The time before Salzburg Research
In 1996, the Telekom Research Center of Salzburg’s University of Applied Sciences and the Institute for Information Economics and New Media merged into the Techno-Z Forschungs- und Entwicklungs GmbH managed by Prof. Dr. Peter A. Bruck. Subsequently, the research technology organisation quickly experienced major growth and made a name for itself as one of Europe’s leading research centers.

Back then, the center’s research topics already revolved around interdisciplinary and varied issues dealing with information and communication technologies. Amongst others, covered topics included technological research and development on internet fundamentals (telecommunications, quality of service, testing and measuring, protocols and algorithms) and contents (content engineering, workflow optimization, middleware, e-Commerce, hypermedia and knowledge management) as well as socio-economic studies on the transformation of the information and knowledge-based society.

From beginnings to the present (2000-2010)
On January 19, 2000 the Province of Salzburg became the sole owner of the research association, turning it into the “Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft”. Together with the 2001 Concept for Research and Science and the establishment of the Science and Research Council in 2002, this marked an important step in solidifying Salzburg’s reputation as a research location.

In today’s world, the ever-growing internet has become an indispensible part of many areas of business and society. With information on the World Wide Web currently doubling every 11 hours, the internet concepts and technologies developed in the 1970s and 1980s are gradually reaching their limits, which in turn increases the complexity of applications and the needs of network management.

In line with the rapid developments in the field of information and communication technologies taking place during the past decade, Salzburg Research has put an in-depth focus on issues of the “Future Internet”:

• The gradual exhaustion of IP addresses, increased quality demands and concerns for web security and data protection made it necessary to conduct in-depth research on reliable network technologies in the “Internet of things”.

• Changes brought about by the advent of web 2.0, the explosive growth, availability and linking of contents and services and the penetration of new media into all areas of life have led to an increased need for new knowledge and media technologies.

• New mobile services and technologies such as the advance of smartphones, the mobile internet, satellite navigation and location-based services have opened up new possibilities for work and leisure time. Our research analyzes and advances the needs of today’s mobile society – ranging from professional transport logistics to orientation services for pedestrians or skiers.

• However, the success and sustainability of this kind of innovations can only be guaranteed by a sound interplay of people, organizations, contents and technology. With its interdisciplinary knowhow, Salzburg Research guides and supports companies and public institutions in dealing with social and economic issues.

Another important aspect of Salzburg Research’s work has always been the technology and knowledge transfer between economy and science as well as the advanced qualification of junior researchers.

During the past 10 years, both Salzburg Research and the research line of “Future Internet” have seen an enormous quantitative as well as qualitative growth. In the years to come, we seek to continue this successful history as an established contributor to EU programs and as the leading ICT research facility in the Province of Salzburg.