Simon Hendery: Geek show hints at tech recovery

Valuable economic data gathered in Auckland this week - a sampling of the per-square-metre concentration of geeks at a particular conference venue - provides further evidence the worst effects of the financial crisis may be behind us.

About 2100 technology professionals descended on SkyCity for Microsoft's annual Tech Ed event, the country's largest IT industry conference.

Given attendees pay up to $1800 each for the pleasure of being at Tech Ed, the head count provides an interesting insight into how the tech sector is faring.

Numbers had been swelling year-on-year earlier in the decade, but this year registrations were on a par with last year, and that, says Microsoft NZ, was a pretty good result.

The company's director of developer and platform strategy, Scott Wylie, pointed out that some conference organisers were reporting event numbers down 20 to 40 per cent this year as corporate training budgets melted away in the recession.

So for IT businesses to still be shelling out for Tech Ed at the same level as last year was pleasing, he said.

Admittedly, further analysis of the Tech Ed attendance data shows a bit of shakiness in the IT sector. Last year the event sold out well ahead of time whereas this year the welcome sign remained out throughout the lead-up.

Microsoft also threw in a little sweetener to encourage registration: some geek bait in the form of a cut-price offer on a notebook PC, complete with the company's new Windows 7 operating system and a pre-release version of its Office 2010 software. All 500 units were quickly snapped up.

Wylie says the fact attendance at the event didn't drop off this year is certainly a positive sign for the state of the local technology industry.

Software developers attend Tech Ed to sit in on specialist training classes, and their continued attendance suggests the industry is still in reasonable heart because it is still placing a high value on training.

And if there were any Tech-Eders who might have had second thoughts about that investment, they were given an early pep talk on the first morning of the three-day gathering.

In his opening address, Communications and IT Minister and former radio industry entrepreneur Steven Joyce said that if he was starting out in business again today he would choose IT over the glamorous world of broadcasting because IT was an area that offered New Zealand so much potential.

"You people are out in front of it," he said. "Your country needs you to succeed. We need your companies to get out there, take on the world and beat them."