Pentalog has grown a lot and has succeeded in taking on important contracts with some of the largest companies in the world. Larger… means listed, it means also more media-orientated, with more charters, more visible, and more… politically correct. And I am not throwing stones at them, it is just the system. But of course we must follow them in this political system. Our services must be compatible and easy to incorporate for them.

I must say at this moment my little fellow entrepreneurs make me laugh on Facebook. Hey guys, I don’t mean to hurt you but it is turning ridiculous: the one with the greenest networks, or those who propose the latest green gadget or a thingamajig in rattan. What energy!! But what to do, how can I avoid plunging us into this collective hysteria precisely because Pentalog is now a supplier, sometimes strategic, for super green enterprises?

I admit we have thought about this question with more consideration for the communication associated with it than for the level of CO2 produced by our activities. I am one of those who think, on a more personal level, that the solution to the problems of the planet can be found more in the philosophies and religions than in consumer behaviour. They must be integrated into the energy requirements of raising livestock for meat, energy for tractors which are required to produce grain, and fishing boats that are used to feed 6 billion people. In the three major monotheistic religions, you are inded asked to “grow and multiply.” And I do not think I’ve heard to date, of a green version of these three books. The variation of this dictate that has come down from on high has won both the Conservatives over, and of course, the Left, as demonstrated particularly in France, with the weight of the law in favour of family policies the country proclaims with so much passion as Christine Boutin!

So yes, of course, when we are 6 billion (of merry repugnant revellers, as the poet says), it’s necessary to organize ourselves, to cultivate, produce, fish… In short, I do not believe this millenarian bla bla (storms, grasshoppers, soon we will say that these repetitive earthquakes are the result of oil extraction!). And in a few more years maybe we will be switching over to a new form of post industrial animism which would make Pasteur and Leibniz both laugh, wherever they are now.

But why not? From the 1950’s to 1970’s, informed scientists told the French people that they had to eat at least 5 dairy products per day (I think it was rather a means to consume the surplus)… and they did, committing themselves resolutely to the path of cholesterol for all! But let’s forget about rationalism, the Grenelle Environment Round Table and the Picnic tax has showed us the way and we all will soon be eating just fresh mint. Pentalog will then become green with the same conviction as the rest of the enterprises… My opinion does not count.

In this case, if we have to do it, why not think outside the box of a green IT (consumption of servers, air conditioning, server rooms and offices), of course without forget it but pose the real energy issues connected to the production of software? After all, scientists who talk about this subject show that truth is not necessarily within the reach of anybody. So here we go, let’s get on this paradigm of chlorophyll and look deeper into this question. So I used a specialized firm, led by two friends, less skeptical than myself and more scientific, and with the assistance of Pierre Peutin we are examining what could be a green IT software industry.

Continued…

PS: I do not want to sound like a reactionary. I do not see the interest in making smoke when you can avoid doing so. I do believe in renewable energy and efficiency. I do not believe however that they can bring us, any more than any other innovation, the solution to a problem which is essentially a demographic problem, a problem of extracting water or desalinate, or the question of mass production of proteins and carbohydrates. To the overall issue, I see no solution and I fear that these observations, today address less than 5% of the problem.

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- Web start-ups generate fast return – Collins (03 March 2010, Business and Leadership)
- Open-source hardware takes steps toward gadget mainstream (04 March 2010, CIO)
- Cloud Computing’s Three Revolutions: Part 3 (04 March 2010, CIO)
- Dublin gets ready for European City of Science 2012 (04 March 2010, Business and Leadership)
- Romania rises as outsourcing target (05 March 2010, The Diplomat)
- Improve productivity with Agile Scrum development (03 March 2010, CIOL)
- Swedish Appetite for Outsourcing Doubles (02 March 2010, Waters News)
- CeBIT 2011: Neues Konzept (08 March 2010, Silicon)
- IT-Recht 2010: Worauf sich Unternehmen gefasst machen müssen (03 March 2010, Manager Magazin)
- IT-Industrialisierung bei Banken: An SOA führt kein Weg vorbei (03 March 2010, CIO)
- Software für den Aufschwung (03 March 2010, FTD)

3 days to present our services, contact potential clients and prospective suppliers, explaining the concept of Offshore, and how it works and discovering new products and concepts.

3 days is definitely too short!

Speaking of products and concepts, the main idea that I have retained from this trade show is that the Embedded business is turned resolutely towards the End User, to make his life and the use of new High Tech technology easier:

• The HMI has become very intuitive and clean: touch screens, motion sensors, acoustic sensors… Intel has built a wall dedicated to the customer in a store (clothing and shoes): half transparent allowing for the selection of an article in the store (as shown on the screen) and information concerning prices etc., all downloadable to your Smartphone, the other half is a touch screen to show you wearing the selected items by means of multiple cameras embedded in the wall.

• Robotics were also very present with flying cameras for video surveillance, mechanical spiders for hazardous environments, and robotic arms that can keep a stick balanced on their fingertips…

• Concrete applications in different sectors and occupations that will link computers and electronics with simplified applications (allowing the end-user to refocus on its core business and not on the need for technical knowledge of the tools): medical (patient monitoring, disability aids…), military (vision, guidance, and logistics), industry (assembly, logistics), M2M (communication and action)…

• Mobility: Smartphones were also very present at the show. All major manufacturers were fighting around the portability between Symbian, RMI, and Android. The iPhone was absent from this portability (strange isn’t it? ).

In short, Thomas and I got back on the road to our office in Frankfurt with our heads full of images and new ideas. It is now up to us to find some way to use them!

Hanover, 2-6 march 2010. Under the motto “Push your business”, CeBIT 2010 opened this edition with new forces despite the economical crisis that constantly threaten the well course of the exhibition. This year many participants confirm that CeBIT keeps its leader position in the classification of ITC fairs. The show covers all the latest IT and telecommunications products, services and solutions and highlight themes – Business IT, ICT Infrastructure and Future ICT. “Connected Worlds” is the keynote topic for CeBIT 2010.

… is it about innovation?
CeBIT is more than a crowded place full of executives and key people from big companies. CeBIT is a platform for IT companies from all over the world to exhibit their strategies, to innovate and discuss current and future trends in the industry. You have the opportunity to generate new business and consolidate your position in the ITC market. The lead “the more things you see, the more ideas you have” applies here more than ever. And you really see a lot of interesting things at CeBIT… .You see from USB keys in every imaginable shape to foldable pianos or dollhouses (don’t ask). It is what they called the Digital Fascination. Cloud computing and Green IT were read on everybody’s lips. “Is the cloud the second industrial revolution? Does it also mean the simplification of IT? “– were some of the main questions at the CeBIT conferences. But it is not just about technology… Maybe you can get an interesting marketing idea when you see the events – the actually salt and pepper of the whole show. The lights, the colours, the know-how … There are plenty of reasons why the prestigious exhibition attracts more than 700,000 visitors, every year.

… is it about opportunities?
This year, under the brand Romania IT, 14 Romanian companies participated to CeBIT. We noticed a growing interest from the Romanian companies for the German market (the most attractive destination for new business after the U.S), especially in outsourcing activities. The interest was reciprocal, because also many German companies asked for nearshore outsourcing in Romania and came to Romania’s stand with lots of questions. Here Pentalog had a big advantage because it was the only Romanian company that knew German. We were not only the largest company from Romania, but also to one with the most powerful business in Germany. We had some interesting discussions with German software houses but also with big companies like T-Systems and Kärcher. We were pleased to receive regards from our clients (DMailer, etc).

… is it about the glamour?
Every morning, before the exhibition starts, there are concerts organized for the participants. Giant exhibitors like T – System (only their stand cost about 33 mil euros) that prepared special events and contests for the visitors. Intel had a whole hall just for their products. Social networking activities were made between the participant countries (and we should not forget that almost all the countries of the world are represented at CeBIT) – for example between Romania and India, etc… Pentalog made new friends during the exhibition and was pleased to be surrounded by very powerful neighbors: in front by T-Systems, in the right and left by our competitors from India and Egypt.

So it’s not just the business that makes CeBIT so special. It’s an interesting mixture of innovation, opportunities and glance that makes CeBIT through definition one of the most glamorous events in the ITC industry. It is a place – as they well say- where you can push your business! See you next year at CeBIT!

This week was exceptionally busy. Yesterday evening, we arrived at an agreement with our Israeli partners to create a Pentalog subsidiary in Tel Aviv. As for today, I am writing this blog from Schiphol airport since we are studying the possibility of establishing a powerful commercial partnership in Holland.

Concerning Israel, we can say that this investment is justified by the insolent health of Israeli high tech and ultimately the entire economy of the country. Israel is the only non-Asian developed country to display a positive growth rate in 2009. This performance of 0.5%, although modest, is quite remarkable and demonstrates the incredible investment effort of an entire nation in the entrepreneurial and innovation sector. Not less than 6% of their GDP is invested in R & D when Europe displays an ambition of 2 and reaches a performance of … 1.

But more surprising still, Christine Lagarde, while attending a France-Israel gala dinner Tuesday evening, said that the amount of Israeli investment in new technologies was identical to that achieved by… France. Settling into the Israeli city that houses 50% of the total investment, would place Pentalog at the heart of an innovative center more than 100 times more powerful than that of Sophia Antipolis and much more comparable to Silicon Valley.

Knowing that Pentalog has become in recent years the leading provider of maintenance and R & D services for French start-ups, a French presence in the heart of this “Start Up Nation” is very strategic. I can not help but think at this very moment of Pentalog Lab and its’ strategy to break with the traditional world of IT services. To promote its products from Israel would be positive in terms of image and would help us to work our way into the U.S. market. Scouts of Uncle Sam did not hesitate to come here do their shopping, in this supermarket of innovation.

Our partners are very experienced people, and this just puts the icing on the cake, they have over 15 years of experience in offshore in Romania and Moldova. All the conditions have been met to do something great… let’s make it happen!

Embedded World 2010 started this morning and we are in full swing. The number of visitors and the number of nationalities represented are still impressive despite the crisis we are in, and far from the sluggishness announced by some people before the show.

Our stand is representative of our company’s internationalization: Thomas answering in German, Romanian and English, and I in French and English.

Below is a picture of our stand, as it was opening.

We are presenting developed solutions to our prospective customers. Energy management, Bluetooth devices and wireless solutions with ultra low electrical consumption are on the program for our visitors. And for dessert, I prepare Popcorn from my iPhone: yes, there is also an application for this!

Feel free to come and meet us at Hall 11, booth 121. We look forward to welcoming you.

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- Computerwoche-Anwenderstudie Teil 1: So planen IT-Entscheider 2010 (01 March 2010, Computerwoche)
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- CeBIT 2010: Was dieses Jahr alles anders werden soll (22 February 2010, ZDNet)