HELSINKI, Finland, Jan. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Finnish Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business, a national programme with a mission to boost the development of the Finnish software industry, today unveiled an enhanced Swbusiness.fi web service. Designed to enable an easy one-stop access to the Finnish software industry, the site includes information on 600+ businesses, up-to-date industry news, relevant research data and information on upcoming events.
Originally launched in June 2000 to stimulate networking and cooperation within the Finnish software product industry, the Swbusiness.fi web service has proven to be a valuable display window for international corporations, venture capitalists and researchers interested in the Finnish software industry. Along with the growing international interest, Swbusiness.fi has become a widely used day-to-day tool for Finnish software professionals, utilized both as a news source and a databank of potential business and R&D partners. For Finnish software product companies, adding information on their activities and plans on the site is easy, fast and free of charge.
Currently, around 30% of Swbusiness.fi visitors browse in from outside of Finland. Average total of monthly page views is approximately 60,000. With the continuing efforts to enhance the functionalities and add to the contents of the site, along with the expected upturn of the software and venture capital industries, the number of visitors is estimated to increase significantly.
"Our objective is to develop competitive innovative environments for the internationalization of new products and companies", said Irmeli Lamberg, Program Director, the Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business. "It has been a true pleasure to see how Swbusiness.fi has taken off as a source for news and information on who is doing what in the Finnish software scene. Each relationship that is formed and each deal that is closed as a result of information found at Swbusiness.fi is a proof that this access point is needed."
The Swbusiness.fi web service has been developed and built as a joint project of several parties, including the Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business; Employment and Economic Development Centre (T&E Centre); and Culminatum Ltd Oy - Helsinki Region Centre of Expertise, a development company owned by the Uusimaa Regional Council, the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, and the universities, polytechnics, research institutes and business community of Helsinki region.
Following the success of Swbusiness.fi, which has become a hub for the Finnish software product business, a broader umbrella web project will be introduced during the first quarter in 2004. The joint development project, titled Finnish DigiBusiness, will gather together Finnish software product companies (Swbusiness.fi) and two new business areas: content business (Contentbusiness.fi) and learning services (Edubusiness.fi).
The upcoming project is financed out of the Finnish State Budget through the Ministry of the Interior as part of the National Centre of Expertise programme, Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business; Employment and Economic Development Centre (T&E Centre); and Culminatum Ltd Oy
Swbusiness.fi Web Service: http://www.swbusiness.fi.
About The Finnish Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business
The Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business cooperates with companies and the universities and research centres of the Helsinki Region, especially with the department of software and telecommunications technology at the University of Technology. The objective of the activities is to develop competitive innovative environments for the internationalization of new products and companies. The Centre of Expertise for Software Product Business is part of the Helsinki Region Centre of Expertise programme implemented over the period 1999 - 2006. Further information: http://www.uudenmaanosaamiskeskus.fi/ohjelmistotuoteliiketoiminta/english/.