SMALL and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that survive the constant waves of competition know how critical it is to stay relevant by embracing innovation.
Innovation often results in more streamlined business processes and reduced operating costs, which ultimately translate to more revenue.
Regardless of business sector, the fundamental principle is that an SME can maintain a healthy revenue flow if it delivers products and services promptly.
A new business model that uses infocomm technology may help SMEs generate the additional income they need to grow.
Through IT, you can expand operations and processes in the virtual world to get an idea of what the results would be in the real world.
These virtual operations are vastly different from those associated with the dot.com era, when businesses merely established an online presence.
The virtual operation is built with carefully planned strategies and investment support. It includes infrastructure, marketing and business development. A virtual office can help manage work flow, online design, maintenance and trust and security management.
This office can be at the heart of operations, becoming the pulse for transactions between stakeholders, customers and business partners.
If you are looking to build a virtual office, consider the set-up costs and manage the work scope to best fit your business model. For example, to project sales and study buying behaviour, it may be prudent to analyse and utilise sales data collected from your host server.
Sometimes, data mining can be costly as it requires professional tools and a server infrastructure built on established and secure databases.
Fortunately, several technologies have made building a virtual business a reality. They include three-dimensional (3D) virtual world, mashup and cloud computing.
New technologies that can help SMEs
The 3D virtual world enables visitors to travel and connect with communities in the real world. Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is one such platform. Through 3D virtual worlds you can create an online user experience that extends beyond two-dimensional Web pages and Web applications and services. You can connect your products to netizens through avatars and communities. This, in turn, helps your business strengthen its presence online, enhance your brand visibility and reach out to the world. Visit http://secondlifegrid.net/about/how to see how other companies use a 3D virtual world platform such as Second Life to help their business. To get a taste of the Second Life experience, you need to:
Download and install the Second Life programme;
Sign up and log in with your chosen avatar name through www.secondlife.com.
You are then ready to explore Second Life and discover ways to benefit from the 3D virtual world.
Mashup is a Web-based application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool. A typical example of a mashup is using Google Maps to add location information to real estate data. The result allows you to create a value-added experience for visitors, thereby nurturing a positive attachment between you and your customers. By leveraging on third-party data providers, you can also reduce the cost and time required to bring new services to consumers.
Mashups are built using one or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). APIs help create an application that performs a specific function, such as acquiring data from another website or a database. At present, the vast majority of APIs are free and open to public use. However, to use them, most require registration at the developer's site. On top of that, building of a mashup involves a degree of programming work. You may want to consider engaging an infocomm consultant to provide support.
Cloud computing is a concept of providing combined infocomm solutions via Internet-based services that allow users to access technology without knowledge of, expertise in or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. This facility allows functions like data mining and model analysis to be performed over a 'cloud' of computers. An example would be Google's use of its huge number of personal computers to perform search routines. The clever use of combined computing power helps reduce business costs. Run as a service, it would allow an SME to tap such power to perform data crunching activities such as predicting customer behaviour, without investing in expensive or heavy-duty servers.
In July 2008, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) partnered Hewlett Packard, Intel and Yahoo! to form a global, open-source test bed for cloud computing research and education. In addition, the IDA is working with Yahoo! to train up to 60 local tertiary students and professionals to help develop cloud computing technology.
Cloud computing is viewed as the new paradigm. You can look forward to harnessing enormous cost-saving computing power as more such software becomes easily available.
This article is contributed by the School of Interactive and Digital Media, Nanyang Polytechnic, a member of the Singapore infocomm Technology Federation. It was first published in The Business Times on September 9, 2008.
