HI. TECH
Clear vision would help erase confusion surrounding Hawai'i's high-tech industry

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	Hawai'i technology on public radio Hear The Advertiser's John Duchemin and the latest Hawai'i technology-related news every Wednesday on Think Tech Hawai'i, 5 to 6 p.m. on Hawai'i Public Radio KIPO-FM 89.3, with hosts Jay Fidell, Laurie Akau, Don Mangiarelli and Gordon Bruce. TOMORROW: Think Tech will examine the technology bills before the Hawai'i Legislature. A live audience will sit in on the discussion, which will feature state Sen. David Ige, chairman of the Committee on Science, Art and Technology, and Rep. Brian Schatz, chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Business Concerns. Seating begins at 4:30 p.m. Reservations required. Call 955-8821.

Much has been said about the potential of the "technology industry" to save Hawai'i from becoming entirely economically dependent on tourism. With the long-term decline of military spending and the dissolution of the plantation economy, backers of a technology industry see it as a way to buffer the economy against too heavy a reliance on tourism.

Comparatively little has been said, however, on exactly what high technology is, and how it could fit in Hawai'i. Vague ideas revolve around university research, biotechnology, the military, agriculture, software, telecommunications, digital media, astronomy and more. During the Cayetano administration, frequent government reports would wax eloquent about the state's potential in each of these areas.

But what do these words mean? It's easy to say one supports "technology," and who wouldn't? It's a neat-sounding word that evokes visions of beeping robots, highly paid programmers, and mild-mannered professors in lab coats fiddling with beakers.

But it's hard to figure out how to support technology in Hawai'i without understanding what's going on, who's doing what, and how it fits with what people are doing elsewhere. The Cayetano government's reports usually skirted these difficult questions.

The failure to lay out specific goals, missions and targets has been the central flaw in "high-tech Hawai'i's" efforts to articulate a vision for itself. In attempting to create an industry from raw cloth, technology backers have fallen too often into the trap of oversimplification.

Even the Hawai'i Technology Trade Association, the main "tech industry" lobby group, has always been fuzzy on the issue of who and what it represents. The group's Web site says its mission is "to grow the technology industry in Hawai'i by fostering and facilitating a healthy ... environment for Hawai'i's technology companies."

The HTTA would thus characterize the technology industry as an easily defined system of companies that revolve around a common set of motives — much like the tourism industry's hotels, airlines, retailers and charter boats all want to see more visitors spending more money.

In reality, the Hawai'i companies thought of as "high-tech" are a disparate bunch scattered across a vast spectrum of industries. Their goals sometimes overlap, but often are entirely different, and sometimes in direct conflict. To call them a unified industry is illogical and can even lead to policy problems.

For instance, the 2002 chairman of HTTA, Tareq Hoque, used his chairmanship to ardently campaign for removing restrictions on "noncompete" clauses that prevent employees from taking trade secrets to a new employer. Hoque, who has expertise in managing communications equipment companies, saw noncompetes as restrictive for the development of his industry.

But a Hoque-backed bill in the 2002 Legislature to weaken noncompete laws was opposed by other "high-tech" employers — particularly by military research contractors, who often undertake classified projects and see noncompete agreements as vital to maintaining their edge. The bill was killed in Senate committee.

It's high time to break down the Hawai'i high technology industry into more manageable chunks — groups of companies that actually are in similar businesses, are affected by similar factors and have similar reasons for being in Hawai'i.

During the next several weeks, this column will try to analyze the outlook for some of the key areas within the Hawai'i tech community. We hope readers will come away with an appreciation for the many separate industries that make up high-tech Hawai'i — and realize why policies referring to a unified "technology industry" are largely pointless.

Reach John Duchemin at jduchemin@honoluluadver tiser.com or 525-8062.