e-business
asia1.com.sg
27 Apr 1998
IBM going all out to get local
firms onto e-business
It is already working with Creative Technology, NTUC
Fairprice and others
By Toh Han Shih
[SINGAPORE]
BM Corp is going all out to get companies in Singapore and the
region to carry out "e-business", the computer giant's term for
making commercial transactions through the Internet.
"I see a multifold increase in the interest in
e-business among companies in Singapore.
A fair number of companies in Singapore are
getting onto e-business," IBM Singapore
managing director Lawrence Wee told
reporters last Friday.
Mr Wee said in the few weeks since IBM
launched ONEWeb, a one-stop solution for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get
onto e-business quickly, "a handful of SMEs"
have already gotten onto ONEWeb.
ONEWeb is a service to SMEs wanting to
host their Web sites with IBM's help.
IBM has launched a worldwide publicity blitz
for its brand of e-business. In Singapore, this
has involved roping in local celebrities like
MTV video jockey Nadya Hutagalung to
appear in its events.
But beneath the glitz it's all business. IBM
revealed that it has helped local soundcard
giant Creative Technology implement
electronic storefronts on the Net and
Singapore ONE, the national high-speed
electronic infrastructure. Through these
virtual storefronts, customers can safely buy products from Creative
using credit card payment, with security ensured by Secure Electronic
Transaction (SET).
IBM has implemented another SET system for Citibank in Singapore,
which is the regional hub for the US bank, said IBM Singapore
e-business manager Howie Lau. This SET system is operating today,
processing Net credit card transactions for cardholders and
merchants in Singapore and the region.
IBM has also implemented a Net commerce system for NTUC
FairPrice, a large retail chain with over 60 shops in Singapore, said
Mr Lau. This system enables people to order groceries via the Net
from FairPrice, which will deliver the goods to them. The system has
had a soft launch, Mr Lau said.
Even in Indonesia, where many companies face uncertainty with the
economic crisis, banks there have gone ahead to implement
e-business with IBM's help. These include a Net banking service for
Lippo Bank and a private Internet network, or intranet, for Bank
Papan. This intranet enables Bank Papan to efficiently capture more
mortgage loans, by linking up with property developers via the Net,
said IBM Asean/South Asia e-business manager Tan Seng Hock.
Further afield, the Japanese hotel chain, Hotel Okura, has set up a
network based on Net technology linking its 23 hotels, partners and
customers around the world -- called an extranet -- using IBM
solutions. This extranet links Hotel Okura to a worldwide reservation
system used by overseas travel agencies so that Hotel Okura can
respond to reservations 24 hours a day without having human
operators.
From customers' preferred table locations in restaurants to favourite
pillows and magazines, this extranet captures all such information
which is instantly accessible to any hotel manager or employee. This
allows for better service to hotel guests.
IBM says it is also involved in the pilot project for Korea Model of
Electronic Commerce, which is funded by the South Korean Ministry
of Information and Communication and Dacom. IBM technology has
enabled Dacom, South Korea's second largest telecommunications
company, to function as a Net payment gateway, with security based
on SET, said Mr Lau. Dacom's gateway will link SMEs and
merchants via the Net. |
