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 /sme .