Tokyo Consultancy Predicts Internet Spending Increase
in Asia
Internet technology diffusion is coming of age in most developing economies
in the Asia Pacific, according to a study by Tokyo-based consultancy Access
Media International.
Internet technologies will continue to make modest
inroads into corporate businesses despite gloomy predictions for the
infotech market.
In six out of seven developing markets in the region,
Internet and related spending by organisations with more than 100 employees
is expected to be between 22 percent and 89 percent of their overall
projected infotech expenditure.
(Newsbytes Pacifica; January 26, 1998)
Concerns Emerge Over Security of Internet for New
Zealand Health Care
The proposed New Zealand Health Information Services (NZHIS) network,
connecting healthcare providers in the country, has raised concerns over
the Web-enabling of the National Health Index that assigns unique numbers
to health care users.
Tom Bowden, managing director of SectorNet, says
security on the Internet is still a big concern. He says the U.S. Health
Care Financing Administration has issued a bulletin telling healthcare
providers not to send information on patients over the Internet or insecure
internal networks.
Paul Cohen of NZHIS counters that current security
measures, which include firewalls, high-level scrambling of information and
setting up an authentication and certificating body, will ensure patient
privacy.
(InfoTech Weekly, New Zealand; January 26, 1998)
Internet Access Via TV Now Available in Malaysia and
Singapore
Dutch electronics giant Philips and Singaporean software firm MyWeb have
launched the first commercially operational Internet TV in Singapore.
Each
Philips-MyWeb Internet TV will come with six months’ free Internet access
from Singnet, plus three free e-mail accounts for different family members.
The Singapore service will offer educational content, financial
information, news and business transactions, postal services, and an online
pharmacy.
Taiwanese computer maker Acer will commercially launch CyberTV in
Singapore between April and June, and Microsoft is considering launching
WebTV in Singapore early next year. Last October, Philips and
Technochannel, the Malaysian parent company of MyWeb, launched their
Internet TV in Malaysia.
(Singapore Business Times; January 26, 1998)
Big British Corporates Are Still Missing the
Point
The largest British companies still seem to be missing some of the most
basic points about the Internet, according to the most comprehensive report
so far on corporate sites in Britain.
The sites are still barely
interactive, according to a report by Fletcher Research, the business
publisher, and sponsored by McKinsey. 250 commercial Web sites were
surveyed.
Almost two thirds use their Web sites simply to display
information. Only 35 per cent try to generate revenues from their sites,
most commonly by accepting advertisements from other companies, and only 16
per cent try to sell products online.
Supermarket chain Tesco’s sites allow online purchases, but are designed
only for Microsoft’s browsers.
(Financial Times, Britain; January 26, 1998)
Is the Net Falling Short of its Potential in
Africa?
In countries like Ghana and Senegal, a small but fast-growing Web culture
is sprouting as competition drives the price of Internet access steadily
downward.
But in most of the continent, the new technology has simply
passed millions by.
“In the end you realize that what we really have here
is a lack of equipment,” says Alain Ahounou, the commercial director of
Ivorian ISP Globe Access. Price stands out as the major inhibiting factor
in Africa.
(New York Times; January 26, 1998)
Internet in Asia is Growing Fast, But Overall
Penetration is Still Tiny
In the Asia-Pacific, Internet penetration doubled from 0.2 per cent in 1996
to 0.4 per cent in 1997 and is projected to grow 50 per cent to 0.6 per
cent this year, according to International Data Corporation.
While this marks fast growth, penetration is still tiny. The U.S. accounted
for $8.5 billion of the world’s total Internet commerce of $10.5 billion in
1997. Japan accounted for $400 million and the rest of the Asia-Pacific
$100 million of Internet commerce in 1997. The Asia-Pacific will still
account for only 17 per cent of the world’s Internet commerce in 2001.
(Singapore Business Times; January 26, 1998)
Singapore Trade Development Board Launches Internet
TradeNet Service
The Singapore Trade Development Board has launched an Internet service
called TradeNet that is estimated to save the trading community $2 million
to $3 million a year.
TradeNet processes 99 per cent of all trade permit
declarations and is used by 2,400 companies in Singapore, said Edith
Cheong, the board’s trade facilitation director.
Other planned services
include electronic application of letters of credits, loans, and bankers’
guarantees with financial institutions.
Singapore is also working with the
U.S. Customs Service on an online system called Electronic Visa Information
System (Elvis). It is intended to spell greater convenience for local
textile manufacturers and exporters, and prevent visa fraud in illegal
transhipments.
(Singapore Business Times; January 23, 1998)
Thai Organisation Pushes for Electronic Commerce
Legislation
Thailand’s National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC)
will push electronic commerce this year while addressing drafts of five
laws related to electronic commerce, according to director Pairash
Thajchayapong.
The laws are based on recommendations made during the APEC
meeting held recently in Vancouver. The laws, being worked out by legal and
technical experts from both public and private sectors, cover data
protection, computer crime, EDI, digital signatures and electronic funds
transfer.
These draft laws will be proposed to the National Information
Technology Committee (NITC) for submission to the cabinet for approval and
then to Parliament.
(Bangkok Post; January 22, 1998)
More Examples Cited of Excellence in South African Web
Sites
In the second of a two-part series on the Best of the South African Web in
1997, the Weekly Mail and Guardian newspaper identifies the
following winners: One World
(best music store), Business Times
Online (best business newspaper), PictureNet (best
picture resource), BMI-Techknowledge
(best market research site), Touch of Spice
(best restaurant), South
Africa Mangoes Online (best fruits site), Child Welfare (best social
service site), and South African
Political Exchange (best political resource).
(Weekly Mail and Guardian, South Africa; January 21, 1998)
Global Internet Chat Emerging as Useful Tool for
Business Forums
There seems to be a flurry of interest in chat as a business tool,
especially for customer interaction, at huge companies like Merrill
Lynch and IBM, who have used chat to calm ruffled investors or promote the
introduction of commerce-ready computers.
IBM once had more than 2,000
customers taking part in promotional chat sessions, which were repeated
three times to cover time zones in Europe and Asia.
Jupiter Communications
suggests that servicing customers with chat could cost as little as 25
cents a transaction, compared with $1.25 for each phone transaction. Chat
also helps provide a safety valve for customers, says William Graham,
Chase’s manager of Internet services.
(New York Times; January 19, 1998)
