PIN-SME

Brussels, 11 February 2009. PIN-SME experts agree: IT solution providers and in Europe are facing major changes! That is why the 3rd Expert Forum for Innovation and Internationalisation in IT-SMEs has the specific objective to give these enterprises an impulse for their successful further development.  

IT-SMEs in Europe are caught between tradition and innovation: According to PIN-SME, a European umbrella organisation for IT-SMEs and initiator of the Expert Forum, IT solution providers obviously focus much more on the classic sale of hardware and software instead of learning how to give the same priority to understand what customers from SMEs really want, how to be understood themselves and how to actively adapt to changing market demands. This “being trapped” in old thought patterns is viewed by PIN-SME as a mistake with grave consequences: Those who wish to profit from their special role as skills providers between the IT industry and SMEs must in turn have, beyond the classic IT-Know-how, specific expertise especially regarding the concrete demands of their customers from SMEs!

On March 5, 2009, starting at 10 a.m., numerous participants from the IT industry, associations, organisations and of course also representatives of IT-SMEs are expected in the Convention Centre of the CeBIT in Hannover. The experts are expanding the horizons from the perspective of European politics to real empirical values and beyond that, also present concrete recommended courses of action. On location, topics to be thoroughly discussed will include possible hurdles on the way to a new consciousness as well as the changed needs of IT enterprises in Europe.

After the topics have been introduced by Johann Steszgal, PIN-SME President, the Secretary General Sebastiano Toffaletti will illustrate the relationship between economic and political activity with his presentation “Between European IT Politics and Operative Association Work”. Following this, Frank Früh will be introduced, project director of the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO). He will comment on the development of IT markets and IT SMEs, especially during the current prevailing financial crisis. Another expert to be expected is Rüdiger Gunther, Director Midrange EMEA of Azlan Tech Europe. He will give account of his experience as a partner with respect to improving potential strategies, dialogue and performance.

In close collaboration with CeBIT (www.cebit.com), the 3rd European PIN-SME Expert Forum is developing concrete rudiments that assist IT-SMEs to more accurately meet both the changing requirements of the IT industry and the increasingly more complex demands of business clients.

The Forum agenda, with all other speakers and content, can be requested from the organisation responsible for the event. In order to participate in this Expert Forum, a pre-registration is requested by 25 February 2009 at the latest.

Download programm: here

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