Affortable Solution Targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises-Computimes (29/8/2002)

News Straits Times Computimes
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Focus

By PRASANNA RAMAN

For large organisations, training its employees to become information technology (IT)-literate may not seem a burden, as training budgets allocated would easily cover the big training cost. However, for smaller ones, be it fast growing start-ups or family-run business, training of employees to pick up IT skills can effect the company's working capital meant to develop its business.

This, says Malaysia-Industry Dot-Com Sdn Bhd's managing director A.C.Woo, should not be a hindrance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop its people skills to enable them to compete effectively in the global market.

Offering what he described as a ”most affordable” solution, Woo says SMEs can educate their employees on the latest office productivity system and implement the effectively within the shortest time.

His company's latest offering, the TOP MBA PROGRAMME, which stands for Total Office Productivity, Management By Achievement, is a compilation of 12 software modules that has been made affordable for SMIs and SMEs. Each module, priced at RM388, comes with one day familiarisation workshop and free licensing.

Woo says his company's solution will be most beneficial to SMIs and SMEs which have yet to computerise their operations.

“Most of these companies believe that implementing these solutions would be too costly but with the affordability we're presenting, with full training and free licensing of the software, SMEs can benefit from ICT utilisation to gain better results, ”Woo says.

He adds that upon completion of training, the software becomes the property of the SMEs. Claiming to be the country's first and only ICT solutions provider with free software licensing, Woo says this can help curb software piracy in organisations.

Although Woo expects all 12 modules to be well received, he foresees the following modules to be the most sought after among SMEs. They are accounting, payroll, inventory, Linux OS, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Web, DIY Virtual Expo and the DIY PC modules.

The TOP MBA PROGRAMME is targeted at entrepreneurs and employees of SMIs and SMEs, unemployed graduates, school leavers, and retrenched employees who want to learn to become ICT-skilled adminstrators in just 10 days.

Malaysia-Industry Dot-Com, which operates a Malaysian trade information portal at www.mi.com.my, is presently on a nationwide campaign to promote its solutions to SMEs.