The measurement used is the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which is determined by three branching factors: Environment, Readiness and Usage.
The Global Information Technology Report (GITR) also indicates that the country's government readiness towards ICT had actually fallen, while business readiness climbed. The biggest jump by sector in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), from 40 (NRI 2008/2009) to 76 (NRI 2009/2010), actually came from individuals.
The government, meanwhile, has been pouring hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to enhance Brunei's e-Government infrastructure.
In an interview with the Bulletin yesterday, Bruno Lavin, the founder of D&L Partners, said that unless this level of enthusiasm reflects similarly across all sectors - the government, the business and the individual - the overall benefits that can be reaped through the utilisation of ICT will not be as successful as compared to other countries in the world.
D&L is currently in Brunei as a consultant to assist the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) as it embarks on an in-depth study to assess the NRI for Brunei Darussalam.
The aim of the study is to generally improve Brunei's ranking in the NRI but more importantly to identify specific indicators and best practices to determine possible improvements to be pursued for this country.
Mr Lanvin said that, in assessing Brunei's previous NRI, the Sultanate scored high in several factors, which include infrastructure.
In referring to the NRI factors, Mr Lanvin said a big shift in Brunei's environment factor, which could include changes in the market, political or regulatory environments and the levels of public awareness and enthusiasm, could lead to a "spectacular" improvement in the country's NRI.
He also said that Brunei is already on a high trail to become one of the top ranked NRI economies.
But the problem, he said, is that there are still people that are not ready for it. "The Brunei government's initiative to provide fibre optic cables for fast network communication is an excellent indicator that Brunei is very serious in going all-out to adopt ICT," he said.
While praising this enthusiasm, he also said that providing infrastructure alone will not "make the cut" for successful ICT and e-Government deployment.
"The people have to be equally enthusiastic, and that means everyone in the public, private sector and individuals," said Mr Lanvin.
He further said that sometimes the problem can be trivial and can be addressed quite easily, "and this happens anywhere in the world".
According to the GITR, Brunei retained its ranking from last year at 63 out of 133 countries, thereby outranking the three other Southeast Asian countries.
Amongst the regional neighbours, Singapore was the most "networked" economy, scoring 5.64 to secure the second spot in the index, followed by Malaysia at 27th place. Vietnam placed at 54 and Indonesia trailed closely behind Brunei at 67. The Philippines and Cambodia finished with rankings of 85 and 117, respectively.
Mr Kishore Modak, Director of D&L Partners based in Singapore explained that in measuring the level of ICT readiness in Brunei, it is important not to compare directly to other successful countries like Singapore and even Qatar, which has some similarity to Brunei.
He said, this is because it is important to take the uniqueness aspect of the country into account in strategising ICT development in the country.
"It is important to learn from others, but it is similarly important to take into matters the key aspect, which is the culture and the other unique variables about Brunei," he stated.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): [Azaraimy HH]
Quelle/Source: Bru Direct, 16.11.2010
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
