The Technology for Smarter Business expo scheduled for June 1 has been cancelled. We hope to run a similar event later in the year at Rugby World Cup time.
Fifteen teams battled it out for the “2011 Quiz Champions” crown at the annual ICT Cluster quiz night held at Bravo Café on 30 March. After six nail biting rounds, it came down to a draw with the winner decided in a tie breaker. This year, the supreme champions are:
Mindbenders, aka Gen-i Bay of Plenty
who pipped Priority One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the post.
Many thanks to everyone that took part, and special thanks to Nick Baker for devising all the tricky questions and Anne Pankhurst for fitting so perfectly into the role of Quiz Mistress! The event was hosted by Priority One, with support from Avonmore Tertiary Institute.
It was great to see so many turn out for the first ICT Cluster event of 2011 on 20 January at Za Bar.
Big thanks to Cucumber Software, who sponsored the event. Cucumber has recently launched a new consultancy service for Bay of Plenty organisations. Businesses sometimes struggle to run successful IT projects on time and to budget, and often don’t have the expertise in-house. Cucumber’s new service provides independent advice and support in the areas of project management, business case preparation, business analysis, systems and process documentation, RFPs and tender management, as well as system audits. For further information, telephone (07) 578 5022.
The ICT Cluster now numbers over 400 members from around 200 local ICT and related businesses. Activities for 2011 will include:
Technology for Smarter Business Expo (June 1): Targeted at showcasing technology solutions for small & medium sized businesses, exhibitors have found these a great way to market their products and services. Around 400 business people usually attend throughout the afternoon and some companies have made significant new sales through this event. Details will follow.
Annual Quiz Night (March 30): Ruled over by the indomitable Quiz Mistress Anne Pankhurst, this is a very popular event, drawing well over 100 people. Fully sponsored by Priority One and local companies, it also provides a good team building opportunity for your staff. If you would be interested in sponsoring a prize, let me know.
Networking events: We plan to hold regular informal events throughout the year. If your company would be interested in sponsoring a speaking slot, please contact Annie Hill.
Search & Knowledge Engineering Forum: Priority One, in partnership with NZ Trade & Enterprise, University of Waikato and Pingar, is investigating the potential to hold a search and knowledge engineering forum in October to coincide with Rugby World Cup. The forum would be promoted at a international level with world leaders in this field of technology likely to attend. Further details will follow.
And finally – the database! If you are looking for ICT expertise or a solution to a technical problem, or wanting to recruit a position or find a job – we always get a great response by sending a message through the cluster’s database. Let Annie know if we can help your business in this way.
Despite the torrential rain, over 300 people attended the Technology for Smarter Business Expo at Baycourt on 1 June 2010. 21 local businesses exhibited their products and services and workshops were held throughout the day on topics such as Open Source Software, Office 2010 and Growing your Business.
SunLive Report - Expo earns a business $200K
SunLive Video Preview of the Expo
Full details of the Expo
Upcoming Events
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About The Cluster
The Western Bay of Plenty ICT cluster is a non-profit organisation comprising Tauranga IT and associated companies. It was established to bring together businesses that are keen to create commercial opportunities and contribute their experience and expertise to the development of an IT rich region.
Members include businesses, individuals and organisations that have a commercial interest in technology. It also includes IT professionals working in the region’s largest corporate organisations.
This site has been designed to facilitate information sharing among cluster members and other businesses. The website is continually being worked on therefore we welcome your feedback on functionality/info you would like to see. The site contains information on:
- Commercial opportunities
- Upcoming events
- The latest news
- Contact details and core strengths of cluster members, including expertise in specific systems and languages
- Current vacancies
- IT professionals seeking work
- Resource sharing opportunities.