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“Utilization of ICT is no longer an option but a necessity for SMEs trying to compete in a global arena.”
SME Annual Report 2007
WHAT IS ICT?
Information and communications technology (ICT) encompasses electronic information processing technologies such as computer hardware, software and networks, as well as communications technologies such as the Internet, fixed lines, mobile phones and wireless communications.
ICT plays a crucial role in helping SMEs create new business opportunities and to be competitive. By applying the relevant ICT elements, SMEs can reduce their operating costs by improving their internal efficiency and also increase revenues by offering better communication and promotion channels. In fact, ICT is so powerful that it can help SMEs in every single aspect of their business.
With the advancements in technology, we can now communicate with ease and can have meaningful conversations and meetings, and exchange documents, without ever having to meet face-to-face. Mobile phones have enabled us to be contacted practically wherever we are, while emails allow us to send letters, documents and images to a person halfway around the world almost instantaneously. With the Internet, we can search for information immediately, without having to go to a library. The Internet also has brought about e-commerce and SMEs can now offer and promote their products and services online. These tools have helped us to keep pace in this fast moving world.
For a business, the ease of being contacted can have a great impact on its bottom line. You’d definitely want your existing and potential customers to be able to get in touch with you easily. Otherwise, your competitor will be waiting in the wings, ready to pound on your customers and snatch them away from you.
LEVELS OF ICT IMPLEMENTATION IN SMEs
SMEs’ utilization of ICT ranges from having fixed telephone lines to more advanced technology such as e-commerce and the implementation of complex software.
1. The very first and most basic level of ICT for SMEs is having a fixed telephone line or a mobile line (or both) and a fax line. With this basic technology, the company can get in touch with its customers and suppliers.
2. The next step would be a personal computer (PC) with basic word processing software and spreadsheet, which allows work to be done more efficiently. If there’s more than one PC in the company, it may set up a network for the sharing of files, etc.
3. Next is an Internet connection, which enables emails, web browsing and even e-commerce.
4. A more advanced company may then opt to install more complex software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), etc.
SELECTED ICT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
The contemporary ICT products and services such as SMS, video conferencing, WiFi, VoIP, WiMAX and many others are revolutionizing communication, interaction and business transactions among SMEs.
1. SMS: SMS (Short Messaging Service) has proven to be conducive for business transactions as information and figures can be retrieved and stored for future reference by the receiver. Among its other benefits, is that the messages can be sent without the phone being answered. This is possible through the storage of undelivered messages and resending capabilities. Certain SMS services allow users to access handy information such as flight information services, taxi services, hotels, account balances, etc.
2. Voice Mail: A voice mail system records, stores and plays messages from people both inside and outside the company. Linked to the phone system, it allows each user access to an individual mailbox which minimises missed calls and ensures that calls are answered in the absence of the recipient.
3. Conferencing Equipment: This facility allows several people to listen in and talk to a caller simultaneously, with the equipment operating in full-duplex mode, enabling both parties to speak at the same time. Important considerations when choosing conferencing equipment are compatibility with phone systems and sound quality.
4. ISDN: The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a telecommunications network that enables voice data, text and image to be transmitted over a single phone line. With a transmission speed of 128 Kbps, this digital technology assures you of high speed, high quality and reliability.
5. Video Conferencing: Video conferencing enables you to talk and confer with another person anywhere in the world, via both audio and video through a monitor.
6. Leased Voice Circuit: Popularly known as ‘Hotline’. This is a voice-grade circuit normally connected on telephones at both ends to allow for the transmission of speech. A leased voice circuit is particularly suitable for companies needing speedy and frequent communications between two fixed offices.
7. Mobile Email: With the latest technology advancement, users can now connect and communicate via email from any remote area through their mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). This service has been made available by most network service providers.
8. Wireless Fidelity (WiFi): The current internet development offers WiFi services, using the wireless 802.11b Internet access standard, whereby a user can connect to the Internet via wireless connection through their personal computer or laptop. This can usually be done at places that offer WiFi coverage, usually known as ‘hotspots’.
9. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
VoIP technology enables users to make calls over the Internet. Such calls are generally less costly or even provided free, because they are not made through traditional telephone networks, which are heavily regulated and taxed. Thus, VoIP is cannibalising the fixed-line market.
One of the most popular companies offering free VoIP is Skype (www.skype.com), which allows people everywhere around the world to make free and unlimited voice calls via its peer-to-peer software for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Pocket PC platforms. The company also allows its subscribers to use their PC and Internet connections to call landlines and mobile phones at low rates through its SkypeOut service.
10. WiMAX
WiMAX stands for the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access and boasts of higher speeds that WiFi, while offering wireless coverage that is many times more than that of WiFi, without a telephone line. Although it’s still in its infancy in Malaysia, WiMAX offers wireless internet users an alternative to WiFi.
