FOREWARD
By Hjh Hairati Bte Dato Paduka Hj Muhammad
Only three years into the new millennium and the third wave of the industrial revolution rolls on unabated. The digital age that we are now in and the technologies that made it happened had become more advanced. The ubiquitous computer that was once a machine to make complex mathematical computations faster and easier had evolved to sophisticated processes that had made profound changes in all aspects of our lives.
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Technological changes continue to reshape industry, commerce and trade. The digital revolution – built around the ones and zeros of computer speak – had a dramatic impact on the process of globalization. Internet technology and the growth of the computer and the web make easier, rapid communication across continents.
Information technology make the world more complete, in the sense of connectivity and access to information but at the same time globalization is forcing companies to compete across geographical divides and meet the increased expectations of consumers. Failures to catch up and harness the awesome power of information technology will make us lose the competitive edge. Economies of scale and comparative advantage had taken a new shade. That the world is the marketplace had never ringed more true. Notwithstanding the geographical and demographic size of a country, information technology had created many opportunities. B2B and B2C processes, using information technology and ingenious business model had given the smaller countries and businesses the opportunity to fight back against the multination conglomerates.
Brunei, despite it size, compared to its larger neighbors, can take advantage of Internet enabled e-commerce, to become a trading hub. She has a young and literate population and can easily acquire the fundamental skills to help achieve the national aspirations to make ICT a major engine of growth, in the effort to speed up the economic diversification process and wean the country from a predominantly oil and gas economy, albeit this sector will continue to play an important part in generating the capital base needed to fuel the growth of the ICT industry.
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