Collaboration between the IT sector and industry in our country is still too small

At the round table ‘How can innovative technologies, digitalization of the economy and society increase competitiveness?’ discussed were Slavko Vidović, director and founder of Infodom, Darko Gvozdanović, e-health manager at Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Željko Pavić, board member of Fina, Darko Liović, CEO of HAMAG-BICRO, Damir Juričić, deputy director at the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness, Mario Kovač, professor at FER, and Ivan Gabrić, CEO of Combis.

– There are good intentions, but I think that the collaboration between the IT sector and industry in our country is still too small – said Kovač in response to a question about the relationship of the ICT sector with other industries and then cited several examples of successful collaboration abroad.

– We must not allow the state to purchase the majority of our IT products, we must not do things as we have done so far, we need disruptive innovations. We must be brave enough to sometimes say openly that some things need to change – he emphasized.

Liović, on the other hand, praised the measures that HAMAG-BICRO is taking to facilitate the business of the ICT sector, especially startups. He particularly highlighted the importance of establishing a venture capital fund worth 20 million euros that will be entirely dedicated to innovative companies, of which as much as 90 percent in our country falls under the ICT sector.

– We still do not have a legal framework for innovative public procurement that would allow the private sector to solve its problems in an innovative way – said Liović, adding that public institutions must detect where the weak points in the system are and how to correct them.

– We viewed ICT as an element of technological prominence before the crisis, but today we have many challenges and a lack of resources, so technology is again turning to increasing efficiency. The challenges ahead of us are great, but we are coping with them and we have a smile on our face – emphasized Ivan Gabrić, noting that the opportunity for our country to become more efficient than others should be sought in the standardization of public administration processes at the EU level.

Pavić emphasized that Fina has invested a lot in people and equipment and that anyone who says that Fina does not participate enough in collaboration with the private sector is mistaken. He believes that merging Apis IT and Fina would be counterproductive because they have been collaborating very closely for the last four years.

Juričić explained that there is room for huge savings in the management of public buildings, citing a figure of 2.5 billion kuna that could remain in the state treasury through smart management.

– We need to ask ourselves whether we need those public buildings on which huge public funds are spent. It is very important to be aware that all buildings are a bag full of risks, and effective risk management is smart management – he said, adding that without ICT, there can be no smart management.

Everyone is running – emphasized Vidović while talking about global competitiveness.

– We are somewhat worse in terms of innovation, we need models, software and hardware alone are not enough. We have phenomenal conditions to do everything ourselves regarding the development of e-government, but we must remember, everyone is running – he reiterated, adding that as a country we often fail in the consistent implementation of the solutions we choose.

Gvozdanović joked that he gets a nervous breakdown when clients ask him for digital solutions in healthcare, ‘does anyone else have that?’

– Some things can certainly be exported and become a good export product. We currently have a good project in Armenia, and many solutions that already exist in our healthcare are just now starting to be sought abroad – he stated, emphasizing that he is in contact with about 15 embassies, some of which help them in making deals abroad.

– We need quality solutions, however, if we are working with complex platforms like national systems, the support of national authorities is very much needed. It helps us a lot when clients receive quality confirmation from public institutions that use our products – he concluded.