1. ICT Clusters
2011 Timo Simell

2. Topics
• About Finland and Tieke
• What is an ICT Cluster?
• What is needed for cluster to be an effictive organization?
• Mediator’s role
• The role of the members
• International cooperation
• Society and companies need new ideas

3. About Finland
• Population: 5.2 million
– uses internet daily 56%
• ICT usage
– companies with more than 10 employees
• 99 of 100 companies use ICT
• In ICT, accounting, technical and science sectors
• ICT in usage in 39 of 100 companies
– Constructing companies
• Open source in use 18% of companies
– mostly in ICT companies
• Percentage of all companies CRM in 36% and ERP in 28%
• Education level in Finland
– elementary school 33% of the adults
– university 8% of the adults

4. About Tieke
• Established 1981
• There are about 100 members
– big companies, ministries, universities
• Working
– Between citizens, private companies and public sector
• Network consists of about 1000 experts (ICT and other domains)
• Employees: 12-16
• Non-profit organization
• Turnover 1,6 m€, income: member fees, projects, licensees

5. Finnish ICT- organizations
• FiCom
– internet and telephone operators
• COSS Centre for Open Source Solutions
– open source
• The Finnish Information Processing Association, FIPA
– ict workers
• Finnish Information Security Association (FISA
– securitys experts

6. What is an ICT cluster?
• It is to achieve common goals
• It is members who create the cluster and
• It is members who decide how important it is!
1+1=3

7. What is needed for cluster to be an effective
organization?
• Organizer must be fulltime, neutral and independent towards its
members
• It doesn't work if it is based upon voluntary work. Why?
– people don't have time
– people change their workplaces
– employer don't always give a permission
– somebody have to process information
• It takes time to organize cooperation with different kind of
companies!

8. Mediator's role
• There is need for a mediator
– a lot of actors from different backgrounds with different
economical interests
– someone has to think about citizens
– private and public sectors must work together
• What a mediator do?
– find and analyzes information
– spread information
• email, seminars
– produce services to Cluster members

9. The role of the members - cooperate
• find new cooperation methods between companies
• gather knowledge for themselves
• build trust to bring up new ideas
• build networks also to other than ICT companies
– at the international and domestic level
• lobby to change attitudes and legislation

10. International cooperation?
• Home-field must be in order
• It is good to find support and partners among Cluster members
• Someway easier to do it with open source –community members
• Role of ICT cluster
– is to make road easier to go for ICT companies

11. Society and companies need new ideas
• There are lot of them
• Problem is how to get people to believe in them?
– especially those how have invented them
• Share them
– you don't have always possibilities or time to develop them further
• Technical solution is not always the main problem but
– how to get people to adapt them to use in practice?
• If level to take risks is =0
– no new innovative methods or services
• There is always someone who doesn't believe you
• Needed knowledge and courage