From the Y2K bug to the “National Technology Industry”
From the frantic rise – and fall – of the stock markets, to the ongoing digital transformation of Greece, 20 exciting years have passed.
BY DIMITRIS DAFNIS, PRESIDENT, COSMOS BUSINESS SYSTEMS
The end of 1999 and the dawn of 2000 began with the “anxiety” of the “2000 problem (Y2K problem/bug)!” The great challenge of the global technological community was to make existing computers and especially old Mainframes work on 1/1/2000, recognizing the new date of the millennium and not 1/1/1900…Trends such as the Internet and Portals (which later led to the .Com bubble) were at the forefront of current events. At the same time, the frantic rise of Stock Exchanges worldwide and in Greece of course, created a euphoria along with liquidity for the creation of business schemes and development plans in digital technology and communications. In the early 00s there was a breakthrough in the state’s approach to technology with the establishment of the Information Society (IS), the establishment of the first programs to modernize the country’s digital infrastructure through the 3rd CSF and the 2 cycles of the NSRF (digital convergence) and in the early 10s, the Ministry of Digital Policy.
At an international level, the 20 years that began with the advent of the internet, continued with the spread of broadband connections, the implementation of 3 and 4G in mobile telephony and the widespread use of smart devices (from the first iPods to today’s Smart Devices), the creation of the concept of Social Media with first Face Book in 2004/5 and subsequently with all known platforms, the presentation of the first commercially successful tablet on Easter 2010 by Steve Jobs himself, the invention of Cloud Technology as an extension of virtualization, Bitcoins alongside Blockchain technology, Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the creation of international platforms such as Netflix, Airbnb and Uber, is undoubtedly the fastest evolution in world history, of the economy and work, entertainment, education, life of people in general and around the planet.
IT
If there is one thing that we could say was sealed in the 20 years, it is the complete interconnection and homogenization of Information Technology with Telecommunications. The massive and seamless operation of IT is directly intertwined with the ability to interconnect and access computing power, applications and data through network devices, wired or wireless. This convergence of the two “worlds” will completely determine developments in the years to come (Let’s imagine what value a payment system from the phone will have, without a network…)
And Netweek
The appearance of Net Fax and Net Week in the early 20s (in the beginning, in addition to the print version, there was also sending via fax (!) before email) redefined the media technology market, especially if we remember that the printed titles that were circulating at that time no longer exist (RAM, Computer for All, PC Magazine, etc.) and caught the need of the business and organization market for immediate information and the highlighting of current issues with short and focused content. For this reason, Netweek has achieved readership, reliability and penetration in a very difficult commercial market.
The future
Beyond international trends, today a new and very ambitious path is being opened, that of the digital transformation of the country due to the policy announced by the current government and the acceleration caused by the pandemic in combination with EU funds. The programs that have already been included create an opportunity for the National Technology Industry (IT and Telecom), worth many billions of euros and thousands of jobs, which we cannot cover with the existing scientists and technicians. And in fact, the opportunity is not limited to resale, but to the creation of added value in the country. So, to the question of advice to younger executives, I would say unequivocally that the software, systems security and network sectors are the sectors that will reward those who invest in them. And richly so! NW
DIGITAL COSMOGONY!
BY DIMITRIS DAFNIS, PRESIDENT, COSMOS BUSINESS SYSTEMS
In a few days, the roadmap for the next 5 years, the long-awaited “Bible of Digital Strategy”, will be officially announced.
The data is known: Greece is in the penultimate position of the European Commission’s DESI (European Commission -The Digital Economy and Society Index) index (ahead of Bulgaria and behind Romania), an index that depicts the digital maturity of each country in the 28-country Europe.
The index “measures” connectivity, human capital, the use of Internet services, the degree of integration of digital technologies and the volume of public digital services provided.
Through this strategic planning, the Country will finally acquire a digital footprint, which will lead it not only to rise in the rankings, but to radically change every activity and structure of the everyday life of Greeks!
With a budget ranging from 4 to 8 billion, and even front-loaded for contracting until 2023, it is obvious that this is a digital “storm” of projects, which although once completed, we will be talking about a different Country! We will have a Digital Cosmogony! And even with money from the recovery fund and the European Union (NSRF). This is where the difficulties begin. In the best period in terms of absorption, at the end of the NSRF 2007-2013 /15, the state implemented projects worth around €1 billion in 9 years… Now it is called upon to announce, award and contract and implement projects of 8 times greater value, in half the time!
On the other hand, given that the projects are of high added value, software and communications and less equipment, the requirements for specialized human resources and financial resources are enormous. Even to draw up the offers!
The upcoming new reality will require the creation of new forms and collaboration between businesses and professionals in the field.
However, it will also be necessary to fully update the legal framework of Law 4412, to create an observatory for the timely and correct and merit-based drafting of notices that will ensure the public interest, transparency, competition and objective evaluation (without deliberate exclusions) and finally to monitor the completion of the evaluations by committees within tight schedules, in order to reduce the time between the notice and the award from the current 530 days to less than 180. At Cosmos, we are preparing to face this new challenge by increasing our infrastructure, recruiting and training scientific human resources (IT engineers, developers and Consultants) and strengthening our subsidiary Cosmos Consulting, which deals with purely with the production of software and the provision of consulting and Cloud services. However, because the challenge is enormous, we believe that only through alliances with complementary businesses and scientists, will the domestic business community, in collaboration with the state, be able to achieve this great National Goal: the digital modernization of the country and the creation of an international digital technology industry! Here we go!
