Promoting Wider Use of Information Technology Solutions in Businesses 10.06.2010. Participation in the DigiTec Business Forum, organized by the Union of Information Technology Enterprises of Armenia, has proved to be the most efficient way for senior management of various industries to identify IT solutions for their businesses. According to initial estimations by UITE, 50% of the 1,500 visitors to the Forum held on June 9-10 were business executives who specifically came to identify new technological solutions for their companies from almost 40 ICT companies exhibiting at the event. This strong level of interest ensured sustainable growth of the event; now in its the 3rd year.
For the first time, the Forum was also attended by representatives of the regional ICT cluster. Participants included chairmen of ICT associations, the Chairman of the European Software Institute and executives of private ICT enterprises from South East European countries (Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, and Moldova) who had a separate booth at the exhibition and also held presentations. Their presentations on E-Solutions for Industrial Parks, Efficient Management of ICT Projects, and Association Development collected together the largest audience at the event. Their attendance became possible thanks to the USAID RCI initiative that encourages development of a regional ICT cluster to make it more competitive in the global market. More... Elder IT Generation Believes in the Youth:
"You can find the world's best solutions"
 The 20th IT Student Club Meeting was held on August 21-22 at the Writers' House in Tsaghkadzor asan initiative of the IT Club, established by X-TECH and BestBuy companies. The meeting was attended by more than 60 representatives of IT start-up firms and business associations, and held with support from the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project, implemented by Nathan Associates Inc. Meeting topics included issues related to the establishment of new firms.
Every year, the number of IT enterprises increases; there were 200 IT companies in Armenia in 2008, and this figure increased by 60 during in the last two years. However, leading specialists in this sector believe that this growth trend is unsatisfactory, since the goal for 2018 is 1000 IT firms. “In order to achieve such a result, it is necessary to pave the way for young IT specialists and assist in the establishment of new enterprises, so that every young specialist believes that he can start his own business. There are people of the same age that have already had success.” Armen Abrahamyan, CAPS IT Cluster Coordinator stated. He further suggested that every individual has certain skills and a desire to run a business but many avoid taking the risk. “Meetings like this help young people enrich their knowledge and encourage them to apply their skills in business” he went on. Karen Vardanyan, Executive Director of the Union of IT Enterprises (UITE) argued the importance of the present in looking to the future. “In order to have 1000 enterprises in 8 years instead of 20-25, we must establish 250-300 new firms every year. This means that today, a real start-up boom must commence. We strive to see Armenia as a high tech country, and that will only be possible if there is a targeted movement of young technological entrepreneurs with ambitious initiatives and with high thinking specialists who offer the best solutions in the world for this or that sphere.”  Karen Vardanyan said he believes in the youth, and trusts and supports them in all their brave initiatives. “UITE is always ready to listen, cooperate and assist you” he stressed, recognizing the importance of these meetings, which have been led by the successes of the IT Leaders without Ties Forum. “Formulate your five-year goals, accurately manage your time and have ambitious goals.”
The young IT students discussed issues related to website security and protection, as well as learnt about Micro plan entrepreneurship development projects presented by the CAPS Business Development Specialist, Marina Poghosyan, who also held an accelerated 4-day course on entrepreneurship skills development on August 24-27 at the CAPS office.
During the certificate awarding ceremony, theUITE Executive Director, Karen Vardanyan, who also participated in the course, said “This was a vey important experience for us and we seek CAPS project support to make the course continuous so that other participants of the IT Club meetings can also attend. This training is the practical model of real business and is very instructive. The most important thing is that it clearly shows the difference betweenself-destruction and cooperation. Evidently, when there is cooperation, the income is ten times bigger for everyone than the biggest income in case of self-destruction.” IT Club members intend to actively continue meetings of this format since they acknowledge the effectiveness and importance of the discussions. Development of E-Content Cluster to be ELBA Association’s Priority For The Next 3 Years With CAPS technical assistance, two new associations from the ICT and Engineering clusters - 3D Modelling Union (3DM) and E-Content development association (ELBA) - have created 3-year strategic plans. This was the first long term planning exercise these associations undertook with the participation of their members. The strategies outline the main direction of activities that the associations will implement to improve the accessibility to and quality of their services for members.
In its strategic plan, ELBA, represented by leading Armenian multimedia development companies, plans to focus its efforts on creating an e-content development cluster through partnering with related industries, establishing a favourable business environment, and improving education and research infrastructure. The development of 3DM’s strategic plan was more challenging as members of the association represent different sectors of the engineering industry; design, production and modelling. Nevertheless, the association was able to identify those strategic directions that could support competitive growth of member companies: development of new markets, improvement of professional development opportunities, and strengthening 3D modelling capacities. Previously, five associations from CAPS targeted clusters benefited from strategic planning development assistance; the Union of Incoming Tour Operators, Armenian Restaurants Association, Armenian Hotel Association, Union of IT Enterprises and the Union of Medicine Producers and Importers. The development of strategic planning skills within business Associations in targeted clusters and the development of long term strategic plans are important to build the capacity of the associations. They lead to several important outcomes: the development of common understanding among association members on the need for long term and short term goals; development of detailed annual action plans; and capacity building within the associations to undertake further strategic planning activities. Armenia’s IT Industry Requires Qualified Specialists  June 5-6, 2010. Another successful “ICT Leaders without Ties” forum has taken place in Tsakhkadzor allowing the IT industry to discuss priority issues in an unofficial atmosphere with the Government of Armenia. The forum is implemented by the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) with the support of the USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project. The main topic covered during the forum was the quality of Armenia’s educational sector for the IT industry and how it could be improved. Industry representatives actively discussed industry issues and provided recommendations on improving Armenia’s educational sector. Several key issues were identified during the forum, including: lack of fundamental engineering education in Armenia; distortion of the real education process at higher education institutions; graduates focused on their diplomas only; lecturers focused on the tuition fee; and the lack of modern technologies in the classrooms.
Participants also provide recommendations on how to improve the educational sector to Armenia’s Minister of Economy, Nerses Yeritsyan, who regularly attends the “ICT Leaders without Ties” forums. Overall participants agreed that there needed to be a comprehensive public education reform program to improve the quality of the educational system and change the attitude of the public. Specific recommendations included: providing incentives to top students; strengthening English language instruction at both schools and universities; and linking university funding with certain quality criteria to make training and knowledge requirements stricter. Minister Yeritsyan promised to present the recommendations to the Government and to consider them during the development of legislative solutions for the industry. The President of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises, Hovhannes Avoyan stressed the importance of improving the quality of education in Armenia, through the implementation of modern programs at higher education institutions and improvement of teaching methodology. Mr. Avoyan stated that “diplomas of higher education institutions in Armenia have lost their value as receiving them has become very easy and common.” Universities need to implement more stringent and arduous graduation standards, which will means less graduates, but diplomas will regain their value and higher education institutions will recover their reputation. CAPS IT Cluster Coordinator, Armen Abrahamyan also spoke at the forum about the need for international certification in engineering. He stressed the need in Armenia for the localization of qualification processes (certification) of prominent international organizations, training of lecturers and provision of educational institutions with access to contemporary scientific, educational and methodological e-libraries. Promoting Wider Use of Information Technology Solutions in Businesses10.06.2010. Participation in the DigiTec Business Forum, organized by the Union of Information Technology Enterprises of Armenia, has proved to be the most efficient way for senior management of various industries to identify IT solutions for their businesses. According to initial estimations by UITE, 50% of the 1,500 visitors to the Forum held on June 9-10 were business executives who specifically came to identify new technological solutions for their companies from almost 40 ICT companies exhibiting at the event. This strong level of interest ensured sustainable growth of the event; now in its the 3rd year. For the first time, the Forum was also attended by representatives of the regional ICT cluster. Participants included chairmen of ICT associations, the Chairman of the European Software Institute and executives of private ICT enterprises from South East European countries (Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, and Moldova) who had a separate booth at the exhibition and also held presentations. Their presentations on E-Solutions for Industrial Parks, Efficient Management of ICT Projects, and Association Development collected together the largest audience at the event. Their attendance became possible thanks to the USAID RCI initiative that encourages development of a regional ICT cluster to make it more competitive in the global market.
Guest speaker at the event, Nadia Combra, introduced to Armenian ICT companies, grant opportunities provided by the Government of the Netherlands for cooperation with Dutch enterprises. With CAPS co-funding, the event introduced the participation of 8 startup companies who had a chance, not only to exhibit, but also present their solutions to other industries during the CAPS-sponsored workshops. It was noted by Prime Minister Sargsyan during his opening speech that the DigiTec events are an important platform for startup ICT companies to introduce their products and that he came to the Business Forum to specifically learn about their achievements. 17% Growth During Economic Crisis: Armenian IT Industry Report 2009 Released  April 20, 2010: 17% overall growth, 15% increase in revenues, over 52% increase in internet services provision, – these are the results of the Armenian Information Technology Sector Report (software and services) jointly commissioned by the RA Ministry of Economy, the Enterprise Incubator Foundation and the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project.
The report, which has been undertaken for the third consecutive year, covers key aspects of the industry including history, revenues, productivity, workforce, educational sector, policy developments, and others, and is considered an important monitoring and evaluation tool for the country’s ICT sector. More... Armenian IT ompanies Integrate into Regional ICT Cluster With UITE’s leadership and support from CAPS, Crimson Capital, RCI and UITE, Armenian ICT companies participated in the second B2B matchmaking event in Skopje, Macedonia, April 7-8 organized by the USAID-funded Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI).
The Armenian delegation was represented by UITE and four companies, and was the forth largest national delegation after Macedonia, Bulgaria and Kosovo. The trip was successful: companies signed several agreements with partners from Macedonia (Seavus Group, Nextsense, Enter, Crimson Capital), Bulgaria (Bynet, IT Card, Orak Engineering) and other countries. Armenian companies also visited offices of their Macedonian partners. Overall, the event was attended by more than 40 companies from 10 South East European countries. As part of the event, a South East Europe ICT (SEE IT) Forum Board meeting also took place where, thanks to UITE efforts (UITE was elected as a Board Member of SEE IT following its successful presentation at the Second Georgian IT Conference in October 2009), it was decided to promote and assist the participation of SEE ICT companies and associations at the DigiTec Business Forum that will take place in Yerevan in June this year. A collective stand entitled ‘SEE ICT Cluster’ is also to be piloted which, if successful, could then be taken to other international trade fairs and events to promote the SEE ICT Cluster. 17% Growth During Economic Crisis: Armenian IT Industry Report 2009 ReleasedApril 20, 2010: 17% overall growth, 15% increase in revenues, over 52% increase in internet services provision, – these are the results of the Armenian Information Technology Sector Report (software and services) jointly commissioned by the RA Ministry of Economy, the Enterprise Incubator Foundation and the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project. The report, which has been undertaken for the third consecutive year, covers key aspects of the industry including history, revenues, productivity, workforce, educational sector, policy developments, and others, and is considered an important monitoring and evaluation tool for the country’s ICT sector. “Due to the constantly changing and developing nature of Armenia’s IT sector, it is imperative to monitor and evaluate progress toward the goals and objectives set in the National ICT Development Strategy Paper, through the frequent collection of industry data and analysis of trends.” Artak Ghazaryan, CAPS Chief of Party said. “The Armenian IT Sector Survey Report represents the most comprehensive information on the sector to date. The data contained in this report provides an opportunity to make the right decisions to create breakthroughs in Armenia’s IT cluster development.” According to the report, the turnover in the Armenian software and services sector in 2009 reached approximately $130 million constituting 1.1% of the country’s $11.9 billion nominal GDP. It is close to the share of IT sector in GDP for countries such as India (1.4%) and Germany (1.3%). The largest revenue-contributing segment of the industry is Internet Services; generating $30 million or 22% of industry total. Internet Service Provider turnover, according to the report, increased by around 230%. A key reason for this was a major regulatory change pertaining to the telecommunications industry that ended the monopoly of the Armenian Telephone Company. The Armenian IT industry exports nearly $72 million of products and services to more than 20 countries. Around 55% of companies are engaged in export. The largest share of exports, almost 60%, goes to the USA and Canada; the second largest is Europe with 24%, and third is Russia and the CIS with 22%. In 2009, total workforce employed by the IT sector reached around 5,200 specialists. Around 85% of the workforce comprises technical specialists such as software engineers, analysts, developers, project managers, and others. The proportion of female employees in Armenia’s IT sector (30-35%) is higher than that of the United States and is almost twice that of the UK. The full report is available at: Armenian Information Technology Sector: Industry Report Computer Literacy for Everyone
Basic Computer Courses for Vulnerable Groups through Enhanced Computer Centers March 27, 2010, Yerevan, Armenia. Today ten computer specialists completed a six-day Web Design and Management training course offered by the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project and the Armenian Round Table Foundation (ART). The trained trainers will pass on the knowledge and skills they gained to vulnerable community groups (refugees, parentless children, socially underprivileged people, children and adults with special needs, the homeless, etc.) through 40 computer centers established by ART throughout the regions of Armenia in the framework of its “Computer Literacy for Everyone and Sustainable Development of Computer Centers” Project.
The Web Design training, which consisted of 12 comprehensive topics, enabled the trainers to create websites to be able to teach website creation to others. The training incorporated such topics as browsers, screen resolutions, advanced HTML editors, digital images, color modes, image processing software, DHTML, Flash technology, hyperlinks, encoding, web servers, etc. The Management training aimed to enhance the abilities of the trainers to work effectively with communities, assess their needs, teach them computer literacy, involve them in computer center-based activities and obtain tools and mechanisms for working in community computer center coordination, marketing, as well as to secure the sustainability of the computer centers. “The training courses aim to address several important objectives. First, they will enhance the technological skills and abilities of the computer centers’ staff, thereby enabling them to offer more training and make computer center operations more effective. Second, increasing the supply of trained computer center specialists will make it easier to train more representatives of vulnerable groups contributing to increased employment in Armenia. And third, the training will enhance the abilities of trainers to work effectively with communities and involve them in computer center-based activities, thereby increasing the community focus of computer centers and securing their sustainability,” Armen Abrahamyan, CAPS Information Technology Cluster Coordinator said. Today around 40 computer centers with a focus on rural and remote areas operate all over Armenia. The knowledge gained through these computer centers is expected to become an important tool for society and contribute to solving the increasing problem of unemployment and orientating youth for future career prospects. Bringing IT Solutions Closer to Business March 18, 2010. Improving company operational effectiveness and cost reduction were topics of the recently organized “Meeting Without Ties” business forum held in Aghveran. The forum, held on February 27th and 28th, was attended by around 100 representatives of 60 companies from the business community.
Various software soluntions were presented, such as the “Infrastructure Optimization Model”, “Microsoft Dynamic Customer Relationship Management” package and “Unified Communication” systems from Microsoft, and the “Tourism Customer Management System” from Insight LLC. The importance of website security certificates was presented by Apaga Technologies company. The company offers security certificates issued by the internationally-recognized VeriSign Company. The certificates secure online payment operations. IT solutions used in healthcare were also presented. Many of them enable a simplification of patient data management processes. Amongst them, attention was given to the Telemedicines project. The software enables linking medical equipment to computers and transferring data through Internet or ethernet connections. The system enables hospitals to have one database for patient records and diagnostic test results. It also enables information sharing between remotely located doctors thereby improving healthcare in remote areas. Monitoring vehicle tracking GPS system was presented by Locator company. The system, operating since 2007 can track the location of all registered vehicles, their routes, number of passengers and whether meters were used for journeys. The system is currently used by around 800 vehicles in Yerevan and provides support to the ambulance service in Sochi, Russia.It alarms the police or ambulance service in case of emergency and can also help locate stolen cars. At the end of the forum, the organizers prepared a letter addressed to the Government, presenting suggestions from forum participants on what should be done in order to promote the wider use of IT solutions in the businesses community. Amongst many suggestions was the organization of round table discussions with IT and specific sector companies to discuss ways to improve company operational effectiveness and what IT companies can offer to reach these goals. Another suggestion was to develop mechanisms promoting the use of IT solutions by businesses. UITE MAKES ICT EDUCATION RECOMMENDATIONS TO GOVERNMENT September 12-13, 2009. Educational issues were a major focus of discussion during the recent ICT leaders meeting in Aghveran, organized by UITE, which gathered more than 60 representatives of the Armenian ICT industry, government, educational institutions, and media. A major concern of the participants was the lack of capacity within educational institutions to deliver knowledge and skills required by the growing Armenian ICT industry. The gap between knowledge demanded by industry and knowledge gained by graduates of major educational institutions in Armenia has not narrowed though many discussions have previously been initiated on how to solve this problem.
Participants were delivered presentations by the Director of National Instruments, Director of GITC, Coordinator of Armedu Portal and others, where they learned about company achievements in the international market, their needs for qualified engineers, and issues faced by educational institutions in preparing qualified specialists. After each presentation discussions followed facilitated by UITE board members that resulted in the following key recommendations for improving ICT education: 1. Establish/revitalize laboratories and R&D centers within graduate universities, utilizing resources of private engineering firms, Diaspora, donor organization and foreign companies that have invested in the engineering/ICT sector in Armenia,
2. Tailor knowledge created within universities to industry needs by focusing government funding of engineering/ICT education on industry priorities, training professors, improving linkages between industry and universities, utilizing distance learning tools, establishing an educational consortium with participation from companies, the government, and industry,
3. Improve protection of intellectual property rights and commercialization of intellectual products,
4. Create opportunities for engineers to improve their knowledge and skills by helping universities launch continuing education and certification programs Following the ‘Meeting without Ties’ forum, these recommendations were presented to the Prime Minister of Armenia during the ITDSC meeting, to explore opportunities for implementation by government in partnership with the private sector. TAX & CUSTOMS LEGISLATION – IT COMPANIES HIGHLIGHT OBSTACLES Nov. 28-29, 2009 The USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project, in cooperation with the Union of IT Enterprises (UITE), organized another two-day ICT ‘Leaders without Ties’ meeting in Aghveran at Arthurs Resort hotel. The meeting comprised representatives of Armenian leading IT companies, educational institutions, IT journalists as well as the State Revenue Committee headed by President Gagik Khachatryan. The goal of the meeting was to bring public and private sector representatives around the table and discuss Armenian IT industry issues and related tax and customs regulations in an informal atmosphere. From the viewpoint of representatives of private IT companies, a range of provisions in tax and customs regulations create obstacles for the development of Armenia’s IT sphere. As an example, the practice of customs officials using guide prices for imported computer hardware instead of those mentioned shown on invoices was highlighted. This practice results in higher VAT payments.
Another issue covered was the complicated nature of import and export procedures for dual purpose goods and the fact that a number of commodities were considered dual purpose even when they weren’t. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director of the Enterprise Incubator Foundation, presented key points from the IT industry’s strategic development plan approved by Government. He noted that granting tax privileges to the IT sphere, namely VAT exemption, will strongly support achievement of the main goals envisaged in the plan. He highlighted the great interest in Armenia’s IT sphere worldwide and stated that many prominent US and European companies are willing to make investment in Armenia’s IT industry and thus contribute to its development, although investments in IT education are subject to VAT. Unfavorable tax and customs legislation, namely the obligation of the grantee to pay VAT, does not encourage companies to undertake such initiatives. Educational institutions have to pay a profit tax for donations; a serious issue for them when they have insufficient funds. In the case of donations, tax obligations are on both the grantee and the grantor. Other tax and customs regulation issues related to the IT sphere were discussed during the meeting as well. Officials of the SRC, K.Beglaryan and G.Saghoyan, provided relevant comments and explanations on all the issues voiced. Gagik Khachatryan, Head of SRC, evaluated such informal discussions as efficient and encouraged private sector representatives to continue their cooperation with SRC with the hope that the latter will be able to address the issues and find adequate solutions. He also asserted that officials from SRC will participate in similar discussions in the future. 3rd Annual Armenian IT Competitiveness Conference Opens in Yerevan  November 24. The 3rd Annual Armenian Information Technology (IT) Competitiveness Conference opened in Yerevan with joint organization by the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project, the Ministry of Economy, Armenian Development Agency, Microsoft Armenia, Enterprise Incubator Foundation, National Competitiveness Foundation, D-Link, Arminco and IT business associations. In light of the latest political and economic developments, the conference aimed to analyze current opportunities and challenges and define IT industry priorities for the future.
Over 250 industry representatives, including: government, private companies, educational institutions, international organizations, NGOs and others interested in the development of Armenia’s IT industry participated in the conference. Highlighting the role of IT as one of the fastest growing industries, Nerses Yeritsyan, RA Minister of Economy, reminded participants that the sector had been pronounced a most important component of economic development by the government. "ICT largely promotes technological innovation and productivity in the country. At present, branches of a number of Russian, European, American companies and think tanks operate in Armenia, which means that Armenia is stressing its role as an IT country” the Minister stated. Despite the decline in sales and investment due to the global economic crisis, the Armenian IT industry had a number of achievements during the past year, such as improved tax and customs procedures as a result of successful public private sector cooperation; the entrance of the third mobile operator into the telecommunication market; a number of local and regional IT expos and forums securing business deals for Armenian IT firms; and ArmTech Congress in Silicon Valley, showcasing Armenia’s high-tech capabilities in one of world’s largest high-tech economic centers. “Armenia has a rich history in developing IT in the country. A number of successful projects have been implemented by the Ministry of Economy, among them, the Gyumri Technopark project. IT is being introduced in every sphere, and this can secure long-term prosperity” David Hull, Director of the Economic Growth Office of USAID/Armenia said. The conference presented the collaborative efforts of IT cluster stakeholders toward creating an IT society, producing competitive educational curricula through academic partnerships, enhancing the regulatory framework, etc. Invited international experts suggested solutions to Armenia’s telecommunication sector development and ways to expand high-tech businesses through the creation of venture capital funds. The conference builds its success on the previous two IT competitiveness conferences held in 2007 and 2008 by CAPS and its major partners. Armenian IT Companies Receive Four Awards at Regional Conference in Georgia Nov. 6, 2009 The USAID-funded Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project, in cooperation with the Union of IT Enterprises (UITE), recently supported ten Armenian IT companies in participating at the Second Georgian IT Innovation Conference (October 29-30 in Tbilisi). These companies included: E-dram, CHS Vericel Service, Strategic Partners, E-works, Spyur, LimeTech, Margasoft Corporation, IDS Design and Technologies, Grant Thornton Amyot and Macadamian AR. All of these companies had great success at the conference in terms of establishing business contacts with Georgian private firms and the Government. Additionally, three Armenian firms, Spyur Information Center, Nork Information Analytical Center and Strategic Partners LLC received awards for “Best B2B Solution”, “Best Project Proposal”, and “Best Multimedia Project” respectively. Strategic Partners LLC returned home with two awards; it was also awarded “Best Integrator of the Year”.
Participation of Armenian IT firms at the conference was organized with logistical support from UITE, which included: solicitation of application forms from companies, setting up exhibition booths, delivering presentations at the conference and arranging accommodation. CAPS supported UITE efforts with transportation and lodging expenses for the participants. Participation in the conference was productive for the Armenian IT companies who developed business contacts with their Georgian counterparts. As Ludwig Makhian, Director of E-Works stated, the company is considering an investment opportunity in Georgia after a discussion with the shareholders of the company. Strategic Partners, another Armenian firm, located two Georgian companies interested in contextual advertisement, while Spyur agreed with Tbilisi Yellow Pages to share advertising space. During their stay in Georgia, the Armenian delegation, headed by UITE, visited the Dutch Embassy in Tbilisi, to view a presentation on technical assistance provided by the Government of the Netherlands to the private and NGO sectors in the South Caucasus. The Armenian firms learned about types of assistance, available funding and application procedures. Another successful outcome for UITE was the meeting with IT business associations from Macedonia, Bulgaria and Moldova, and the invitation to join the South East Europe (SEE) ICT Business Council Board. Two representatives of UITE were also invited to participate at the SEE upcoming conference (November 18-20) with travel costs associated with the trip to be covered by the Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI). Armenian ICT Sector Showcases its Potential at DigiTec Expo 2009  From October 2-4, 2009, the fifth annual DigiTec Expo featured 52 high-tech companies and attracted over 12,000 visitors to the Karen Demirchyan Sport-Concert Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. The DigiTech Expo has become Armenia’s premier international high-tech exhibition, providing high-tech companies, industry organizations, government representatives and business consumers a forum to introduce new products and achievements, forge new business relationships and broaden international connections. DigiTech 2009 had enhanced interest and participation from the previous year, with a 15% increase in the number of exhibitors and 50% increase in the number of visitors.
The Union of Information Technologies Enterprises and the Enterprise Incubator Foundation organized DigiTech 2009, under the high patronage of the RA Prime Minister and with support from Ucom, ADC, Virage Logic and the USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector Project (CAPS) project. Honorable Tigran Sargsyan, RA Prime Minister and Jan Campbell, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Ericsson presided over the opening of the exhibition. The Prime Minister expressed his support for the Digitech Expo and highlighted the key role the high-tech sector plays in the economy, stating “the rapid and targeted implementation of information technologies in all sectors of social life is a priority for the economy, as it can foster also the development of other sectors of economy.” The expo featured strong participation by government agencies, including the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Diaspora, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and State Income Committee. Several special events were held during the exhibition, including the DigiTec Startup Forum, DigiLife seminars, E-Governance Conference and ArmRobotics Pan-Armenian Competition. The DigiLife seminars gave a number of IT companies the opportunity to present new solutions and products that could be utilized in the tourism and pharmaceutical industries. The DigiLife seminars were organized by CAPS to help educate tourism and pharmaceutical sector companies on how technology can make them more competitive and increase revenue, through improved access to market information, increased customer reach and improved management processes. In addition to the seminars, the companies also exhibited these solutions during the exhibition. For the first time, the Digitech Expo featured the participation of nine innovative start-up companies, including: Career.am, iCity LLC, DevelopWay CJSC, LimeTech, BestBuy, IDS Design and Technologies, AshMash Technologies, and Eurostandart. Showcasing startups at the expo helped to highlight the importance of new emerging companies for the continued growth of the industry. The CAPS project provided the startup companies with free booth space, and support to develop high quality promotional and marketing materials. “Fostering the development of IT start-up companies is very important from the point of view of the ICT industry development,” stated Edgar Khachatryan, director of iCity startup. “With CAPS support our company, along with the experienced players of the sector, had this valuable opportunity to showcase its innovative products and services. We obtained a lot of useful contacts, which, I hope, will lead to promising relationships.” “This is the fourth year that CAPS supports the DigiTec Expo,” – stated Artak Ghazaryan, CAPS Chief of Party. “The successful contracts of exhibition participant companies come to prove the results. Survey results indicate, that each year the participating big companies obtain 25-100 agreements, at least 10 of which are sealed with contract. Smaller companies obtain up to 10 agreements, as well as establish many new and important contacts with potential partners”. 4th Annual Armenian Microelectronics Olympiad Expands Participation to Include Competitors from Russia and Ukraine The Fourth Annual Armenian Microelectronics Olympiad held from September 30 to October 1, 2009 extended its borders for the first time to include participants from Russia and Ukraine. The Olympiad is an annual competition - organized by Synopsys Armenia - for students from higher educational institutions and specialists from companies engaged in microelectronics. The competition helps to stimulate further development of microelectronics in Armenia, discover young and talented specialists and raise interest in microelectronics. The Olympiad reflects the growing development of microelectronics design in Armenia by putting the spotlight on Armenia’s brightest and most talented engineers under the age of 30.
The Olympiad was conducted in two stages. The first stage is a test on a number of basic tasks, with the top contestants advancing to the second stage - a challenging contest and complex engineering tasks requiring advanced solutions. 180 participants competed in the first stage and 47 students qualified for the second stage, of which five were from Gyumri, two from Moscow and one from Ukraine. Olympiad topics included Digital IC Design and Testing, Analog and Mixed-Signal IC Design and Testing, Semiconductor Devices and Technology, and Mathematical and Algorithmic Issues of Electronic Design Automation. On October 1, Synopsys held a reception at the Yerevan Chamber Music Hall to announce the winners, award prizes to the top seven competitors and highlight the achievements of the young engineers. The top competitor received a new laptop computer from Unicomp CJSC and Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) and the second and third place competitors received cash awards from VivaCell MTS and Synopsys. Awards were also presented for the best engineering solution, best result from participants from Russia, best result among participants from Ukraine and best result among participants from Gyumri. “This year the Olympiad included participants from Russia and Ukraine, which indicates that this initiative aimed at developing young IT specialists is gaining international prestige and is a great platform to bring together diverse perspectives,” said Tigran Sargsyan, RA Prime Minister. “Through this event we are also seeing that Armenian engineers are able to successfully compete with engineers from other regions and that they are taking great strides to stay at the forefront of microelectronics design.”
The Olympiad was sponsored by Synopsys Armenia, VivaCell MTS, USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector Project (CAPS), Microsoft RA, Unicomp CJSC, EIF, Virage Logic International Corporation Armenian branch, ACBA Bank, Arminco CJSC, Viasphere Technopark CJSC, UITE, UMBA, Apaven Ltd., ARCA Agency, Yerkir Media TV, N-Sourcer Art Sight LLC, Mediastyle Holding, Business Express weekly, ECOnomika magazine, 168 hours daily and Public Radio of Armenia. The CAPS project assisted with the development and publication of Olympiad brochure. “ArmTech 2009” Social Network LaunchedThe continuing growth of the technology sector in Armenia, together with the expansion of the global Armenian technology community, has created a need for a professional forum to improve communication and cooperation among Armenian high-tech executives. The recently launched ArmTech Global Armenian Network for Professionals is the response to this need. It offers the opportunity to share information, identify new business opportunities, make new contacts, and create valuable extended professional networks.
ArmTech Congress '09 (Armenia's high-tech industry conference) will take place from November 5 through 8 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California. This is the third annual ArmTech Congress conceived under the theme of "Learning From the Past and Inventing the Future." The event is designed for professionals interested in engaging the global Armenian community and the rapidly rising high tech industry sector in Armenia. More information is available at www.armtechcongress.com. ARCHIVE: |
