Review of the ICT Sector in Jamaica

Knowledge Society Foundation

Conference

Mona Visitors Lodge

Kingston, Jamaica

April 15, 2011

Evan W. Duggan

Mona School of Business

The ICT Landscape

Watershed Events in the History of ICT…

Dr John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry designed and built first computer (ABC) Dr John Von Neumann’s paper on the stored program concept Dr Grace Hopper’s “the education of a computer” Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. proposed the microprocessor The Emergence of the personal computer Time Magazine’s choice of the electronic computer as machine of the year instead of “person of the year”

Watershed Events in the History of ICT

Further Developments Convergence of computing and communications

technologies Digitization Protocols

Miniaturization NSFNET, and the beginning of the Internet Tim Berners-Lee invents medium for document sharing called WWW The rest is history… Cascade of ICT-enabled Innovations Dramatic Increases in Price-Performance Ratio Ubiquity

The Digital Economy

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Implications of The Digital Economy

Markets become more “competitive” Customers are more discriminating (new expectations, more info, more choices) Creating opportunities for market efficiencies

(no middleman) Facilitating a global market (breaking down barriers)

Companies are evolving their business models with customers, intermediaries and suppliers Electronic relationships and Real-time exchange (e-commerce) Shared processes (e-supply chain, extended-integrated

enterprise) Increased globalization, 7x24 operation Increased Competition Strange Terms Mass customization Coopetition

The Changing Role of ICT

Ubiquitous Information Access

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Era I: Automation, Cost Control and Efficiency

Era II: Productivity and End-User Empowerment

Era III: Value Creation and Business Effectiveness

Internet/Network Computing

Mainframe/Midrange Computing

Client/Server Computing

IT Impact on

Organizations

Low

High

Era IV: IT Enabling New Business Models The Rules

Internally

Focused

Externally

Focused

Source: Gartner Group

Branches of Computing Studies

Computer Engineering

Computer Systems

Management Information Systems

Conflicting ICT Performance Perspectives?

Moore’s Law Moore said, in 1965, that the power of an integrated circuit

(computer chip) would double every year while the cost remained the same.

He later revised this estimate to a slightly less rapid pace: doubling every 18 months.

The IS Paradox Effectively articulated by Fred Brooks (1986)

Persisting Perception

The Productivity Paradox Productivity paradox = discrepancy between measures of investment in IT and

measures of output at the national level

Generally interpreted to mean “the failure of massive investment in information technology to boost productivity growth.”

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Determinants of ICT Benefits...

The challenge is to identify the intervening factors

Use

Organizational capbility

Deployment effectiveness

Change management

Investments

in IT

Business

performance Conversion

effectiveness

The Jamaican Situation

On the Positive Side…

Liberalization of the Telecoms sector

Auctioning of the radio frequency spectrum

Legislation to facilitate secure electronic transaction

Decision Support with GIS

Some strides in E-government

Creation of CITO???

Creation of National ICT Strategy (2002, 2007)???

The Deficits…

Kept pace with IT trends until mid 1980s Dismantled mainframe environment Loss of human capital Loss of familiarity with software production

methods

Inadequate tertiary training

Absence of indigenous innovation Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) Software Erosion of capability

Non-participation as a software exporting nation

Perceptions of ICT and Competitiveness in Jamaica

The Digital Divide* External Divide Internal Divide

Responses Introduction of Digital Readiness Measures

Digital Readiness Indices (E-readiness ranking, Networked Readiness Index, Digital Opportunity Index, ICT Diffusion Index, and E-government readiness ranking)

ICT Infrastructural Expansion

The Networked Readiness Index

Networked Readiness Index (NRI)

Environment Readiness Usage

Individual Usage Individual Readiness

Business Usage Business Readiness

Government

Readiness Government Usage

Market Environment

Political/Regulatory

Environment

Infrastructure

Environment

Network Readiness Index

133 134 127 122 115 70

2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05

Republic of Korea 15 11 9 19 14 24

Barbados 35 36 38 40 - -

China 37 46 17 74 50 41

India 43 54 50 44 40 39

Brazil 61 59 59 53 52 46

Jamaica 66 53 46 45 54 49

Is Readiness a surrogate for Effectiveness?

Technical & Business Innovations that have Bypassed US

Business Intelligence

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Knowledge Management

Intelligent Systems

Disintermediation

Telecommuting

Free and Open Source Software

Cloud Computing

Some Recommendations

Dunn & Duggan, 2006

Jamaican Realities

Competitiveness Deficits Progressive encroachment of digitally rich Inability to reciprocate

Vulnerabilities of small island development states (SIDS) ICT viewed as Catalytic in building resilience SIDS... Including Jamaica Stake optimism in deployment & diffusion of ICT But cannot motivate the research base to support policy development and

decision-making insights Rely on Educational institutions to “voluntarily” provide the answers Do not understand “Academic freedom”

Jamaica not “research grant-friendly” ICT Research not Prevalent Many institutions consumed by objective to build human capital Few collaborative research networks Extrinsic Vs Intrinsic motivations Lower wages : Consultancy vs research

Better Targets for Jamaica… Generally Focus on digital maturity effectiveness

1. Awareness, 2. Access 3. Diffusion 4. Exploitation 5. Innovation

Specifically Develop human capital Build ICT industry Pursue indigenous innovation to…

solve pressing national problems alter ICT producer/consumer ratio participation in the global software market

Assist SMEs to use ICT effectively Implement ICT governance – national level Engage in ICT environmental scanning

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Questions, Discussions, ….