CHINA> Special Reports
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CHINA> Special Reports
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Outliving the competition key to surviving in the economic downturn
By Song Hongmei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-10 15:33 Both Li and Gao are clear as to the mutual benefits provided by the software park and its symbiotic relationship with the city. Whilst Li says: "Dalian aims to be a leading city in global software outsourcing industry," Gao agrees, adding: "The DLSP will without a doubt play a crucial role in the city achieving this goal.'
As well as its responsibilities to the city, the DLSP is also very attentive to the needs of the businesses based within its confines, as Gao says: "We like to see ourselves as more than just a landlord." As well as simply providing the premises for businesses to operate from, the park also provides its clients with a range of additional services, including staff recruitment and training, assistance in navigating local and national regulations and advice on investment and business solutions. The park is also the setting for an annual software and information service outsourcing conference, aimed at ensuring its tenants stay abreast of the latest industry developments and trends. In its dealings with Cisco, for example, the park's management provided office premises and assisted in the recruitment of employees. This saved the company both time and money when the IT giant formally launched its Global Senior Service Support Center last October. With many of the DLSP's tenants affected by the economic downturn - 88 percent, according to one particularly pessimistic survey - its management team is considering innovative approaches to supporting those most badly hit. To this end it has offered to slash air-conditioning costs and provide cut-price office furniture. Through these initiatives - and several similar gestures - the DLSP is seeking to boost "at risk" businesses and provide them with space for new developments. Established in 1998 on a patch of unwanted wasteland in Dalian's western suburbs, the park has now been transformed into a sprawling business community that is home to nearly 600 companies. The park has now secured long-term contract with companies such as Intel, IBM and HP, to name just three of the 40 Fortune 500 firms that are now based there. As the software park continues to growth, it has begun to expand its interests beyond Dalian. The DLSP is now operating business parks in Wuhan, Suzhou and Tianjin, and representation offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Japan. Returning to his opening theme, Gao says: "So downturns are not necessarily a bad thing. The 'fittest' firms have the chance to prove their resilience - largely by outliving their competition."
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