THE ROLE OF ICT IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY –

A CATALYST FOR THE SUPPORT

& FOR THE GROWTH OF

SMALL MEDIUM ENTITIES

A plenary paper presented to the SABIC March 2016

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) DEFINED

THE ROLE OF ICT IN SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

HOW SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES CAN EMPLOY ICT IN RUNNING

THEIR BUSINESSES

SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND ICT ADOPTION BARRIERS

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INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) DEFINED

THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL DEFINITION FOR INFORMATION COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY (ICT) BECAUSE OF ITS DYNAMIC NATURE.

““ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through

telecommunications...”

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THE ROLE OF ICT IN SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

ICT is a critical business strategy enabler and assists small businesses to

stay ahead of competition.

EXAMPLE:

e.g. a furniture business that carves furniture manually vs. the one that:

Uses technology to design the furniture

To create prototypes

To manage quality assurance

To carve and mould the furniture

ADVANTAGES:

Makes more furniture in a short space of time

More customers (no back log, quick to market, flexible customer designs)

Quality products

Cost effective which means more volumes to market

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SURVEY – INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION

1. How many business people think ICT is very expensive?

2. How many people think ICT is a very difficult to manage?

3. Do you think ICT would add any value to your business?

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SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES AND ICT ADOPTION BARRIERS

Lack of knowledge on key technologies that can enable their business to stay

relevant and ahead of competition.

Lack of strategic ICT skills

Techno Phobia – the fear of the unknown

Perceived high set-up and maintenance costs & therefore lacking of funding

The dynamism/continuous change in technology requires continuous learning

and business evolvement.

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HOW SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES CAN EMPLOY ICT IN RUNNING THEIR

BUSINESSES

Awareness of Information Communication Technology as a key tool to

enabler business – conducting a business assessment to ascertain the value

technology would add to the business.

The development of an ICT Strategy based on customer needs & aligned

to the business strategy– this element can be outsourced to a consulting

businesses as opposed to an in-house resource as that would cost more.

Making ICT part of the decision making process – involve an ICT strategist

in your key business decision processes

Instil an innovative and learning culture within the starting with the business

leadership to the rest of the team

THANK YOU!!

Q & A