Mobility and ICT Limitless Discipline • Simply the Best in ITS • the Intelligent Port Navigation 2.0 • Dutch Smart City • Amsterdam: ICT Hot Spot
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MADE IN HOLLAND MOBILITY AND ICT Limitless discipline • Simply the best in ITS • The intelligent port Navigation 2.0 • Dutch Smart City • Amsterdam: ICT hot spot How Dutch information technology keeps you moving The Dutch way Xxxxxxxx xxxx Photo: Edith Paol Always connected w What information do they access? Whether it’s statistical data or examination questions, the top priority for these w students is having 24/7 access to the Internet wherever w they are. They check their marks online, arrange to meet . friends or share a report. For the Dutch, Internet access h has become as everyday as brushing your teeth. With o l a household broadband penetration of 80%, the la Netherlands ranks second in the world. n d tr ad d e. an com/broadb 2 MADE IN HOLLAND www.hollandtrade.com 3 About this publication, May 2010. Made in Holland, Mobility and ICT is a publication of Agency NL, which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Editor-in-Chief Aimée van Lijf Editing Caroline Boessenkool, Peter Koll, Moniek Robbe Editorial address NL EVD International Made in Holland, PO Box 20105, 2500 EC The Hague, The Netherlands, MADE IN HOLLAND [email protected] Contributors WCIT Amsterdam, Astrin, Connekt, Peter Lips, Frank van den Eijnden, Arnoud Veilbrief, Joost van Kasteren, Marc Mijer, René Didde MOBILITY AND ICT Translation Overtaal Design Kris Kras Design Printing Koninklijke De Swart, The Hague Copyright Articles may be reprinted or reproduced only with acknowledgement of the source: Limitless discipline • Simply the best in ITS • The intelligent port Navigation 2.0 • Dutch Smart City • Amsterdam: ICT hot spot Made in Holland, Mobility and ICT / NL EVD International. No rights may be derived from the contents of this publication. Cover photo NS (Dutch Railroad) www.hollandtrade.com How Dutch information technology keeps you moving 14 Interview “Pretty much limitless” Technology 26 MOBILITY AND ICT report Designed to familiarise you with Who’s driving? the Netherlands, this easy-to-use guide will hopefully also prepare the ground for interesting, new com- mercial contacts. OPEN The quintessential Dutch characteristics of initiative, pragmatism and pioneering spirit go some way to explaining the presence of Dutch companies all over the world. While this publication, Made In the in Holland, may not provide the an- Ask a profes- Holland swers to all your questions regarding spotlight the possibilities and opportunities sional abroad Safe, sustainable, within the ICT sector, it will certainly Secure port On the road serve as an introduction to the key efficient stakeholders. The rest is up to you. 6 22 34 DIRECT NL EVD Interna- 4 Contents 18 Product development 30 Showcase tional, an agency of the Dutch Min- Mobility and ICT Nerve centre New green approach istry of Economic Affairs, operates 6 In the spotlight 20 In business 33 Outsider’s opinion both nationally and internationally, Safe, sustainable, efficient Smart working Ideal testing ground to stimulate and optimise the Dutch 11 News 22 Ask a professional 34 Holland abroad business climate for enterprise. NL Well prepared Secure port On the road EVD International is the gateway to 12 Facts and figures 24 Innovation 38 Meet the Dutch doing business for both Dutch and Nearly everyone online Trains everywhere A taste of Amsterdam foreign entrepreneurs with interna- 14 Interview 26 Technology report 40 Networking tional aspirations. “Pretty much limitless” Who’s driving? You or the chip? 4 MADE IN HOLLAND www.hollandtrade.com 5 In the spotlight Photo: Satellite photo of the Netherlands, by Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente Geoscience A peer into the future – the year 2050 – reveals that 70% of the population will live in cities. Intelligent IT, rooted in geo-information, will be essential in ensuring that all those people, raw materials and goods are always where they need to be. As early as the 17th century, Dutch navigators were already leading the world in cartography. Today, Dutch cartographers and astronomers continue to rank amongst the global leaders. The scope of the discipline’s enormous potential is vast, taking in medical care – including predictions about links between traffic and public health – as well as safety and the environment and transport and public works. The Dutch navigation systems giant TomTom is merely the tip of the iceberg. People on the go Safe, sustainable and efficient transport services are not the exclusive domain of goods: passenger flows may pose even greater challenges whether they are travelling within the city or further afield by train, car or aeroplane. Air passengers are often routed via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which is the world’s third largest airport in terms of transfer passengers. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has made the whole process child’s play: the entire check-in process – from baggage drop-off to seat selection – no longer requires the intervention of airline staff. Everything is done electronically. This made it Photo: HH / Peter Hilz possible for all of the 175,000 passengers to make their flight on the busiest day of the year (29 July 2009). 6 MADE IN HOLLAND www.hollandtrade.com 7 In the spotlight Photo: SNS Bank/Jurriaan Hoefsmit Smart living Some approaches to increasing mobility are surprisingly simple: reduce demand. Everyone stays at home, reduces their carbon footprint and only leaves home for the fun things in life. With the second highest broadband penetration rate in the world, the Netherlands represents the perfect testing ground for this concept: offer all essential services/facilities online. Not only can people telecommute, they can also do their banking and shopping online. For instance, Dutch banks were quick to implement a common online payment method known as iDEAL. Secure logistics As the distribution hub of Europe, the Netherlands has known for years how to maximise the speed and efficiency of transporting goods from A to B. Efficiency is required to minimise waiting times and avoid unused transport capacity. In addition, sustainability and the safety of people and the environment are key priorities. These goals are achieved using tools such as the container scans in Rotterdam, which can identify hazardous cargo in just a few minutes, or logistics information systems, including those of Portbase (see page 22), which enable you to determine precisely what is located Photo: HH / Herman Wouters where at any time of the day. 8 MADE IN HOLLAND www.hollandtrade.com 9 In the spotlight XxxxxxxxNews xxxx Logistical knowledge hub How does the Dutch government plan to take a EUR 25 million investment and generate revenues expected to reach EUR 10 billion by 2020? The answer is it’s putting its money behind logistics innovation. Starting in 2010, the complicated issues faced by a distribution country like the Netherlands, including the efficient organisational structure of hubs, will be addressed as part of the ‘Logistics and Supply Chains’ innovation programme. The Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (Dinalog) focuses on research and the development of knowledge and innovations according to three innovation themes: Cross Chain Control Centres, Service Logistics and Control Function of Main Ports. By 2020, transport movements via the Netherlands will be even more efficient. www.dinalog.nl / [email protected] Well prepared Innovation will enable the Netherlands to secure its economic position, and ICT will serve as the accelerator. The Netherlands is home to Technological Centres of Excellence, including Novay – formerly known as Telematica Instituut – which employs an open network to link companies, knowledge partners and government organisations to bring ICT innovations to life. In addition, the ‘Service Innovation & ICT’ (SII) innovation programme has been launched, the aim of which is to transform the Netherlands into the leading European centre for intelligent information and media services and into the European knowledge centre for financial logistics. This new innovation programme will focus on a wide range of issues, including fully automated invoicing. www.novay.nl / www.agentschapnl.nl Dutch gateway Photo: Eric Bakker. Controlroom Europe Container Terminals, Rotterdam Nearly every household in the Netherlands has a broadband connection. With a penetration rate of 80%, we are second in the world and IT research firm Gartner predicts that 88% of households in the Everything under control Netherlands will have a broadband connection by 2013. This high degree of connectivity reflects the presence of an effective ICT infrastructure in the Netherlands. Research by the Economist Intelligence In such a densely populated country, it is no wonder that the Dutch modes of transport (e.g. waterways, roads Unit (EIU) has revealed that the conditions present in the Netherlands are among the best in the world and railways) are among the busiest in the world. This intensive use demands a high degree of quality – the Dutch for IT firms. Minister for Foreign Trade, Frank Heemskerk, is pleased: “The Netherlands is increasingly infrastructure ranks second in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI). Fortunately, the various modes of acting as the IT gateway to Europe.” The US firm ITA Software, for example, announced that its first transport also function well together. For instance, the brand new National Data Warehouse for Road Traffic Information branch in Europe will be established in Amsterdam. www.ez.nl / www.nfia.nl ensures that all traffic data is exchanged in accordance with the EU specification Datex II, as the premier intelligent traffic management solution. Moreover, combined with geo-information, the market can provide multi-modal travel advice: in the morning, you receive a text (SMS) advising you to “work at home first, leave by car after 9.30 a.m. and take the train back”. Data hub Amsterdam The Dutch capital Amsterdam has been selected as the location for the headquarters of EGI Organisation (EGI.org), the coordinating agency responsible for managing the European Grid Initiative Sharing Space - The smart, multiple and sustainable use of space on a planet, which in the year 2050 will have 9.2 million inhabitants, (EGI).