THE WEALTH of opportunities available on the Internet offers Jamaica the potential to earn US$1.9 million per month on just one e-commerce project if the country taps properly into the opportunities that present themselves. This is so according to Vonciel Turner, vice president for Competitive Strategy at Cable & Wireless West Indies, as she explained that Jamaica has not yet adequately tapped into the Internet sector.Speaking at a January 31 session of the two-day Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) In National Development conference, convened by the HEART Trust at the Pegasus Hotel, Ms. Turner noted: "Any project, once you identify your target audience, can be presented to the rest of the world overnight. Jamaica is a low-cost economic environment and we need to take advantage of that."
The Cable & Wireless executive was adamant that ICTs should be seen as viable tools for business and human development - tools that can allow Jamaicans to have global access to users all over the world. She noted that ICTs have the potential to transform business and economic models and deliver opportunities to quell business inefficiencies. However, she cautioned that all technologies should be carefully assessed and managed so that they render value and not be detrimental to the society. "Technology detriments - such as over-capacity and rapid over-development - can result in a downward trend of revenues and earning in companies that are technology dependent. As much as technology can be helpful to businesses, if we are not careful it can also be harmful," she added.
CORE MAINSTREAM
Ms. Turner pointed out that as technology affects Jamaica, a shift begins to take place from core mainstream markets to markets that are more aligned to technology-based activities. The country must therefore be aware of and totally prepared for the effects of that technology - not only as it affects a project or goal, but the country's economy at large. "The worst thing that can happen is to institute liberalisation that results in decimation of the economy. Cable & Wireless is pleased by the strategy and focus of the Ministry of Commerce, Science & Technology in ensuring that does not happen here in Jamaica," she said.
But she also pointed out that education and future industries are critical for coping with the dynamism and shift that is occurring in Jamaica. One means of facilitating such preparation, she said, is for the Government to ensure that every Jamaican can have access to the Internet. To that end, she said her company was looking at providing low cost Internet and voice solutions for Jamaica within the next three months. This will enable persons in lower economic communities to have access to Web devices that will provide voice, data and Internet services.
The two-day conference, under the theme 'Creating opportunities for a better quality of life for all', was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology. It attracted more than 250 participants who were able to choose from over 80 seminar and workshop sessions - presented by experts from Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, the United States, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom. The event also featured an ICT exhibition, where 20 exhibitors displayed practical applications of ICTs in business, schools and communities.
