Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have received another boost in
their efforts to use infocomm to grow their business, with the launch
of two new initiatives under the Infocomm Development Authority's (IDA)
SME infocomm adoption programme Infocomm@SME.
At the 12th Annual Infocomm Commerce Conference organised
by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) and
IDA,
RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister of State for
Education and Information, Communications and the Arts, made two
announcements. They are the opening of a second SME Infocomm Resource
Centre (SIRC) and a new one-stop online directory of infocomm products
and services for SMEs.
Speaking
at the event, RADM(NS) Lui called on SMEs to differentiate themselves
through innovation in order to capture mindshare and market share.
"Enterprises do not have to dig deep into their pockets to market their
products and services," he said. "They can leverage infocomm
technology, as the Internet offers a ready, low-cost platform for SMEs
to effectively market their products and services."
According to the IDA's Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises for 2007,
two out of every three SMEs leveraged the Internet to improve their
business operations. Almost one of every three SMEs has already
established a virtual shop front on the Internet.
IDA leads a contingent of local infocomm solution providers at the SCCCI’s Annual Infocomm Commerce Conference. |
However, there is still a substantial number of SMEs who have not
automated their basic business
processes,
ranging from inventory management to
accounting and finance, noted RADM(NS) Lui.
Making
a similar observation, SCCCI President Mr Chua Thian Poh said there is
an obvious gap between SME's receptivity to infocomm adoption and how
they should go about it.
Almost seven in 10 SMEs have no idea what type of technology could apply to their industry
or
business needs, he said. "Our
responsibility
is to address their nagging questions of 'what', 'why' and
'how to'."
To
do this, SCCCI has partnered IDA to help establish an SIRC which would
offer SMEs the opportunity to learn more about infocomm technology and
its applications to specific businesses. Similar to the first SIRC at
Singapore Polytechnic, the SIRC@SCCCI will host technology learning
sessions comprising half-day seminars, hands-on laboratory learning
with online tools, one-on-one business clinic sessions and site visits
to solution centres. Quarterly schedules for these activities will be
made available from September 2008. SMEs can register with the SIRC at www.sccci.org.sg/sirc.
In
a separate initiative, a one-stop portal has been launched to provide
SMEs with information about infocomm products and services offered by
locally-based companies. The portal - i-Directory
- helps SMEs to locate suitable infocomm solutions for their
businesses. i-Directory is equipped with user-friendly search features
which allow SMEs to search by products or
services, by company
name or by industry sector. Infocomm solution providers benefit from
joining the portal as they can showcase their products
and services.
Other
initiatives under the Infocomm@SME programme include the SME Infocomm
Package which allows SMEs to purchase attractively priced
infocomm solution packages from IDA-appointed vendors; the Technology
Innovation Programme offered by IDA and SPRING Singapore to help defray
the cost of adopting infocomm solutions; and the SME Domain Name
Reservation initiative which gives SMEs a discount of up to $30 on
their first website domain name registration.
For more information on these initiatives, visit www.ida.gov.sg/sme.
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