south wales business review v4 i4

Swansea Business SchoolYsgol Fusnes Abertawe

Vol 4 Issue 4 2013

“A Rising TideFloats all Boats”Neil Cocker on the Importanceof Tech Clusters

Man Versus Machine Will Robots Replace Human Labour?

Rethinking the Future Wales Leads the Way in DevelopingSustainable Technologies

Disruptive TechnologiesThe Game-changing Tech youneed to know about

Silicon Valleys?We Compare Cymru and California

Time-Saving Tech Tips10 Cloud-based Essentialsfor Small Business

The TechTonicCan Technology Cureour Economic Ills?

The T

ech

Issu

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3 Editorial:THE TECH TONIC Can Technology Cure our Economic Ills?

4 The Big Interview: NEIL COCKER “A rising tide floats all boats”

6 Points Of View: SILICON VALLEYS?We Compare Cymruand California

18 Think Piece: MAN VERSUS MACHINEWhy the ‘Luddite Fallacy’may not be false

20 Policy Perspective: RETHINKING THE FUTUREPaul Allen from CAT on developing Sustainable Technologies in Wales

22 News and Events

23 Books: We review ‘The New Digital Age’By Eric Schmidtand Jared Cohen

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

inside

CONTACT US / CYSYLLTWCH Â NI

Web/ Gwefan: www.smu.ac.uk/swbr Email/ E-bost: [email protected] Twitter: @SWBusReviewPost: Lucy Griffiths

South Wales Business ReviewAdolygiad Busnes De CymruSwansea Business SchoolYsgol Fusnes AbertaweTy Bryn Glas CampusCampws Ty Bryn GlasHigh Street / Stryd FawrSwansea / Abertawe SA1 1NE

summer/autumn 2013Volume 4 Issue 4

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Alternative formatsIf you require this document in analternative format (e.g. Welsh, large printor text file for use with a text reader),please email [email protected]

Fformatau eraillOs hoffech y ddogfen hon mewn fformatarall (e.e. Cymraeg, print mawr neu ffeiltesun i’w ddefnyddio gyda darllenyddtesun), anfonwch e-bost [email protected]

ISSN 2049-5544

Disclaimer: The articles in this publication represent the viewsof the authors, not those of the University. The Universitydoes not accept responsibility for the contents of articles byindividual authors. Please contact the editor if you havefurther queries.

Ymwadiad: Mae’r erthyglau yn y cyhoeddiad hwn yncynrychioli barn yr awduron, nid rhai UWTSD. Nid yw’rBrifysgol yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb am gynnwys erthyglauawduron unigol. Cysylltwch â’r golygydd os oes gennychgwestiynau pellach.

Registered Charity Number / Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig1139800 © UWTSD 2013. All rights reserved/ cedwir pobhawl.

Front cover image: ©we are luckyThis Page: ©iStockphoto.com/Alexsangel

8 In Profile: TECH TIPSTERSTech companies share their tips for success

12 10 Minute Guide: TIME-SAVING TECH TIPS10 Cloud-based Essentialsfor Small Business

14 Industry View: INVESTING IN TECHAvril Lewis from ESTNet calls for more tech investment

16 Point of View: WHAT HAS TECHNOLOGY DONE FOR US?Chris Thomas assessesthe impact, and looks tothe future

We all feel the impact technology hashad on our lives every day – itenhances our ability to communicate,learn, create, and achieve. There canbe no doubt that development of newtechnologies drives humanity forward,but the more we grow and develop,the more we seem to expect and themore we consume.

In this issue we explore both thechallenges and opportunities that fast-paced technological change presents forus here in Wales, with an array ofperspectives from industry and academia.Neil Cocker, Entrepreneur, founder ofTEDx Cardiff and champion for Welshstart-up clusters gives his thoughts onhow Wales can build the rightenvironment and culture to spark growthin our big interview on pages 4 and 5.

Avril Lewis of the ESTnet calls on WelshGovernment to invest in Wales’stechnology infrastructure on pages and14 and 15 and Paul Allen from the Centrefor Alternative Technology gives aperspective on the future of sustainabletechnology development in Wales onpages 20 and 21.

We review Wales’s tech start-up culture inour feature on page 6, highlighting arange of tech businesses striving to makean impact in tough economic times, andour ten minute guide features ten low-cost cloud-based technologies that canimprove business productivity on pages12 and 13.

As well as all this, Steve Griffithsconsiders the future of our labour force inan artificially intelligent world on page 18,Chris Thomas asks ‘What has TechnologyDone for us?’ on pages 16 and 17, andwe review Google Chairman EricSchmidt’s book ‘The New Digital Age’on page 23.

Enjoy!

Lucy

PS. To receive a regular copy by post or viewearlier editions of the SWBR online visitwww.smu.ac.uk/swbr.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Editor: Lucy Griffiths

Editorial Board:Kathryn FlynnSamantha MorganChristopher Thomas

Design & Print: UWTSD Print Unit

Selected Contributors:

Steve GriffithsWith a background in Economicsand a strong interest in BusinessEthics, Steve Griffiths has taughtat Swansea Business School formany years, and is currentlyAssistant Dean, Faculty ofBusiness and Managementand Head of the Centre forInternational Development.

Chris ThomasChris Thomas lectures in InformationSystems, Entrepreneurship andMarketing at Swansea BusinessSchool and has a range of industryexperience in these fields.

Neil CockerNeil Cocker is a former musicianturned internet entrepreneur whodeveloped online music merchandisecompany ‘Dizzyjam’. He organisesthe Cardiff TEDx events and is afounder of Cardiff Start. He advisesmany organisations including the UKgovernment on how to developenterprise clusters.

Paul AllenPaul is External Relations Directorat the Centre for AlternativeTechnology, where he headsup the Zero Carbon Britainstrategy programme.

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Editorial:The Tech Tonic

LucyGriffithsEditor

Can Technology Cure our Economic Ills?

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The Big Interview: Neil Cocker“A rising tide floats all boats”

│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW

SWBR: What drives you as anentrepreneur?

NC: The desire to wake up every morningknowing that it won't be a boring day,and the intention of building a life thatgives me the freedom to make whateverchoices I like. As it happens, I'm not sureI know a single entrepreneur who is drivenby a specific desire to accrue massivewealth.

...and what drives you to supportother start-ups?

NC: I love being around ambitious peoplewho are trying to build something special.Plus, someone smarter than me oncesaid that a rising tide floats all boats.

SWBR: Why are tech companiesso important?

NC: The internet (ecommerce,infrastructure and associatedtechnologies) is responsible for over 10%of the UK GDP, and thus eclipseseducation and construction in thatrespect. The companies that drive theinnovation that underpins that economicgrowth are tech start-ups. They'reresponsible for a huge amount of thetechnology, IP and new jobs that arecreated in this country each year.

SWBR: Why is Wales a great place tostart a tech business?

NC: Well, I can only really speak forCardiff, but it is a dynamic, young,creative city. You can get from one side tothe other in less than 10 minutes, and yetit's somewhere we have world-classsport, and world-class media. We have agreat grassroots movement of tech start-ups who are all passionate about creatinga brilliant technology ecosystem here.Plus, you can swim in the sea or be at thefoot of a mountain in 20 minutes, butyou're still close enough to London to beable to be there for a breakfast meeting.

SWBR: What are the challenges techcompanies in Wales face?

NC: The big one for me is access torelevant, tech-specific finance andinvestors. Tech start-ups usually needsome kind of seed funding at least to helpthem grow to the large number of usersthey inevitably need. Just look at all thetop technology companies in the world,from Facebook, to Tumblr, to Google, toInstagram - they'll all have taken angeland/or VC money in order to get wherethey are. And we just don't have banks,VC funds, or angel investors here inenough numbers to service the needs ofthese of the start-ups.

Plus, start-ups here don't have the sameexperience, vocabulary, and knowledge oftheir London counterparts, who aresurrounded by start-up culture, attitudeand methodology. It's just in the air,especially around Old Street roundaboutand the rest of East London.

SWBR: How do you think they canbe overcome?

NC: Ahh, that's the million dollarquestion. And I don't know the answer tothat. But I am working hard with CardiffStart, Welsh Government, CardiffUniversity, and particularly Cardiff Councilto find some solutions!

“I love being around ambitious people who aretrying to build something special.”

“We just don'thave banks, VCfunds, or angelinvestors here inenough numbersto service theneeds of these ofthe start-ups.”

We recently met up with Neil Cocker - Cardiff-basedentrepreneur, mentor and founder of DizzyJam, TEDx Cardiff,Ignite Cardiff and Cardiff Start - to talk about his work inchampioning a start-up culture in South Wales.

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SWBR: What role do 'clusters' play?

NC: They help by giving entrepreneurs afocal point, and they make thecommunity visible. It makes it clear tostudents, investors, and start-ups bothinside and outside the city that it's a placeto do this kind of business. Without avisible cluster it can all look verydisparate. "Tech City" has been a greatPR vehicle for positioning London as acompetitor to Silicon Valley. I hope wecan demonstrate that there's greatactivity here, and it's a city worth workingand investing in.

SWBR: Can you tell us a bit aboutyour work with the UK GovernmentTechnology and Business ClusterAlliance?

NC: I've been invited to join this alliance,which was set up by UK Government andTech City. It's effectively a group of peoplefrom around the UK who are looking atways to improve the UK's economy bymaking sure that there are severaleconomically viable tech clusters outsideof London. I'm there representing Cardiffas one of those clusters. We've had twomeetings so far (one with the PM's seniorbusiness advisor at 10 Downing Street,and one with Prince Andrew atBuckingham Palace!) but the signs arepositive that UK Government is seriousabout making this work.

SWBR: What's your vision for thefuture of the tech industry in Wales?

NC: I hope that within the next decade orso Cardiff will be recognised the worldover as a brilliant, creative city ofinnovation which offers a fantasticquality of life to everyone wholives, works or plays here. Techstart-ups will be absolutelykey to making this happen,and spreading the word.

“The companies that drive theinnovation that underpins that

economic growth are tech start-ups.They're responsible for a huge

amount of the technology, IP and newjobs that are created in this country

each year.”


Opinion: Silicon Valleys Could Wales Create a Tech Start-up Culture to Match California?

At first it may not seem that obvious,but Wales and California actually havea lot in common.

We both have beautiful beaches,hills, valleys, surfers, singers…andnot forgetting that both Cymru andCalifornia have been the backdropsfor some of the world’s most importantindustrial innovations anddevelopments. The industrialrevolution, fuelled by coal fromWales, transformed human society,and the digital revolution, sparked inCalifornia’s ‘Silicon Valley’ is currentlydoing the same.

What a difference a few hundred yearscan make, though. Wales’s economy hasstruggled in recent times, with significantsocial impacts on our communities, whilstCalifornia’s tech industries seem to growand grow. However, there are a group ofpeople here in Wales who are challengingthis status quo and aiming to put us backon the industrial map by establishing anew, technology-driven start-up culturefrom the ashes of our industrialheartlands.

So, what are the ingredients that make fora successful tech start-up culture?Government support and hand-outs? Aconcentration of skills? Availability ofinvestment capital? Or simply greatideas? Well there’s no easy answer tothat one, but what is clear is that despitethe diaspora which global travel and theinternet are capable of facilitating,

physical proximity of clusters of creativeand skilled people with similar andcomplementary interests, along withthose willing to invest in them still seem toplay a role – with Silicon Valley a classiccase in point.

So, what does it take to create a techstart-up culture in a town, city or region?Well, in his 2006 essay ‘How to BeSilicon Valley ’ author and venturecapitalist Paul Graham suggests that it ispossible for highly successful tech hubsto develop and form – perhaps evenplaces which could rival Silicon Valley. What are the ingredients? Well accordingto Graham it’s simple: “you only needtwo kinds of people to create atechnology hub: rich people and nerds”(Graham, 2006). Although this may seemsomewhat flippant, his discussion of theideal conditions is an interesting one, ashe cites the need for the location to be anattractive place to live and work, withgood universities and plenty of skilledyoung people along with those who havemoney to invest. A healthy disregard forbureaucracy and a community with a‘personality’ are also high on his list.Whether this is an accurate list ornot we can appraise SouthWales against it and findthat it does ratherwell.

There are is no shortage of youngentrepreneurs in Wales with the drive tomake things happen (see the next fewpages for examples). Organisations likeCardiff Start and Swansea Start areseeking to create collaborativecommunities of tech start-ups who canshare ideas, skills and spaces.

In Swansea the growth of co-workingspaces like IndyCube and The DeskDenshow that there is demand for creative21st century workspaces, and folks likeMatt Warren are working to build thisculture further through organisations likeSwansea Start which he describes as “acommunity of entrepreneurs, developers,designers, marketers who are involved intech start-ups in the Swansea Bayarea. We hold regular meet upsand events for thecommunity. Wewant to help andencouragepeople tostart a

Lucy GriffithsSWBR Editor, Lucy Griffiths, explores theemerging tech start-up culture in South Walesand asks whether Wales could grow tocompete with California’s Silicon Valley.

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tech business by sharing our knowledgeand experience freely without anyexpectation of any return.”

The Swansea Start team highlight theirchoice to base themselves in Wales as adecision driven by lifestyle and the uniquecombination of city life, coast and countrythat our land has to offer.

I also recently had the opportunity tovisit Welsh ICE (Innovation Centre forEnterprise) in Caerphilly – a fantasticfacility in which more than 50 companiesare already collaborating and sharingideas and workspaces.

So, we have attractive spaces in whichto live (places with personality at that),talented young people with technicalskills, Universities with vision – maybewhat we’re lacking is the rich folk toinvest in start-ups? Well the answer tothat could be found in a number ofplaces. Yes we could lobby WelshGovernment and the banks to providemore investment – but why not also seekto attract private investors to our shores?

Sir Terry Matthews, Wales’s first billionairehas started the ball rolling by recentlysetting up The Alacrity Foundation, anorganisation which recruits graduatesand develops, nurtures and invests intheir ideas to build new tech businesseshere in Wales. One wealthy investmentorganisation does not a Silicon Valleymake, however, and if Wales is to

become a really successful hub fortechnology based companies perhaps itneeds to either find ways to attract more‘rich people’ to settle here (nationalidentity and destination branding becomeimportant here), or find new 21st centuryapproaches to investment – maybe usingthe very technology infrastructure thatsupports the development itself. Can youCrowdfund a tech cluster? Maybe notjust yet, but perhaps one day.

What is clear to me; however, is that thereis a groundswell of young companies,and those on the cusp of starting themwho could create a creative, tech-basedculture here in Wales that could competeon the world stage. Universities,businesses and the public sector mustsupport this culture, without stifling it inbureaucracy, as our economic futurecould depend upon it.

ReferenceGraham, P. (2006),How to Be Silicon Valley (online).

Expert View: The Role ofUniversities in DevelopingSkills for Tech Businesses

Head of the Swansea School ofDigital Media, Dr Paul Hazel, giveshis perspective on how Universitiescan contribute to the developmentof a hi-tech economy by producinggraduates with the skills the industryneeds.

“Perhaps a key question in this debateis to ask how Universities know whatskills are needed in the high-technology sector, especially as this isan area that is subject to very rapidchanges. Although there is no singleone-size-fits-all answer to this, anumber of common strategies can beidentified.

Firstly, academic staff themselvesremain practitioners within industrytypically as consultants, partners, oreven running their own businesses.

Secondly, every academic teamundertakes a consultation process withindustry when courses are beingwritten, and in some cases thisprocess is formalised into an annualIndustry Liaison Group meeting wheredevelopments in processes,technologies, and skills are discussedand fed back into the course deliveryon an on-going basis.

Thirdly, the University organises eventssuch as conferences where key aimsare for industry leaders to disseminateinnovative practice and to network withacademia. A good example of this isthe SAND conference organised by theSwansea School of Digital Media, aninternationally recognised event thatbrings to South Wales major figuresfrom the animation, VFX, and audioindustries.

Finally, the University is also involvedwith a number of Sector SkillsCouncils, government-legislatedbodies whose specific aim is to bridgethe perceived gap between industryand academia. The University has beenworking in conjunction with SkillsetMedia Academy Wales to develop anddeliver a series of Master’s-levelmodules designed to enhance the skillsof freelancers and SMEs working withinthe creative sector.”

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Image: ©iStockphoto.com/septemberlegs


Electronic Motion Systems is a leadingsupplier for power conversion andelectric motor drive markets offeringa wide variety of customised electronicmodules and systems designed tomaximise system efficiency, reliabilityand performance.

CEO Rolf Dahlmanns and EMS havebeen at the forefront of electronicsmanufacturing for the best part of thirtyyears. With bases in Canada and theUK, the group comprises of two specialistdivisions – product and technologydevelopment and integrated design andmanufacture of customised solutions.The two divisions interact seamlessly tooffer integrated, turnkey solutions.

Continual investment in the latestproduction technology and softwaresystems combined with its size enablesEMS to be a proactive and flexiblepartner.

EMS focuses on quality through designand manufacture to final product build,ensuring products are produced to worldclass quality standards.

The company has grown in revenue andprofit since the management buyout in2009, and in 2013 has so far achievedrecords sales and profit margins.

Swansea is an ideal location for EMS dueto the close proximity to transport links, alocal workforce experienced in electronicsmanufacturing and automotive markets,and the opportunity to work with supportfrom the Welsh Government and topquality local universities.

“Swansea is anideal location forEMS due to theclose proximity totransport links, alocal workforceexperienced inelectronicsmanufacturing and automotivemarkets, and theopportunity to workwith support fromthe WelshGovernment andtop quality localuniversities.”

Industry Profile: Tech TipstersSouth Wales’s Tech Companies Tell their Start up Storiesand Share their Tips for Success

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Fact FileFoundersCEO – Rolf Dahlmanns,from Germany.

Executive Director R&D – JamesTompkins, based in Canada.

Start-up DateThe business was originallystarted in Swansea by LosAngeles based InternationalRectifier in Spring 1999. Thebusiness went through amanagement buyout on 2009.

LocationHQ & Manufacturing is basedin Penllergaer, Swansea, witha Design Centre based inCanada.

Web Sitewww.electronicmotionsystems.com

Top Tips• Don’t rely on being financially successful in a short period of time. It takes time, and probably longer than you think!

• It’s also a good idea to build your network of contacts for potential customers, suppliers, partners, mentors, etc.Industry organizations like ESTnet are very useful in this regard.

• And finally, don’t give up!

ELECTRONIC MOTION SYSTEMS


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Veeqo is an order and inventory appfor ecommerce retailers to helpmanage all their sales channels suchas eBay, Amazon and their website.

Matt Says: “Having worked inecommerce for a long time, I had got veryfrustrated with having to operate multiplesoftware system for each of saleschannels (retailer store POS, websitesand Amazon), which also caused stockerror and a lot of extra work to keep theseparate systems up to date. So Idecided to create my own online solutionto the problem.

One of the main points was that it had tobe a cloud based system so that it couldbe used on any device and regardless oflocation.

We have built the platform and it iscurrently in beta testing with multiple largeretailers, who have praised how muchtime it has saved them, they also love thefact we have integrated with Royal Mailso they can print delivery labels inside thesystem.

In May we raised £150,000 in seedfunding through a crowd funding platformcalled Seedrs and were the first Welshbusiness to raise money this way.

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

“In May we raised£150,000 in seedfunding through acrowd fundingplatform calledSeedrs and werethe first Welshbusiness to raisemoney this way.”

VEEQO Fact File

FounderMatt Warren – ecommerceveteran of 12 years running UK'slargest online luxury watchretailer.

Start-up Date2013

LocationSwansea

Web Sitewww.veeqo.com Twitter: @veeqoFacebook.com/veeqo

Top Tips• Read the 'The Lean Startup' byEric 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 someonein your network to bring on board, pitch them your idea and give them shares in your new venture.

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Quantum offers a specialist printedcircuit board (PCB) design servicealong with full electronic design.

Steve says:

“Myself, Martin and Carl would meet on aregular basis in London to discuss ourroles and the technologies we wereinvolved with at our present companies.After many years of discussions weeventually made the brave step to leavethe south of England and set upQuantum in Port Talbot with the help ofthe local council and what was then theWDA.

Following years of working in electronics,we felt there was an opportunity to offer ahigh end PCB design service to the UKelectronics industry, especially as theindustry began to grow in Wales.We now offer PCB Design, full electronicproduct design, consultancy and trainingto the electronics industry throughoutEurope.

After several successful years of growth,we found that a significant number of ourcustomers wanted more than just PCBdesign; they also wanted the fullelectronic product design solution. Weresponded to this by employing hardwareengineers to enable us to offer thisservice.

Keeping on top of new technologies is amust in this industry and we often partakein research projects alongside othercompanies. We worked on a particularcollaborative European project thatallowed us to be at the forefront ofembedded electronic componenttechnology, in fact we are one of the onlydesign companies with this experience. The use of state-of-the-art designsoftware along with bespoke datamanagement systems, all governed byour ISO processes, allows us to reducedevelopment time and new productintroduction costs for our clients andindeed our own product development.We have also implemented webtechnology for real-time collaboration withour clients and supply chain whichreduces travel costs, time and carbonfootprint.

Wales is definitely a good location for atechnology business as the WelshGovernment has significant fundingopportunities for companies to pushforward their technologies and achievethe growth they desire. Alongside this,there are amazing groups set up in Walesto help with networking and makingbusiness links such as trade associationsand Welsh Government supportednetworks like the ESTnet.”

Fact File

FoundersSteve Jones /Martin Jones – Founders

Carl O’Roche – Partner

Start-up Date1995

LocationPort Talbot

Web Sitewww.quantumcad.co.uk

Top Tips• Know your market.

• Aim for sustainable growth.

• Ensure the product specification is well defined.

• 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.

QUANTUM


Foundee matches young andestablished start-ups with highlyskilled people, offering equity in returnfor their time and skills.

The team say:

“We had all started working with ourown businesses in IndyCube SwanseaCentral, the new co-working spacebased at the Urban Village, High Street,Swansea. Back in 2008 Mike had had anidea about paying people with equity inreturn for their services and creative skills.Although he was an accomplished webdesigner and videographer, he wasunsure of the best way to take the projectforward.

Upon meeting Matt, he found someonewho had prior experience of successfullystarting up new businesses and bringingin seed investment. Mike also met Dan,an accomplished developer with a trackrecord of delivering high end webapplications.

A team was formed and we realisedquickly that we had the complementaryskills and ability to deliver the originalvision that Mike had had.

It was decided that the three partiesshould form a new company eachwith equal shares and FoundeeLimited was formed. Foundeequickly developed from initialdesigns and concepts into aworking application and isnow in a BETA test phase.

Foundee has recentlyreceived seed investment,helping push the projectforward and into the busystart-up market place. As anew product we are nowtesting with beta testersand encouraging signupsfrom both start-ups andpeople who want to investtheir time and skills.

We all love working in Swansea. Withan area of outstanding natural beautyon our doorstep it’s the perfectplace to balance work and family life. Witha host of new start-ups and membersjoining Indycube and the Swansea Startcommunity it’s an exciting time to beinvolved.

In the future, the Foundee team willcontinue to improve the existing featuresat Foundee.com while striving to createnew ways of helping businesses improve,grow, or get off the ground. Withinvestors on board and strong links to theUK tech community we are confident wecan grow the number of active usersquickly on both sides of the Atlantic, whilealso marketing Foundee to new start-upcommunities in less recognisedparts of the world.”

Fact File

FoundersMike ScottDan SmartMatt Warren

Start-up Date2013

LocationSwansea

Web Sitewww.foundee.comTwitter: @foundees

FOUNDEE

Vol 4 Issue 4 2013 │11

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 thana 100% stake in £10k.

Ten Minute Guide: Cloud-BasedSoftware Essentials forSmall Business

Starting a business on a shoe-stringmay seem like a daunting prospect,but the revolution in cloud-basedsoftware means businesses no longerhave to spend a fortune on softwaresystems. Low-cost (and often free)online applications offer businessesthe opportunity to become moreproductive, and remain agile as they

grow without investing heavily insoftware licenses or bespokesolutions. It’s not the right route for allcompanies, but if all you need is toperform the key tasks any businessneeds (such as communicating,storing and managing information, andmanaging people and teams), there area vast array of options out there.

We’ve listed just a few of the mostpopular below, but it’s worth exploringthe full range of possibilities to find theright tools for your business.

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

www.google.com/apps

1Evernote is the 21st

Century take on the notebook. Youcan make notes in text, audio or visualformats, file them in notebooks, tagthem for easy searching and sharethem with collaborators. Free for basicusers or with an annual subscription forpro features.

www.evernote.com

2

If you like ticking off items on your to-do list, Asana may be perfect for you.It allows you to create everything froma simple task list to a complex projectinvolving multiple deadlines and teammembers. It’s a great way ofmanaging your own workload – andthe work of others in your team.

www.asana.com

3The classic option for cloud storage andsharing, dropbox still offers some of thebest features, and you can gain anenormous amount of space for free.Use it as a back up, or to keep all yourdocuments, images, video and otherfiles in order…and if you set it up to

auto-sync, the images you take on yoursmartphone or tablet camera willautomatically upload to the web and bewaiting for you when you get back toyour computer.

www.dropbox.com

4

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If you send email newsletters, offers orother bulk communications tocustomers, mailchimp is a reallysimple, easy to use way to getprofessional email marketing results.Its drag and drop interface lets youcreate great looking, fully featuredemails that work on all screen sizesquickly and easily, and its managementinfrastructure will help you manageyour data and make sure you stay legaland ethical in your communications.

www.mailchimp.com

5If you organise

events for your business, anevent management application likeEventbrite could save you a hugeamount of time and effort. Just set upyour event online, then link to it orembed their booking widget in yourweb site.

Eventbrite allows you to gather keydata (and payments) from attendees,contact them, produce badges,registration lists and more, all from asingle online interface.

www.eventbrite.com

6Managing multiple social

media profiles across differentplatforms can suck away your time in asmall business – that’s where a socialmedia management tool comes in. Agood choice is ‘Hootsuite’ whichallows you to set up, monitor andmanage your profiles on Facebook,Twitter, Linkedin all from the samewindow both on your mobile or in theoffice.

There are other similar options in thisspace, however, and it’s also worthchecking out ‘Bufferapp’ which allowsyou to store up social media contentfor later, drip feeding it out at the timesyou specify.

www.hootsuite.com

7

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

www.expensify.com

8

If you’re setting up a web site for your business, it’s worth lookingat open source systems like Wordpress, whichare 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 canchoose a ready-made template, or work with a developer to create a bespoke template for your business.

www.wordpress.org

9

Doing your book-keeping online canreally help you stay

on top of your finances, with the addedbenefit that you can allow youraccountant to access the informationremotely. However, there are so many

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

and Freshbooks. Some are free, somewill charge, but finding a system thatworks for both you and your accountantis crucial.

For some useful reviews andcomparisons seehttp://www.accountingweb.co.uk

10 And finally... Accounting Packages

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Figures on Wales’s position in theglobal economic league tables havebeen widely reported and the latestGDP, inflation and employment figuresshow little sign of improvement for thebroad section of the country. But thisneed not be the case.

Wales has real potential for innovationand the development of new technology.With the right focus on high value and IPsensitive design and production, we havean opportunity to lead the way and workour way out of economic turbulence.

There are already a number of businessesand organisations in Wales that haveseen this potential –some of the world’smost innovative technology that powersthe global defence industry is developedand manufactured here. The ESTnet aimsto provide a collaborative environment inwhich people and organisations workingwith enabling technologies can createstrong business relationships, exchangeknowledge and share ideas.

What is now required is a real focus byGovernment and businesses to addressthe skills gap to assess exactly what isneeded for this industry to reach its fullpotential and remain serving the nation foryears to come. As the ESTnet we arecommitted to supporting businesses todo this. but first we must look at what isrequired for the industry to reach its fullpotential.

The most important factor is the skillsgap. This has to be right for any sector tothrive.

This is where industry should work closelywith the education system and many ofour organisations are already doing so.Not only will this help ensure theindividuals coming out of theseinstitutions have the skills required by theindustry, it also showcases theemployment on offer in Wales and theopportunities that can be realised here.

Businesses should start early when itcomes to addressing the skills gap.Engaging with local primary and highschools on projects across the science,technology, engineering and maths(STEM) subject areas is a good start. Thiscan give children and young people a firstinsight into the diverse range of careersavailable with Welsh businesses in theelectronic and software technologiesindustry.

Colleges can also help in providingapprenticeship programmes where

businesses can influence learning in-linewith their own corporate requirements.Higher level apprenticeships are often oneof the preferred career routes options forthe sector. It is vital that the engagementwith the college takes place at an earlystage in order that the business can workalongside tutors to shape a course andalso have the opportunity to showcasethe business to students and potentialfuture employees in order to attract thebest.

University careers are prominent withinthe sector and in the same way weencourage our member businesses towork with colleges, we do so withuniversities. The recent announcementthat business leaders and universities arelooking to forge stronger partnerships tocollaborate for economic benefit iswelcomed by the ESTnet. Thedevelopment of the Welsh arm of theNational Centre for Universities andBusiness is a promising step towardsencouraging greater collaboration acrossall sectors.

University students should takeadvantage of the opportunities availableto them during their degree, initiativessuch as industry placement years are agood way of allowing businesses toassess the skills they have and get a footin the door for when they are job huntingafter graduation. It is well known thatthose students that have completed anindustry placement or have substantialwork experience in their field are likely to

Avril LewisWales has the potential to dominate in many specialist high-tech fieldssays Avril Lewis, Managing Director of the ESTnet, as she calls on the WelshGovernment and businesses to invest in skills and innovate to help build thesector’s position through the next decade and beyond.


Industry View: Investing In TechWhy technology and Innovation are the key drivers forWales’s economic success

“With the right focus onhigh value and IPsensitive design andproduction, we have anopportunity to lead theway and work our wayout of economicturbulence.”


be favoured by employers looking to takeon graduates. In fact, many employersinsist that any graduates they employhave some form of relevant workexperience.

Organisations like ourselves offeracademic membership that can help bothstudents and lecturers get involved in thelocal industry and network with keyplayers. Strengthening the link betweenacademic organisations and businessescan expedite the route from innovation tocommercialisation.

Another avenue for research anddevelopment is the use of incubationcentres such as General Dynamics’EDGE facility, the EADS Foundation andthe Business Incubation Facility at SonyPencoed. We are fortunate in Wales thatwe have these centres on our doorstepthat can provide opportunities for productdevelopment and incubation as well asthe chance for smaller or start-upbusinesses to access the research anddevelopment often only associated withlarger corporations.

Facilities such as these offer theopportunity to collaborate with like-minded businesses to develop newtechnologies and innovations. It is thisdevelopment and innovation that will helpWales generate increased economicstability through the electronic andsoftware industries.

Research and development requiresinvestment, not only in monetary termsbut also in commitment from employersto dedicate resource to it. But it is thisinvestment that will enable the design anddevelopment of new products which arecrucial to economic success. The ESTnethas built strong links with the TechnologyStrategy Board (TSB) and the KnowledgeTransfer Networks (KTN) on a nationallevel to help member businesses work incollaboration and access funding throughopen innovation.

Once we have the development of newtechnologies, products and innovations,businesses then have the challenge toreach maximum market potential forthem. This is often done through export.

It is often reported that it is difficult forsmaller businesses across the UK toknow how to export, but Welshbusinesses are fortunate in that they haveaccess to Government departments andnetworks like the ESTnet that can help inthese areas through trade missions andcollaboration.

This is where it becomes vital to bring theindustry together to share knowledge.The learnings of one company can oftenbe of great use to another so it is up tobusinesses to develop a circle of trustedcontacts and influencers forthis purpose.

It is well known that theelectronic and softwareskills, intrinsic knowledgeand the size and dynamics ofthe technology industry inany country is fundamentalto its potential foreconomic growth.

Investment ininfrastructure, power anddigital connectivity along with capitalequipment will be key to harnessing theopportunities presented to the high-techmanufacturing and technology sectorsat present.

Advanced manufacturing anddevelopment is alive and well in the UKand the outlook remains positive, despitetough market conditions. We must ensurewe seize the opportunities presented tous now and focus on growth areas.Welsh businesses need to play to theirstrengths and look at what they have tooffer in terms of innovation, technologicalcapability and focus on keeping the talentwe have in Wales as well as attractingnew skills from the rest of the UK andoverseas to help our companiesmaximise opportunities.

Avril Lewis is managing director of theESTnet, the specialist network forelectronics and software technologiesbusinesses in Wales. For moreinformation visit www.estnet.uk.net

“Welsh businesses need to play to their strengthsand look at what they have to offer in terms ofinnovation, technological capability and focuson keeping the talent we have in Wales as wellas attracting new skills from the rest of the UKand overseas to help our companies maximiseopportunities.”

“The recentannouncement thatbusiness leaders anduniversities are lookingto forge strongerpartnerships tocollaborate foreconomic benefit iswelcomed by theESTnet.”

Vol 4 Issue 4 2013 │15Image: ©iStockphoto.com/FrankRamspott

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When I was in junior schoolin the 70s, some teachersspoke glassy-eyed ofbrighter days ahead withthe arrival of ‘the leisure

society’. It was to be a future of fewerworking hours and an abundance offree time, brought about by advancesin technology leading to improvementsin worker productivity. The mainproblem would be what to do with allour free time. With better technologiescompanies would become moreefficient, making more things in lesstime, profits would rise, workers wouldbring home higher pay whilst workingless. Productivity has increased in theUS by 400% since 1950 but averagehourly wages have stayed the similarlevels as well as hours worked.

The improvements intechnology have come topass, and yes, I am having

problems with my free time, but for all thewrong reasons. Technology has made myday-to-day work far more efficient andeffective than ever before, so I can nowsqueeze far more productivity into everyworking day. Most routine administrationtasks I can do for myself and in theory, Iam contactable 24/7. The infiltration ofMicrosoft Office, the Internet, mobiletechnology and cloud based computinginto our working lives, certainly makes usfeel that we are, as workers, riding on acontinually rising productivity curve.

With greater competition for jobsworkers are accepting lowerwages and it has been arguedthat productivity is being held

down in the service sector, which is morepeople, than technology based.

However, productivity does notfollow an exponential path. In spiteof advances in technology it canplateau. This discrepancy betweeninvestment in IT and productivitylevels has become known as the

“productivity paradox” coined in a 1993paper by Erik Brynjolfsson, a Professor atthe MIT Sloan School of Management. Heargued that this paradox might be more areflection of how productive output ismeasured and tracked, suggesting that“intangibles such as betterresponsiveness to customers andincreased coordination with suppliers donot always increase the amount or evenintrinsic quality of output, but they do helpmake sure it arrives at the right time, atthe right place, with the right attributes foreach customer”.

According to Brynjolfsson we aremoving from physical productionto knowledge creation. GDP andproductivity per person isincreasing, but he sees this asbeing more difficult to measure in

economic terms as we are getting moretechnology-laden gifts, such asWikipedia; Skype; Google; Bing; andTwitter, for free. In economic terms zeroprice has zero weight. Also he argues thatdigitisation means that we can reproduceat almost no cost and deliverinstantaneously, which is the economicsof abundance not scarcity.

The economist Robert J Gordonargues that growth in the US isslowing due to high levels ofgovernment debt and growinginequality. He casts some sobering

thoughts on the ability of our currenttechnological innovations to power the

economy in the same way previousinventions have, stating that “inventionsince 2000 has centred on entertainmentand communication devices…but do notfundamentally change labour productivityor the standard of living in the way thatelectric light, motor cars, or indoorplumbing changed it”.

Brynjolfsson and AndrewMcAfee, in their 2011 book,Race Against the Machine,demonstrate that technologywill no longer create as many

jobs as it destroys and that this willhappen at an exponential rate. They seerecent technological innovation as onlythe tip of the ice-berg. Advances inmachine learning means that computerscan now emulate the human brain incomplex pattern recognition. They arguethat we will have to change the way inwhich we work: re-invent ourorganisations so we can share in thistechnological growth.Therefore, it is too simplistic to seetechnology as the panacea for oureconomic problems. Yes, it makescompanies more efficient and profitablebut it is decided in the boardroomswhether the profits are passed on to theworkers.

Technology that makes workers moreefficient makes robots most efficient andthey don’t need a salary or a tea break.Perhaps Brynjolfson and McAfee’s bookwould be better titled “Wage against theMachine”.

Point of View:What has Technology done for us?

Chris Thomas Chris Thomas, Lecturer in Information Systemsat Swansea Business School, reflects on theimpact technology has had on our lives andwork, and looks forward to the disruptivetechnologies likely to have an impact on ourfutures…

Image: ©iStockphoto.com/Aleksangel

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A disruptive technology is essentially atechnological innovation that helpscreate a new market therebydisrupting and often replacing earliertechnology. So why and where shouldyou pay attention? Here are a selectionof the disruptive technologiesidentified recently by the McKinseyGlobal Institute as potentially havingthe biggest impact on our future lives.

Mobile InternetIn the next few years wireless (mobile)web use is expected to exceed wired(desktop) use. This technology is evolvingrapidly, with intuitive interfaces and newformats, including wearable devices suchas Google Glass. Mobile Internet willaffect service delivery, worker productivity,remote healthcare, and consumer habitsand preferences in shopping. If your customers are using mobiletechnology, make sure your website candisplay accurately on mobile platforms.

Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD)This can help businesses reduce capitalexpenditure by allowing employees to usetheir personal devices at work. In theory itsounds like a good idea. Happyemployees using their tablets or laptopsthey are familiar with to conduct theirwork, however the benefits of having aBYOD policy needs to be weighed upagainst the costs of implementingprocedures to safeguard a companyagainst security breaches and data loss.

The CloudProcessing power, once the domain ofPCs has shifted location from our desksto distant servers on the Internet.

Therefore, a computer application orservice can be delivered to a device overthe Internet or network, which uses theminimum amount of processing power orsoftware.

Users no longer have to invest heavily inhardware or software and can use cloudservices on a much more efficient pay asyou go basis.

Automation of Knowledge WorkAs discussed earlier advances in machinelearning, artificial intelligence, big dataand voice recognition have made itpossible now to automate tasks formerlythat were seen as exclusively in the realmof knowledge workers.

Computers can now answer unstructuredquestions, and untrained workers orcustomers will be able to get informationon their own. These tools will affect suchfields as education, medicine, legal work,accounting and investments in finance.

Big DataA key problem for most companies is thatthey have vast amounts of datagenerated through day-to-day business,which never sees the light of day.

This is known as Big Data. Defined byMcKinsey Global Institute in their Big DataReport as “datasets whose size is beyondthe ability of typical database softwaretools to capture, store, manage, andanalyse”.

Analysing large sets of data is becominga key competitive factor: a company’sperformance can be measured in moredetailed ways; products and services canbe more precisely targeted; decisionmaking can be improved with moresophisticated analytics; and futureproducts can be improved.

Internet of ThingsMost of us are aware of radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) applications intracking items in the supply chain. This isthe embedding of sensors on to physicalobjects and bringing them into theconnected world of the Internet usingwireless and near-field communications.

Objects will become ‘smart’ sensing theenvironment around them andcommunicating any issues back. Therewill be major impacts on businessprocesses, manufacturing, naturalresource use, utilities, energy delivery, andremote healthcare.

Autonomous and Near-Autonomous VehiclesAutonomous vehicles are now part ofscience-fact not science fiction. Evensemi-autonomous vehicles would offersubstantial value in terms of driverassistance. These advances could have atremendous impact on the transportationof goods and the efficiency of the supplychain.

3D PrintingUntil now 3D printing has been thepreserve of hobbyists and specialistdesigners. However, prices of 3D printersare falling rapidly and the range ofmaterials that can be used in the processis expanding, this could mean theadoption of 3D printing technology byconsumers and manufacturers alike. With3D printing products can go straight fromdesign to finished product, bypassingseveral steps of traditional manufacture.3D printing facilitates on demandproduction, which has implications forsupply chains and stocking of spareparts.

What does this meanfor Businesses?It’s vital to keep abreast of the latesttechnology trends. You can sit back andwatch technology trends come and go oryou can jump on every technologicaltrend but it’s probably best to have a footin both camps. As Charles Var ofWired.com puts it “Understand that it’simpractical to adopt and implement everynew technology that comes your way andlearn to choose the technologies thatprofoundly affect the efficiency andeffectiveness of your business”.

All these emerging trends need to beconsidered from both the customer andthe employee point of view, because inthe end, technology has to be used bypeople. One of the main reasons for thefailure of new information systems is thelack of employee involvement. As for disruptive technologies, get usedto them. As John Naughton states in hisrecent book: What you really need toknow about the Internet (reviewed in theFebruary Issue of SWBR), “For the Net,disruption is a feature, not a bug”.

Disruptive Technologiesyou need to know about…

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

The link between technology adoptionand unemployment has long beendiscussed. In recent times we havewitnessed the closure, rationalisation,merger or emigration of a host ofBritish companies and organisations.The digital revolution appears to haveaccelerated this trend. Onlineshopping has deprived retailers ofcustomers. Electronic datainterchange (EDI) speeds updevelopment which allows newimproved engineering products inparticular, but reduces the need for somany development managers in thesupply chain. In the public sector ourlove of email means the Royal Mail hasto look for new business models orcontemplate closure. Similarly, musicpublishing is being transformed bydownloading, file sharing and self-publishing. Typing pools no longerexist. We even pay our road tax online,reducing the need for so manyadministrative workers at the DVLA.

Consumers may contact manufacturersdirectly cutting out the middle of thesupply chain to order products for “dropshipping”, creating disintermediation, lossof jobs and the companies deliveringlogistics, wholesaling and retailingservices. Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) for over a decade hasreengineered, simplified and integratedbusiness processes. The impact onmanufacturing has been profound in theWest, but the same processes are alsodecimating the service sector, wheremost of us now work, if we have a job.This hyper-reengineering can impact onall organisations, regardless of size,location or sector.

This story ironically seems quite ‘oldeconomy’. At heart its configurationwould be familiar to the ‘scientificmanagers’ of Frederick Winslow Taylor inthe 1930s, and workers at the FordModel T plant or the workers needed forthe management of horse drawncarriages that the model T maderedundant.

In 1811 the threat to their livelihood ledto the Luddite riots where textile workerssmashed labour saving weavingmachines, publicised by pamphletssigned by the anonymous “King Ludd”.However the history of the following 200hundred years was one of growth, risingliving standards and increasing wealth.This paradox has led economists to labelthe fear of new technology as the“Luddite Fallacy”. However a “neweconomy” perspective is revisiting someof the previously rejected economic ideasof Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Marxand Keynes, which maynow seem appropriate tothe new conditions.

In a global economy, withsuch rapid innovation andimpoverished public sectors,perhaps workers displaced bytechnology have rational groundsfor their fears. In the past newtechnologies generated moreaggregate demand. The growth inemployment needed flexible laboursupply requiring workers to both retrain toacquire new skills and movegeographically to the location of newtechnology jobs. Governments oftenhelped with education and trainingpolicies and softened the burden of

relocation with welfare benefits. Somemodern economists fear that thetechnical changes are happening soquickly and thebenefits areenjoyed by anarrow elite.Alan Greenspanhas observedthat “skillsare becomingredundant at a rateunprecedented in humanhistory”. Brynjolfsson andMcAfee warn about the threat, if wedo not adapt more quickly andstrategically, since we are in a “Raceagainst the Machine”.The result will have deep impacts on theeconomy, but the social and politicalimpacts are yet to be fully analysed. Theglobal nature of the processes meansthat even big governments findthemselves with limited powers.

Lowpriced labour is atemporary solution. InChina workers arenegotiating wage rises.

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Steve GriffithsSteve has taught Economics and Marketing atthe Faculty of Business for many years. Hismain research interests are to analyse theimpact of new technology on business ethics.

The result is likely to be plant transfer toother more compliant countries such asLaos or Vietnam. Manual and low skilledworkers are already virtuallyunemployable in the West. The statisticsare often hidden by governmentschemes, disability lists and other ways tomanage workers who are not required by“The Machine”.

For the Luddites, redundancy meantpoverty and often starvation in pre-welfare state Britain. Do we face a similarfate? Our governments are struggling topay for the welfare safety net. Ironicallywe are forcing older workers to stay inemployment longer to ‘earn’ theirpensions at a time when we have acuteyouth unemployment. Professor PaulDavid’s “techno-economic regime” themain beneficiaries of innovation areunlikely to spend their profits in a way thatwill create jobs for displaced workers.Economists disagree (no surprise) aboutthe future. Some maintain that theLuddite Fallacy endures. Our problemsare painful but like the past, aretemporary. Supply side flexibility and thedynamism of the new economy willgenerate growth and wealth. They doidentify that the beneficiaries may not bethe tradition groups in society or globally.

However they have faith in theeconomic system and

human capacity forchange.

Others

claim the change is so fast,that our systems cannot keep pace.Technological unemployment leading toits more long term cousin Structuralunemployment will be the norm anddifficult to eliminate. The economic crisissince 2008 has led to recession typeunemployment due to the lack ofdemand, but simultaneously thecontinuing adoption of digital technologyis further eroding employment at a timewhen training budgets are being cut andthe trend of real wages is at best flatlining, but for many falling. The danger ofdownward multiplier effects and theeconomic distress may destabilise thesystem.

The benefits of the new are difficult todeny. Who would give up their MP3player, access to email or ability to useWikipedia when the pub quiz competitorsaren’t looking? However what cost dothese improvements to our lifestylesincur?

Two scenarios come to mind. Thepositive view is of a new digital worldwhere our wealth can be generated byfewer people. The majority can be offeredthe 'Leisure Society' that we all discussedin the 1980s. Work-sharing, inevitablereduction in the growth ofpersonal consumption andtax/welfare reformsto allowgeneral

sharingof benefits

will be a politicalchallenge. The social

challenge will be to defineourselves in ways that do not

relate to work. This has been a driverfor centuries, even contributing to ourfamily names. Personal identity problems,even in this benign scenario, might be thebiggest challenge when we are notneeded for work.

The alternative sketched by authorsresembles a dystopia of increasingalienation of a digitally divided society.Information rich and empowered elitesmay not wish to share their wealth. Therest will not find a role in creating thewealth. Prices will be driven down byincreased efficiency and, when using oldtechnology, the search for cheaper andcheaper labour, but most of us cannotbenefit because we will have no income.The changes will inevitably happen. Therole of universities will be crucialwhichever scenario pervades. We need tobe in partnership with industry (which isoften as confused as the rest of us aboutthe direction to take and skills that needto be developed). Our role will be todesign flexible, adaptable, programmes toquickly respond to the economy’s and ourstakeholders’ needs. The challenge to oursystems will be immense, but theopportunities are too important toignore.

Reference:Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee(2011) Race Against The Machine,Digital Frontier Press.

Image: ©iStockphoto.com/TonisPan


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Policy Perspective:Rethinking the Future How new technology can support genuinely sustainablebusiness in Wales

There is simply no historical precedentfor the scale of the energy challengewe currently face - climate sciencedemands a much more rapidemissions reduction than themainstream currently offers and thepeaking of world oil is going to haveprofound economic impacts withinevitable social repercussions.

Yet there is still poor public understandingof our global energy predicament. Evenour experts, scientists and politicalleaders fail to grasp the vast quantitiesof energy that have now have beenmade essential for sustaining moderncivilisation, and the difficulties continuingthat supply into the future placesupon us.

Wales needs to think carefully itsrelationship with energy in the 21stCentury. As a nation seeking increasedself-determination, which also has higherthan UK average energy needs for bothindustry and transport – it is vital that bothour energy and economic ‘self-reliance’forms a key part of that narrative. Increased dependence on fossil fuelimports from far-flung corners of theglobe may not prove reliable or affordable,as world oil and gas production peakswhilst global demand tries to go throughthe roof. Those countries that plan andprepare for peak oil will clearly have anadvantage over those that don’t. Swedenis, so far, the only country that has anexplicit governmental commitment tobreaking its oil dependence.

Wales has a unique role to play in helpingthe world re-shape its relationship withenergy - as Wales led the world into fossilfuels with coal mining - and can nowbecome a leader in the race to broker anew relationship. Even as far back as1973, Wales was at the cutting edge -with the founding of the Centre forAlternative Technology (CAT).

A bunch of young idealists adopted aderelict slate quarry in Pantperthog, nearMachynlleth, inspired by the notion ofbuilding a living community to test theemerging sustainable technologies, inorder to find out which ones worked andwhich ones didn’t! At that time what wemeant by being green was a lot lessdefined, and a lot less tested. Society hadjust emerged from the swinging sixties,and few people were watching theproblems, let alone looking for thesolutions. This original community set outto develop and prove, by a positive livingexample, new technologies that wouldprovide practical solutions to theproblems that are now worrying theworld’s ecologists, energy specialists andeconomic analysts.

CAT’s new report – Zero Carbon Britain:Rethinking the Future outlines where we

could be if we rise to our 21st centurychallenges. It integrates cutting-edgeknowledge and experience from a widerange of disciplines, exploring how a zerocarbon society could gain positivebenefits to the health and wellbeing of itspopulation, environment and economy.Through communicating it widely, CATaims to stimulate much needed economicand political debate around rapiddecarbonisation, engage the broaderresearch community and get societythinking in a new way – to help us buildconsensus around what needs tohappen. We do not in any way intendthis new scenario to be taken as the ‘onlyway to save the planet’ that has to befollowed to the letter. Our intention issimply to open conversations that arefirmly based in the physical realities ofwhat scientific consensus demands,acknowledging the UK’s historicalresponsibility as a long industrialisednation that has been emitting for over 150years.

Exploring what it would be like to live in afuture where we are rising to thesechallenges offers the potential to breakthrough the political deadlock, dispelmyths, reconcile misunderstandingsand trigger further research andcollaborations – from emergingtechnologies to business, the artsand social sciences. Launched in July, this report holdspotential to open a range ofimportant conversations acrossWales. It outlines how, usinghourly weather data over a tenyear period, a combination of

Paul AllenAs the Centre for Alternative Technology launches its ‘Rethinkingthe Future’ report, Zero Carbon Britain Project Co-ordinator PaulAllen explains how Wales can lead the way in developing andimplementing sustainable technologies.

“Wales has a uniquerole to play in helpingthe world re-shape itsrelationship withenergy.”

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‘powering down’ the energy use in ourhomes, industry, businesses andtransport systems by 60%, throughadoption of smart, lean practice andpowering up UK renewables can enableus to balance supply and demand at alltimes and in all weathers.

All of this has significant potential forWelsh business. Onshore wind createsabout ten times as many local jobs as theequivalent-sized gas power station, anddevelopments are usually accompaniedby significantcommunitybenefit funds,which can bestrong drivers forlocal economicactivity.

Another key areato open newdialogues inWales is ‘naturalresources’ - food, agriculture, forestry andland use. The report has identified a verypowerful ‘win win win’ opportunity.Basically, a diet with the right mix of foodsin the right quantity is not only better forour health, it ismuchlower

in greenhouse gas emissions, andrequires significantly less land – so freeingup land for other uses.

We in the UK, on average, over-eat andlack balance in our diets – this has led toa population that suffers from a multitudeof diet-related diseases. Getting the rightmix of things in our diet would significantlyimprove our health, whilst also reducingboth agricultural greenhouse gasemissions and the area of land requiredfor food production. In addition, eating

the right amount of foodand wasting less, wouldfurther decrease agriculturalemissions, and the amountof land needed.

This extra land couldprovide new incomestreams through delivery ofbiomass back-up for ourenergy system, and by safeand proven carbon capture

– for example expanding forestry andrestoring peat-lands. Wales has a richmixed agricultural tradition, going backbefore the ‘headage payments’ began tonarrow the product mix. With newintegrated thinking on natural resources inWales, widening our conversations toinclude energy and net carbon negativeprocess holds the potential to significantlyincrease the share of the economyreaching the agricultural sectors.

There is therefore an urgent need to mapthe potential for the Welsh landscape’sability to provide both energy andcarbon capture services - this couldinclude land type; elevation; wind profile;distance from grid points and currentownership and current usage. Sites withprime technical potential could be quicklyidentified and support provided forcommunity and local authority basedenergy generation, getting energy incomedirectly into Welsh business and

communities. The arts are anothervery powerful sector in

Wales which

can offer a much-needed mirror that canhelp individuals and societies reflect onthe incredible and on-going story ofhuman being and energy, which is still justas rooted in the Welsh landscape todayas it was in the days of coal and steam.

Wales - a Green LaboratoryWe now have a chance to changeeverything, because everything must bechanged. Wales yet again has all it needsto be a leader in the next energyrevolution. Wales is rich in renewable andland based resources, we have theconnectivity, we have the business skills,and the academic and educationalinstitutions - CAT offers a wide range ofcutting edge educational courses right upto postgraduate level to help provide thetools to make this a reality.

Wales should also have the political will,being one of only three democracies witha legal obligation to implementsustainability. Welsh Governmentcommitment is reflected in the ‘Sciencefor Wales’ strategy. One of its three‘Grand Challenges’ is “Low carbon,energy and environment”, suggesting arole for Wales as a national scale ‘greenlaboratory’ – with its businesses andacademics working to test anddemonstrate economically attractive andgenuinely sustainable technologies. Bygetting people to rethink the future, CAThopes Zero Carbon Britain: Rethinkingthe Future catalyses urgent action acrossall sectors of society – because if wecan’t picture the solution, we will surelystay stuck in the problem!

“Wales is rich inrenewable and landbased resources, wehave the connectivity,we have the businessskills, and the academicand educationalinstitutions.”

“Wales should alsohave the political will,being one of only threedemocracies with alegal obligation toimplementsustainability.”

Find out more

You can download Zero CarbonBritain: Rethinking the Future for freeat zerocarbonbritain.org and find out

about CAT’s courses atwww.cat.org.uk

Image: Centre for Alternative Technology

13th September 2013(1pm-5.15pm)

18th-24th November 2013

The Business School’s inaugural alumniconference at our new campus, Tŷ BrynGlas. All alumni are invited to catch upwith friends old and new, and gaininsights from a great line-up of guestspeakers. Alumni can book a free placeat:sbsalumniconference2013.eventbrite.com

See our web, Twitter and Facebookpages for updates on our annualprogramme of events during GlobalEntrepreneurship Week.

Alumni Conference

Enterprise Week

Events @ Swansea Business School News and Events For further details of these events and to

register to attend please [email protected] or call our Faculty Office on

01792 481132.

Award-winning Staff –Voted for by StudentsGreg Williams and Amanda Owens, Health and Social Care Lecturers in theFaculty of Business and Management recently received awards for their teachingat the annual Students’ Union teaching awards ceremony. It was an excellentyear for the Faculty, with 31 members of staff being nominated by students toreceive awards - a fantastic reflection of the dedication and care for studentsour teaching team offer.

University JoinsForces with LeadingTech CompanyThe University of Wales Trinity Saint David recently signed a Memorandum ofAgreement with UNIT4 Business Software, the UK subsidiary of UNIT4, theglobal leader in software that supports business change.

The company, which has developed a Centre of Excellence for Education andResearch from its Welsh headquarters in Swansea and also provides specialistsoftware solutions to more than 400 education and research institutions around theworld, will team up with the University in order to enhance regional economicdevelopment.

This will be achieved through the creation of a new commercial centre to offer a fullrange of business solutions from UNIT4 and training services from UWTSD. Theorganisations will collaborate on research and development projects, as well asstudent employability, by providing the University's business, information technologyand engineering students with real life experience of working within a global, blue chipcompany.

Professor Medwin Hughes, the University's Vice-Chancellor commented: "Thisdevelopment is an excellent example of how Universities and business can collaborateto find innovative and creative ways of delivering growth in the Welsh economy."


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Beth Thomas, who graduated fromSwansea Business School this Julywith a first class honours degree hasjust taken over as the new Presidentof the Swansea MetropolitanStudents’ Union.

She’ll be taking over the reins fromoutgoing president, also a SwanseaBusiness School graduate, JohnWilliams. John, who has done afantastic job over the past two years inguiding the Union through majorchanges whilst also developing afantastic, vibrant student culture at theUniversity, has recently started workwithin the University’s marketing teamwhere he’ll continue to be anambassador for Swansea Met.We wish them both the very best ofluck in their new roles.

BusinessSchool GradBeth BecomesSU President

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Books:Looking Through the Google GlassThe New Digital Age By Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

Eric Schmidt has been at the centre of a media stormthis summer – with Google’s tax affairs the subject ofscrutiny both in the UK and the US, the company’sExecutive Chairman has been under heavy fire for thepast few months. What better time, therefore, toconduct a book tour? Well, you could certainlyargue that one both ways – but in raising the profileof Schmidt’s book, co-authored by colleague andcollaborator Jared Cohen (Google’s ‘Director ofIdeas’), the coverage can certainly have been nobad thing.

The New Digital Age is a broad, sweeping review ofthe impact of digital technologies on the humanrace, both now and in the future. Prediction is adangerous game, but in Cohen and Schmidtthere are probably few people better placed tospeculate. The issues are big – this is not adiscussion about Search Engines – the texttraverses politics, economy, society, cultureand the planet – all seen through the powerfullenses of the ‘Google Glass’.

The choice to publish a physical text in aclassic hardback format is an interestingone. Clearly, there is a hope that thisformat will reach those whom E-Booksmay pass by, but it is more than that.This book strikes one as an attempt tobecome a classic treatise on the stateof humanity. It is Schmidt and Cohen’smagnum opus, their challenge togovernments to start to tackle theissues they raise head on, not withtheir heads in the sand. Theirappraisal of both the challengesand opportunities ahead sets anagenda for government and for organisationslike Google - they cover the impact on nation-states,personal identity, social inequality, terrorism, education, healthcare andmuch 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 wasclear from his comments that this is one industry leader who is fully aware that companies like Google havepowers that could challenge our governments – although the acknowledgment of this is conspicuous in itsabsence ion the book. How big a role the leaders of the internet companies which dominate our web usewill 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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