Branding High on the Agenda at the 4th Outsourcing Summit of the Zhongguancun Software Association, China

Branding High on the Agenda at the 4th Outsourcing Summit of the Zhongguancun Software Association, China

December 19, 2006

    BEIJING, Nov. 23 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
Zhongguancun Software 
Association (Zsoft), an independent body looking after the
interest of the 
5,000 software SMEs in the `Silicon Valley of China', today
announced that 
the 4th Outsourcing Summit of the Zhongguancun Software
Association, held on 
November 23, echoed the growing importance of branding for
Zsoft and member 
companies who are expanding software and service business
internationally, 
with branding becoming a key development point as the
capital city looks 
towards the 2008 Olympics.
    (Logo:
http://211.154.41.99:9080/xprn/sa/200611231224.jpg )
    Bin Yu, President of Zsoft, stated, "China is now
a bright spot in the 
world arena, but there are few in the US IT offshore
sourcing business that 
are aware that Beijing-based Zhongguancun is the brightest
spot.  There is 
now a compelling need for us to support the Chinese
government in a concerted 
effort to brand China and indeed Zhongguancun. 
Professional country branding 
and place branding to increase brand awareness and
perceived value is the 
name of the game to help our member companies compete on an
international 
scale with US software and service outsourcing businesses
that are growing 
amazingly fast." 
    In 2005, Beijing accounted for 39% of China's USD780
million worth of 
software outsourcing business.  According to McKinsey,
total IT service in 
China will grow to USD6.8 billion in 2007. 
    Mr. Kenneth Tsang, Chairman of the newly created
Strategic Branding 
committee of Zsoft, commented, "Country branding is
important as a proxy for 
customers who do not have prior experience with the branded
product.  To many 
in the US, particularly in the second and third tier
cities, `Brand China' 
is an unknown quantity.  For the minority few, who think
they know China, 
most have a preconceived notion of cheap prices, poor
quality and counterfeit 
products. 
    "It is encouraging to see that the situation in
China is evolving.  
Steady improvements are being made across the broad
spectrum throughout IT 
and software businesses.  Zsoft and its members are
advocates of 
competitiveness, high quality, integrity and the
credibility of both software 
and service. Messaging and delivery is of paramount
importance to increase 
the awareness of the Zsoft brand and to change the negative
perception in 
people's mind of China."
    This view was endorsed by Mr. Bin Yu, who added,
"Branding of Zsoft and 
member companies should well serve software outsourcing
businesses to support 
building `Made in China' into a competitive, high quality
and trustworthy 
name; one that the world buyers would be happy to associate
with.
    "I am encouraged to see a silver lining behind the
dark clouds.  There 
is now a welcome awakening among many of the Chinese
boardrooms in that they 
are no longer clouded by the misconception that branding is
simply 
advertising and PR.  With keen insight and studied
intellect, many CEOs and 
entrepreneurs in Chinese software and service companies now
understand and 
believe in the power of brands, and brand equity in
particular.  The days 
when they simply treat their brands as a trademark, one
that is cold and 
lifeless is over.  They now realize the importance of the
three major 
components of Vision, Mission and Brand Promise that make
up the soul of an 
organization, how it can guide and steer the corporation
now, in five years 
time and into the future."
    The famous handshake between Premier Zhou Enlai and
President Richard 
Nixon in 1972 ended decades of estrangement between the US
and China, and 
since then China-American trade has grown, surpassing
USD211.60 billion in 
2005.
    Mr. Yu continued to add, "There are many US
companies wanting to come to 
China but they are deterred by a general lack of knowledge
of the China 
market, its companies and people, and much more so by what
was presented to 
them as mysteries behind the Chinese veil.  Without
connections and a clear 
guide, there is a general lack of adequate trust and
confidence.  The SME US 
companies are not motivated, certainly not sufficiently
enough to make a 
decision to travel some ten thousand miles to have a feel
for the Chinese IT 
and software market, and they still do not realize how much
they can save 
through outsourcing in this part of the world.  Zsoft is
the answer to this 
identified problem for US companies, providing a fast track
for US companies 
to enter China in confidence and with peace of mind.  Our
association will 
establish eight channels connecting the two markets in
areas of `Project', 
`HR', `Communications', `Products', `Branding',
`Consulting', 
`Market Intelligence', and `Venture Capital'.  These
business channels 
will serve an effective purpose for perfect matching and
forging of China-
American partnerships that are essential for
materialization of business 
opportunities.
    Success has been achieved for Japan and Singapore. 
This business model 
is now proven, and we intend to apply this whole-heartedly
from the Zsoft 
platform to help our member companies to open-up the
American market, and 
vice versa for American companies to break new grounds in
the China market," 
concluded Mr. Yu.
    Mr. Tsang went on to finish by saying that, "We
will embark on a 
strategic branding mission in 2007, one that will entail a
reversal of the 
current situation.  Instead of us going out to the US to
look for business 
opportunities, IT outsourcing companies in the US,
particularly those in the 
2nd and 3rd tier cities who do not have a physical presence
in China, will 
take the initiation through our channels.  They will be
strongly motivated to 
come to China for reliable and quality service at a
competitive price."

    About Zhongguancun Software Association
    Zhongguancun Software Association (Zsoft) is a
Beijing-based non-profit 
software association, representing about 5000 software
companies in 
Zhongguancun Science Park (Zpark), the so-called Silicon
Valley in China. 
Zsoft is under the auspices of Zhongguancun Science Park
(ZPARK) 
Administrative Committee, and aims to facilitate the
development of software 
companies in ZPARK. 

    About the Zsoft software outsourcing platform
    On November 8, 2005, Zhongguancun Software Association
(Zsoft) launched 
the Zsoft Software Outsourcing Platform.  The platform
helps software 
companies in Zhongguancun to explore markets and attain
outsourcing orders by 
setting up outsourcing project networks, organizing
outsourcing summits and 
by offering expert consulting service, etc.
    The outsourcing platform functions as the gateway for
international 
software outsourcing service buyers to enter China.  It
creates win-win 
models for both international and Chinese companies through
the information 
platform http://www.zsoft.cn , the four times-a-year
Zhongguancun Software 
Outsourcing Summit, seminars and the one-stop service for
international 
companies to establish business cooperation with Chinese
software vendors.



    For more information, please contact:

     Kenneth Y.K. Tsang, Chairman, 
     Strategic Branding Committee, Zhongguancun
     Tel:   [phone] x20 or [phone]
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 



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