Bandung High Technology Valley

(Perusahaan-perusahaan teknologi Masa Depan)

Bandung High Technology Valley

Kulawarga Perguruan Tinggi Bandung

Keluarga Mahasiswa Bandung

(Peneliti Muda Bandung)

Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar

(November 11, 2009) Stanford instructor and seasoned serial entrepreneur Steve Blank looks back at the commonalities and quirks of the quarter's previous speakers. Blank outlines a thorough checklist of questions and analysis helpful to any new enterprise leader, and offers insight and case studies from industry giants and new technology plays alike.

Stanford University:
http://www.stanford.edu/

Stanford Center for Professional Development:
http://scpd.stanford.edu/

Stanford Engineering Everywhere:
http://see.stanford.edu/

Comparison with Other Countries

I want to convince you that Indonesia can still take a whack at the IT industry. Nasayers will say that Indonesia is too poor to play the IT game. Other reasons for not to take thisopportunity are political instability, the wide spread of software piracy, and lack of Englishcapability. While it is true that those reasons could seriously hamper progress, they do not stop other countries in taking the opportunity. Let’s see how they are doing.

India

India is usually used as an example of a country successful in software business. What do you think when you hear the world “Bangalore”? Most people associate Bangalore with software development. When we thing software development, we think that the whole country must be rich or well developed, like America. It is not quite right. While Bangalore might be well developed for software industry, the whole India is not necessarily ready. [Similaryly, we do not have to wait until the whole Indonesia is IT-ready. We could focus on selected parts of Indonesia, such as Bandung. No need to convert the whole country into an IT-oriented industry.]

Financial-wise, India is not a rich country. But she is dominant in the software industry. Many people believe that IT is only a game for rich countries. That is not true, as India has shown. Thus, Indonesia can also take part in this game. India started to be known as a software producer since 1995. It is not long ago. And yet, India’s software export has multiplied and become US$ 4 billions in 2002. It is estimated that they can get US$ 50 billions in 2008. That is for only software. If you still remember, our plan is to reach US$ 30 export in 2010. And that is for everything. It should be noted that the Indian export figures are for software exports, i.e. not for local consumption. This shows us that focusing on creating software for export is a viable approach.

Political situation in India is as complicated as in other countries. In my opinion, it is more complicated than Indonesia. Many people think that without political stability it is difficult to create business. India has shown us that it is still possible to create business even when political situation is still unclear. Another example of hot situation is Israel. They are in the

middle of war, and yet business is thriving. That all tells us that Indonesia can participate in the IT field. Although it should be noted that people in India, at least those who deal with the IT industry, speak English fluently. So, English is not a problem for them. We have to improve our English.

China

China is another extreme example. China is also a poor country like India. Just like India, techno parks are being created in China. However unlike India, most software & hardware developments are targeted to local (domestic) market. It is understandable since their

domestic market is huge. Once they have satisfied their domestic market they will go to global market. Watch out. Software piracy is high, but yet Microsoft opened a research center in Beijing. How could that be? Many people blame piracy as the main source for slow growth in software business. But, as China indicates, software development progresses rapidly. Don’t get me wrong. I do not say that software piracy is a good thing. My point is that we cannot blame software piracy alone for the slow growth in software industry in Indonesia.

English is still a barrier. But software businesses are being developed. This lesson also says that even we do not know English, we can still survive. This is somewhat misleading. China is targeting their software for local market. Thus, English is not a main concern. If we target our software for export, like India, then we should improve our English.

Malaysia

Malaysia is pictured to be the next IT hub in our region. They have many initiatives to make their dreams come true. Their Government is committed to IT. However, I feel that they have not achieved their target. Despite the exposure in many media, Cyberjaya is not as alive as it could be. It is still a dead city. Many companies are still located in Kuala Lumpur. Our lesson from this is that Government commitment is not enough.

Epilogue

It takes many years to make Silicon Valley as it is right now. Starting from Dean Terman’s initiative at Stanford University in the 60s to Apple computer explosion in 1975, it takes 15 years. I sure think that it probably takes many years to make Bandung High Tech Valley a reality. Be patient, work hard and focus. See you in the future. …

Reading Material

1. Haryoto Kunto, "Nasib Bangunan Bersejarah di Kota Bandung," Granesia Bandung,

2000.

2. Jennifer Hillner, “Venture Capitals: Skunk works, start-ups, and hungry VCs are making

these 46 hubs the hot spots of the global high tech network,” Wired Magazine, 8.07, July

2000.

3. Brad Wieners and Jennifer Hillner, “Silicon Envy,” Wired Magazine, 6.09, September

1998.

4. Martina Fromhold-Eisebith, and Guenter Eisebith, “The Indonesian Technology Region

of Bandung: High potential, low profile,” IDPR, 24 (1), 2002.

5. Robert Reich, “The Future of Success: Working and Living in the New Economy,”

Vintage Books, 2000.