How ICT research supports Innovation Ecosystems and SMEs Brussels, 1 . 6 . 2006 UEAPME workshop The place of the SME in the ICT & eBusiness developments How ICT research supports Innovation Ecosystems and SMEs Francesco Nachira European Commission DG Information Society and Media Head of Sector “Technologies for Digital Ecosystems” http://www.digital-ecosystems.org

SMEs : a weakness or a potential for Europe ? Knowledge-base economy: migrating towards digital economies mediated by ICT More interrelations More knowledge More innovation More specialised resources Small companies have limited specialised resources and difficulties To access to global value chains To access to knowledge To access to specific services (e.g. legal) To adopt new technologies (ICT) To adopt new business models Threshold and Digital Divides (geogr..; SMEs vs. LEs) But the only hope for a SMEs is to become BIG? SMEs

SMEs in a Dynamic knowledge-based global economy How to reach the critical mass of resources ? How to cope with the increased complexity ? Virtual cluster Industrial District Business Ecosystem Growth Node

Peculiarities of EU economical structure Cultural diversity (model of business, approaches, practices, …) Dimensions of enterprises (SMEs vs. LE) Historical presence of clusters with diffused tacit unstructured knowledge, skills and infrastructure How to turn peculiarities and diversity into competitive advantages How to foster innovation, creativity and autonomy of SMEs ? Which policies, which paradigms ? Which infrastructures ?

The Business Ecosystem Create a climate conductive to investments, innovation and enterpreneurship: the conditions for Attracting biz and entr. direct investments Attracting enterprises Attracting skilled and qualified workforce How to create a favourable environment for business and people: a socio-economic eco- system ? Service & technical Infrastructure Governance regulations & industrial policy Human capital, knowledge and practices Business & financial conditions

Which Paradigms for Innovation Ecosystems ? To create favourable environment Engineers: “problem solving” approach: isolate problem, identify variables, make a plan … Economy as machine Complexity Ecosystemic approach: economy as machine -> economy as ecosystems (garden) Processes: Interpretation - Partecipation - Collaboration - Harmonis. of interests Plurality and richness of: economic actors, subjects, ideas and interaction, aggregation

The Innovation Ecosystems: An integrated approach for development to reduce the digital divides among regions - among SME and LE to foster local economic growth and innovation; new forms of dynamic business interactions, enabled by new paradigms and digital ecosystem technologies Growth Competitiveness, market & internal efficiency Cooperation & innovation networks improve lead to encourage provide resources ICTs catalyse improve “Digital Ecosystem Infrastructure” Open Source Evolutionary infrastructure make viable shape & foster supports support Bio-Paradigms enhances New organizational & business models Policy supports Derivative work from P.Dini - London School of Economics

Which ICT technology for innovation ecosystems ? “… the actual slowly changing network of organizations will be replaced by more fluid, amorphous and often transitory structures based in alliances, partnership and collaborations”... “…building a community that share business, knowledge and infrastructure, develop creativity” “The support to SMEs and innovation requires a further stage in ITC technology adoptions and an infrastructure which exploits the dynamic interaction (cooperation and competition) of several players in order to produce systemic results; innovation and economic development.” “Towards a Network of digital business ecosystems fostering the local development ” (EC, Discussion paper, 2002) But one business model fits all ? But one infrastructure fits all ?

The Digital Ecosystem, the carrier for services and ideas (+ their integration) Who owns it? What does it contain? What‘s the destination? Which is the revenue model ? Owner Serial-ID Check-ID Country ISO Ident Courtesy from DBE project

The digital ecosystem Which ICT infrastructure for this new paradigm ? How could ICT support the transition from industrial district to knowledge-based business ecosystem ? Integrated scalable approach with intermediate results How to create ICT infrastructure that allows digital components to exhibit behaviour of natural ecosystems? Computing and telecom. Infrastructure ICT service-knowledge-oriented architecture affordable ICT services Diffused + Digitalised knowledge

What is a Digital Ecosystem ? THE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM is a pervasive “digital environment” that supports the business ecosystems that is populated by “digital components” that evolves / adapts to local conditions with the evolution of its components THE “SOFT” SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH MEDIATES SERVICES & INFORMATION (knowledge) EMPOWERING THE NETWORKING AND THEIR SHARING architecture / structure

What is a Digital Component ? DIGITAL COMPONENTS could be: software components, applications, services, knowledge, business processes and models, training modules, contractual frameworks, laws ....... and hopefully a mixture of all these ANY USEFUL IDEA, EXPRESSED IN A LANGUAGE (formal or natural), DIGITALISED AND LAUNCHED ON THE NET, WHICH CAN BE PROCESSED (by computers and/or humans) Repres. of service: biz model rev. model comp. model ref. to Ontology formalised knowledge

The innovation ecosystem Derivative work from Salzburg Technical University Digital ecosystem: an o-s, public, distributed, pervasive environm. transport, identification, match (services, knowledge) - spontaneous evolution, adaptation and composition of services, digital content and sw components - embedding knowledge, biz rules, revenue models, ontology...

Economy changes needed infrastructures too Hamburg, Harbour in 1900 Hamburg, Harbour in 2006 The Digital Ecosystem is the transport infrastructure for the services and knowledge Courtesy from DBE project

Conceptual Layers of ecosystems

Conceptual Layers of ecosystems

Conceptual Layers of ecosystems

Conceptual Layers of ecosystems

Conceptual Layers of ecosystems

The innovation ecosystem Economy (business ecosystem) Structural coupling ICT (digital ecosystem) Derivative work from Salzburg Technical University

Digital Ecosystem Dynamic aggregation of ICT-services Digital (ICT) Services ICT service Aggregated Complex, personalised, ICT-services ICT service ICT-SME Inputs ICT service ICT service DE structural services* Rules, models, context Digital Ecosystem infrastrucutre DE structural services, e.g. Accounting Billing Authentication Reputation Decentralized Data Storage Fitness data Needs of ICT solutions, Profile of users, of ICT needs

Digital Ecosystem Dynamic aggregation of final services (and SMEs) ICT service ICT product SME Offers ICT service 1. Networks of SMEs ICT service Digital Services, applications 2. Final Services Aggregated Complex, personalised, Services / Solutions Rules, models, context DEstructural services* Digital Ecosystem infrastructure Needs of ICT services, solutions, profile of providers, profile of users

DE Roadmap - past events Sep 2002 - Discussion Paper End 2002 - Cycle of Workshops Nov 2003 - Start 1st integrated project DBE Apr 2005 - Cycle of Workshops - re-tuning DE concept June 2005 - Position paper - Research vision 2010 July 2005 - Int’l Summer School - EU bisness ecosystems Nov 2005 - WSIS - Int’l interest for EU models Feb 2006 - 2nd digital ecosystem cluster meting - Launch of Innovation Ecosystem Initiative

DE Roadmap - Consultation Process Feb-June : Multi-stakeholder open consultation process for the Innovation Ecosystem Initiative. Defining future innovation and research initiatives in digital ecosystems and priorities (FP7) strategy and instruments for a pan-European deployment and mechanisms for local self-sustainability (CIP; structural funds, nat’l initiatives) roadmap for technical development (needs , …) structures and the bodies needed for the sustainability of the local/regional digital business ecosystems, the global technical interoperability of the technical infrastructure, the definition of a “bill of rights”: the “constitutional” ethical rules and the obligations, of the digital ecosystems the legal framework

The cluster of EU FP7 projects

The Deployment - The International network

DE Roadmap - future June 2006 - Start of 1st NoE on Ecosystems July 2006 - Stakeholder position paper Sept 2006 - Staff working paper on Innovation Ecosystems Nov 2006 - DBE conference Dec 2006 - Initial governance structures End 2006 - 15 Digital Ecosystem Pilot regions, 1st national charter

More information … http://www.digital-ecosystems.org