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Tuesday, 20 September 2005 06:00 |
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Boersen's ITinnovation section recently published an article on Danish ICT Management / Metrocomia in Bangladesh.
The Danish business newspaper,
Boersen, is currently focusing on several Danish companies that
outsource IT projects to Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The journalist
Kent Dahl visited several companies in these three countries, including
Danish ICT Management, and 13 September 2005, an article called "IT can Boost Projects in Developing Countries" was published in Boersen.
ICT - Bridging the Divide
The
article focuses primarily on the importance on the investment that IT
has had for Danish Management Group. Furthermore, it underlines the
impact that the utilisation of ICT has in developing countries as a
powerful tool to raise their social and economic level.
One of
the investigations we carried out for the European Commission proved
that the use of ICT in the implementation of development projects
increases the output generated by the development aid contributions by
25%. For Denmark, this would mean an increase in productivity
equivalent to DKK 2.5 billion. In most cases, it is a question of
making existing knowledge accessible for as many people as possible, so
that sustainable development is achieved. ICT is one of the most
advanced tools to bridge the divide between developed and developing
countries.
As Frantz Longhi, President of Danish Management
Group stated, ICT should not be just something to write about in
reports, it has to be part of our day-to-day. That is why we, three
years ago, decided to acquire the web-design company, Metrocomia, with
offices in Dhaka and Uganda.
A Win-Win Situation
This
symbiosis between the parent company and the subsidiary can be clearly
defined as a win-win situation. While Metrocomia's image has been
strengthened, our chances to win large international ICT development
projects have improved considerably. Moreover, Metrocomia's
contribution was crucial at the time when Danish Management Group was
selected for the implementation of several ICT projects in Asia. The
fact that development tasks are carried out in development countries is
crucial for their development. The role played by Metrocomia has been
very important for Danish Management Group' success. Two representative
examples of the assignments carried out by Metrocomia were the two
e-portals developed for the Ministry of Energy in Thailand and the
Ministry of Energy in Vietnam.
Combining Consultancy and IT
Competence
development is another key issue for Danish Management Group. Frantz
continued: "Previously Dhaka only supplied IT solutions, but at present
employees are continuously developing their consultancy competences.
The combination of consultancy services together with IT solutions is
very valuable to us. The Group's employees are an asset to the company.
For that reason, it is important to us that local employees feel
directly responsible. This can only be achieved by developing local
management's core competencies and strategic understanding". According
to Frantz Longhi, it is crucial that Danish ICT Management is a locally
managed subsidiary, as this avoids the expatriation of expensive Danish
experts to Dhaka - an effective cost reducing measure.
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