The idea for the collaboration was first put forward by Gordon Cameron of Sun Microsystems. It was developed and jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the industry, supported by the Scottish Executive and ScotlandIS, the Scottish software industry trade association.
According to Stac, the new initiative will increase business opportunities for the sector, by enabling them to work more closely together to provide integrated software solutions to business. Smaller companies at the cutting edge of ideas will benefit by working with larger companies and being able to access new markets. Previously they might have had difficulty attracting the attention of the global players.
The collaboration aims to capitalise both on the breadth of expertise amongst the smaller Scottish software companies and on the strength of multinationals with Scottish bases.
A web site will provide the focal point for companies wishing to access the Stac. It will also showcase the initiative and the comprehensive knowledge base of Scottish technology that it represents.
Stac will initially work on opportunities in the Pervasive Learning and Communications Technology sectors. Further developments are likely to include other specific industry sectors such as healthcare, e-learning, energy and biotech.
In announcing the launch at the Scotsoft Conference in Edinburgh yesterday, Mr Wallace said:
"We believe Stac to be unique - the first collaboration network of its kind, that will provide a strong brand and powerful marketing tool for Scottish software and e-business products at home and abroad."
"The larger companies can benefit by knowing which companies in Scotland have the ideas they need, where previously they might have had to shop further afield. All benefit from a greater awareness of what is happening elsewhere in the Scottish software sector and from sharing ideas."
See: Scottish technology and Collaboration web site
