Finding Services and Business Models for the Next-Generation Networks

The case of Almira Labs

The Spanish regional government’s current conviction about the benefits of supporting the creation and development of New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) is quite evident. An enterprising culture, training, funding, infrastructure and assessment services compose the entrepreneurship field and reveal a traditional strategic approach which has been followed for the last few years (see Figure 6), even more so when the consolidation undergone by science and technology parks is taken into account (MTI, 2007; European Commission, 2006; 2003; Rubiralta, 2003; Belso, 2004; GEM Project, 1999; Butchart, 1987).
This scheme shows a multidisciplinary reality which is shaped as inputs for the creation of a support plan for entrepreneurship and, more precisely, for what turns out to be the most attractive segment of companies for most regions – that is, NTBFs.
Thus, the reality of the NTBFs is among the strategic priorities of regional governments due to the impact on competitive updating around business networks and their potential for generating employment.

1. New technology-based firms

The conceptual framework and the characterisation of the collective of NTBFs have already been widely covered and studied (Bueno, 2003; Fariñas and López, 2006; Storey and Tether, 1998; Shearman and Burrell, 1988; Bollinger et al., 1983), in a dual perspective: on the one hand, the differentiation derived from the moment or stage in which the business project is, and on the other hand, the widespread consideration of the resources and capacities
available, which involves the management of both the tangible and intangible, and the internal and external assets.



Fig. 6. Conceptual framework of the GEM Project for the analysis of the enterprising phenomenon Source: GEM Project (1999)
In turn, the temporal component is influenced not only by the traditional sequence idea– business plan–start–consolidation (Veciana, 2003), but also by the specific context derived from the sector to which the firm belongs.
In this case, the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) shows a clearly differentiated profile, especially regarding its maturation period and terms of supply. Undoubtedly, we face a reality of quick incubation that involves a rapid strategy creation with a clear orientation and the configuration of a dynamic organisational development (McQuaid, 2002).
Within the frame of ICTs, the life cycle of a new project shows a special, almost unique profile, especially for the following reasons:

• 
  knowledge globalisation allows any firm or interest group with basic academic knowledge to have access to the latest novelties in applied engineering through the internet
  
• 
  both barriers to information transmission and the difficulty of intellectual property registration increase investment risks
  
• 
  the existing difficulty of establishing a project with wide objectives within a long-term period
  
• 
  the low-cost competition from developing countries
  

All these factors force ICT business projects to gather the following basic features:

• 
  a highly specialised niche with scarce competition
  
• 
  an enterprising professional team highly specialised in the field and with previous experience
  
• 
  the strategy of short-term projects/services and products, and R&D as a differentiating factor for medium- and long-term survival
  
• 
  highly qualified personnel to assure productivity
  
• 
  short time-to-market as a way to replace traditional methods of intellectual protection (entering the market first becomes a key factor).
  

In general, ICT projects appear as extensions of the entrepreneurs’ work in previous companies, discarded working lines, etc., taking into account a small set of degree projects or PhDs studies.
The characteristics mentioned so far make the life cycles of projects extremely intense and concentrated within a short time period. Their average life oscillates between three and five years, and the most common objective is the sale of the product or service (and even the company) to a larger competitor, in order to apply the capital gain to a new business idea.

2.