Technology firms are finding it's good to talk

As with the US technology sector before it, the tech industry in the Republic realises it must interact in a more structured and informed way with constituent companies and trading partners, employees, Government, the education and social services sector, and the myriad groupings that constitute real life.

That is perhaps a misleading statement, in that I do not mean to imply that the entire tech crowd have lived in monk-like isolation from the rest of the world (regardless of the lone-wolf proclivities programmers are famed for).

Many firms in the sector have taken the lead in talking to ministers and TDs, working with schools and finding out how they can better mesh with surrounding communities. But in general, the industry has had few formal representative organisations through which it can express its concerns, interests, frustrations or desires.

If a company was concerned about the dire situation here with telecommunications costs and broadband availability, a managing director might have a word in the ear of the Taoiseach, Tβnaiste or appropriate minister - provided the firm was considered important enough to the economy to gain that level of audience, of course, which usually meant a large multinational with many employees.

Or a meeting might be set up with Forfβs to lodge a complaint about venture capital or lack of it, the punishing tax structure for share options and so on. Then, with luck, Forfβs would, months later, produce a report highlighting such issues and, depending on media coverage and how discomfited various ministers could be made feel, change might occur. The senior execs could decamp for a celebratory dinner at l'Ecrivain.

The existing organisations also put forth their agendas - behind the scenes, anyway. They have never had much of a public face, unless you include the industry-backed Business Software Alliance, which has had public campaigns to try to get employees to shop bosses for illegally using copies of unlicensed software. Not exactly a case of pro-active involvement with the Irish community at large.

Of course, the low visibility of industry organisations is not necessarily an expression of a lack of commitment from those running them. On the contrary, it signifies more the disinterest of the industry itself and the feeling, until recently, that it did not need to organise with other companies, address social concerns or talk to the media except on a company-by-company basis. Hey, if Microsoft wants to organise a retraining initiative in Ballymun, that's great, but that's its business. To be blunt, many of the existing industry organisations have been treated by firms as a low-priority but necessary chore - as in "oh God, the annual dinner is coming up so better strong-arm a few senior but not top executives into attending".

They have also been quite cynically used by up-and-coming companies eager to cull industry awards at annual dinners. These can be used for marketing purposes, for getting press coverage and trying to raise funds. Nominations for shortlists of such awards appear on tech firms' websites and press releases. Give me a break - at least wait until you are a finalist.

Young companies swell the numbers at such industry events, buying up a table or two and sending managing directors and senior execs, who then work the room. Once such firms win something - preferably one of the "best newcomer" or "best company of year" awards - they appear on a diminished scale at the next dinner, when it would be churlish not to represent last year's winners, as they nobly hand over the award to new contenders. Except now, the managing director is absent and lower-level execs attend, plus some mid-management young turks delighted to have had their loyalty acknowledged. Then they drop out of such events entirely.

But all of this is, thankfully, changing. As the technology industry has burgeoned and real cross-industry issues have emerged - often with a vengeance, as in the case of PRSI caps - companies realise they need to debate, lobby and interact. For many, filled with energetic, often young employees who would like to give time and effort back to their communities or work on bigger, global issues, there's a new interest in plugging into surrounding communities or finding ways to act globally.

And there's nothing like an economic slump and threat of war to make people feel a need for collective worry and action. Thus, many existing organisations are getting more respect from their members.

Crucially, the past year has also seen a number of new organisations dedicated to sectoral issues emerge. For example, there's MIDAS Ireland, the Microelectronics Industry Design Association (www.midasireland.ie). This group has pinpointed five obstacles to making the Republic a centre for excellence in microelectronics design. For each obstacle, it has noted a related opportunity and suggested a solution, all of which it is involved in implementing. Good stuff.

Then, there's ICT Ireland, the IBEC division representing the information and communications technology sector. Last week, at a conference organised by another key group, the Software Operators Association, I listened to ICT director Mr Brendan Butler outline the role of the organisation and some of the issues it sees confronting the technology industry.

Companies that dither in the background and feel such organisations are good only for briefly plumping their press releases are really missing the boat. The sector needs varied but forceful representative voices and also the input of company concerns and aspirations across every industry niche. It also needs greater cohesion and community to face future challenges as well as create a foundation for innovation here.

We have a rapidly maturing tech industry in the Republic now. It is long since time to move beyond the word-in-the-ear and every-company-for-itself era.

klillington@irish-times.ie