·

Find the right people to work with you – don’t think you know it all, but welcome all advice.

Giving away equity doesn’t lose you control – rather it gives you the opportunity to grow your business – a 10% stake in £1million is better than a 100% stake in £10k.

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Ten Minute Guide: Cloud-Based Software Essentials for Small Business Starting a business on a shoe-string may seem like a daunting prospect, but the revolution in cloud-based software means businesses no longer have to spend a fortune on software systems. Low-cost (and often free) online applications offer businesses the opportunity to become more productive, and remain agile as they

grow without investing heavily in software licenses or bespoke solutions. It’s not the right route for all companies, but if all you need is to perform the key tasks any business needs (such as communicating, storing and managing information, and managing people and teams), there are a vast array of options out there.

The suite of products under the banner ‘Google Apps’ offers many of the basic functions your business might need – company email, calendars, file storage, contact management, and the ability to create and collaborate on documents, spread sheets and presentations using ‘Google Docs’. Integrating with Google+ means you can also host online meetings in ‘hangouts’. All of this is offered at a low monthly subscription rate. Great if you already use Google products, as it offers excellent integration.

We’ve listed just a few of the most popular below, but it’s worth exploring the full range of possibilities to find the right tools for your business.

Evernote is the 21st Century take on the notebook. You can make notes in text, audio or visual formats, file them in notebooks, tag them for easy searching and share them with collaborators. Free for basic users or with an annual subscription for pro features.

www.google.com/apps www.evernote.com

If you like ticking off items on your todo list, Asana may be perfect for you. It allows you to create everything from a simple task list to a complex project involving multiple deadlines and team members. It’s a great way of managing your own workload – and the work of others in your team.

The classic option for cloud storage and sharing, dropbox still offers some of the best features, and you can gain an enormous amount of space for free. Use it as a back up, or to keep all your documents, images, video and other files in order…and if you set it up to

www.asana.com

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auto-sync, the images you take on your smartphone or tablet camera will automatically upload to the web and be waiting for you when you get back to your computer. www.dropbox.com

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6 If you organise events for your business, an event management application like Eventbrite could save you a huge amount of time and effort. Just set up your event online, then link to it or embed their booking widget in your web site.

If you send email newsletters, offers or other bulk communications to customers, mailchimp is a really simple, easy to use way to get professional email marketing results. Its drag and drop interface lets you create great looking, fully featured emails that work on all screen sizes quickly and easily, and its management infrastructure will help you manage your data and make sure you stay legal and ethical in your communications.

Eventbrite allows you to gather key data (and payments) from attendees, contact them, produce badges, registration lists and more, all from a single online interface.

www.mailchimp.com

www.eventbrite.com

Managing multiple social media profiles across different platforms can suck away your time in a small business – that’s where a social media management tool comes in. A good choice is ‘Hootsuite’ which allows you to set up, monitor and manage your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin all from the same window both on your mobile or in the office. There are other similar options in this space, however, and it’s also worth checking out ‘Bufferapp’ which allows you to store up social media content for later, drip feeding it out at the times you specify. www.hootsuite.com

If keeping track of your expenses is the bane of your life, you might want to try an expense tracking app like Expensify. With mobile apps for all platforms it enables you to scan in, email in, import in, or record your own expenses, linking with accounting software and other apps like Evernote. www.expensify.com

If you’re setting up a web site for your business, it’s worth looking at open source systems like Wordpress, which are free to use and constantly updated. Although Wordpress started as a blogging platform, it is used by many major companies as the platform for their main web site. You can choose a ready-made template, or work with a developer to create a bespoke template for your business. www.wordpress.org

And finally... Accounting Packages

Doing your bookkeeping online can really help you stay on top of your finances, with the added benefit that you can allow your accountant to access the information remotely. However, there are so many

options when it comes to your accounts that it’s really worth talking to your accountant before you make a choice. Many accountants will like to work with a specific package, but some to check out are: Kashflow, Xero, QuickBooks, Freeagent, Quickfile,

and Freshbooks. Some are free, some will charge, but finding a system that works for both you and your accountant is crucial. For some useful reviews and comparisons see http://www.accountingweb.co.uk

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Industry View: Investing In Tech Why technology and Innovation are the key drivers for Wales’s economic success

Avril Lewis Wales has the potential to dominate in many specialist high-tech fields says Avril Lewis, Managing Director of the ESTnet, as she calls on the Welsh Government and businesses to invest in skills and innovate to help build the sector’s position through the next decade and beyond. Figures on Wales’s position in the global economic league tables have been widely reported and the latest GDP, inflation and employment figures show little sign of improvement for the broad section of the country. But this need not be the case.

“With the right focus on high value and IP sensitive design and production, we have an opportunity to lead the way and work our way out of economic turbulence.” Wales has real potential for innovation and the development of new technology. With the right focus on high value and IP sensitive design and production, we have an opportunity to lead the way and work our way out of economic turbulence. There are already a number of businesses and organisations in Wales that have seen this potential –some of the world’s most innovative technology that powers the global defence industry is developed and manufactured here. The ESTnet aims to provide a collaborative environment in which people and organisations working with enabling technologies can create strong business relationships, exchange knowledge and share ideas. 14 │ Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

What is now required is a real focus by Government and businesses to address the skills gap to assess exactly what is needed for this industry to reach its full potential and remain serving the nation for years to come. As the ESTnet we are committed to supporting businesses to do this. but first we must look at what is required for the industry to reach its full potential. The most important factor is the skills gap. This has to be right for any sector to thrive. This is where industry should work closely with the education system and many of our organisations are already doing so. Not only will this help ensure the individuals coming out of these institutions have the skills required by the industry, it also showcases the employment on offer in Wales and the opportunities that can be realised here. Businesses should start early when it comes to addressing the skills gap. Engaging with local primary and high schools on projects across the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subject areas is a good start. This can give children and young people a first insight into the diverse range of careers available with Welsh businesses in the electronic and software technologies industry. Colleges can also help in providing apprenticeship programmes where

businesses can influence learning in-line with their own corporate requirements. Higher level apprenticeships are often one of the preferred career routes options for the sector. It is vital that the engagement with the college takes place at an early stage in order that the business can work alongside tutors to shape a course and also have the opportunity to showcase the business to students and potential future employees in order to attract the best. University careers are prominent within the sector and in the same way we encourage our member businesses to work with colleges, we do so with universities. The recent announcement that business leaders and universities are looking to forge stronger partnerships to collaborate for economic benefit is welcomed by the ESTnet. The development of the Welsh arm of the National Centre for Universities and Business is a promising step towards encouraging greater collaboration across all sectors. University students should take advantage of the opportunities available to them during their degree, initiatives such as industry placement years are a good way of allowing businesses to assess the skills they have and get a foot in the door for when they are job hunting after graduation. It is well known that those students that have completed an industry placement or have substantial work experience in their field are likely to

ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│ be favoured by employers looking to take on graduates. In fact, many employers insist that any graduates they employ have some form of relevant work experience. Organisations like ourselves offer academic membership that can help both students and lecturers get involved in the local industry and network with key players. Strengthening the link between academic organisations and businesses can expedite the route from innovation to commercialisation. Another avenue for research and development is the use of incubation centres such as General Dynamics’ EDGE facility, the EADS Foundation and the Business Incubation Facility at Sony Pencoed. We are fortunate in Wales that we have these centres on our doorstep that can provide opportunities for product development and incubation as well as the chance for smaller or start-up businesses to access the research and development often only associated with larger corporations.

“The recent announcement that business leaders and universities are looking to forge stronger partnerships to collaborate for economic benefit is welcomed by the ESTnet.” Facilities such as these offer the opportunity to collaborate with likeminded businesses to develop new technologies and innovations. It is this development and innovation that will help Wales generate increased economic stability through the electronic and software industries.

“Welsh businesses need to play to their strengths and look at what they have to offer in terms of innovation, technological capability and focus on keeping the talent we have in Wales as well as attracting new skills from the rest of the UK and overseas to help our companies maximise opportunities.” Once we have the development of new technologies, products and innovations, businesses then have the challenge to reach maximum market potential for them. This is often done through export. It is often reported that it is difficult for smaller businesses across the UK to know how to export, but Welsh businesses are fortunate in that they have access to Government departments and networks like the ESTnet that can help in these areas through trade missions and collaboration. This is where it becomes vital to bring the industry together to share knowledge. The learnings of one company can often be of great use to another so it is up to businesses to develop a circle of trusted contacts and influencers for this purpose.

Advanced manufacturing and development is alive and well in the UK and the outlook remains positive, despite tough market conditions. We must ensure we seize the opportunities presented to us now and focus on growth areas. Welsh businesses need to play to their strengths and look at what they have to offer in terms of innovation, technological capability and focus on keeping the talent we have in Wales as well as attracting new skills from the rest of the UK and overseas to help our companies maximise opportunities. Avril Lewis is managing director of the ESTnet, the specialist network for electronics and software technologies businesses in Wales. For more information visit www.estnet.uk.net

It is well known that the electronic and software skills, intrinsic knowledge and the size and dynamics of the technology industry in any country is fundamental to its potential for economic growth. Investment in infrastructure, power and digital connectivity along with capital equipment will be key to harnessing the opportunities presented to the high-tech manufacturing and technology sectors at present.

Research and development requires investment, not only in monetary terms but also in commitment from employers to dedicate resource to it. But it is this investment that will enable the design and development of new products which are crucial to economic success. The ESTnet has built strong links with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTN) on a national level to help member businesses work in collaboration and access funding through open innovation. Image: ©iStockphoto.com/FrankRamspott

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│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW

Point of View: What has Technology done for us? Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas, Lecturer in Information Systems at Swansea Business School, reflects on the impact technology has had on our lives and work, and looks forward to the disruptive technologies likely to have an impact on our futures… When I was in junior school in the 70s, some teachers spoke glassy-eyed of brighter days ahead with the arrival of ‘the leisure society’. It was to be a future of fewer working hours and an abundance of free time, brought about by advances in technology leading to improvements in worker productivity. The main problem would be what to do with all our free time. With better technologies companies would become more efficient, making more things in less time, profits would rise, workers would bring home higher pay whilst working less. Productivity has increased in the US by 400% since 1950 but average hourly wages have stayed the similar levels as well as hours worked.

However, productivity does not follow an exponential path. In spite of advances in technology it can plateau. This discrepancy between investment in IT and productivity levels has become known as the “productivity paradox” coined in a 1993 paper by Erik Brynjolfsson, a Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He argued that this paradox might be more a reflection of how productive output is measured and tracked, suggesting that “intangibles such as better responsiveness to customers and increased coordination with suppliers do not always increase the amount or even intrinsic quality of output, but they do help make sure it arrives at the right time, at the right place, with the right attributes for each customer”.

The improvements in technology have come to pass, and yes, I am having problems with my free time, but for all the wrong reasons. Technology has made my day-to-day work far more efficient and effective than ever before, so I can now squeeze far more productivity into every working day. Most routine administration tasks I can do for myself and in theory, I am contactable 24/7. The infiltration of Microsoft Office, the Internet, mobile technology and cloud based computing into our working lives, certainly makes us feel that we are, as workers, riding on a continually rising productivity curve.

According to Brynjolfsson we are moving from physical production to knowledge creation. GDP and productivity per person is increasing, but he sees this as being more difficult to measure in economic terms as we are getting more technology-laden gifts, such as Wikipedia; Skype; Google; Bing; and Twitter, for free. In economic terms zero price has zero weight. Also he argues that digitisation means that we can reproduce at almost no cost and deliver instantaneously, which is the economics of abundance not scarcity.

With greater competition for jobs workers are accepting lower wages and it has been argued that productivity is being held down in the service sector, which is more people, than technology based. 16 │ Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

The economist Robert J Gordon argues that growth in the US is slowing due to high levels of government debt and growing inequality. He casts some sobering thoughts on the ability of our current technological innovations to power the

economy in the same way previous inventions have, stating that “invention since 2000 has centred on entertainment and communication devices…but do not fundamentally change labour productivity or the standard of living in the way that electric light, motor cars, or indoor plumbing changed it”. Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, in their 2011 book, Race Against the Machine, demonstrate that technology will no longer create as many jobs as it destroys and that this will happen at an exponential rate. They see recent technological innovation as only the tip of the ice-berg. Advances in machine learning means that computers can now emulate the human brain in complex pattern recognition. They argue that we will have to change the way in which we work: re-invent our organisations so we can share in this technological growth. Therefore, it is too simplistic to see technology as the panacea for our economic problems. Yes, it makes companies more efficient and profitable but it is decided in the boardrooms whether the profits are passed on to the workers. Technology that makes workers more efficient makes robots most efficient and they don’t need a salary or a tea break. Perhaps Brynjolfson and McAfee’s book would be better titled “Wage against the Machine”.

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Disruptive Technologies you need to know about… A disruptive technology is essentially a technological innovation that helps create a new market thereby disrupting and often replacing earlier technology. So why and where should you pay attention? Here are a selection of the disruptive technologies identified recently by the McKinsey Global Institute as potentially having the biggest impact on our future lives. Mobile Internet In the next few years wireless (mobile) web use is expected to exceed wired (desktop) use. This technology is evolving rapidly, with intuitive interfaces and new formats, including wearable devices such as Google Glass. Mobile Internet will affect service delivery, worker productivity, remote healthcare, and consumer habits and preferences in shopping. If your customers are using mobile technology, make sure your website can display accurately on mobile platforms. Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) This can help businesses reduce capital expenditure by allowing employees to use their personal devices at work. In theory it sounds like a good idea. Happy employees using their tablets or laptops they are familiar with to conduct their work, however the benefits of having a BYOD policy needs to be weighed up against the costs of implementing procedures to safeguard a company against security breaches and data loss. The Cloud Processing power, once the domain of PCs has shifted location from our desks to distant servers on the Internet. Therefore, a computer application or service can be delivered to a device over the Internet or network, which uses the minimum amount of processing power or software. Users no longer have to invest heavily in hardware or software and can use cloud services on a much more efficient pay as you go basis.

Automation of Knowledge Work As discussed earlier advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data and voice recognition have made it possible now to automate tasks formerly that were seen as exclusively in the realm of knowledge workers. Computers can now answer unstructured questions, and untrained workers or customers will be able to get information on their own. These tools will affect such fields as education, medicine, legal work, accounting and investments in finance. Big Data A key problem for most companies is that they have vast amounts of data generated through day-to-day business, which never sees the light of day. This is known as Big Data. Defined by McKinsey Global Institute in their Big Data Report as “datasets whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage, and analyse”. Analysing large sets of data is becoming a key competitive factor: a company’s performance can be measured in more detailed ways; products and services can be more precisely targeted; decision making can be improved with more sophisticated analytics; and future products can be improved. Internet of Things Most of us are aware of radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications in tracking items in the supply chain. This is the embedding of sensors on to physical objects and bringing them into the connected world of the Internet using wireless and near-field communications. Objects will become ‘smart’ sensing the environment around them and communicating any issues back. There will be major impacts on business processes, manufacturing, natural resource use, utilities, energy delivery, and remote healthcare.

Autonomous and NearAutonomous Vehicles Autonomous vehicles are now part of science-fact not science fiction. Even semi-autonomous vehicles would offer substantial value in terms of driver assistance. These advances could have a tremendous impact on the transportation of goods and the efficiency of the supply chain. 3D Printing Until now 3D printing has been the preserve of hobbyists and specialist designers. However, prices of 3D printers are falling rapidly and the range of materials that can be used in the process is expanding, this could mean the adoption of 3D printing technology by consumers and manufacturers alike. With 3D printing products can go straight from design to finished product, bypassing several steps of traditional manufacture. 3D printing facilitates on demand production, which has implications for supply chains and stocking of spare parts. What does this mean for Businesses? It’s vital to keep abreast of the latest technology trends. You can sit back and watch technology trends come and go or you can jump on every technological trend but it’s probably best to have a foot in both camps. As Charles Var of Wired.com puts it “Understand that it’s impractical to adopt and implement every new technology that comes your way and learn to choose the technologies that profoundly affect the efficiency and effectiveness of your business”. All these emerging trends need to be considered from both the customer and the employee point of view, because in the end, technology has to be used by people. One of the main reasons for the failure of new information systems is the lack of employee involvement. As for disruptive technologies, get used to them. As John Naughton states in his recent book: What you really need to know about the Internet (reviewed in the February Issue of SWBR), “For the Net, disruption is a feature, not a bug”. Vol 4 Issue 4 2013 │17

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Think Piece: Man Versus Machine Why the ‘Luddite Fallacy’ may not be false.

Steve Griffiths

Steve has taught Economics and Marketing at the Faculty of Business for many years. His main research interests are to analyse the impact of new technology on business ethics. The link between technology adoption and unemployment has long been discussed. In recent times we have witnessed the closure, rationalisation, merger or emigration of a host of British companies and organisations. The digital revolution appears to have accelerated this trend. Online shopping has deprived retailers of customers. Electronic data interchange (EDI) speeds up development which allows new improved engineering products in particular, but reduces the need for so many development managers in the supply chain. In the public sector our love of email means the Royal Mail has to look for new business models or contemplate closure. Similarly, music publishing is being transformed by downloading, file sharing and selfpublishing. Typing pools no longer exist. We even pay our road tax online, reducing the need for so many administrative workers at the DVLA. Consumers may contact manufacturers directly cutting out the middle of the supply chain to order products for “drop shipping”, creating disintermediation, loss of jobs and the companies delivering logistics, wholesaling and retailing services. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for over a decade has reengineered, simplified and integrated business processes. The impact on manufacturing has been profound in the West, but the same processes are also decimating the service sector, where most of us now work, if we have a job. This hyper-reengineering can impact on all organisations, regardless of size, location or sector. 18 │ Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

This story ironically seems quite ‘old economy’. At heart its configuration would be familiar to the ‘scientific managers’ of Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1930s, and workers at the Ford Model T plant or the workers needed for the management of horse drawn carriages that the model T made redundant. In 1811 the threat to their livelihood led to the Luddite riots where textile workers smashed labour saving weaving machines, publicised by pamphlets signed by the anonymous “King Ludd”. However the history of the following 200 hundred years was one of growth, rising living standards and increasing wealth. This paradox has led economists to label the fear of new technology as the “Luddite Fallacy”. However a “new economy” perspective is revisiting some of the previously rejected economic ideas of Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Marx and Keynes, which may now seem appropriate to the new conditions. In a global economy, with such rapid innovation and impoverished public sectors, perhaps workers displaced by technology have rational grounds for their fears. In the past new technologies generated more aggregate demand. The growth in employment needed flexible labour supply requiring workers to both retrain to acquire new skills and move geographically to the location of new technology jobs. Governments often helped with education and training policies and softened the burden of

relocation with welfare benefits. Some modern economists fear that the technical changes are happening so quickly and the benefits are enjoyed by a narrow elite. Alan Greenspan has observed that “skills are becoming redundant at a rate unprecedented in human history”. Brynjolfsson and McAfee warn about the threat, if we do not adapt more quickly and strategically, since we are in a “Race against the Machine”. The result will have deep impacts on the economy, but the social and political impacts are yet to be fully analysed. The global nature of the processes means that even big governments find themselves with limited powers.

Low priced labour is a temporary solution. In China workers are negotiating wage rises.

ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│ The result is likely to be plant transfer to other more compliant countries such as Laos or Vietnam. Manual and low skilled workers are already virtually unemployable in the West. The statistics are often hidden by government schemes, disability lists and other ways to manage workers who are not required by “The Machine”. For the Luddites, redundancy meant poverty and often starvation in prewelfare state Britain. Do we face a similar fate? Our governments are struggling to pay for the welfare safety net. Ironically we are forcing older workers to stay in employment longer to ‘earn’ their pensions at a time when we have acute youth unemployment. Professor Paul David’s “techno-economic regime” the main beneficiaries of innovation are unlikely to spend their profits in a way that will create jobs for displaced workers. Economists disagree (no surprise) about the future. Some maintain that the Luddite Fallacy endures. Our problems are painful but like the past, are temporary. Supply side flexibility and the dynamism of the new economy will generate growth and wealth. They do identify that the beneficiaries may not be the tradition groups in society or globally. However they have faith in the economic system and human capacity for change. Others

claim the change is so fast, that our systems cannot keep pace. Technological unemployment leading to its more long term cousin Structural unemployment will be the norm and difficult to eliminate. The economic crisis since 2008 has led to recession type unemployment due to the lack of demand, but simultaneously the continuing adoption of digital technology is further eroding employment at a time when training budgets are being cut and the trend of real wages is at best flat lining, but for many falling. The danger of downward multiplier effects and the economic distress may destabilise the system. The benefits of the new are difficult to deny. Who would give up their MP3 player, access to email or ability to use Wikipedia when the pub quiz competitors aren’t looking? However what cost do these improvements to our lifestyles incur?

The alternative sketched by authors resembles a dystopia of increasing alienation of a digitally divided society. Information rich and empowered elites may not wish to share their wealth. The rest will not find a role in creating the wealth. Prices will be driven down by increased efficiency and, when using old technology, the search for cheaper and cheaper labour, but most of us cannot benefit because we will have no income. The changes will inevitably happen. The role of universities will be crucial whichever scenario pervades. We need to be in partnership with industry (which is often as confused as the rest of us about the direction to take and skills that need to be developed). Our role will be to design flexible, adaptable, programmes to quickly respond to the economy’s and our stakeholders’ needs. The challenge to our systems will be immense, but the opportunities are too important to ignore.

Two scenarios come to mind. The positive view is of a new digital world where our wealth can be generated by fewer people. The majority can be offered the 'Leisure Society' that we all discussed in the 1980s. Work-sharing, inevitable reduction in the growth of personal consumption and tax/welfare reforms to allow general

sharing of benefits will be a political challenge. The social challenge will be to define ourselves in ways that do not relate to work. This has been a driver for centuries, even contributing to our family names. Personal identity problems, even in this benign scenario, might be the biggest challenge when we are not needed for work.

Reference: Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee (2011) Race Against The Machine, Digital Frontier Press. Image: ©iStockphoto.com/TonisPan

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│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW

Policy Perspective: Rethinking the Future How new technology can support genuinely sustainable business in Wales Paul Allen

As the Centre for Alternative Technology launches its ‘Rethinking the Future’ report, Zero Carbon Britain Project Co-ordinator Paul Allen explains how Wales can lead the way in developing and implementing sustainable technologies. There is simply no historical precedent for the scale of the energy challenge we currently face - climate science demands a much more rapid emissions reduction than the mainstream currently offers and the peaking of world oil is going to have profound economic impacts with inevitable social repercussions. Yet there is still poor public understanding of our global energy predicament. Even our experts, scientists and political leaders fail to grasp the vast quantities of energy that have now have been made essential for sustaining modern civilisation, and the difficulties continuing that supply into the future places upon us. Wales needs to think carefully its relationship with energy in the 21st Century. As a nation seeking increased self-determination, which also has higher than UK average energy needs for both industry and transport – it is vital that both our energy and economic ‘self-reliance’ forms a key part of that narrative. Increased dependence on fossil fuel imports from far-flung corners of the globe may not prove reliable or affordable, as world oil and gas production peaks whilst global demand tries to go through the roof. Those countries that plan and prepare for peak oil will clearly have an advantage over those that don’t. Sweden is, so far, the only country that has an explicit governmental commitment to breaking its oil dependence.

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“Wales has a unique role to play in helping the world re-shape its relationship with energy.” Wales has a unique role to play in helping the world re-shape its relationship with energy - as Wales led the world into fossil fuels with coal mining - and can now become a leader in the race to broker a new relationship. Even as far back as 1973, Wales was at the cutting edge with the founding of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT). A bunch of young idealists adopted a derelict slate quarry in Pantperthog, near Machynlleth, inspired by the notion of building a living community to test the emerging sustainable technologies, in order to find out which ones worked and which ones didn’t! At that time what we meant by being green was a lot less defined, and a lot less tested. Society had just emerged from the swinging sixties, and few people were watching the problems, let alone looking for the solutions. This original community set out to develop and prove, by a positive living example, new technologies that would provide practical solutions to the problems that are now worrying the world’s ecologists, energy specialists and economic analysts. CAT’s new report – Zero Carbon Britain: Rethinking the Future outlines where we

could be if we rise to our 21st century challenges. It integrates cutting-edge knowledge and experience from a wide range of disciplines, exploring how a zero carbon society could gain positive benefits to the health and wellbeing of its population, environment and economy. Through communicating it widely, CAT aims to stimulate much needed economic and political debate around rapid decarbonisation, engage the broader research community and get society thinking in a new way – to help us build consensus around what needs to happen. We do not in any way intend this new scenario to be taken as the ‘only way to save the planet’ that has to be followed to the letter. Our intention is simply to open conversations that are firmly based in the physical realities of what scientific consensus demands, acknowledging the UK’s historical responsibility as a long industrialised nation that has been emitting for over 150 years. Exploring what it would be like to live in a future where we are rising to these challenges offers the potential to break through the political deadlock, dispel myths, reconcile misunderstandings and trigger further research and collaborations – from emerging technologies to business, the arts and social sciences. Launched in July, this report holds potential to open a range of important conversations across Wales. It outlines how, using hourly weather data over a ten year period, a combination of

ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│ ‘powering down’ the energy use in our homes, industry, businesses and transport systems by 60%, through adoption of smart, lean practice and powering up UK renewables can enable us to balance supply and demand at all times and in all weathers. All of this has significant potential for Welsh business. Onshore wind creates about ten times as many local jobs as the equivalent-sized gas power station, and developments are usually accompanied by significant community benefit funds, which can be strong drivers for local economic activity.

in greenhouse gas emissions, and requires significantly less land – so freeing up land for other uses. We in the UK, on average, over-eat and lack balance in our diets – this has led to a population that suffers from a multitude of diet-related diseases. Getting the right mix of things in our diet would significantly improve our health, whilst also reducing both agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and the area of land required for food production. In addition, eating the right amount of food and wasting less, would further decrease agricultural emissions, and the amount of land needed.

“Wales should also have the political will, being one of only three democracies with a legal obligation to implement sustainability.”

Another key area to open new dialogues in Wales is ‘natural resources’ - food, agriculture, forestry and land use. The report has identified a very powerful ‘win win win’ opportunity. Basically, a diet with the right mix of foods in the right quantity is not only better for our health, it is much lower

This extra land could provide new income streams through delivery of biomass back-up for our energy system, and by safe and proven carbon capture – for example expanding forestry and restoring peat-lands. Wales has a rich mixed agricultural tradition, going back before the ‘headage payments’ began to narrow the product mix. With new integrated thinking on natural resources in Wales, widening our conversations to include energy and net carbon negative process holds the potential to significantly increase the share of the economy reaching the agricultural sectors.

There is therefore an urgent need to map the potential for the Welsh landscape’s ability to provide both energy and carbon capture services - this could include land type; elevation; wind profile; distance from grid points and current ownership and current usage. Sites with prime technical potential could be quickly identified and support provided for community and local authority based energy generation, getting energy income directly into Welsh business and communities. The arts are another very powerful sector in Wales which

can offer a much-needed mirror that can help individuals and societies reflect on the incredible and on-going story of human being and energy, which is still just as rooted in the Welsh landscape today as it was in the days of coal and steam.

Wales - a Green Laboratory

We now have a chance to change everything, because everything must be changed. Wales yet again has all it needs to be a leader in the next energy revolution. Wales is rich in renewable and land based resources, we have the connectivity, we have the business skills, and the academic and educational institutions - CAT offers a wide range of cutting edge educational courses right up to postgraduate level to help provide the tools to make this a reality. Wales should also have the political will, being one of only three democracies with a legal obligation to implement sustainability. Welsh Government commitment is reflected in the ‘Science for Wales’ strategy. One of its three ‘Grand Challenges’ is “Low carbon, energy and environment”, suggesting a role for Wales as a national scale ‘green laboratory’ – with its businesses and academics working to test and demonstrate economically attractive and genuinely sustainable technologies. By getting people to rethink the future, CAT hopes Zero Carbon Britain: Rethinking the Future catalyses urgent action across all sectors of society – because if we can’t picture the solution, we will surely stay stuck in the problem!

“Wales is rich in renewable and land based resources, we have the connectivity, we have the business skills, and the academic and educational institutions.” Find out more You can download Zero Carbon Britain: Rethinking the Future for free at zerocarbonbritain.org and find out about CAT’s courses at www.cat.org.uk Image: Centre for Alternative Technology

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│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW

News and Events

Events @ Swansea Business School

For further details of these events and to register to attend please email swbr@smu.ac.uk or call our Faculty Office on 01792 481132.

13th September 2013 (1pm-5.15pm)

Alumni Conference

The Business School’s inaugural alumni conference at our new campus, Tŷ Bryn Glas. All alumni are invited to catch up with friends old and new, and gain insights from a great line-up of guest speakers. Alumni can book a free place at: sbsalumniconference2013.eventbrite.com

18th-24th November 2013

Enterprise Week

See our web, Twitter and Facebook pages for updates on our annual programme of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Award-winning Staff – Voted for by Students Greg Williams and Amanda Owens, Health and Social Care Lecturers in the Faculty of Business and Management recently received awards for their teaching at the annual Students’ Union teaching awards ceremony. It was an excellent year for the Faculty, with 31 members of staff being nominated by students to receive awards - a fantastic reflection of the dedication and care for students our teaching team offer.

University Joins Forces with Leading Tech Company The University of Wales Trinity Saint David recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with UNIT4 Business Software, the UK subsidiary of UNIT4, the global leader in software that supports business change. The company, which has developed a Centre of Excellence for Education and Research from its Welsh headquarters in Swansea and also provides specialist software solutions to more than 400 education and research institutions around the world, will team up with the University in order to enhance regional economic development. This will be achieved through the creation of a new commercial centre to offer a full range of business solutions from UNIT4 and training services from UWTSD. The organisations will collaborate on research and development projects, as well as student employability, by providing the University's business, information technology and engineering students with real life experience of working within a global, blue chip company. Professor Medwin Hughes, the University's Vice-Chancellor commented: "This development is an excellent example of how Universities and business can collaborate to find innovative and creative ways of delivering growth in the Welsh economy." 22 │ Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

Business School Grad Beth Becomes SU President Beth Thomas, who graduated from Swansea Business School this July with a first class honours degree has just taken over as the new President of the Swansea Metropolitan Students’ Union. She’ll be taking over the reins from outgoing president, also a Swansea Business School graduate, John Williams. John, who has done a fantastic job over the past two years in guiding the Union through major changes whilst also developing a fantastic, vibrant student culture at the University, has recently started work within the University’s marketing team where he’ll continue to be an ambassador for Swansea Met. We wish them both the very best of luck in their new roles.

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Books:

Looking Through the Google Glass

The New Digital Age By Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

Eric Schmidt has been at the centre of a media storm this summer – with Google’s tax affairs the subject of scrutiny both in the UK and the US, the company’s Executive Chairman has been under heavy fire for the past few months. What better time, therefore, to conduct a book tour? Well, you could certainly argue that one both ways – but in raising the profile of Schmidt’s book, co-authored by colleague and collaborator Jared Cohen (Google’s ‘Director of Ideas’), the coverage can certainly have been no bad thing. The New Digital Age is a broad, sweeping review of the impact of digital technologies on the human race, both now and in the future. Prediction is a dangerous game, but in Cohen and Schmidt there are probably few people better placed to speculate. The issues are big – this is not a discussion about Search Engines – the text traverses politics, economy, society, culture and the planet – all seen through the powerful lenses of the ‘Google Glass’. The choice to publish a physical text in a classic hardback format is an interesting one. Clearly, there is a hope that this format will reach those whom E-Books may pass by, but it is more than that. This book strikes one as an attempt to become a classic treatise on the state of humanity. It is Schmidt and Cohen’s magnum opus, their challenge to governments to start to tackle the issues they raise head on, not with their heads in the sand. Their appraisal of both the challenges and opportunities ahead sets an agenda for government and for organisations like Google - they cover the impact on nation-states, personal identity, social inequality, terrorism, education, healthcare and much more – making predictions that are assured and well argued. Having been fortunate enough to attend Schmidt’s session at the Hay Literary Festival this year, it was clear from his comments that this is one industry leader who is fully aware that companies like Google have powers that could challenge our governments – although the acknowledgment of this is conspicuous in its absence ion the book. How big a role the leaders of the internet companies which dominate our web use will play in shaping our future world is moot, but we cannot, and should not, ignore their growing influence - and hence we cannot, and should not, ignore this book. Reviewed by Lucy Griffiths

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Next Issue…

Taking the Sustainability Debate beyond the ‘Green Gloss’

Out November 2013 To reserve a copy please visit www.smu.ac.uk/swbr or email your name and address to: swbr@smu.ac.uk