"People here tend to think they (already) have e-lifestyle but actually ... it is not (about chatting and exchanging e-mails)," says Thin C Hoe, chief executive officer of E-Prime Networks.
Established in 2002, E-Prime aims to foster the growth of e-lifestyle and support initiatives for e-governance. The creation of e-lifestyle, however, is not an easy task, he says, as it requires the interest, initiatives and involvement of all sectors - the government, small and big business, and the general public.
"The main interest of starting up E-Prime initially was the government's initiative of moving into e-governance, but at the moment the government is still in the process of reviewing and revising a lot of its initiatives to enable e-governance," he says.
While waiting for e-governance to fully blossom, E-Prime Networks has decided to "try and swing the ball from the other side", he says, by preparing the public - spreading awareness of e-lifestyle and governance through educating small businesses and government servants.
"Since last year, we have been talking to small businesses, encouraging them to have e-business concepts, e-documents, have proper e-mails and professional Web sites, and letting them see what their companies can benefit from it," he says.
The response has been positive but, "it's the mindset that has to change as they still cannot see the benefits of IT. It is a transition from manual to IT processes, we want to try to teach and reach them".
Right now, the momentum for widespread use of IT is absent, but E-Prime still strives.
"Our major sales area are in software development but quite currently, for the past two years we have been advertising our services," he says. The company has a strong team of 38 staff. Four of its strategic advisers are based overseas - one each in Canada and Korea while the other two are based in Singapore. All three countries possess capacities in IT development and e-governance, he says.
"Basically their role is to monitor the development of the IT industry in the country they are in and identify business opportunities there where it can bring relevance and good IT examples to Brunei," he adds.
E-Prime Networks is not just fully local but also a 100 per cent Microsoft Solutions Company; all its expertise, skills and technology are based on Microsoft.
"All of my staff are Microsoft based, we have three Microsoft certified staff, we are continuously expanding our staff to be certified," he said. The company has developed solely on its own without any local or foreign partners.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sobrina Rosli
Quelle/Source: Brunei Direct, 19.01.2008
