Microsoft may set up SME center

Microsoft may set up SME center

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Microsoft Indonesia, the Indonesian subsidiary of U.S.
software giant Microsoft Corp., plans to set up a center this
year to promote the use of information technology (IT) among the
country's small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The company's president Tony Chen pointed to the lack of
competitiveness among SMEs here as being the main justification
for the plan.

"We have millions of SMEs but their competitiveness in the global
market lags far behind those in neighboring countries. Our
company is seeking a way to support them by using IT to improve
their skills both as regards production and marketing," he told
The Jakarta Post after the signing of a collaboration agreement
between Microsoft Indonesia and the ASEAN Foundation on Friday.

"If they (SMEs) succeed in growing, our economy will also grow
and more jobs will be created."

Data from the Ministry of Cooperatives, and Small and Medium
Enterprises shows that as of the end of last year there were 42.4
million SMEs nationwide employing a total of 79 million people.

Chen also said that the center could be opened some time this
year.

"We will open it in Jakarta. It could be in the Jababeka
Industrial Estate or somewhere else. We will announce it to the
media after we finalize all the preparations," he said.

However, Chen denied previous reports that Microsoft would set
up a research center here. He said that setting up such a center
would not be feasible in the near future.

"I guess the rumor started when President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono asked Bill Gates (Microsoft CEO and founder) to
consider opening a research center here when they met in
Seattle," he said.

"But Bill replied by offering research collaboration between
Microsoft and Indonesian universities. Our Beijing biggest
research center, the second biggest after Redmond in the United
States, will facilitate the collaboration. The agreement was
signed in Beijing when Susilo visited China last month," he
added.

Under the agreement, lecturers and students from the Bandung
and Surabaya Institutes of Technology will be able to serve
internships in the Beijing research center.

"In this case, Indonesia is a step ahead of its neighboring
countries as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines have yet to
benefit from such a program," Chen said. (006)