Presence worldwide

The Software Unit has been involved in very intense international activity for many years. Approximately 30% of its revenue comes from projects contracted abroad in European and Latin American countries, as well as in Asia and Africa.

This international activity takes place through international networks:

• ESI@net Network, with over 40 trading partners, who promote and market their products and services in countries in the 5 continents.
• ESICenters Network, set up by regional centres of excellence for providing services (through transfer agreements) and conducting research and development work. Right now, there are ESICenters in Bulgaria (for Eastern Europe), in Colombia (for the Andean region) and in Egypt (for the Arab world):
  
  ESICenter Eastern Europe (www.esicenter.bg)
  ESICenter SECC (www.secc.org.eg)
  ESICenter Sinertic Andino (www.esicenter-sinertic.org)

Some of the Software Unit’s featured international projects include:

• A partnership project involving companies and the ESICenter SECC (Egypt) to implement software development on an industrial scale.
• International collaboration with different Everis centres of development designed to improve software processes with CMMI.
• Project to introduce re-use techniques into Colombian companies.
• ITMark certification of over 50 companies in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Moldavia, Albania, Macedonia, etc.), through various projects run by the ESICenter Bulgaria.
• ITMark certification of over 30 Colombian companies, through a project run by the ESICenter Sinertic Andino and funded by the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá.
• Partnership project in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Lima and funded by the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, designed to improve software processes with CMMI and ITMark in 90 Peruvian companies in the IT sector.

Framework programmes

The multi-annual Framework Programmes are the main tool of the European Union for funding research. Right now Tecnalia’s Software Unit is involved in the Seventh Framework Programme focussing on actions of research, technology development and demonstration for the period 2007 to 2013 with the aim of turning the European economy into one that is more competitive and dynamic.

ARTEMIS: (European Technology Platform in Advanced R&D on Embedded Intelligent Systems)

ARTEMIS is a European technology platform geared towards embedded systems, and Tecnalia is a member of its Steering Committee. It provides a vision, mission, aims and strategy for research, technology and innovation on a European level within embedded systems.

NESSI: Networked European Software and Services Initiative

NESSI is the European platform devoted to Software and Services. It embodies the strategic mechanism by which ICTs can be taken advantage of and exploited worldwide by applying innovative technologies that all the economic sectors can benefit from. The Software Unit participates in various Working Groups.