THE Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has commenced a series of initiatives in support of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) as a productive sector, through raising awareness of its economic potential, Clinton Urling, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) disclosed at the recent Business Technology Seminar at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston.

Moreover, Urling called on all policy makers to free up and liberate the telecommunications industry, as he delivered his opening remarks at the seminar.
He said that the aim of the seminar is to assist and enlighten businessmen on the role of integrating business technology. He contended that the human market should be focused on comprehensively, and business owners should set up technology systems in their organisations to follow the people and processes in an integrated manner.
“Before you roll out a new technology system, you have to understand your people or the staff – current competencies and capabilities and align those people so that they can be enabled or empowered with the right level of training and competencies necessary before technological implementation.”
According to Urling, entrepreneurs need to be alerted about new technologies that are bombarding the market, “…whether it be hardware, software, or communications technology,” because some of them might be adopted to manage a business process, enhance management decisions and more importantly provide them with a leverage over other businesses.”
He posited that while it would provide a competitive advantage, they should be able to evaluate the value, benefits and cost of these technologies.
“Enterprise systems are being implemented in both the public and private sector to improve efficiencies and increase output leading to a better customer service experience,” he added, highlighting that the GCCI has been seeing growth in the e-business platforms. The e-business, he said, has created entirely new ways of working within the organisations.

New Ways
“For example, organisations are buying and selling goods and services at virtual marketplaces, changing the way organisations identify customers and select vendors,” he stated.
However, he noted that technology has a dark side that must be addressed, especially in the area of cyber crimes. “One of the negatives is the issue of cyber crimes…. Persons can hack into important government agencies, banks, websites and even access your company database and steal trade secrets and business plans.”
He pointed out that “cyber crimes are not only a threat to our companies’ security but can also pose a grave threat to our nation’s security. In Jamaica there is the Cyber Crimes Act and Cyber Crimes Unit in the police force.”
And making a valid case for diversification of the country’s economic sector, he said it is the punch line to sustainable advancement.  The GCCI, he added, believes that the information and communication technology sector plays a critical part in the Guyana’s advancement. “It is a cross cutting component of every productive sector,” he maintained.
“We all have a role to play. Public-private partnerships will drive the development of the sector,” he asserted, noting that the assistance of the government laying out the vehicles for progress in the business world would complement the work of the private sector.
Meanwhile, Senior Vice-President of the GCCI, Lance Hinds made a presentation at the seminar underscoring the benefit of technology in the business sector. Director of SocialRank Media, Dr. Rosh Khan, delivered a very informative presentation on the importance of social media in the business world; and other presentations were made by Mr. Alexei Ramotar, Director of the E-Governance Unit; Account Executive of Inova Solutions, Tudor John; Patricia Gopaul of Soctiabank and others from different business entities.