By Ian Jones, 22 June 2000 00:05
COMMENT You cannot mimic the Silicon Valley phenomenon in Europe. Too many nations with too many cultures, plus a damning attitude to failure, will always render any attempt to copy the Californian dream utterly futile. It's a black view of the future on this side of the pond, but it's one that was aired by more than one 'expert' at this week's IDC Ecommerce Forum in Paris. Even OECD director Graham Vickery claims the sociological diversity of Europe will ensure that Silicon Fen, Glen and Sentier remain poor relations to the home of Ellison, Grove and McNealy. But surely this is to dismiss ourselves too easily? What about 3G wireless technology and beyond? Last time we looked at a map, the Scandinavian hotshots at the vanguard of the mobile world were very much in Europe. And how about ARM and Psion? Two great forward-thinking companies that have their US rivals running scared. We may not have our built up our own Intel, Oracle or Sun, but Europe really is a hotbed for some of the most creative minds in the world. And perhaps that's where the real difference lies. Undoubtedly some great technologies have emerged from Silicon Valley, but that's not what the IT capital of the world is about. What it is about, is creating wealth. It creates wealth for those who work there and, more importantly, for the Wall Street investors who pump money into their ventures. In Europe the story is different. Our technology is at least as good as anything that originates from the fabled West Coast. It's just that it flourishes in a different way. Just because Silicon Fen has maintained its tight links with impoverished academics at Cambridge University doesn't make the approach wrong. And that some of the greatest minds choose to work as regular employees for Nokia or Ericsson doesn't make them wrong either. Lets be happy being different, and not fall victim to the Nasdaq disease where money is everything, and talented scientists and software engineers are just a means of getting it.
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