So here should be it: close to 30 of the very best Estonian information and communication technology solutions all in one showroom called The Demo Center.

The Estonian-version of an ICT heaven was established in Tallinn, Ülemiste City, and it was officially opened last week in the presence of Estonian IT-gurus and politicans.

To show stuff and to sell stuff

So what is The Demo Center? Its goals, defined by the founders, are to introduce the Estonian ICT solutions and to encourage their implementation in Estonia and in the international market; to establish an envirnoment for integrating and testing various IT solutions; to showcase the integration of various e-State solutions with each other and their compatibilitiy with other IT solutions etc.
 
In other words, you no longer have to plan a month-long visitation to Estonia, with hundreds of appointments in different companies around the country, in order to get the picture of E-stonia. Now you just pay a visit to The Demo Center and “fiddle” different stuff.

Skype, Yoga and many others
 
I spoke with Rain Laane, the Country Manager of Microsoft Estonia. Take a look at the video, where Laane showcases some of the solutions.
 
Although some of the solutions might bring out “wow” impressions, there weren’t any huge surprises, since for example, e-parking is my everyday habit and I am comfortable with filing my tax declaration in 5 minutes. Many residents of the center, for example Skype, eGovernance Laboratory and Yoga, I have already written about. But some of the figures illustrating Estonia, published in center’s newsletter took my breath away. 

Did you knew that in Estonia, where the population is only 1,4 million: 

• 68% of people use computers and the Internet
• 98% of enterprises use the Internet
• 100% of schools have broadband Internet access
• 53% of enterprises have their website
• 98% of bank transfers are performed online
• 87% of tax declarations are filed online
• more than 900 free WiFi areas are established 

E-stonia at glance in The Demo Center from Toivo Tänavsuu on Vimeo.