I was at home on Saturday afternoon when the phone rang.

“Hello, I am with your broadband provider”

“Really? Who is my broadband provider?”

“I am your broadband provider”

“Yes, but who do you work for? Surely you know? Are you with Virgin?”

“Yes…I am with Virgin”

“That’s odd, because I’m not”

Click brr…..

I know the score. You ask for my email address, you send me a link to “check my connection is working”. What happens when I click on that link if very bad for me indeed. No-one is going to fall for that, right?

That evening I mentioned the incident to my friends and was amazed to hear how many of them would have innocently fallen for the same con. Are we in the computing industry guilty of assuming our knowledge of online safety to be indicative of wider trends?

This is the thrust of last week’s report into Malware and Cybercrime by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which you can read here.

Despite the high media prominence of what the report calls “large scale attacks on companies or government agencies which could constitute a threat to national security”, the  report correctly notes that majority of cyber crime(and the biggest risk thereof) remains the “less dramatic” household kind caused by “casual infections and unfortunate happenstance”, an issue only going to increase in importance both for a government planning for service delivery which is “digital by default”  and more generally as more and more of the UK’s economic activity moves online.

The committee believes the best defence against online crime is “more knowledgeable computer users”, calling for the government to undertake a “prolonged awareness raising campaign” to “increase public understanding of personal online security”. 

This doesn’t mean than we in the industry don’t all have a role to play in this, and Sunderland Software City certainly plans to factor more online safety education into our future community engagement activities.

There are however, some more profound implications for our industry that the report hints at, which I will leave in the committee’s own words:

“It would be possible to impose statutory standards on software sold within the EU similar to those imposed on vehicle manufacturers, but we would prefer a solution based on self-regulation.

“However, the industry must demonstrate that any proposed solution would be an effective way forward and that voluntary commitments would provide sufficient incentive for the industry to improve security in a fast-moving competitive marketplace.

“In the event that the industry cannot demonstrate an effective self-regulatory model, we recommend the government investigate the potential for imposing statutory standards”.

I’m not personally of the view that regulation is necessarily something to be feared - it’s possible that the right sort of regulation can even improve businesses by challenging them to meet the highest standards.

On the other hand, our industry’s key strengths are being fast-moving, responsive and inventive, and few of us would ever argue that the one thing our industry needs more paperwork. 

If we want our to ensure our industry remains free of these kind of obligations, we must be aware that they may be on the horizon, and we need to rise to the challenge Parliament is setting us.

It’s in our hands to ensure that our industry remains in our hands.

South Shields-based planmyfood is an online nutrition planner designed for people whose health could be improved by healthier eating.

More than 20 million people in the UK have a health condition that could be improved with better nutrition management. These conditions include diabetes, raised cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and eating disorders.

planmyfood analyses the nutritional content of meals to create user-friendly, daily nutrition guidance, either for individuals or for people having to care for others. The program tells people if their meals are within guidelines for their medical condition or diet.

The internet-based system also allows subscribers to keep their diet and nutrition on-track wherever they are during the day; at home, in the office or out and about, and subscribers also get advice, support and recipes from an online community of other users.

The software was created by founder Paul Dayan to help a family-member battling an eating disorder. Paul also uses the product himself after being diagnosed with raised cholesterol. 

Paul said:

”At this time of year a lot of people are feeling like they overdid it over the festive period and are making their annual doomed attempt to be healthier this year with gym memberships they’ll barely use and diets that just won’t work.  

“Unlike traditional diet planners, planmyfood doesn’t just focus on slimming and weight loss. It’s about good nutrition leading to good health. It puts people in control of their diet and promotes real and sustainable behavioural changes that lead to long-term health improvements.  You can use planmyfood to Eat well, Get well, Stay well” 

planmyfood is currently offering a free 5-day trial to new users. Existing subscribers can also add up to 5 family members to their account for as little as 56 pence per week.

 If you read the papers today you might think the outlook is pretty bleak for Sunderland, with think tank Centre for Cities again naming the city amongst the five “most likely to face real challenges in 2012”.

I’m not going to lie to you: London – named on Centre for Cities “cities to watch” list – continues to wield more economic power than Sunderland. 

But the truth is, Sunderland isn’t a city facing challenges so much as a city meeting them.

Several years ago, Sunderland identified software as an industry with the potential to be at the heart of the city’s economic rebirth, and took action to make it happen .

Today, the North East’s growing software industry has been estimated to have a value in excess of £250m and its achievements are not just recognised at home, but around the World.  Not only can Sunderland boast a growing number of high-performing software companies (more than 60 at the last count) the city is developing a global reputation for excellence in software, with Sunderland-made software being used today in all five continents.

Growing software companies need new recruits, meaning increasing job opportunities in the sector both for the “knowledge workers” Centre for Cities would tell you we don’t have, and in less technical but no less important support roles like sales and administration. 

Having such a diverse range of world class software businesses on their doorstep is great for other businesses too – giving them the tools to increase efficiency and productivity and to save money. 

Some points the Centre for Cities makes do ring true. When they say Sunderland has a “weak urban core” they’re right – the city centre remains economically underpowered. But Sunderland is tacking that head on with the opening of the Sunderland Software Centre this summer – supporting over 300 new jobs and bringing 70 new companies to the city centre.

Does Sunderland face a challenging 2012? Of course it does, everywhere does!

But is Sunderland meeting those challenges?  In my view, yes it is.

85% of people in the UK with Autism are currently unemployed as the condition can make it very difficult for them to maintain mainstream employment.

Some of the characteristics of the condition, however, can make people with Autism exceptionally talented software testers – a skill being put to good use by new North East social enterprise Autism Works.

The Newcastle-based organisation - which offers software and website testing services to clients across the region- is staffed almost-entirely by analysts who have Autism - the first company in England (and one of only a handful around the World) to be run this way.

Managing Director Peter Macdonald said: “People on the Autism spectrum can make brilliant employees; diligent, loyal, precise and very often highly-intelligent. What is more, their attention to detail, methodical approach to tasks and frequent enjoyment of repetitive processes can make them exceptional software testers.

 “On the other hand the condition makes it a major challenge for them to find and keep jobs, especially as traditional recruitment processes and workplace environments can often be very alien to them.  

“As a result, only 15% out of 400,000 adults in the UK with Autism are currently in paid employment, despite the fact that many are willing and capable of holding down a job with just a few reasonable adjustments to the workplace.

“We give them the training and environment they need to thrive – which does wonders for their self-respect and independence, while also offering a world class service to our customers.”

Offering testing for usability, regression, functionality and compatibility, Autism Works is being supported by Sunderland Software City, the regional initiative supporting and driving the growth of the North East software industry.

Sunderland Software City’s John Hart said: “The Autism Works story is little short of inspirational. They offer a very valuable service at a comparatively low cost while at the same time having a hugely positive impact on society, and we’re proud to supporting them in their development.”

Autism Works is a non-profit trading subsidiary of North East charity Education and Services for People with Autism (ESPA) Chief Executive Leslie Lane said:  “ESPA does a great deal in providing residential, education and support services for people with Autism in the North East, but achieving long term employment for people with Autism has always been difficult.  

“Autism Works proves, that with some reasonable, and often very simple, work place adjustments, people on the spectrum can make highly effective employees.”

The Imagine Cup is an international competition where students and recent graduates compete in teams of four to solve some of the world's toughest problems through technology. Some of last year's entries were projects that reduced road deaths, minimised malaria outbreaks and helped the visually impaired. There was even a forest fire awareness game.

Imagine Cup North East - Are you up for a challenge? from Codeworks Ltd on Vimeo.

We want North East Students to show the world their skills in this internationally acclaimed competition, and to help you reach the top, we will be organising some smashing events along the way, giving you the knowledge you need to compete, and the mentoring to succeed.

If you are interested in technology and are a student , school or college, based in the North East then make sure you sign up for this unique opportunity or find out more at www.imaginecupnortheast.co.uk

How many software developers can you fit in an electric car? 

That’s the question Sunderland-based developers Guroo answered when they crammed their entire company into the same Peugeot iON. 

The 8-man team provide online functional skills resources and training aimed at improving the learning of 14-19-year-olds in maths, English and ICT to more than 700 schools, colleges and training providers nationwide.  The car will help lower the costs of staff visiting local customers while also doing their bit for the environment.

Managing Director Jonathan Wells said: “With around so many training providers, schools and colleges using Guroo, our staff need to be one the road an awful lot, and we were worried about the cost to the company and the cost to the environment.

“With parking and charging free for electric cars in the area and the cost of fuel rocketing, an electric car is a great piece of business, and with the North East set to lead the way on electric car production starting next year, it’s a great way to show our regional pride too.

“This year saw Guroo shortlisted for a national technology award and we launched Guroo 2.1 to a very receptive market , so we’re hoping in future we’ll need to get a much bigger car if we want to get everyone in!”

Web-based application Mesma – developed by a Gateshead company of the same name – takes the Ofsted-driven self-assessment process which colleges and training providers undertake annually into their activities to a new level of co-ordination and focus.

Memsa Director Louise Doyle, founder of the award-winning Bright Blue Training & Advisory and formerly a director with Sunderland College said: “Self evaluation is becoming increasingly important in this sector and we believe that Mesma can have a huge impact on ensuring providers continually improve the quality of the education and training they provide.  

“We don’t just work for the learning and skills sector, we work in it, and In our own experience we have found all the emphasis can end up on producing self-assessment reports rather than using them to drive improvements and engaging staff at all levels of the organisation in that process.

“Mesma allows providers to do this in a way that traditional word processed solutions do not. It is designed to work equally as well for the smallest of work-based providers through to the largest, such as colleges.

“With Mesma, self assessment doesn’t need to be testing and staff can concentrate on enhancing their delivery, not cutting and pasting documents” 

Mesma is already being used by Zodiac Training and Access Training, and is planned to be rolled out to Key Training and Sunderland College by the end of the year.

Malcolm Armstrong, Managing Director of Access Training said: Malcolm Armstrong: “As an advocate of the value self evaluation brings to our learners and employers we were only too happy to implement Mesma in our internal self assessment process. Its early days but I can already see the potential value as it gives me oversight of all improvement activity across the organisation and its impact.”

Self Assessment Reports (SAR) into amongst other things, learner achievement, safeguarding young people and community & employer engagement provide a cornerstone of the Ofsted inspection process, giving the inspectors an understanding of improvements made since the previous inspection and the provider’s plans for the future.

Colleges and training providers have often complained the process can be time-consuming, difficult to co-ordinate, and does not always drive change in the organisation, as the emphasis is on compiling the report as opposed to seeing through the actions which arise from it.

Aimed initially at independent training providers and further education colleges, Mesma allows educators to:

• Complete their SARs easily and efficiently using a step-by-step template which ensures no information is left out.

• Create an easy-to-read Improvement Plan that links directly to their Self-Assessment Report

• Produce reports setting out year on year trends and safely store relevant documents.

Mesma is being assisted by Sunderland Software City, the regional initiative supporting and driving the growth of the North East software industry.

David Dunn, Chief Operating Officer of Sunderland Software City said: “Some of the most successful software has been created by professionals dedicated to improving their industries and Mesma’s extensive experience in the education and skills sectors has given them a great insight in the needs of colleges and training providers, leaving them with a very interesting product which is sure to have a hugely positive impact on the way their customers do business.”

The week before last Sunderland Software City hosted a stand at Technology World 2011 - the UK’s largest international technology show - where we showcased a number of North East software companies to hundreds of potential international customers and partners from more than 50 countries.

All of the companies who exhibited with us came away with some promising leads and an improved understanding of opportunities in overseas markets, and we all spoke about how proud we were to be representing the North East software community to such an international audience. 

In his keynote address to the event, Business Minister Vince Cable made what we thought was an absolutely crucial point - “technological innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum”. 

That’s exactly why Sunderland Software City exists: Making sure innovative software companies have everything they need in terms of inspiration, infrastructure, skills, support and connections to thrive internationally, and we asked if it would be possible for Dr. Cable to visit our stand to talk about the Sunderland Software City vision and meet some of the companies responsible for the world class software being developed in the North East. 

Having been told he was leaving straight after his speech, we were very surprised and delighted to see the minister making a beeline for our stand – thanks mainly to the persuasive powers of Saif from Stereografix!

In the end, the Sunderland Software City stand was the only one at the entire event visited by the minister (perhaps you saw us tweet an excited, if grainy cameraphone picture?)

Afterwards we all got talking on the stand about how great it would have been to have had more time to chat to Dr. Cable about the needs of the UK software industry and the growth of the sector in the North East. 

Although this would have been impractical at the event itself, we thought we would take the opportunity to invite the minister to our region at a time of his convenience to hear firsthand about the rapid growth of North East sector and what the companies we work with believe the government needs to do to drive and sustain that growth – so today I’ve written to him to invite him to come and see us.

I’ll let you know what he says when we hear back,

All the best,

Bernie.

Sunderland Software City has received a further £1.86m from the European Regional Development Fund, managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Sunderland City Council is providing the match funding and managing the project together with the North East Business and Innovation Centre.

The Sunderland Software City initiative is developing the knowledge assets and physical infrastructure by providing a wide variety of services aimed at developing and growing the software industry in the North East. 

Communities Minister Baroness Hanham CBE, said: 

“The software sector is extremely competitive and adds significant value to the UK economy.  This worthwhile project will help provide the required support for new business ideas to succeed and also help attract new interest in innovation and technology. By raising awareness of the software sector as an attractive career opportunity Sunderland can help local people train and get local skilled jobs that benefit them and their local communities.

“In order to compete with the growing demands of the software industry it is essential Sunderland Software City continues to grow and invest in order to achieve its ambitious aims and bring a multitude of benefits to the local area.”

Since it started in 2008, Sunderland Software City has helped around 200 companies, including generating nearly 100 new, knowledge intensive jobs, and has supported some 40 businesses to start up in the North East. It has also supported over 130 collaborations between business and the research base to improve performance and innovation.  

This latest investment – phase 2 of the project - will help continue the drive forward in the development of world class software businesses in Sunderland and the wider North East, ensuring that the strategic momentum and gains to date are maintained.  Delivered under five work packages over the next three years, the project will create 366 new software sector jobs and support 340 new and existing software small and medium enterprises.

This latest funding will be used to continue key aspects of the Sunderland Software City Investment Plan, including:

• enterprise development activity; and

• an enhanced and extended business support officer for Sunderland Software Centre.

Investment will also allow new activity to deepen and broaden the service offer and generate increased Gross Value Added from the emerging sub-sector through:

• e-business grants; and 

• access to new technology in a range of publicly-managed business premises for software and software-using companies.

Bernie Callaghan, Chief Executive Officer of Sunderland Software City said: 

“Our mission is to make Sunderland and the wider North East recognised nationally and internationally as the home of software innovation. 

“Although this is a hugely ambitious target, we feel we have made tremendous progress in the last few years and are looking forward to taking the project to the next level.

“This news follows a great deal of hard work behind the scenes between ourselves, Sunderland City Council and the European Regional Development Fund team at the Department of Communities and Local Government and I’d like to personally thank all those involved.” 

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, added:

“The Software City development is a key part of Sunderland’s Economic Masterplan, which sees Sunderland as a front runner in software innovation.

“There is a real partnership approach to the project and I am sure once completed it will prove to be hugely beneficial for the city.” 

Sunderland Software City is an identified innovation connector in the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 programme, bringing together industry research, education, skills development and access to employment based around leading edge facilities. 

The European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme 2007-13 is bringing over £300m into North East England to support innovation, enterprise and business support.  It will help create and safeguard 28,000 new jobs, start 3,000 new businesses and increase the region’s productivity by £1.1bn per annum.

Sunderland is continuing its efforts to be the most digitally connected city in the UK with the creation of a civic cloud computing platform.

Sunderland City Council has signed a deal with IBM to build a new city-wide cloud infrastructure - one of the first of its kind in Europe. 

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "In the current climate, it’s vital that local authorities like us use our own assets to not only improve services but stimulate economic growth for the benefit of the whole city.

“The Sunderland Cloud is a cornerstone of our Economic Masterplan. The new Cloud infrastructure will lay the foundations of an even Smarter Sunderland, one that ensures the city continues to be internationally recognised as a forward thinking city and a prime location for inward investment.”

The Cloud will provide a low cost, accessible and secure network for use across Sunderland. One of a number of initiatives being implemented, it will allow residents to access services and information in a quicker and easier way, making the council more responsive.

Businesses are set to benefit from increased capacity and capabilities without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel or licensing new software, and local companies are also expected to make use of the platform.

Paul Woolston, Chair of the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Sunderland is very much at the forefront of developing and growing the software industry in the North East and this is the latest example of partnership working which will create building blocks for economic growth. It raises our game to an international level and will assist the whole of the North East to attract investment and create opportunities for businesses across all sectors."

Lynn Ferguson, IBM Industry Executive for Local Public Services, said: “As well as providing an infrastructure for the provision of services to the council, the Sunderland City Cloud deployment is designed as a platform with flexibility to meet the needs of many other city constituents.

“For example, it will be used to deliver cost effective services to enable the growth of small and medium-sized businesses and hence to help facilitate economic growth in the city.

“The creative thinking behind the use of this technology, demonstrates Sunderland City Council’s vision and determination to drive innovation across the city.”

More information about the Sunderland Cloud is available here.