“There are more opportunities in the market and more business-
es, which at the same time quickens the turnover of skills and talent.
So, the biggest challenge in recent years has been how to ensure a
sufficient staff to provide steady services to customers,’’ says Ou.
Sustainability
The high-end features of the IT industry set it apart in Macau’s
small and medium enterprise sector. Nevertheless, both NetCraft and
the IT industry in general still run their businesses based on the city’s
traditional management attitude and focus on sustainable develop-
ment.
“I often tell the newcomers that what we actually provide is in-
s
t
o
formation services; it won’t make us rich overnight, because basi-
s
a cally, business grows in line with social development and IT appli-
a b
d
cations. Therefore, as long as the technology synchronizes with the
a
times, business will go on,” says Ou.
l
Ç
a
It is for this reason NetCraft opted not to over-expand itself in
o c
n
the face of a rapidly expanding market. It preferred to invest its re-
u
sources in nurturing talent and improving service quality. Fortunate-
/
n
n
o
ly, NetCraft have branches in China, which helps ease the shortage
t
i
p
of human resources.
: o “However, our company still employs Macau’s team as the back-
t
o
o
bone, always aiming to train local talents to provide a steady service
h
p to local customers.”
Ou is positive about the future of the city. He says IT applications
Big boys are expanding and have become a global trend and the SAR’s gov-
ernment has kept its policy of enhancing e-government and it actively
The present crisis notwithstanding, the past few years of bur- promotes IT applications among students and the society at large.
geoning growth have seen a significant number of big foreign com- “In the future, IT applications in the Macau will keep on grow-
panies move to the city. ing and the IT market will only expand. Although nowadays IT ap-
Most notably, the fast development of the hospitality and retail plications in SMEs cover a small area, and there is still room for
sectors have indirectly benefited other industries. Ou points out that potential growth. However, the managers of these enterprises may
because those big foreign-investment companies usually have their need to adjust their mindset and certain conditions would have to be
own fixed worldwide partners, local IT firms cannot significantly met to increase the use of IT applications.
grow in terms of core-direct businesses. Another area of development in the IT industry could be elec-
However, indirectly, local firms can still be considered winners tronic gaming. Ou suggests that at present some colleges and insti-
as they have multiplied their long-term system maintenance contracts. tutes have begun carrying out research and development in this field
Having a long-term stable team enables them to respond faster to the and as Asia’s most mature gaming center, Macau is in a unique posi-
demands of bigger enterprises and thus make their business grow. tion to cash in.
will try to profit from loopholes. partments might not be perfect tional activities for IT use. trative procedures. We hope to
Change is a challenge for gov- and real user convenience has Several years ago he called work towards this kind of popu-
ernment departments and those yet to be achieved, but these up several local IT companies to larisation with a top-to-bottom
who have vested interests in the flaws can be improved through form the chamber, with the pri- approach.”
status quo. They might try to de- technology and design. The es- mary aim of gathering profes- As for the future develop-
lay the computerisation process sential thing is that the people sional opinions for the govern- ment of Macau’s IT industry, in
as long as possible, in order to in charge have gradually aban- ment through communication Iao’s view, foreign IT companies
minimise the (negative) impact doned their mindset of taking and consultation in the industry, here have a positive influence
on their interests and power,’’ advantage of information and in addition to its business focus. in attracting and upgrading tal-
says Iao. power,’’ he says. For his new role at the Com- ent, even though it tends to load
“How much information Iao believes the SAR gov- puter Society, Iao has laid down pressure on local firms. Yet he is
about the numbers of imported ernment will carry on the pro- a definition: “The society pro- still optimistic about the future
labor should be announced to motion of e-government serv- motes the use of IT and its popu- growth.
the public, and how many detils ices, which offers space for local larity, which certainly would “As long as the SAR gov-
should be divulged in the regis- IT companies to develop. help the whole industry. Besides, ernment keeps up their spirit
tration of property. These cases In 2008 Iao became presi- we promote the advanced use of of information openness and
reflect the such conflicts.’’ dent of the Macao Computer IT to the chiefs of government of serving the people, as long
Society after heading the Macao departments. As well as the use as Macau economy maintains
Career prospects Computer Chamber.While the of IT as an analytic tool for de- steady development, the local IT
chamber focuses on business cision-making, our approach is industry will continue to thrive,
“Nowadays maybe e-serv- support, the society is more ded- for more information openness giving an ever bigger stage for
ices provided by some civil de- icated to academic and promo- and the simplification adminis- IT professionals,” says Iao.
december 2008
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