中小企業數位落差現況及縮短策略

Abstract

台灣地區在2004年有1,146,352家中小企業，佔所有民營企業總數的97.8%，這種景況在全世界經濟體中所少有，但是更特別的是這些中小企業中，尚有30萬中小企業沒有電腦設備，另外還有34萬有電腦的中小企業未曾寬頻上網，而上網應用電子商務的中小企業，只不到3萬家！這些曾經被全世界肯定，擔當台灣經濟奇蹟式發展驅動力的產業基石，如今正陷入嚴重的數位落差泥淖中！\n 上述現象終於引起政府的注意，決定投入資源，採取行動協助中小企業導入數位應用能力，以避免這些曾經克服各種景氣危機，渡過許多經濟風暴的企業，在資訊化的浪潮中翻覆！\n 1,146,352家中小企業的數位應用需求，對資訊服務業來說，應該是一個很大的市場拓展機會，為什麼這個看來原是極佳的數位機會，卻變成了數位落差呢？這裡面必定存在著民間企業無法克服的關鍵問題，必須靠政府的政策工具來解決！而政府是利用全國人民的資源，來協助中小企業縮減數位落差，因此必須先診斷出正確的病因，再採取適當有效的策略，對症下藥，這對主管當局是一項挑戰。\n 本研究即是針對上述需求而作之一策略研究，研究結果發現，首先中小企業導入e化應用，要的不僅只是「產品」，更需要的是「在地化一路陪伴小企業成長的服務」是重要關鍵；其次簡單而易產生效益的初步應用，是吸引廣大中小企業願意導入e化的重要策略，而以「溝通」為目的之寬頻網路應用策略，符合這項要求！第三則是對有導入意願之企業，予以補助激勵，同時選拔e化應用成功的典範，予以獎勵及廣宣，則最能打動企業主的心，跟進效法。\n 而如何將俱有符合溝通策略需求產品的大型資訊服務業者，與能夠一路陪伴中小企業成長的在地小型資訊服務業者，聯盟合作，而使三方各蒙其利，則是本研究另一項重要的策略建議；研究中同時也規畫了產業別及地區優先推動的策略建議，對落實執行縮減中小企業數位落差，是一項確實可行且有效的策略研究！

There are 1,146,352 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan, equals to 97.8 percent of all the private enterprises here. This is an unusual high percentage in any other developed economies in the world. Moreover, there are about 300,000 SMEs (26.1%) do not have any computer in use, and other 340,000 companies’ (29.6%) computers do not have broadband connections. Only less the 30, 000 of them have made use of online e-commerce applications. These small and medium-sized enterprises who together served as industry backbone driving Taiwan to miraculous economic developments in the past decades, now suddenly find themselves trapped in serious digital divide.\n\nThe above phenomenon has finally drawn government’s attention. It has decided to inject resources and take actions to help SMEs adapt to IT applications, and to help prevent those who had overcome many difficulties and economic crises in the bad times from overthrown in the wave of digitalization.\n\nThe need of IT applications for 1,146,352 small and medium-sized enterprises is supposed to be great business opportunities for information service providers. Why has this digital opportunity which seems to be great turned into something more like digital divide? There must be some critical factors that private sector can’t handle by itself, and should be dealt with government’s supports. Since the government is using national resources to help SMEs shorten the digital divide, it should make proper diagnosis to find out the right causes, and then take appropriate measures to solve the problems. This has presented a challenge to the authority.\n\nThis study is positioned to be a strategic research focuses on the need aforementioned. It has discovered that: In the first place, when small and medium-sized enterprises make use of IT technologies, they want not only “products”, but also “localized services to go along with the growth of their business”, the latter is actually a very key point. Secondly, the IT applications which are made easy and productive are very important to appeal to SMEs, and broadband applications aiming at “communication” can help achieve this goal. The third is to offer subsidies to encourage those businesses that are willing to use IT, and in the meantime, select successful examples/cases of using IT applications and give them lots of publicity and rewards. This type of promotion can have greatest influence on the leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises to follow.\n\nAnother important suggestion of this study is on how to facilitate cooperation between large information service providers who can offer products to match needs of SMEs and small local providers who can go along with the developments of small and medium-sized enterprises, and then help all three parties enjoy the benefits. The study has also prioritized the strategies based on the industry domains and geographical regions. It is proven to be an efficient and feasible strategy to shorten digital divide for small and medium-sized enterprises.