MICROSOFT TAKEOVER target Yahoo "is in a lot better shape" than the media is giving it credit for, according to Silicon Valley investor Guy Kawasaki. John Collinsreports.
Mr Kawasaki, who was asked to become chief executive of Yahoo by one of its early venture capital investors, said Yahoo's business was much more diverse than that of Google which is purely predicated on online advertising.
Addressing the Irish Software Association's (ISA) annual conference in UCD yesterday, the high-profile technology author and blogger said the decision not to take the Yahoo job for family reasons had probably cost him $2 billion (€1.3 billion) in stock options.
In a separate presentation, Anthony Williams, author of Wikinomics, gave several examples of how new web technologies are enabling new business models.
"We are seeing a democratisation of value creation on the internet," said Mr Williams. "You don't have to be a . . . programmer to programme the internet."
The association used the event to publicise a survey which it says shows Irish software firms are ruled out of taking part in the Irish public procurement process.
Half the software companies surveyed cited the cost of replying to public sector tenders as the reason they did not participate.
"Most software companies, many of which provide excellent solutions to other countries' public sectors, find it difficult to get contracts in Ireland due to aspects of the procurement process," said Shane Dempsey, director of the ISA.
Mr Dempsey said tender requirements are so rigidly defined, that it is not possible for companies to offer tenders outside of the definitions.
The conference also heard from Jerry Kennelly, who sold Stockbyte to Getty Images for $135 million in 2006, and Ray Nolan, chairman of floatation candidate Web Reservations International.
