If you were in charge of Hong Kong's IT policy, what would you do? Winnie Lai gathers a wish list from Hong Kong IT professionals for 2000 and beyond

In the past 12 months, electronic commerce has taken Hong Kong by storm. Talk to your friends and you'll probably find at least one or two who previously barely knew how to use Word or e-mail, yet are now enthusiastically looking at the rise in opportunities as a result of the e-revolution. The SAR government has certainly played a pivotal role in arousing the interest of the public in embracing information technology, with its high-profile initiatives including the promotion of IT education, the development of the Cyberport and Science Park, and the Applied Research Fund which sponsors local startups.

In view of these initiatives, some questions naturally arise: Is what the government is doing enough to transform Hong Kong into a knowledge-based society? Are there better solutions to certain issues? Are there any areas left to be addressed?

Computerworld Hong Kong spoke with IT professionals in Hong Kong to see how they would like the SAR's future to unfold. We went about it by asking this question: If you were in charge of Hong Kong's IT policy, what would you do?

The people problem
In speaking with around a dozen IT executives in the SAR, we found it's almost unanimous that the most critical problem companies face is the shortage of quality technical staff and business personnel with reasonably high IT skills.

The problem has created a headache for ABC Data & Telecom Managing Director Anthony Au.

Au said his company had planned to set up a second shift for certain internal development work at night to better utilize existing facilities, but has been unable to do so because it could not hire enough qualified people. For the development projects that ABC is undertaking, Au said nearly all of his project managers are suffering from the shortage, and have been trying to secure more manpower from him. Moreover, his partner companies who face the same difficulty are asking to "rent" people from ABC. While Computerworld Hong Kong was conducting the interview for this article, it happened that one of his managers called in with the same old request.

U.S.-based Fore Systems, which has its regional headquarters in Hong Kong, is looking for people with knowledge and experience beyond the SAR. Vietnam native Tommy Nham, Fore's Asia operations marketing director, has the impression that most of Hong Kong's locally-grown IT workforce has a fairly narrow focus, and that its exposure to the region is limited.

"Hong Kong is a small market; people need to look further¡KThere are different environments and different needs for each country. We need proper education in the area to support Hong Kong's positioning as a regional hub," Nham said, adding that from his experience, Singaporeans generally have a broader perspective, as evidenced by their news and current affairs TV programs, which generally carry more regional content.

Nham is more charitable on the e-com-merce front, contending that Hong Kong's relatively late entrance into the e-commerce fray isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Technology changes so fast that your knowledge today might become irrelevant tomorrow," he said. In view of what happened in Hong Kong during the e-revolution in the past year, Nham praised the flexibility that the people here have demonstrated in adapting to change.

On how to tackle the manpower problem, what is suggested by the real-life sufferers might be more than just wishful thinking.

If he could change anything about the local education scene, ABC's Au said he would put more emphasis and resources in nurturing IT talent, especially at the tertiary level. With the shift in Hong Kong's economic structure, Au, who is also president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said it is time to revisit resource allocation in local education institutions. "The overall education policy should be in line with Hong Kong's long-term development. There should be more intake in computer science courses than before. Now it seems there are graduates from other courses who can't find a job, and there is not enough IT talent for employers," Au said.

In meeting this challenge, Au said that for the more junior posts the company has taken the initiative to retrain those who have switched from other industries, as well as to hire handicapped people who usually tend to be more loyal to the company.

Apart from promoting the expansion a highly technical workforce, Ashley Lo, interactive technology director at Eureka Digital, would also like to see a lift in basic IT skills, especially general office applications, across the board. He suggested that, like Chinese and English courses, computer literacy and advanced applications be designed as a mandatory part of the curriculum from primary through tertiary levels.

Lo said that while the government is putting in place a general English proficiency test for Hong Kong workers, there could also be one on general computing skills. The problem that Lo has encountered as an employer is the difficulty in verifying and assessing applicants' stated qualifications. He therefore recommends that an open assessment to rate basic office computing skills, including word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation, would be instrumental for employers and help raise the awareness of employees in sharpening their IT knowledge.

Lo is now considering ways to offset the impact that a technical staff shortage brings to the company. He said he will either set up a development center or outsource the work in China or India.

As a result of the discrepancy between supply and demand, the salaries of local IT professionals have grown out of proportion, yet their skills may not necessarily be as good as the cheaper workforce abroad, said Lo. In fact, he maintains that a vicious cycle is forming where employers fight for staff who in turn demand ever higher packages, with the result that employees hop between jobs sometimes for a mere 10 percent salary raise.

Fore's Nham echoed this point by saying that though the IT know-how of the SAR IT workforce is fairly good, he found that those from the Mainland have better hard skills in development work because competition there is more intense. In contrast, he expressed the concern that the local IT workforce has much less pressure in this area and may be spoiled as a result of the shortage. Many companies have set up. Their development teams in the Mainland so as to overcome the labor problem here and cut costs. But the IT professionals we interviewed all said that if given a choice, they would rather have the team working together under one roof for better responsiveness and collaboration.

Thomas Ng, CEO of ecVision, a local e-commerce software provider, said he would welcome initiatives from the government in helping to recruit from overseas. He suggested the government could launch a collective recruitment campaign abroad, similar to what the Hong Kong Tourist Association does worldwide in promoting tourism in the SAR.

Ng said that in his experience, for smaller companies, even if recruitment firms are able to help shortlist potential overseas employees, it is not easy to convince those people to come to work for ecVision since it lacks an international reputation. He would therefore be happy to see the government organize programs like recruitment fairs and a resume database for overseas professionals interested in working in the SAR.

Closing the gap
Francis Quek, information technology director at KPMG, believes that as information technology becomes more developed, the gap between the haves and have-nots will widen. It is therefore crucial for the government to popularize the application of information technology down to the grassroots level, he said.

As part of that effort, he suggested that one viable option is for the government to offer each Hong Kong citizen an e-mail account. Through these accounts, which could be accessed from any computer including those to be installed throughout the territory under the government's upcoming Electronic Service Delivery scheme, SAR citizens would be able to receive such things as news and information, tax return reminders and voting notices from the government.

With this and other similar efforts, Quek said the low-income segment of society would not be neglected and could become more familiar with the use of technology to obtain information and conduct transactions. He maintains that such mandatory measures could help propel Hong Kong into an information-enabled society at a much faster pace. The beauty of these programs, said Quek, is that the advertising revenue derived would be able to cover costs.

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) in September this year revealed that around 60 percent of local companies are failing to make use of the Internet, even for e-mail, to conduct business. Quek suggested that one major reason is that the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which make up over 95 percent of local businesses, have no resources to set up their systems, whether financial or educational. Quek argues that the government could take a more active role in educating SMEs on the application and benefits of information technology.

While expressing appreciation for the efforts undertaken by quasi-government bodies like the HKPC and the Trade Development Council in helping local SMEs, Quek suggested that the government could make this assistance more widely available. To take it one step further, Quek said the government could encourage the establishment of volunteer groups like a Hong Kong CIO body. Through these groups, local IT professionals could assist the community as part of social service programs.

"For the IT society, such knowledge [in selecting systems and design, for example] is general, but for SMEs, it seems much more difficult and costly to obtain. And they often are doubtful about what the vendors tell them," he said. Quek stresses that the consultation services should be free of charge because SMEs would be unwilling to pay without understanding what technology can bring to them.

Money talks
Another item on the wish list is a tax incentive to entice companies to invest in technology.

Alfred Hung, sales and marketing director at Spectra Technologies, said although the procurement of IT equipment can be written off as an expense, that does not necessarily encourage companies to invest in IT because the amount might as well be spent on other business activities that also are not taxable. Therefore, Hung said he would be glad to see the government allow a shorter timeframe for equipment depreciation so as to let companies reap the benefits of tax deductions earlier. Alternatively, Hung said the effect would be more prominent if the government would stipulate additional tax deductions for companies investing in the use of IT.

One local multimedia software producer who spoke on condition of anonymity said he has noticed that some government-funded bodies, like universities and the HKPC, are competing with local companies for business. He cited his current project as an example. The project involves the design of a government online training course, and was entrusted to a local university which possesses the R&D facilities to develop customized systems, if required.

However, as a subcontractor for most of the project, he found that off-the-shelf commercial products could be used, and that no original R&D effort was needed. He maintains that if the university had not been given the project, local companies would have had one more piece of business.

"It's also unfair competition because these organizations are government-funded and thus more resourceful. They also have a good brand name that the public will recognize," he said, adding that he wished that the government had a clear definition of the functions and responsibilities of these organizations.