ALTHOUGH information and communication technology (ICT) has been a buzzword for many businesses for quite a while, this does not exactly hold true for most small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In a “borderless” world where communications such as voice, data and video play an important role on individual and companies, lacking proper ICT usage can be a big loss.
Maxis Bhd vice-president and head of enterprise and carrier business Fitri Abdullah says ICT is an integral requirement for all companies – including SMEs – to improve efficiency and productivity. It is now used more as a business enabler or differentiator.
“We live in a connected world where communications – voice, data or video – ‘collapses’ distance and time. Communication has always been a part of efficient business. It underpins all commercial transactions as it enables not only information exchange, but also facilitatestransactions such as long-distance money transfers, flight bookings and check-ins.
“With ICT tools, you can move around and do more in a landscape without boundaries, and with accurate and real-time data,” he tellsStarBizweek.
With the launch of Maxis Unity Solutions – Malaysia’s first mobile unified communications – in January this year, SMEs now have the option to enjoy seamless communications across systems and devices through a unified interface, designed for maximum mobility and flexibility.
The company recently says it aims to have 30,000 users by year-end for Unity Solutions as part of a strategy to expand its SME business segment. He adds that the company will be launchign four or five products from this service later this year.
Unity Solutions offered packages like Unity Conferencing, Unity Hotline, Unity One Number and Unity Reception.
Unity Solutions require no costly infrastructure set-up and businesses have the option to scale upwards when it suits their need, Fitri adds.
Unity Hotline enables one to route up to 10 calls to 10 lines sequentially or simultaneously with a single business number. Unity Reception, on the other hand, can forward calls to up to 50 lines without a receptionist. It is, therefore, expected to be helpful to small businesses looking to increase efficiency and accessibility.
Fitri says Maxis, as an integrated communications provider, is working with top solutions partners to provide ICT solutions which can be applied easily and affordably to increase competitive productivity and creativity.
There is so much potential for industry players, especially SMEs, to raise their game and be globally competitive, he says. SMEs account for 99.2 % of all business establishments in Malaysia,
Fitri says SMEs are now in a better position to penetrate global markets with the abundance of business and opportunities being created as more suppliers and consumers become connected on voice and data networks.
With this, he adds, ideas and collaborations can be facilitated with easier conversation and information exchange which should allow one to reach target audience as well as new audiences effectively and affordably through digital message distribution.
International calling and roaming is also simpler and more affordable than ever for this segment (SMEs). In this regard, for example Maxis IDD offers Synergy Rates with partners in India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka which are among the lowest in the market.
It also offers data roaming packages for business travel at RM38 for unlimited daily use in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Apart from the above services, the celco provide easier billing within budget under the 1Country, 1 Rate programme. It offers one rate for calling home and GPRS services regardless of the network one is roaming with.
Late last year, Maxis presented M-IFW’09 (Malaysian International Fashion Week), in recognition of the role of communications technology in growing the fashion industry, and in increasing local designers’ representation on a global platform.
The media, including digital ones, has been gaining momentum of late in promoting a company’s products and services effectively. Maxis Bhd chief marketing officer Matthew Willsher says the company is committed to introducing advanced mobile devices, affordable data packages and social networking applications which enable communication through the most functional new media channels.
For example, Maxis’ BlackBerry service packages allow users to enjoy a full range of services from high-security email to social messaging functions.
“Late last year, Maxis was also the first communications service provider in Malaysia to provide a full range of mobile services to the top three Social Networking Services (SNS) in Malaysia, namely Facebook, Twitter and Friendster.
“The new service, ‘fb2mobile’, connects Maxis subscribers to Facebook and Twitter via SMS and MMS. Maxis had previously launched the Friendster Alert service in May 2009, allowing subscribers to receive updates on their Friendster account via SMS,’’ he notes.
Internet and digital growth
The popularity of the Internet and digital growth can be seen from the latest survey by research company IDC.
According to IDC’s December 2009, Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, more than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world’s population – used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world’s population – are expected to be using the Internet.
More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion, with mobile internet ramping faster than desktop internet adoption.
Community-based sites are the internet’s leaders. Mobile web visitors to Facebook grew more than 600% in 2009, according to web traffic figures from browser firm Opera, which also said that Twitter was the other big winner in terms of growth in 2009, with the number of unique users jumping more than 2800%.
According to Matthew, innovation is a key driver behind Maxis’ commitment to delivering products and services which add value to life.
Innovation has been part of the value chain for Maxis and is crucial for consistent and differentiating performance on a global platform, as well as in fulfilling brand promise to immediate customers, he adds.
For example, Maxis invested RM3bil in its network expansion between 2006 and 2009. It was also the first in the country to deploy High-Speed Packet Access technology, incorporating next-generation data transmission capability to make 3G browsing enjoyable and seamless, he says.
Along with next generation network capability, he says Maxis introduced a new mobile content shot in contemporary Malaysian setting but weaved in well-remembered folklore – Dimensions, the country’s ‘first made-for-mobile sci-fi series’.
Fitri says Maxis will improve its products to enable users to interact with customers without investing in costly infrastructure or large working teams.
Another example of the importance of the SME population to Maxis took place in October 2009. Maxis launched an alliance with the SME Credit Bureau to speed up SMEs’ applications for its communications services, by referring to the credit and ratings facility with customers’ consent.
Another example of an ICT solution easily built into a business at low upfront cost and with low maintenance is Maxis Mail, a hosted email solution based on Microsoft Exchange, which gives customers an enterprise-grade email service without them making an expensive system purchase.
Also designed for SME customers is Enterprise SMS, which has as one of its features, ease of communication with partners in Chinese-speaking countries, he adds.
by : DALJIT DHESI
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