MATIN - Commercial Benefits of the Internet
MATIN ERDF Summary Report
MATIN seeks to promote economic development for small and micro-enterprise in both Manchester and Asia by: - Exploring the application of information technology and telecommunications to improve the effectiveness of employers in the Manchester area who have a particular interest in trade with South Asia, in order to improve the viability of Manchester's trading links, and to create, sustain and improve social and cultural links between Manchester and South Asian communities.
- Encouraging experimentation and innovation in the use of information technology and telecommunications to further the above, through the development of:
- computer-based telecommunications networks between employers in the Manchester area and companies in the South Asian region, including the development of mutually-accessible information services;
- electronic links between employers in the Manchester area and companies in the South Asian region, including the exploration of electronic trading and information links;
- training opportunities for Manchester employees of those companies with trade links with South Asia to improve their skills in information technology and telecommunications;
- partnerships with relevant community organisations in Manchester. With financial support from the European Regional Development Fund and Manchester City Council, MATIN developed a two-fold strategy for practical activity
Going On-Line - A Pilot Electronic Network
A pilot electronic network of small and micro-enterprises was successfully established on the Manchester Host, involving companies in both Manchester and Bangladesh. Manchester companies taking part are involved in travel/tourism, textiles and food import/export. One of the companies using the system from Bangladesh (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association) itself represents several hundred small companies. Other Bangladeshi companies with whom MATIN works are active in the computer, graphic design, banking, fare trades, chemicals, telecommunications and handicrafts sectors. Following a special initiative to promote MATIN by the British High Commissioner in Dhaka, there has been further interest shown by the various regional Chambers of Commerce in Bangladesh. In Manchester, seminars were organised for the participating companies closely followed by site visits and hands-on training at the workplace. Modems were purchased, software installed, and the use of electronic mail, bulletin boards and on-line databases were well established. In Bangladesh, technical problems were overcome, and the telephone network was of sufficiently good quality for relatively easy access from Bangladesh. Participating companies were able to connect into the Manchester Host following fax, phone and on-line support from GMBA. If the pilot project's results are indicative of what (with further educational and technical investment) could be achieved with an extensive network development programme, the potential of on-line connections and networks between Manchester and South Asia has been well demonstrated. To illustrate with concrete examples: - A Manchester textiles company obtained specific on-line sales enquiries from a previously unknown Canadian importer, thanks to the scanning and routing activities of MATIN. The same company has also used the network to identify alternative sources of cotton fabric, yarn and crop.
- An analysis of fresh water fish breeding in Bulgaria has been provided to a multinational seafood processing company interested in the opportunities bought about by the privatisation of state industries in that country.
- A Bangladeshi travel agent specialising in South Asia obtained a survey of this specialist sector for the US, prompting his investigation of on-line trading as a means to expand.
- A Dhaka-based computer company obtains up-to-the-minute industry news feeds, and is able to filter and search the information as required.
Nevertheless, the continuing lack of reliable locally- available computer communication dial-up facilities in Bangladesh has meant that access has only been possible by direct-dial international calls into Manchester. This proved prohibitively expensive for the Bangladesh partners: the long- term use of direct-dial into Europe is economically unsustainable. MATIN has therefore now brought forward its original longer- term objective of establishing local dial-up facilities in Bangladesh, enabling both the Manchester or Bangladesh partners to benefit from the use of telematics. MATIN is now exploring the feasibility of establishing a full internet node in Bangladesh, and is working with a range of individuals and organisations internationally to this end.
Development of On-Line Database Skills and Resources
MATIN has now developed expertise and experience in the retrieval of information from on-line database sources, and the development of an on-line service for MATIN members. The project is concentrating on developing direct connections to commercial and semi-commercial databases which have a specialist value for the companies involved in MATIN, and in particular has identified a number of specialist publications that can be brought on line or accessed from the MATIN project. "Business Eye," the influential and informative monthly magazine published on behalf of the Trade Advisory Committee for South Asia (TACSA) for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been placed on-line and attracted positive interest not only from direct MATIN members but also system users in general.
The Next Steps
Three key areas of work need to be built upon to fully develop this pilot system. - Firstly, experience gained during the last year has demonstrated the need for a planned, relevant and maintained business information system. The adoption by business of TCP/IP as the de facto protocol for wide area networking makes it appropriate for this to be internet based. The diverse nature of information shown by the pilot study to be required by companies would require a selection of tools appropriate for the particular task (eg World Wide Web, Listservers, Newsgroups, Database, FTP, Gopher, Veronica servers etc), which in order to provide a one-stop solution, would best be situated at one virtual location, even though in practice they would best be physically situated with the information facilitator in order to facilitate optimum administrative/maintenance access. GMBA's in-depth knowledge of the database, information and partnership brokerage needs of this client group would make it ideally suited for this role.
- Secondly, the technical infrastructure needed to access South Asia electronically needs to be improved. With the minimum of dial-up access facilities available from Bangladesh (if these can be made quickly available) and the practical experience of the MATIN project, it becomes possible to consider a more comprehensive strategy for the development of a Bangladesh-UK trading and information network. Some public support and resources will be required for initial capital equipment, training and user-support, but there are clear signs that the network could quickly be financially self-supporting and capable of being run as a commercial venture.
- Thirdly, there needs to be a pro-active developmental agency to handle the logistic implications of these new expanded information systems within business. The formative work of MATIN in raising awareness of telematics in Manchester's Asian business community and the participation of its key players is testament to the effectiveness of a mutual self-help approach for these new telematics technologies. An appropriate mechanism to facilitate this would be to utilise an organisation with the requisite technical skills and knowledge but no commercial interest to support the work of MATIN as an entity and provide a contact point with external agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, Business Link, Training & Enterprise Councils, Local Authorities, Higher Education Institutions, Telecommunication and Value Added Service Providers. Again, GMBA's demonstrated competence with Asian businesses, together with their experience of the technology and working in partnership with a wide range of agencies, would make it a suitable choice.
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