European Software Institute moves into Australia - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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European Software Institute moves into Australia

By Stephen Withers, ZDNet Australia
February 13, 2004
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/European-Software-Institute-moves-into-Australia/0,139023166,139116126,00.htm

The latest node in the European Software Institute's international network of centres of software excellence opened in Melbourne yesterday. ESI Centre Australia, a partnership with Software Engineering Australia, was developed with the aid of AU$50,000 in Victorian government funding.

"For the first time, Australian software companies have access to products and services that are of an international standard, have been fully tested and are directed at SMEs," said Nathan Brumby, CEO of Software Engineering Australia.

Noting scepticism about the Australian industry's ability to compete with its overseas counterparts, Brumby said the ESI Centre Australia will help position it as an active player in international markets thorough the promotion of best practices in software process improvement and the delivery of internationally recognised models such as CMMI.

Information and Communication Technology Minister, Marsha Thomson, said "The Centre's location in Melbourne will give local developers direct access to the European Software Institute network and to its world-renowned specialists in software improvement," adding, "The European Software Institute's decision to grant SEA the right to represent it in Melbourne speaks volumes for Victoria as a global ICT destination".

The Victorian government previously announced a scheme to subsidise the costs faced by local SMEs in achieving CMMI accreditation.

The other global ESI centres are located in Bilbao (Spain), Guadalajara (Mexico), Shanghai (China), Sophia (Bulgaria) and Rio Grande Do Sul (Brazil).

Manu Prego, managing director of the European Software Institute, said an Australian partnership was necessary to ensure the global network was complete. -We saw much value in forming ESI Centre Australia as a link into the South East Asia/Pacific region."