Dotcom euphoria<\/p>\n
Hardly a day goes by in Indonesia now without a news
\nannouncement of a new dotcom company, a new web or portal site,
\nor a new Internet Service Provider opening shop. Although a late
\nstarter compared to most other Asian countries, Indonesia has
\nfinally been caught up in the dotcom euphoria.<\/p>\n
Dotcom is probably about the only business that has thrived
\nthese past few months while the Indonesian economy struggles to
\ncome out of its deep recession. So much money, most originating
\nfrom abroad, has poured into the nascent industry. The way
\nforeign investors are coming in, they obviously need no
\nconvincing about the prospects of the dotcom business in
\nIndonesia, even as the country's political climate and security
\nconditions remain uncertain. Unlike investors in manufacturing
\nand other sectors, they did not wait around for more government
\nassurances about the security of their business.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's dotcom business has marched on even after the
\nbubble burst in many parts of the world last month. Share prices
\nof many overseas dotcom companies plunged then, but they have
\nsince recovered to again reinvigorate the business worldwide. The
\nILOVEYOU virus attack on millions of computers around the world
\nlast week will most likely be regarded as a small glitch when the
\ndust settles. Indonesia's backwardness in computer usage has its
\nmerits as it is not as exposed to computer glitches as most other
\ncountries. But with the country now finally joining others in the
\ndigital era, Indonesia cannot count on being spared from similar
\nattacks in the future.<\/p>\n
Given the huge sums of money and resources devoted to building
\nthese dotcom companies, one would have thought that this is a
\nmoney-spinning industry. But that is not the case. It is far from
\na surefire business. The bottom line is that only a few dotcom
\ncompanies are profitable ventures. Many of the large ones,
\nincluding popular bookseller Amazon.com, are losing millions of
\ndollars. While some Indonesian dotcom companies may boast of
\nmaking some money, they can hardly cover their operations, let
\nalone the initial investments.<\/p>\n
Although most dotcom companies have yet to figure out where
\nthe streams of revenue will come from, that has not stopped
\ninvestors from believing that this is where the future is. They
\nknow that computers and the Internet will sooner or later
\nrevolutionize the way people communicate and conduct business.
\nThis is where dotcom companies come in. However, with
\nuncertainties about their commercial viability, only a few of
\nthese, if any, will survive the rigorous competition. These are
\nlikely to be the ones with enough capital backing to outlast
\ncompetitors. Hence the reason for dotcom companies rushing to
\nmake initial public offerings (IPOs) to raise capital through the
\nstock exchange.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, with a population of over 210 million, is certainly
\nan alluring business proposition for dotcom companies. Just
\nimagine what it would mean for business even if only half or a
\nquarter of the population was connected to the Internet. Any
\noptimistic prediction however must be tempered with reality.
\nThere are currently only 200,000 Internet subscribers and 1.5
\nmillion users in Indonesia at the last count. And only two
\nmillion people in Indonesia currently have personal computers.<\/p>\n
The number of people with access to computers or the Internet
\nwill certainly grow, but at what speed will largely be determined
\nby the development of the infrastructure, particularly fixed
\ntelephone lines. Telkom currently has only managed to provide six
\nmillion telephone lines throughout the country.<\/p>\n
There will be many other problems encountered along the way
\nbefore we can expect the number of people using dotcom services
\nto pick up significantly in this country. Personal computers are
\nstill considered a luxury for most people and so it will be some
\ntime before even a significant minority of the population adapt
\nto the e-commerce world. Telephone rates in Indonesia are still
\nprohibitively high for people to want to log on to the Internet
\nfor any reasonable length of time.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that Indonesia will have to catch up with
\nother countries in moving toward the digital era. What is sorely
\nlacking in Indonesia is government involvement in the endeavor.
\nThe government would do well to emulate Singapore and the United
\nStates where public usage of the computer and the Internet are
\nbeing encouraged, sometimes with government financial assistance.<\/p>\n
The way things have been developing in Indonesia, the
\ncorporate world appears to have taken the lead in pulling the
\ncountry into the digital era. The dotcom euphoria so far is a
\ncorporate phenomenon. The public has been slower to adapt, and
\nthe government, which is seemingly ignorant of the challenges of
\nthe digital world, is lagging even further behind.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dotcom-euphoria-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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