Indo - European IT SME Forum in City
Bangalore, 26 March, 2004
The Asian Age

"Indian small and medium enterprises must look for specific needs of the European SMEs, which big companies there do not have and which are also significant in size when added up," said Dr. Bob Hoekstra, the chief executive officer, Philips Software Centre. He was speaking at The Indo-European IT SME Forum organized by Interactive Technology Software and Media Association and co-sponsored by European Commission, in Bangalore on Thursday.

He also cautioned that knowing the European mindset and culture, unless the Indian company offered them a really compelling reason to outsource or partner, no one would be willing to take a jump.

Two major initiatives that would support Indian IT SMEs also were announced at the forum, European Multimedia Forum or EMF announced that it would be launching its already successful International Multimedia Accelerator, in India. The accelerator aims to create a services environment that would facilitate companies in India and EU partner and collaborate better. The initiative also aims to obtain funding for certain research and development programmes from various existing fund organizations like AsianInvest and others.

The second initiative called Patent seeks to stimulate R & D in Indian IT SMEs by opening new partnerships and avenues for their cutting-edge work. The two initiatives would provide a significant boost to IT SMEs in terms of market expansion and leveraging their technology.