SMEs fear IT

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to improve themselves in terms of information technology (IT) and human capital, says StarBiz.

SAP South East Asia VP and Singapore country manager, Kowshik Sriman, said SMEs tend to be "a bit apprehensive and fearful of IT because they are not used to it".

He told StarBiz that SMEs need to be confident in adopting technology. "Those that can overcome this apprehension can look forward to handsome rewards."

Banks and SMEs both need to understand each other, and should not wait for a big change in anyone's basic characteristics or try to cause a change in anyone, according to The News.

This was said by Saleem Baig, group executive of commercial banking, of Habib Bank at the second SME Conference in Karachi.

He observed that SMEs generally say that banks do not lend money to them; banks believe that SMEs fail in providing necessary information, and, finally, government sees SME as a source of change.

Batelco, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) leading integrated communications provider, has announced the launch of a unified communications solution designed for SMEs - Cisco Unified Communication, says Al Bawaba.

"We are aware that SMEs in the UAE are seeking the benefits of communication technology to increase their productivity and efficiency," said Batelco's GM of the enterprise division, Andrew Hanna.

"However, we also know that many of these businesses face the challenge of managing and updating multiple platforms for their voice, data and video needs, in addition to the cost of financing these technologies."