Digital media innovation is steering Cyberport, Hong Kong's IT flagship, towards its goal of positioning the city as the leading information technology hub in Asia Pacific.
Four years after its launch, Cyberport has settled into a niche incubating digital content start-ups and brokering deals for international business matching. In addition to its operational success, Cyberport, a privately managed commercial enterprise of the Hong Kong Government, has emerged as a role model for private-public sector partnerships.
"The business model works," says Nicholas Yang, CEO of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited. "The successful integration of technology, people and business in a high-tech community has been achieved by Cyberport via its state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure, the set-up and operation of facilitation platforms including our Digital Media Centre, IncuTrain Centre, iResource Centre and Wireless Development Centre, and the formation of a strategic cluster of companies. Cyberport practices what it preaches, finding innovative ways to create business models in a broadband connected world."
It wasn't an easy road. When Cyberport opened in 2002, the effects of the dotcom bubble bust were still being felt around the world. In 2003, SARS hit Hong Kong, and nearly half of Cyberport's residential units, developed to sustain the project, were sold at or below cost.
Profits reinvested
Today, the business has turned around and under Mr Yang's leadership, has been cash flow positive since 2006/07. Its profits, increasing year on year, are used to benefit the development of local IT and digital content industries.
The 24-hectare Cyberport site has developed into an intelligent community consisting of nearly 100 companies including Microsoft, PCCW, Telstra-CSL, Federal Express and DDB Worldwide, the five-star Le Meridien Cyberport hotel, a retail arcade and luxury residential precinct.
More importantly, Cyberport has grown in reputation. Prestigious international industry events such as the annual Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum and the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum draw industry professionals, investors and entrepreneurs from around the globe. Last summer, Cyberport also hosted the first Game On exhibition in Asia, showcasing the best of computer gaming culture and development in the world.
Mr Yang says these international events are part of Cyberport's responsibility to inject new perspective and help bring ideas to fruition. "As the leading information technology and digital entertainment flagship, Cyberport has an important public mission to facilitate solutions and impetus necessary for the healthy growth of IT and digital content businesses."
Key support platforms
Cyberport has four key facilitating platforms, including the Digital Media Centre, a state-of-the-art digital multi-media creation facility providing services, software and hardware support to content developers, multimedia professionals, SMEs and students interested in the digital entertainment industry.
The iResource Centre is a knowledge base for reference material, technical bulletins, statistical data, clip art, 2D/3D computer graphics, international standards and more. The Wireless Development Centre was established as a regional wireless and mobile applications hub in Asia Pacific, attracting investments and talents from around the world. Cyberport's IncuTrain Centre incubates companies in the digital entertainment and digital multimedia industries of Hong Kong, with initial focus on digital game and film animation.
"The world is becoming ever more flat and quickly evolving due to the development of broadband internet and mobile technology. Digital media and digital entertainment will become a very important part of our daily living," Mr Yang said.
Forging into the future
"In the future, consumers will be able to access any information and communicate with anyone at anytime and from anywhere. The broadband network will become more intelligent to deliver highly personalised services and experiences to consumers. All of these will bring about significant lifestyle changes as well as new business models.
"Cyberport will continue its efforts to facilitate the IT and digital content industry development in light of such exciting and evolving changes. We are trying to demonstrate how an intelligent community can improve our lives and accelerate business value. This is our goal at Cyberport. We are not quite there yet, but I believe that Cyberport will eventually prove itself to be a great concept."
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