Youth Committee of Macau Chamber of Commerce
Chinese Young Entrepreneurs Association of Macau
Ou Ka Fai: “Develop simultaneously with economy”
I
t would be safe to say that Ou Ka Fai is a pragmatist, fancy theo- them were small in size and had a conservative management mindset.
ries and flowery pronouncements are simply not his style. At the Business volume was small yet fortunately there was little com-
outset of this interview we asked the executive director of NetCraft petition. Nevertheless, with the internet and web networking taking
Information Technology (Macau) Co, Ltd which component of a com- off globally in the intervening years the market has seen a steady
puter best sums up his company’s role in the information technology growth in IT usage and demand. Against this backdrop Macau’s IT
industry and he couldn’t come up with an answer. sector also started to develop and mature - thanks to its early start
This reveals a frank, optimistic and pragmatic personality and and forward-looking marketing strategy NetCraft managed to get a
Ou’s philosophy towards life and busines: do as you like and try your foothold.
best, but never ask too much. “Real development came only after the handover, when the SAR
government decided to promote comprehensive e-government serv-
Small is beautiful ices, as well as funding schools to encourage e-teaching, which has
greatly stimulated local IT companies,” says Ou.
On graduating with a BA in Business Administration in the ear- In recent years, keeping in step with Macau’s economy boom,
ly 1990s, Ou decided not to try a career in the civil service. Rather, the city’s IT sector has notched up double-digit growth.
much like the Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen,
he decided to become a salesman. “A salesman enjoys more freedom. Skills shortage, big problem
I hate 9 to 5 office work. ” he confesses.
Ou sold mainly computer products until 1996, when computer In terms of IT development, Macau is probably three to five
networking was begining to gain a foothold. During this period he years behind the rest and the main reason for this is a shortage of
saw an opportunity - and the future - a future where networking on skills. As small-size companies, Macau’s IT operators offer far less
the web would take on a life of its own. development potential than their foreign counterparts, making it im-
It was time to move so, together with several colleagues and possible to retain talent who master the newest technologies.
friends, co-founded NetCraft. Similarly, those with the skills remaining in the SAR would rather
Starting out with fewer than 10 staff, NetCraft has grown to an work for the government, compounding the skills shortage problem.
operation with 200 employees in Macau and China. Although it is Ou says NetCraft management has long realised this would be a
dwarfed by other IT firms in Macau, NetCraft personifies the expres- problem. Despite its small size, the company has allocated resources
sion “good gear comes in small bulk’’. to further staff education, encouraging the acquisition of internation-
ally recognised professional certificates.
Slow burner The first IT person in Macau to acquire the CCIE (Cisco Certi-
fied Internetwork Expert) certification in 2000 was from NetCraft.
The development of NetCraft has kept pace with that of Macau. The second CCIE engineer from Macau also hailed from the com-
Established at the tail end of a decade-long economic downturn the pany in 2002. Afterwards, NetCraft engineers obtained more inter-
company’s development was slow, Ou recalls: “Back then, the IT national accreditations, such as CCSP, CCDP, CCNA.
industry was just taking shape, not to mention the fact there was a “Even though some of them left us later, as a Macau IT com-
recession and a skills shortage.” pany, we were happy to play the role of pushing forward local profes-
He says it took an extraordinary amount of “verbal effort” to sional standards. We feel we have done something to better society,’’
persuade local businesses to accept computer applications, as most of Ou says proudly.
Iao Seng Tong
talents to major in IT subjects is one more staff to do the job”. personell are simply retailers “Whether or not a govern-
the key for the sustainable devel- For SME bosses IT is often hardselling their products, or ment promotes e-government
opment of Macau IT,’’ says Iao. something dispensable but in or- tech consultants promoting their services and the use of IT, the
der to keep Macau up with world services but that couldn’t be fur- biggest obstacle is not the cost of
Government backing standards the government must ther from the truth. investments, nor tech issues, but
act as a role model in promoting As Iao points out, the gov- the mindset towards (the use of)
Iao says he is privileged to IT and Iao is pleased with the ernment’s attitude towards IT power,” Iao says.
have witnessed he different stag- SAR’s e-government resolution before and after handover is like Having taken the path from
es of the IT industry’s develop- and its deepening implementa- night and day: “The depth of use a programmer to IT senior man-
ment in Macau’s IT. tion in recent years, which has of IT shows the government’s ager, Iao has an in-depth under-
He understands the difficul- led to IT use becoming more change of policy attitude. Any standing of technology develop-
ties in promoting IT locally and popular. government’s information is ment. Generally speaking, the
feel strongly that government For example, each govern- very likely to become a sort of development of technology re-
policymaking and its effects are ment department now has its power for potentially interested search comes much earlier than
irreplaceable. own website, customs clear- parties,’’ he says. the application, the only hin-
Constrained by their small ance EDI system is in force, In the past, people had to drance that stands in the way is
size, local private firms are on-line reservation of services pay to get someone to carry out outdated mindsets.
conservative in adopting IT to and e-channel at the border are applications and registration “Without the implementa-
increase productivity and effi- available. All these have given procedures with the government tion of e-government, without
ciency. The prevalent mentality residents more convenience and departments and this came at a simplifying public administra-
is, Iao says: “If inexpensive, give confidence in using IT. cost. Today most can be handled tive procedures and the trans-
it a try; if expensive, better hire Many would feel that IT by the citizens themselves. parency of information, people
december 2008
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