Scotland’s ambition to become a software think tank has come closer to fruition, with work starting on a Software Innovation Centre in Livingston. The Livingston Development Corporation, which since February last year has been housing young software companies rent-free in its basement, is using 500,000 from the European Regional Development Fund to put up a special building for them. The site will be part of SoftNet, a collection of similar software villages being set up by Scottish Enterprise throughout Scotland, which will eventually be networked together. Due for completion this autumn, the Livingston centre will house software companies that are approved as worthy by a board of judges. Situated at Kirton Campus, Livingston, the centre will offer units of between 300 and 1,400 square feet in size. Boardroom, audio-visual and demonstration room facilities will be provided. Companies that have already benefitted from the Software Innovation Centre include Interstellar Systems Ltd, a Unix graphical user interface development company, and Euroquest Solutions Ltd, which specialises in software for imaging and videotelephony. The two other existing Software Innovation Centres in the SoftNet project are the Forth Valley Software Centre in Stirling, and the Scottish Software Partners Centre, which is in the Hewlett-Packard Co facility at South Queensferry.
