Venture flies flag at Expo

New Zealand's bid to become an IT services provider in the UK and Europe is getting another push at the CeBIT computer expo taking place in Germany.

Outsource2NewZealand was launched a year ago in London as a collaborative effort by about a dozen New Zealand software and services companies, with financial help from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

A year on, the organisation has consolidated into five shareholders - Synergy International, CGNZ, Optimation, Black Coffee Software and Catalyst IT - and is flying the flag on NZTE's CeBIT stand.

Synergy chief executive David Irving, who was instrumental in getting the initiative under way, said it hadn't yet begun to pay its way.

But marketing of the venture had so far only amounted to attendance at industry analyst Gartner's annual outsourcing conference and the media attention that attracted.

Irving said there was no sales team "on the streets of London" promoting Outsource2NewZealand.

However, he hoped that might change if an application for further NZTE money was successful. 

He wouldn't disclose the amount being sought but indicated it was a seven-figure sum.

At the initiative's London launch, Gartner said New Zealand had about an 18-month window to build a profile as a destination for European IT services and software development business.

Numerous competitors - among them Indian, Irish and eastern European companies - were also vying for the business, and political sensitivity to domestic jobs being lost overseas were challenges that needed to be overcome.

Gartner estimated the market was growing at about 30 per cent a year.

Irving said Gartner's latest market analysis suggested activity had been slower than expected, so New Zealand still had a year in which to establish the venture.