The opportunity to engage with these Chinese companies began in 2002 when Michael O'Duffy of the Centre for Software Engineering (CSE), based at Dublin City University, met with a number of officials from CITEF, the China International Talent Exchange Foundation. He outlined how the software industry has evolved in Ireland and how the CSE provides support services to these organisations. The opportunity for the Chinese software industry was quickly recognised by CITEF, and has resulted in a formal arrangement with the CSE that will assist the development of this - already large - emerging industry. The CSE devised a comprehensive software engineering programme, tailored for China's top software organisations.

In 2003 the CSE will provide a range of services across the spectrum of technical and management issues in technology organisations - including working directly with over 50 Irish software organisations in developing their capability to address their key current challenges.

The CSE assists start-up and early companies, many fitting into high growth or the high-potential start-up (HPSU) model to achieve business organisation, clear focus and good technical base for product architecture and use of technologies. Mature technology companies also draw on CSE expertise, where more formal and structured capabilities are put in place to achieve efficiencies and continued success. Other significant software operations with whom CSE works include the IT division of organisations in the public sector and a number of the larger enterprises.

Organisations maintain their association with the CSE to avail of keynote industry developments through corporate membership.

The CSE also enjoys ongoing relationships with educational institutes with significant programmes in computing, and with the key state support agencies such as Enterprise Ireland that provide invaluable assistance to industry.

In order to acquire and maintain its expertise, the CSE have engaged in international projects and developed good working relations with associations, institutes and companies in many other countries.

The Chinese IT companies represented at the CSE include:

• Hunan Computer Company (HCC) is part of the China Great Wall Computer Group (CGC), a very large computer company quoted on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in China. CGC are the largest manufacturer of PCs and hard disks in China and have strategic agreements with IBM and Microsoft. The HCC New Star Computer System Corporation develops applications for self-service banking, money exchange, and a number of other banking applications. See www.hcc.com.cn/english/index.htm and www.hccstar.com.cn
  
• Supertech Data Systems develop smart cards readers and writers and related applications. Applications include time and attendance, access control, and identity cards, and e-payment. See www.supertechdata.com
  
• Hunan Wilfar Information Technology develop software and manufacture related devices for customer management services for electric utilities, including tele-metering using GPRS, communications to get data from meters, and data transfer through power lines. See www.willfar.com/english
  
• CVIC Software Engineering is the leading software development and IT services company in China. It provides IT consulting, application development, system integration services to satisfy the critical IT needs of over 50,000 customers in such sectors as banking, transportation, government, TV stations, and retail all over China. CVIC SE has established branches in United States, Canada and Australia to extend its business in the international software market. See www.cvicse.com
  
• Wuhan Gemway Information Systems develop GIS applications for telecomm operators and electric utilities, using a GIS mapping information platform.
  
• Hunan Talkweb Information Systems develop applications for banking and telecom operators in the areas of office automation, e-business, and business intelligence.
  
• Wuhan Zondy Information Engineering develop GIS applications for land use, pipeline information, city planning, and telecomm networks.
  
• Sobey Digital Technology provides a range of services to the media industry, relating to marketing in the area of broadcasting. This includes character generation and editing, using IBM digital media middleware. See www.sobey.com

Note: remaining web sites are Chinese language only.

The personnel from these companies currently at the CSE look forward to meeting software organisations in Ireland. Irish companies are likely to impress them with a particularly successful and perhaps groundbreaking feature of their operations, through their research, their applications, their product portfolio structure, their technologies, their skill mix, their management style, their market focus, their partnership models. Chinese companies are likely to impress with indications of the nature and scale of opportunities, the competencies available, and the willingness to work with companies in Ireland. This may prove to be an ideal opportunity to make contact with companies in what will become the largest market for ICT products and services in the world. Top>>