ICT can help SMEs to reach out to large markets: Govt

PTI Jul 30, 2011, 10.37am IST
NEW DELHI: Easy and affordable access of Information and Communication technology (ICT) to SMEs would help them in exploring new markets globally, a senior government official said said.

"ICT is an enabling tool for any small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The moment you use ICT, you can reach out to large markets," Additional Secretary in the Department of Information Technology N Ravi Shanker said here on the sidelines of the Indiamart.com function on SMEs.

Shanker said the entrepreneurs can pay monthly bills to get access to the latest and modern technology at their doorstep.

Great ICT Sale

As part of MSC Malaysia's effort to boost adoption of ICT products and services locally, the Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (Co. No. 389346-D) ("MDeC") has organized the MSC Malaysia Great ICT Sale that aims to pull together selected vendors that can bundle their products and services into Value+ Packages that provide buyers with easy-to-select, enhanced-value solution bundling options.

For the duration of the campaign month, the MSC Malaysia Great ICT Sale will present a unique opportunity for your organization to showcase your products and services, including both physical presence at 3 regional locations (Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru) and in the media, as well as online presence, to maximize reach and impact.

The MSC Malaysia Great ICT Sale will serve as a national platform for solution providers to bundle easy-to-select ICT products and services packages at great value to encourage adoption and to assist local SMEs to move up value-chain by leveraging on ICT as competitive differentiator.

http://www.mscmalaysia.my/topic/Great+ICT+Sale

ICTs Help Farmers Fight Crop Pests

The Sustainable Cocoa Enterprise Solutions for Smallholders (SUCCESS) Alliance, an ACDI/VOCA-led partnership between public, private and nonprofit organizations that promotes the sustainable cultivation and marketing of cocoa by smallholders in four countries, disseminated pest control and quality control information through mass media, including radio programs developed by program partner Overseas Strategic Consulting that were broadcast throughout the cocoa-growing areas of Sulawesi, reaching 270,000 farmers.

http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/ourwork_ict

ICT issues in Malaysia

Nowadays, globalization and digital convergence in the emerging knowledge society has raised complex ethical, legal and societal issues. So that, we are faced with the complex questions regarding the freedom of access to information, freedom of expression, the right to privacy, intellectual property rights, and cultural diversity. ICT exist as an instrumental need of all humans for gathering of knowledge and information, and as such should be guaranteed as a basic to all human beings. Information technology is impacting all walks of life all over the world. However, the rapid development of ICT globally also has led the growth of new forms of national and transnational crimes such as the digital divide, cybercrime, digital security and privacy concerns, all of which have affected people’s lives either directly or indirectly.

In general, ethics is a moral philosophy where a person makes a specific moral choice and sticks to it. ICT ethics are not exceptional from the general view of ethics, but, it means moral guidelines to refer when using the computer and computer networks such as internet. In a world where information and communication technology has come to define how people live and work, and has critically affected culture and values, it is important for us to review ethical issues, as well as social responsibility.

So, there exist so many ICT ethical issues nowadays. Such ethical issues included unemployment issues, crime issues, loss of privacy, intellectual property issues, digital divide issues, professional ethics issues and etc. ICT assists and extends the ability of mankind to capture, process, store, understand, use, create, and disseminate information at the speed and scale which never thought possible before. Some of the changes and impacts of ICT are obvious, but many are subtle.

For the unemployment issues, that is the automation of work has caused creative destruction by eliminating some vocations and creating new ones. Such as the rapid development of artificial intelligent, it result the employment rate of a nation keep decreasing. It is because the artificial intelligent also can do tasks which a normal person can do. For the crime issues, as an example, the stolen and counterfeit ATM cards are used to steal millions of dollars each year throughout the region. The anonymity of the machines makes some crimes easier and creates many new types of crimes. Besides that, some transactions are transmitted and recorded in databases at hospitals, banks, various organization which in the private or public sector.

As a conclusion, the rapid development of ICT brings many benefits and also issues for us. What we can do is try to overcome such ICT issues challenges. I hope that, everyone can use the technology in the good ways by not produced such much ICT issues to this world.

http://webtechmic.blogspot.com/2010/03/ict-issues-in-malaysia.html

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) ICT ENHANCES EFFECTIVENESS, EFFICIENCY AND REACH OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Information communication technologies (ICTs) can provide farmers, entrepreneurs and others in emerging economies with market information vital to their work and success. ACDI/VOCA continues to lead the way on how to best integrate ICTs into economic development approaches and project designs to improve results for beneficiaries.

A lack of timely and accurate information is a significant barrier to competitiveness for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which are now widely recognized as the prime engine of growth in most of the developing world. To address this gap, ACDI/VOCA uses ICT and other multimedia technologies to stimulate and meet increased local demand for market information. We also use ICTs to provide farmers and other beneficiaries with much-needed credit information and technical knowledge, assistance and services.

http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/ourwork_ict