The seventh meeting of the National Information Society Advisory Council (NISCO) was convened to discuss the e-Business Action Plan, as proposed by the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology (MIIIT) and Malta Enterprise.
The action plan consists of an array of initiatives set for the years 2005 and 2006 with the objective of facilitating ICT adoption by Maltese businesses.
NISCO brings together more than 50 stakeholders from public, private entities and civic society that share a common interest in ICT and the advancement of the 'Information Society'.
The council meets every two months and meetings take the form of a round-table discussion where participants are invited to present their views on the subject.
The meeting, held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC) in Valletta on February 18, was addressed by Isabelle Bonello from the Information Society Secretariat; Alfred Camilleri, director general of the National Statistics Office (NSO); Marcel Mizzi from the GRTU; Keith Fearne from the Chamber of Commerce (ITTS); and Ian Mizzi, representing the Federation of Industries (FOI).
Dr Austin Gatt, Minister for Investment, Industry and Information Technology concluded the meeting. The session was chaired by John Gatt, Permanent Secretary of the MIIIT.
Plan overview
Ms Bonello provided an overview of the action plan. Initiatives aim at stimulating the adoption of innovative business processes and at supporting new Internet-enabled export opportunities. The initiatives target mostly small and micro enterprises and are categorised into three streams of activity.
Capacity building initiatives seek to equip the business community with the tools, processes and services that form the productive foundation of a "knowledge-based economy".
Sector-based eBusiness Roadmaps will be developed to detail the best 'adoption routes' for key business sectors while enterprises will be assisted directly through mentoring.
The establishment of an eExport strategy, eMarketplace and Trustmarks are some of the other eBusiness initiatives that are in the pipeline and are to be implemented under this stream.
The lack of awareness and knowledge that pervades the business community and the public is to be addressed through Awareness and Training initiatives. Nationwide awareness campaigns will promote the benefits of eBusinesses among entrepreneurs while consumers will be enticed to shop online.
Training programmes tackling diverse eBusiness topics specifically targeted at entrepreneurs starting or running small and micro enterprises will also be offered.
The MyWeb ICT literacy course, a past success story in the fight against the digital divide, will be launched once again later this year. However, this time round it will be specifically tailored to reach the worker on the shop floor.
Ancillary to this, a series of support measures will also be in place to facilitate eBusiness adoption. An online business entry portal will be created to provide access to existing public services, and further eGovernment services will be introduced to better serve business needs.
Ms Bonello emphasised that the Action Plan, as presented to NISCO, was a consultative document and invited all participants to submit their feedback. She said the ministry will shortly issue a request for proposals (RFP) inviting parties in the private sector to express interest to partner with the Government in the implementation of the various initiatives of the Action Plan.
ICT usage in enterprises
Mr Camilleri presented results of the survey ICT Usage in Enterprises, which investigated all the large firms (employing an equivalent of more than 50 full time employees) and a representative sample of firms classified as small or medium (employing an equivalent of more than nine but less than 50 full time employees).
Results show that a positive 97% of all enterprises use ICT; 94% are connected to the Internet; and 73% have a Web presence. Results also indicate that 46% of employees use a computer and 30% access the Internet in relation to their job duties.
In contrast, the concept of teleworking is still a novelty among Maltese firms with only 11% of employees being reported to use ICT regularly to access their work environment remotely.
Use of the Internet for "information search" and "market monitoring" seems to be high among Maltese firms with 86% and 46% of firms reported, respectively. One in three firms (33.8%) was reported to use online banking or other financial services and only 27%, 23% and 23% claimed to use the Internet for "receipt of goods", "after sales services" and "training and education".
Most firms use the Internet for marketing purposes (90%), 34% offer online product catalogues or price lists and 18% offer online sales support. As expected, mobile Internet services are still in their infancy with only 2% claiming to offer such services.
Malta fares well when compared with other European countries, scoring evenly with top countries, such as Denmark and Finland. Malta scores high in 'Web presence' (73%) but scores comparatively low in 'ePurchasing' (18%) and 'eSales' as a percentage of turnover (14%).
The NSO is currently administrating a new survey for 2005. The new survey has been extended to include firms employing fewer than 10 employees. The survey will also capture new variables regarding ICT training by enterprises and the benefits and barriers to e-sales. Results will be published later this year.
GRTU's reaction to the Action Plan
Marcel Mizzi welcomed the action plan, describing it as ambitious, impressive and that it should place Malta high in the EU benchmarking exercises.
He invited Government to avail itself of GRTU communication channels, which reach several entrepreneurs and could serve for the dissemination of information on opportunities deriving from the EU.
The GRTU also invited Government to consider partnering with the commercial education providers for the provision of eBusiness courses, as outlined in the plan. Mr Mizzi stressed the importance of broadband access by SMEs as an enabler for teleworking.
Concern was expressed on the costs and processes involved in acquiring .mt domain names and the lack of hosting standards offered by Malta-based service providers.
Barriers to technology
"Technologies are adopted when perceived benefits outweigh perceived risks. Unless there is an attractive return on investment (ROI) while resources, expertise and ancillary infrastructures are available, decisions in favour of eBusiness would not be taken." This was the main message put forward by Ian Mizzi.
Mr Mizzi described the diverse barriers entrepreneurs face when adopting eBusiness models. He gave an insight on cross-border barriers brought about by lack of harmonisation of legislation, lack of interoperable payment vehicles, currency risks and cost of telecommunication.
eBusiness - an industry perspective
The Information Technology Services Section (ITSS) within the Chamber of Commerce (CoC) reacted positively to the Action Plan and its initiatives. Mr Fearne pledged full support and on behalf of the CoC expressed interest to be involved in its implementation.
The CoC identified financial services, port facilities (warehousing), tourism, manufacturing and trading as traditional strengths of the country, which are key potential sectors that could benefit from eBusiness initiatives.
He added that Malta was one of the first countries to have legislation on eCommerce. However, he suggested that this legislation might need to be updated to reflect recent developments locally and globally.
He further questioned the current situation of financial e-services and debated that only more competition could yield a healthier eBusiness environment.
Open discussion
Following the presentations, the chairman invited the floor to an open discussion.
Mr Camilleri, replying to a minister's question on the survey's methodology, stated that data was captured from various industrial sectors and weighting was given against the sector's economic strength.
On behalf of the Malta Internet Foundation, Robert Sultana, in reply to a GRTU statement on the Domain Name Services (DNS), stated that Malta has adopted a policy that ensures a speculation-free environment.
In contrast with other countries that have liberalised domain services, registering domains locally involves the process of ensuring the legitimacy of domain requests. He assured that fees charged for Maltese domains compare well with those of other countries who share similar policy.
However, Mr Sultana added that in the near future an online system will be introduced and this will contribute towards a reduction in the processing time involved.
Brian Restall (Malta Council for Science and Technology) referred to the action that will increase participation in EU programmes and stated that Maltese firms can only benefit from EU opportunities if successful applications are submitted.
He therefore recommended that such initiatives should not be limited to making businesses aware of the opportunities, but should further provide financial assistance to companies who are willing to allocate resources to participate in the programmes.
Dr Gatt concluded the meeting by stating that it would be short-sighted to consider the proliferation of technology access and connectivity as an end in itself.
He strongly affirmed that bottom-line success measurement can only be "profit" and added that ICT is no "magical solution" but a "management tool" that enables new business opportunities.
The minister stated that a common front was needed, which consolidated all initiatives and fostered a co-operative and collaborative environment. He referred to eMarketplaces in particular as an opportunity for Maltese enterprises to join and gain access to previously unexplored foreign markets.
Dr Gatt said the Government was committed to champion these initiatives. However, it was up to the private sector to have an entrepreneurial spirit, be proactive and rise to the challenge.
Way forward
In the coming days the eBusiness Action Plan will be finalised and will reflect the feedback received from the NISCO members.
In past years, public-private partnerships (PPP) between Government and parties from the private sector have yielded much desirable win-win situations. As the Government strongly beliefs that the action plan should be a nationwide collective effort, an RFP will be issued in parallel with the launch of the action plan.
The RFP will invite entities in the private sector to partner with Government and contribute to the implementation of initiatives. The next NISCO meeting in May will focus on eSecurity - an imperative necessity for sound eBusiness and eGovernment practices.