Butler bros seek to rally IT industry

Former Telecom mobile general manager Martin Butler and his brother, Neil, owner of Wellington software firm Optimation, have released a "five-point plan" that they say could help the New Zealand ICT industry capitalise on the economic downturn and deliver benefits to the economy.

Martin Butler left Telecom last month after it appointed American Paul Hamburger as director of mobile.

He says he is a "passionate believer in ICT in New Zealand" and the time of change brought about by the credit crunch is an opportunity for the industry.

Neil Butler recently handed over the day-to-day running of Optimation, which employs 200 staff, to former Gen-i Australia boss Rhoda Holmes.

He says businesses overseas may be more willing to consider technology solutions developed in New Zealand now, than they would during a boom.

"We applaud National's focus on infrastructure development and see our national ICT infrastructure as a critical enabler that can help us turn 'lemons into lemonade'," Martin Butler says.

The brothers say New Zealand's IT environment is "characterised by a number of largely sub- scale firms looking to compete on the New Zealand and world stage".

They are calling on the Government to help reverse the trend toward systems being hosted in datacentres overseas, perhaps by acting as an anchor tenant for a New Zealand hosting centre.

They have also called on the Government to support investment in mobile as well as fixed-line infrastructure, do away with the demand that Telecom migrate customers off the PSTN on to its new next-generation IP network by a fixed date, and to chart a course toward deregulation.

"Our objective is to spark some debate. We think it is time for some fresh thinking," Martin Butler says.

- © Fairfax NZ News