Staff column: Turn that downturn upside down

My new year's resolution is to actively avoiding talking up a downturn.

You could perhaps say I'm a bit in denial, but I'm also a firm believer that focusing on companies' negative actions or promoting the macroeconomic drivers behind them benefits no-one, least of all the industry in which we operate.

The other problem in talking up a downturn, in my opinion, is that it cuts into time that could be better spent discussing all the great stuff that continues to happen in the Australian ICT sector.

Frankly, watching 39 entrepreneurs come up with six working software start-ups within 48 hours at Startup Camp excites me far more than news of another tech company taking the razor to R&D and middle management.

Besides, there will always be people that innovate and make money no matter the prevailing economic conditions.

Getting the inside word on these closely-guarded money spinning secrets is something I'll undoubtedly be focusing much of my time on this year.

More broadly, however, crisis often seems to bring out the best in people in terms of creating innovative product and services offerings.

At worst, we learn something from crisis, the market corrects itself, new opportunities are formed and business goes on. Consider these worst-case scenarios as examples.

Nortel Networks recently filed for chapter 11 creditor protections in the United States and similar measures were taken in Canada and EMEA.

Where, you may ask, is the good news in that?Well, the fact that the Australian and Asian region markets haven't filed similar proceedings is good news for local customers and artners.

Assurances by Nortel of product supply and 'business-as-usual' operations in all markets also won't go astray.

All going well, Nortel should ultimately benefit from this restructure.

The other 'good news', at least according to Ovum analysts Dana Cooperson and Matt Walker, is that Nortel's actions may also bring about more 'balance' to the telecommunications equipment industry as a whole.

"Debt restructuring can give struggling companies breathing room to radically change and return in a different form or make their businesses more attractive for acquisition," the analysts said of Nortel."

'The new Nortel' may be unrecognisable as a result of business and product line shutdowns and asset sales, leaving opportunities for other vendors.

"Just one of those opportunities is for tier-2 networking players to take a divested slice of Nortel's business and integrate it with their own kit in an effort to compete better with the likes of Cisco, according to Ovum.