This fast-growing hi-tech sector is Scotland's quiet achievement, says Frank Shennan

SCOTLAND may be underestimating the value of one of its fastest-growing sectors both in terms of employment and potential development. The software sector almost quadrupled the value of its exports in six years, according to figures released by Scottish Enterprise last week.

As a distinct industry, it employs more than 5000 people; but some estimates of those employed in software in Scotland are four times that figure. One city alone, Glasgow, produces 500 software engineering graduates a year from its universities.

There are now more than 500 software companies in Scotland, the vast majority of them Scottish-owned. Their combined turnover last year was #419m and that is expected to top #500m next year. This has risen from only #170m in 1989.

Exports are expect to grow even faster: in 1989 the value of exports was only #35m. Last year it was #133m and they are expected to grow to #188m next year. ``That would be a tremendous achievement for a sector of the economy which is often overlooked but which has an increasingly important role to play in broadening Scotland's industrial base,'' says Bob Downes, Director of Industry and Skills at Scottish Enterprise.

``As computers play an ever-increasing role in all aspects of society, the expertise of our software companies can help Scotland compete in the hi-tech markets of the future.''

The potential is large: the European software market is estimated to be worth #45bn a year, four times the value of the electronics or hardware market.

``Software is often overshadowed by Scotland's successful electronics industry, which is much larger,'' says Robin Mair, of Scottish Enterprise's MatchMaker, which helps software companies into international operations. ``But as a separate industry it is 90% Scottish-owned with a high percentage of employees being Scottish software engineering graduates. Companies' needs are changing as the sector matures. We plan to refocus our efforts, providing more help to companies looking for overseas partners, sales leads, agents and distributors, as well as looking more closely at trade missions and exhibitions.''

Next week half a dozen Scottish software companies will leave for Hanover to attend the annual CeBit trade fair, the big gest international exhibition of office, information and telecommunications technology, which is expected to attract 700,000 visitors from around the world.

The vast range of 6000 companies with products on show from more than 60 countries will fill 23 exhibition halls. The catalogue runs to more than 500 pages. Last year's Software Scotland stand, organised by Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Trade International, Locate In Scotland and Matchmaker, attracted an estimated #1m worth of business for the companies taking part.

Among the particular areas of expertise represented on this year's trade mission will be banking and multimedia. Strategic Software Solutions of Alloa, involved in software design for automated teller machines (ATMs) - hole-in-the-wall cash machines - and Forthtech of Stirling, which provides banking software, will be on the Scottish stand. In the multimedia hall will be iMedia Solutions and Quantum Leap Software, both from Livingston.

iMedia is based at the Software Innovation Centre at the town's Kirkton Campus, one of a number of software centres around the country which have attracted international attention. Having a number of software companies on the one site promotes a high level of informal mutual support.

Another of the companies exhibiting at Hanover is Lander Software, manufacturer of educational software such as Hooray for Spelling and Hooray for Maths. It is based at the Glasgow Software Centre opened last year by the Glasgow Development Agency and the software firm BAeSEMA at Atlantic Quay to provide premises for growing software companies almost ready to go on the market. It is already full.

GDA has a number of initiatives to help software firms, including the Software Marketing Scheme, which provides grants of up to 50% of the cost of implementing marketing initiatives, and Services to Software, a GDA joint venture with Glasgow University, Glasgow Caledonian University and the National Engineering Laboratory to help software firms overcome technical problems.

Glasgow alone is home to 240 firms, more than a third of the Scottish total, and many of them are seeing rapid growth. BT Research started in Glasgow with a team of five and now has a research team of 200 software professionals, many recruited from the city's universities.

Inner Workings, a multimedia company set up with GDA investment, was recently floated on the Alternative Investment Market - which valued it at #12m.