Every year, more Malaysians are able to enjoy the benefits of high-speed access to the Internet. This single facility opens a world of opportunities and convenience for them through content and services available online from a growing host of providers. And it does more to bring about Malaysia’s transformation into a high-income knowledge-based economy than nearly any other development.
Malaysians are increasingly finding everything from retail goods to residences and from education to employment online. This is possible because of a vibrant ecosystem of online businesses many of which have found a home in MSC Malaysia, the national ICT initiative.
Cultivating A Healthy Online Ecosystem
Over 17 years, MSC Malaysia has encouraged and supported the development of Malaysian Internet businesses, some of which are expansions of existing real world businesses and others that exist exclusively online. In a rare example of a positive feedback loop, the presence of so many online services is attracting more Malaysians to adopt the Internet as part of their daily lives, and the growing number of online consumers encourages entrepreneurs to start-up more online businesses, that in turn further attracts more users to the Internet.
The sustained growth of Malaysia’s online ecosystem in the years ahead will greatly benefit from continued spearheading by MSC Malaysia through financial support, business guidance during start-up and ongoing skills and talent development of the Malaysian workforce. By leveraging MSC Malaysia’s broad overview and deep understanding of Malaysia’s ICT industry these activities will continue to stimulate the growth of a healthy and balanced local Internet ecosystem that is even now taking steps beyond Malaysia’s borders.
Going Global
As Malaysia’s Internet businesses mature they are increasingly reaching out into international markets to look for new customers and new opportunities to grow. This is another area in which MSC Malaysia is particularly well-positioned to support the development of the local online business community. MSC Malaysia has the brand awareness and the necessary means to organise successful events to showcase the products and services that MSC Malaysia-status companies are delivering online. By helping to mitigate the financial risk of international marketing and helping local companies exploit economies of scale through combined marketing efforts, MSC Malaysia can help Malaysian Internet businesses to make the best use of limited resources and ensure their greatest chance for international success.
Nurturing Co-creation
As Internet ecosystems across the world mature, the lines between creators and consumers have become increasingly blurred as consumers use the Internet to share feedback with creators who, in turn, tap into their user communities for ideas and suggestions to improve their products and services.
For Malaysian companies to take their place as peers in the global Internet community, they must also tap into their customer communities to drive innovation and create new value and original products and services. This is a continuation of the goals of 2010, Malaysia’s Year of Innovation.
This process of co-creating products and services works best when user communities have both the skills and the inclination to share their feedback with developers and business operators. We in Malaysia are still shy from offering even constructive criticism because it is seen as rude.
MSC Malaysia is in a unique position to change this attitude across all levels of Malaysian society. By creating the technological and social infrastructure to allow and encourage users to express themselves through online channels in schools, universities and throughout public services, MSC Malaysia, can cultivate the right attitudes among Malaysians so that we can all participate in the co-creation of tomorrow’s Malaysia.
E-businesses are the wave of the future and will grow to give every Malaysian the opportunity to harness their skills, talent and entrepreneurial spirit to earn their fortunes in global markets. MSC Malaysia has a vital role to play in spring boarding the growth of Malaysia’s online economy and helping us realise our national aspirations to become a developed nation.
The writer thanks Jobstreet.com for sharing their insights into the opportunities and challenges facing Malaysia’s online business community.
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