IT project must leap cultural hurdles

By I. Christianto

SINGAPORE (JP): Social and business culture could be a hurdle to information technology (IT) as it gains a foothold in Indonesia, a telecommunications expert said here yesterday.

Project manager of the research and information technology division of state-owned PT Telkom, Yogi Pratomo W, said that some aspects of the new IT "culture", such as telecommuting -- would not sit well beside Indonesia's traditional social and business practices.

To keep up with its neighbors in IT, Indonesia is working on a Rp 33 trillion (US$13.7 billion) National Information Infrastructure project called Nusantara 21.

The project is to connect the archipelago to the information superhighway by the 21st century. It will be set up in three layers called the Archipelagic Super Highway, Multimedia Cities and Multimedia Community Access Centers.

"Telecommuting will be a Multimedia Community Access Centers' application. Now, telecommuting is 'alien' to Indonesia," Pratomo said at the Asia Telecom '97 forum.

"Telecommuting trends are growing all over the world as it offers an alternative way of increasing the productivity of workers and a way of reducing costs, space and time."

"Telecommuting has proved beneficial to the employee and employer, and to society as well," he said, adding that telecommuting was common in Europe and the United States.

Handicap

He said telecommuting could be a problem for Indonesia due to the country's working culture which emphasized personal contact and face-to-face meetings.

"This can be seen in the way employees communicate with their bosses at private corporations or government agencies," he said.

"This is a big threat to implementing telecommuting. Indonesians are firmly stuck with the culture of respectfulness, authority and politeness that is part of their daily socializing. This has characterized the people for centuries."

Pratomo said that because of this, working the electronic way would not be suitable in some work environments.

"Telecommuting will change organization and communication structures, including the way problems are solved and decisions are made."

He said telecommuting would inevitably follow the other dynamic IT era changes.

"The Internet and telecommunications centers we have now can be developed into telecommuting centers where people can continue working, relying on network availability and reliability," he said.

He said telecommuting was not originally an exclusive job requiring specific IT capabilities. "Telecommuting in Indonesia will include the fields of data entry, telemarketing, surveying, consulting, bookkeeping, writing and translating. The job will require a 'minimum' IT background."

Strength

He said telecommuting's greatest strength was its flexibility and adaptability to new societal and technical trends. "Telecommuting is considered one of the alternative work arrangements for alleviating major problems in urban centers."

He said telecommuting would be important to support Nusantara 21.

Indonesia set its sights on Nusantara 21 after discovering that Malaysia had an ambitious project dubbed Multimedia Super Corridor, and that Singapore, which last week launched the trial operation of Singapore One, is on track to becoming an "intelligent" island.

Nusantara 21 will develop multimedia technology in the 27 provincial cities and wideband superlanes. Telkom will coordinate the project in cooperation with other institutions, ministries and private parties.

All existing telecommunications infrastructure will be linked to the network including satellites, conventional and terrestrial cables, submarine cables and terrestrial radio links.

Major cities and district capitals should be hooked up by 2001. By then, educational, cultural, health, trade, research and science, tourism, public service and government applications will be sufficiently developed to benefit from the network, he said.

The network will also enhance private activities, including finance and banking, education, trade and other development activities.

As Pratomo says social transformation and suitably qualified human resources are needed to support and maintain the project and the telecommunications industry in general.