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amaica is set to improve its perfor-mance in the booming – and lucra-tive – information communication

technology (ICT) market over the next 12 to 18 months by attracting more in-vestment from entrepreneurs and corpo-rations. Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. Christopher Tufton, recently unveiled the government’s plans to expand the sector, which also includes the appointment of ICT businessman Pat-rick Casserly as Jamaica’s ambassador/special envoy with responsibility for ICT within the ministry.

Speaking at a press conference held at JAMPRO’s New Kingston head o!ce ear-lier this month, Minister Tufton disclosed that ICT investment attraction will be one of the government’s top priorities going into next year and beyond. Investments are primarily being sought to further develop the local ICT/business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. “JAMPRO will mobilise its resources to attract more ICT entrepreneurs and corporations to invest in Jamaica, with a view to doubling the number of jobs held predominantly by young Jamaicans in this expanding sec-tor. It is our position as a government that the local ICT/BPO sector presents the greatest opportunity to create jobs in the shortest possible time, jobs that will, in turn, increase the multiplied e"ect in the economy,” he stated.

Jamaica’s ICT/BPO industry currently comprises of 26 firms, providing nearly 11,000 full time jobs. Minister Tufton in-dicated that over the next few weeks, the government will complete and unveil a five-point plan to drive expansion in the

sector through: market/client segmenta-tion and targeting; infrastructure build-out; strengthening of policy and legisla-tive framework; addressing training needs within the sector in a cost-e"ective man-ner and identifying sources of financing to support ICT activity.

To this end, Minister Tufton noted that the appointment of well-known ICT en-trepreneur and businessman, Patrick Cas-serly, to the post of ICT ambassador/

special envoy will help to strengthen the investment push. “Mr. Casserly’s main role and function will be to assist in the refinement and execution of the Promo-tion Strategy for the ICT sector, with a view to converting ICT investment leads to prospects and ultimately, to landed in-vestments. He will be integral to all ac-tivities relating to the development and promotion of the ICT sector in Jamaica and will work closely with JAMPRO to execute a discrete programme of pro-motional activities specifically geared to-wards the attraction of investors in this sector and the expansion of existing com-panies within the local industry,” Minister Tufton said.

JLAND MORE ICT INVESTMENTS AND JOBS

MINISTER TUFTON ANNOUNCES PLANS TO

Minister Tufton disclosed that ICT investment attraction will be one of the government’s top priorities going into next year and beyond.

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“I am pleased to welcome Mr. Casserly to this assignment in service to our nation, and I look forward to working assiduously in the coming weeks and months to re-alise all our dreams for the ICT sector,” he added.

Patrick Casserly is widely credited for revolutionising the local ICT/BPO in-dustry. He created the e-Services brand in 2000 and grew the company from 35 employees to well over 4,000 profes-sionals servicing Fortune-1000 clients from outsourcing centres in Montego Bay, Portmore and Kingston in Jamaica as well as in St. Lucia. He eventually sold his e-Services Group in 2009 to A!li-ated Computer Services (ACS), a global leader in BPO and IT outsourcing, which was subsequently acquired by the Xerox Corporation.

The BPO industry is big business world-wide. It is a broad field, covering basic sales to more technical support in areas such as healthcare, finance and logis-tics. “BPO has increasingly become best practice for global corporations seek-

ing to reduce costs by focusing on core activities, processes and technological improvements while benefitting from re-duced transaction costs and easier access to markets,” Minister Tufton said. Global spending in the industry is expected to in-crease from the 2007 figure of US$460 billion to US$680 billion bythe end of this year. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the global BPO mar-ket will grow at an annual rate of nine per cent and reach US$1 trillion by 2014.

The size of the BPO sector in the Carib-bean and Latin American (CLA) region is approximately US$2.5 billion and is ex-

pected to grow to US$5 billion by 2013. Jamaica’s BPO market is valued at ap-proximately US$145 million, just six per-cent of the CLA market. Minister Tufton noted that sector analysts conservatively estimate that Jamaica’s ICT/BPO sector must grow at a compounded annual rate of 20 to 21 per cent over the next four to five years in order to remain competitive in the CLA region. Thus, the plans to ex-pand the local industry are on point.

“The global industry watchers have all said that Jamaica is well positioned to address the growing needs of the near-shore market business. Time is not on our side. Jamaica must seize the moment,” stated Minister Tufton.

advertisment“BPO has increasingly become best practice for global corporations seek-ing to reduce costs by fo-cusing on core activities, processes and technologi-cal improvements while benefitting from reduced transaction costs and easier access to markets.”

Dr. Hon. Christopher Tufton,

Minister of Industry, Investment

and Commerce

he ongoing saga of the News of the World phone hacking

scandal has certainly left a bad taste in the mouths of observers worldwide. The issue surrounds the allegations that the British newspaper’s reporters hacked into the phones of several per-sons, from celebrities and the royal fam-ily to murder and terrorism victims, to ‘scoop’ stories.

The most notorious case is the hacking of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler’s voicemail, where reporters are said to have deleted messages to keep her in-box from filling up, giving her family and the police false hope that she might still be alive. The newspaper was also accused of paying the police for confi-dential information. Such practices are antithetical to the tenets of journalism, which hold that any information made public must be legally and ethically ob-tained.

Naturally, several key figures from the now defunct paper, including former edi-tor and parent company News Interna-tional CEO, Rebekah Brooks, have been arrested as a result of Scotland Yard investigations. The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee inquiry into the matter, which originally began in 2009, is still ongoing.

Much of the public furor has died down, but there are important lessons com-ing out of the case that we can all learn from as members of the public and that journalists need to always be mindful of.

JOURNALISTSIt is unethical to use illegal or otherwise underhanded methods of acquiring in-formation to publish or broadcast. Be-ing arrested and charged is only one consequence of such action; journalists with such a mark against their names may find it impossible to regain em-ployment anywhere in the media field or even elsewhere. Reporters need to do all in their power to obtain informa-tion the right way and make sure their sources are legitimate. Editors must also ensure that their reporters operate above board. “I had no idea what was going on” will not be accepted as an ex-cuse, as seen by the sacking, resignation and arrests of several key News of the World editors.

GENERAL PUBLICWhile there is nothing we can do to prevent our phones or computers from being hacked into, we do have some control over our information online. It is

impossible to completely erase informa-tion from the internet because even if you take it down, chances are someone has already seen it and passed it on to another party without your knowledge and it could come back to haunt you. This goes beyond that embarrassing drunken photo your mother finds out about or that Twitter rant about your horrible boss that gets you fired. Every time we go online we are leaving our footprints, small bits of information such as our location and what interests us. The onus is therefore on each of us as information generators to be more circumspect.

View a timeline of the phone hacking scandal here.

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any entrepreneurs are foregoing the traditional o!ce culture to run their

businesses from home or operate com-pletely home-based businesses. This is a growing trend among young entre-preneurs, especially those in the boom-ing information technology industry. According to the US-based Small Busi-ness Administration, over 50 per cent of all small businesses in the country are based out of the entrepreneur’s home, representing around 15 million businesses and about US$500 billion in revenue annually.

There are many benefits to the so-called “10-step commute” (from your bedroom to the home o!ce), but there can also be drawbacks if certain factors are not taken into consideration.

The most obvious benefit is that it is more cost-e"ective. You don’t have to pay rent for o!ce space and fork out additional funds for utility bills. The money you save can then be plugged back into your company. You also save time as you no longer waste several hours per week stuck in tra!c. Imag-ine, you can wake up at 6 a.m. and be at work by 6:05! Think of all the things you can get done in the time it currently takes you to get to your remote o!ce. Working out of your home gives you the freedom to set your own schedule. Depending on the nature of your busi-ness, you can work when you are most productive, whether late at night or early in the morning.

Another great advantage to a home-based business is that you have more time with your family. This is a huge draw for many entrepreneurs, espe-cially those with children or dependent parents.

However, before you burn your sen-sible black pumps or your collection of paisley ties, note that running your business from home comes with just as much responsibility as if you ran a tra-ditional o!ce. In fact, it requires a lot more discipline. You might be tempted to sleep late or get distracted by the TV or find yourself slacking o" because you don’t have anyone around you to help keep you motivated or hold you accountable.

YOUR HOME-BASED BUSINESSHOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF

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According to the US-based Small Business Administration, over 50 per cent of all small busi-nesses in the country are based out of the entrepreneur’s home, representing around 15 million businesses and about US$500 billion in revenue annually.

Additionally, others - including poten-tial clients - may not take your business as seriously as they would if you oper-ated out of an o!ce. You have to be prepared to prove to them that your business isn’t just a hobby. “Outsiders are apt to view even the most success-ful virtual companies with a measure of skepticism, if not outright derision. Con-vincing them otherwise means carefully managing perceptions about yourself and your company,” said Inc. magazine senior writer Max Chafkin.

Here’s how to maximize the benefits and negate the drawbacks:

1. DESIGNATE A WORKSPACE. Don’t even entertain the thought of working from your bedroom! Or the liv-ing room where the TV is in full view. If you don’t have a spare room, separate your work area from the common areas to minimize distractions.

2. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALLTHE RIGHT TOOLS. Besides the obvious necessities like a dedicated telephone line, computer and internet connection, you will need video- or telephone-conferencing software like Skype, Google Wave or ooVoo to col-laborate with contractors and clients. If you must meet face-to-face, consider renting a meeting/conference room at a business facility, college or hotel. You can also consider contracting a virtual assistant.

3. GO TO WORK. It may be tempt-ing to never take o" your pajamas, but experts say that the novelty of ‘slacking o" ’ wears thin after a while, allowing neglect to set in. Recreate a ‘going to

work’ routine – put on something pre-sentable, designate work hours and stay in contact with your team if you work with others.

4. DON’T FORGET TO NETWORK. You might be ‘o" the grid’ but you still need to get your com-pany’s name out there. Attend informal meet-ups and industry conferences and meetings. Life and business coach Marla Tabaka suggests that you budget to at-

tend at least one major industry con-ference per year. Also, meet a client or fellow entrepreneur for lunch or drinks whenever possible. Remember, you are your brand, so take advantage of every chance to get yourself and your com-pany’s name mentioned.

5. DON’T NEGLECT YOURSELF. When working from home, the ten-dency is to spend all or most of your time on the business. You skip lunch, even though the kitchen is right down the hall; you work round-the-clock even though your bedroom is right next to your workspace. Take a break every now and then, even just to walk to the kitchen to make a sandwich or a cup of co"ee or meet up with your friends for a night out. Remember, part of the reason you work from home is to have more freedom, so make the most of it!

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“Outsiders are apt to view even the most successful virtu-al companies with a measure of skepticism, if not outright derision. Convincing them oth-erwise means carefully manag-ing perceptions about yourself and your company.”

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