Posted: Thu, December 8, 2005
A look back at ict forum wales 2005
by Sali Earls
With many months in the planning and highly anticipated by the business community, ict forum wales 2005 has been hailed a success. ITWales attracted high calibre speakers who were
experts in the fields of technology, eCommerce, marketing, security and education, and support from a range of organisations, notably the WDA.
It was unfortunately not possible for me to attend every event across the two week programme, and so this is a diary of my ict forum wales - a hectic, but valuable fortnight.
Setting the scene for technology fortnight
14 November 2005 - The Official Launch of ict forum wales 2005
Over 130 guests from businesses across South Wales joined the ITWales team at for a lunch luncheon of ict forum wales 2005 at the new Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
Before lunch guests heard from Beti Williams, Director of ITWales who introduced the fortnight and invited everyone to take advantage of the wide variety of events on offer. She reminded
delegates that although time is often at a premium for small businesses, investing that time in ict forum wales would be a great way to gather relevant ICT information which can be put to
business use immediately; information which will ultimately bring benefits to business and the Welsh economy.
Following lunch Dr Simon Moores from Zentelligence offered the guests his view of the social and economic issues
surrounding the evolution of the information society, and the future of Wales
information economy.
Dr Moores reminded delegates that the UK's competition is global and not held back by the UK's over regulation and a skills shortage, which means the UK must adapt or stagnate. He did however
leave his audience with the goods news that Wales is attractive because of its positive business infrastructure, has good assistance available to companies to help them grow, and a good education
system providing good quality graduates.
Professor John Tucker from Swansea University closed the day with audience questions, and reminded us that more graduate
opportunities are needed to keep the growing skills base in Wales.
The launch event was supported by Bay in Business and the West Wales
Chamber of Commerce. Dr Moores' presentation was streamed live to Bangor by CC4Web, and audio visual support was provided courtesy
of Genero.
Conference helps young people get internet savvy
15 November 2005 - Teen Works 2005: Young People and the Internet
The objective of the one day conference, Teen Works 2005: Young People and the Internet, was to explore young people's awareness and use of the Internet and mobile phones, and look at
current and upcoming trends in this area. The conference was organised by WISE KIDS and ITWales.
Rhian Davies, Assistant Children's Commissioner for Wales, delivered the keynote address and informed the audience
of education, business and voluntary sector delegates that there is a significant
lack of awareness of young people's mobile and internet habits by parents and carers. Davies commented that schools owe a duty of care to pupils outside of school time, and as such should educate
pupils on safe internet usage. Her final comment was that parents need to "get real and get informed".
Elizabeth Williams, Youth and Pupil Participation, Welsh Assembly Government, supported Rhian Davies's comments, telling
delegates that a balance needs to be reached between open use of digital media by the young, and appropriate "inoculation" to ensure that young people are provided with the appropriate skills, and
opportunities for personal development to make emotional judgements concerning risk.
Angus Cormie of The Digital Business spoke on the topic of mobile phones. He explained to the audience that mobile
phones are the most important status symbol to teenagers and young people, and that some 80% of all new mobile phone subscriptions are for 15-19 year olds. Despite the explosive growth in mobile
technologies, young people have very poor safety knowledge. Cormie went on to give examples including mobile spam, bullying, chat rooms and appropriate use of mobile technologies in public.
Reaffirming the statements of the previous speakers, Cormie concluded by saying that
education is vital in this area.
Sangeet Bhullar, Director of WISE KIDS, and Teen Works organiser, suggested that policy makers need to investigate how modern
technologies can be used for good. Bhullar's presentation covered the WISE KIDS mentor programme which has recently been successfully trialled to support online and face to face training for young
people.
The role the internet can play in transforming teaching and learning was discussed by Ruth Hammond of Becta. Hammond acknowledged
the risks, but stated that more should be done to help young people protect themselves, saying, "ICT is the media, not the cause." In closing, Hammond commented that schools need to appoint eSafety
Co-ordinators at a senior level to develop and manage policies to help the young help themselves.
The afternoon session of Teen Works 2005: Young People and the Internet was split into two distinct seminar streams, with one focussing on online communities and the other on child protection
issues. The seminars gave examples of research and guidelines in these areas to develop strategies that young people and adults could use to ensure their personal safety, whilst making the most of
new technologies.
Teen Works 2005: Young People and the Internet was the first event of its kind in Wales, and attracted a large audience from education, business and voluntary sectors. More information can be
found at www.wisekids.org.uk.
The event was supported by The Wales Youth Agency, BT, CLIC Online, Careers Wales, Fujitsu , Light Minds and CG Solutions.
No easy fix for IT security
17 November 2005 - Hackers, Crackers & Cybercops
Companies of all sizes need to address the problem of IT security, and have a responsibility to protect themselves from cybercrime. This was the message firmly delivered to delegates at "Hackers,
Crackers & Cybercops".
Chris Corcoran, Detective Superintendent of North Wales Police, and Chair of the E-Crime Wales initiative warned that companies must not adopt the
"it won't happen to me" attitude. Corcoran stated that businesses need to see through the jargon and think in terms of crime - be it fraud, theft or pornography - carried out in a new way using
technology.
Clive Harper of Securion agreed that technology provides criminals with new tools to carry out crime. Harper said that SMEs have to
face up to the challenge that a lack of time, resources and finance can make them more vulnerable to attack. "Security is hard," he told delegates, "there is no easy fix."
To illustrate this point, Harper expanded on the threats to business via a live hacking demonstration. Delegates could immediately see various attacks taking place and ways in which attackers can
exploit vulnerabilities.
Following the sobering demonstration, Harper told delegates, "If an attacker can run programmes on your computer, it isn't your computer anymore."
Tony Neate of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit reinforced the point that old crimes are being committed with new
tools, but that technology has brought with it new crimes, such as phishing scams and hacking. Sharing his experience, Neate said that the majority of attacks on business were carried out from the
inside, to gain money.
Neate said that a lack of general awareness about basic IT security has driven the Get Safe Online campaign, which launched in
October with government and industry support, and he urged
delegates to use the new website for their own protection.
Lee Fisher of Morgan Cole gave delegates the legal and intellectual property perspective on cybercrime. He said that
businesses need to make themselves aware of the value of their data and put
policies in place regarding employee use and abuse. With statistics showing that in the last six months alone some 63,315 mobile phones, 5,838 PDAs and 4,973 laptops have been left in London
taxis, Fisher concluded in saying that security policies must include physical assets and staff rules.
Clive Harper of Securion returned to run a Security Policy Workshop, taking delegates through the process from initial assessment to protection and evaluation. Harper underlined the points from his
earlier presentation saying that achieving 100% security is impossible, but companies must instead assess what must be secured, how well it should be secured and how much time and money should
be spent to do so.
While there is no easy fix for the security problem at hand, all speakers agreed that businesses must do more to educate themselves and their staff and put appropriate procedures in place to protect
themselves. Ignorance is no longer an option.
The Second All Wales E-Crime Summit takes place in Llangollen on 25 January 2006. The summit will see the launch of the All Wales Manifesto, agreed at the first summit and a presentation of the
three year action plan proposed to protect Wales against cybercrime. For more information visit www.wda.co.uk/ecrime.
The event was supported by E-Crime Wales and Securion, with audio visual support provided courtesy of Genero.
Measuring, monitoring and managing - the new buzzwords of Welsh manufacturing
18 November 2005 - Made in Wales: Redefining manufacturing in the 21st Century
Welsh manufacturing continues to face economic challenges as worldwide consumer trends change, driving key industries overseas in search of more "cost effective" productivity. A current hot
topic in the industry is that of rising utility costs, and the cost savings that can be made by measuring and monitoring energy consumption and production costs.
David Moore of the Carbon Trust set the scene, saying that a 20% cut in energy costs is equivalent to a 5% increase in
sales on the bottom line. While energy efficiency is good for the environment,
and good for company image, Moore acknowledged that it requires discipline.
Paul Bailey of the Manufacturing Advisory Service told delegates that although much
had been made in the media of the state of the manufacturing industry in Wales, the rate of decline in Wales was
in fact slower than anywhere else in the UK. There are currently 12,500 manufacturing businesses in Wales employing 180,000 people or 16% of the Welsh workforce.
Ken Gale of Expert Monitoring demonstrated his company's technologies via case studies which showed significant energy and cost
savings brought about by effective monitoring and management.
In one example, a large bakery firm using Expert Monitoring's WiSNET wireless transmitters and controllers discovered that staff leaving equipment on over weekends was costing them an unnecessary
£10,500 per year.
Gash Bhullar of Control 2K upheld this point stating, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Bhullar launched Control
2K's new product MONEBOX, a non intrusive data collection system
which can be used for a variety of purposes. Bhullar and his team carried out a series of impressive demonstrations of MONEBOX including power monitoring, stock control and process monitoring,
finishing with a demonstration of a low stock warning sent by SMS.
Bhullar brought the event to a close saying, "Technology adds value, it doesn't replace common sense."
The event was supported by Control 2K.
Open Source myths versus realities
21 November 2005 - Operating with Open Source
Internationally renowned Linux developer Alan Cox, joined fellow Open Source experts to discuss the opportunities Open Source Software can offer business, at "Operating with Open Source".
In exploring the opportunities, Cox, a kernel developer for Red Hat, set about exploding many of the myths surrounding Open Source,
including the so-called "Slash Dot Myth" that Linux is the only
true operating system, and that Linux is written by students. Cox told delegates that Open Source Software has much to offer, but that they must use the right tool for the right job.
Cox defined the strong points of Open Source Software as reduced risk, with no single controlling vendor; reduced cost, with often lower licence costs and a wide selection of free applications; and
increased configuration options, as access to the source code allows users to modify and redistribute software.
Cox did acknowledge that the limited selection of desktop applications may put many off, but stated that while Open Source Software is not the solution to every problem it is getting there and offers
users a true alternative.
 Graham Oakes told delegates that Open Source Software is becoming much more practical for businesses, and is now a viable
alternative in education.
Mark Taylor of the Open Source Consortium is a long term user and practitioner of Open Source Software. He allayed the
concerns of delegates by explaining that Open Source Software is
interoperable - the open standards used allow many types of software to work together. Through case studies Taylor explained the process of gradually migrating business from proprietary to Open
Source software, and said that it should be treated in the same way as proprietary software in business, with due consideration of training implications and software development.
The three speakers agreed that organisations should not blindly adopt technologies, but should instead seek advice from experts to establish the best course of action for their business.
The event was supported by Technium.
Adding technology to the marketing mix
22 November 2005 - Technology Essentials: Marketing & Communication
Developing the right blend of marketing and ICT is key to successfully promoting business. This was the message delivered by speakers at "Technology Essentials: Communications &
Marketing".
Michael Eaton, Director of Broadband Wales told delegates that 99% of Wales now had access to terrestrial
broadband, compared with some 30% only two years before. Through a series of examples, Eaton demonstrated the potential that broadband can bring to business from simple websites to embedded
media clips and "virtual tourism". He concluded by stressing the importance of accessibility and ensuring that any web presence is made available to the disabled.
Staying with the communications theme, Mathew Pickergill from Cisco explained some of the new developments in internet communications
including IP telephony and virtual working.
With the communications infrastructure covered, delegates heard from marketing experts who integrate technology in the marketing mix. Stuart Williams is Publishing Director of Kerrang!, the UK's leading weekly music magazine, and he provided an informative and entertaining presentation into the evolution of the brand to
its leading position.
While the marketing budgets of most SMEs would be incomparable with that of Kerrang!, Williams discussed many ideas used by his team which smaller companies could consider adopting. Williams
described the need to understand consumer habits before developing the brand essence. Working with a mainly teenage audience, the first new product launched was the Kerrang! website, and
within a month the site had more unique users than the magazine had readers. The strong community that developed on the site's message boards gave the team confidence to introduce further
products including a radio station and TV channel.
Williams told delegates that technology has enabled the Kerrang! brand to connect with 5 million users in the UK, and that an integrated effort across all marketing and promotion was key.
In closing, Williams told delegates that in order to survive it was vital to develop brand clarity, brand consistency, and product flexibility. He finished with the statement, "Don't be cool - be good!"
Paula Dauncey of Imaginet explained the process of acquiring, converting and retaining customers through strategic online marketing,
and demonstrated the importance of achieving high search
engine rankings. Some 81% of web traffic is driven by search engine results, and Dauncey stated that the only way to guarantee placement was through Pay-Per-Click search advertising.
Dauncey moved on to discuss websites, saying that creative design was vital to differentiate businesses from competitors. Dauncey asked delegates to consider what the purpose of their company
website was - did they want customers to buy, interact or simply read a brochure? Once a company had customers, how should they develop the relationship to retain the customer? Options
suggested included email marketing, personalisation and loyalty schemes.
Dauncey concluded by saying that strategic online marketing was a continuous activity, and that ongoing measurement and improvement was vital.
The afternoon seminars from Imaginet and Swansea Bay IT Support
Centre reiterated the message that blending marketing and ICT through online marketing and IP communications was key to
successfully promoting business in the 21st century.
The event was supported by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Swansea Bay IT Support Centre, Broadband Walesand Imaginet. Audio visual support was provided courtesy of Genero.
Embracing eCommerce
23 November 2005 - Open All Hours - Trading in the Information Age
eCommerce is part of everyday life for many, and is here to stay, but how can technology help streamline and secure the process for both retailers and consumers? This was the question answered
by speakers at "Open All Hours - Trading in the Information Age".
A presentation from IMRG, the industry body for eRetail, set the scene with statistics showing that eRetail continues to
grow apace and a prediction at the market will be worth £60 billion by
2010.
Security is a big concern for many shoppers, but schemes including IMRG's "Internet Shopping is
Safe" can boost confidence. Payment solutions were also discussed, with mention made of the standards being adopted by all retailers holding consumer payment information.
 Sarah Richards of the Welsh Consumer Council followed with comprehensive research carried out to monitor consumer habits in
Wales. Her presentation detailed the reasons why people shop online, citing convenience; and also why many do not with security concerns and a lack of understanding of consumer rights being
highlighted. The good news is that Welsh consumers are growing in confidence, and the proliferation of broadband is now making it easier than ever for shoppers to get online.
Stephen Whittle of eCIC presented the business to business eCommerce message, and described trading relationships
between local authorities and SMEs. With procurement now moving online, Whittle said that SMEs had a great opportunity to bid for some of the £3 billion public sector spending in Wales every
year.
Jeremy Wyman of B&Q told delegates to think of eCommerce as "information broking", and expressed the importance of delivering information in
a way that customers understand. He said that his shop floor retail experience meeting customers clutching an unknown widget and asking "Do you have one of these?" needs to be transferred online.
It is no good referring to stock by number or code, but instead to use descriptions that customers actually understand, so that they can convert their "...one of these" into something they can easily find on
a website.
 Chris Barling of eCommerce solutions provider Actinic, urged delegates to think like a customer, saying "A website with no visitors is
useless." He developed the point by describing many of the ways retailers could attract customers to their website - in thinking like a customer, the retailer should know which websites would feature
among their favourites, which newsletters or newsgroups they subscribe to, and which traditional marketing tools should be used in conjunction with online. Barling also stressed the importance of the big
3 search engines, Google, Yahoo! and MSN.
Consumer confidence is key to making that sale, and Barling made several suggestions to reassure customers, including security measures, alternative payment options and customer endorsements.
He also recommended listing best sellers and special offers on the home page to sell to customers the minute they arrive at the site.
Swansea Bay IT Support Centre offer eCommerce advice and support, and Martin Upton provided case studies for two clients that
had successfully launched sites with their assistance. In presenting details about Get Yourself Noticed and Call of the Wild, Upton expressed the importance of measuring return on investment, and
developing a strong brand to support the company.
A workshop from Chris Barling of Actinic had delegates discussing ideas that they considered important in eCommerce. Topics discussed including starting the process of developing an eCommerce
site; attracting customers; safe transactions and the importance of customer care.
The event was supported by Swansea Bay IT Support Centre.
Future gazing
24 November 2005 - See the Future: Tomorrow's Technology Today
At the end of the ict forum wales 2005 fortnight, ITWales turned the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea into a museum of the future with research exhibits from Swansea, Bristol and
Glasgow universities.
 Professor Harold Thimbleby of Computer Science in Swansea University set the scene with a thought provoking
presentation stating that innovation often fails because ideas can take centuries to spread. Coining the term "pigeon thinking", Thimbleby stressed the need to change the value system in order for
innovation to succeed in the future.
Dr Rod Murray-Smith of Glasgow University gave delegates an insight his research into sensitive computers and asked them to
consider, "How does a computer know what a user wants?" His demonstrations included mobile phones that worked on gesture recognition, sensing acceleration, rotation and velocity, magnetic fields
and GPS; and an MP3 player that plays music with a BPM to match the speed of movement.
Wearable computers were demonstrated by Cliff Randell, a Research Fellow from Bristol University. With technology built into
clothing, movement was identified by ultrasound sensors, and Randell explained that once it was possible to measure position, users could interact directly with the technology; this was entertainingly
demonstrated by encouraging delegates to play a racing game controlled by head movements.
 Dr Matt Jones of Swansea University asked
delegates to consider how they would get from A to B while listening to music, but without
a map to guide them. Suggestions from the audience including directional voice over, and using different sounds to direct the user; a quick trial of these ideas demonstrated that none was suitable.
Jones explained to delegates his research in spatial audio and GPS, and demonstrated that by simply panning music from left to right headphone, the user could find their way from A to B whilst listening to
their music uninterrupted.
Far from "pigeon thinking", Professor Harold Thimbleby, and his son PhD student Will Thimbleby of Swansea University, have
removed the buttons from their innovative calculator. Describing the technology as working like "magic paper", the Thimbleby's have created a product that recognises handwriting to produce correct
maths. Their research has shown them that conventional calculators often get maths wrong (try 4 x -5 on a few calculators for some interesting results). As well as damaging the experience of children
learning maths for the first time, these errors can have fatal results when used to calculate drug intake for intensive care patients. With delegates and children in the museum queuing up to try the
Thimbleby calculator, and having fun using it, the Thimbleby's have created a dual solution that can both save lives and make maths fun for the young.
The event was supported by Careers Wales, the National Waterfront Museum and BBC Wales.
What's next?
The ITWales 2006 events programme is currently being developed, with some diary dates already in place. Find out more at www.itwales.com/events.
ict forum wales will return in 2007.
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