Reaching for the Stars With Digital Convergence ... - Korea IT Times

2006-03-12006.3.410:47AM페이지10001채널맥(3443-0701)
Opinion
Lights to the world, love to our neighbours.
CeBIT Offers Golden
Opportunities to Korea’s SMEs
By Eugene Jun
Eugene Jun, president of the Incheon
Information Technology Industry
Promotion Agency (IITPA)
CeBIT Hannover, one of the world’s
most acclaimed exhibitions in the field
of information and telecommunications,
will kick off its 21st annual event on
March 9.
In 2005, the exhibition certainly lived up
to its reputation as a world-renowned showcase
for IT products, with the participation of
6,246 companies from 69 countries, demonstrating
their technological prowess to over
470,000 visitors.
For this year, too, global companies such
as Microsoft, IBM, Dell and HP have been
preparing for the event determined not to
dent their reputations. On Korea’s part, too,
such big names as Samsung and LG are set
to take part, while KOTRA and the Korea
Electronics Association plan to assist small
and mid-sized IT enterprises (SMEs) for
their participation in the Korean Pavilion
with 124 booths.
To SMEs in the IT field, CeBIT,
Hannover, Germany is highly important.
Whereas the CES held annually in Las
Vegas in the United States in the early part of
the year has a distinct characteristic of being
a showroom for displaying new products,
CeBIT has maintained its fame as an exhibition
where IT companies reap the fruits
through the signing of contracts with buyers.
For some time, Korean companies have
taken part in CeBIT and satisfactorily
demonstrated Korea’s strength in the IT
field. In the case of Incheon-based IT companies,
too, 13 companies have succeeded last
year in concluding contracts worth 23.58
million dollars. In some cases, the contract
money has far surpassed a company’s yearly
revenue.
For the past three years, Korea’s IT
industry has led the nation’s economy with a
19% growth on average, accounting for
about 15% of the GDP and 27% of exports.
It has secured the world’s top competitiveness
in the fields of semiconductors, mobile
phones and PDPs while quite a number of
competitive SMEs have also sprung up.
Nevertheless, the energetic IT industry is virtually
dependent on a few conglomerates.
From the perspective of job-creation, SMEs
acting as the basis of the nation’s economy,
the competition in the domestic market has
become ever fiercer, with a limited market.
Moreover, these SMEs are faced with growing
difficulties due to the relentless chase by
latecomers of developing nations, including
China. Under such circumstances, I would
like to make few suggestions to Korean IT
SMEs to capitalize on the CeBIT and
become world-renowned global companies.
Firstly, it is important that they unfold
marketing and compete in overseas markets
with their own brands. For some time, many
IT companies have adopted the Original
Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) method for
export as they have regarded it to be less
risky, possibly due to the considerable hurdles
in making inroads into overseas markets.
And yet, these companies should do away
with the practice of engaging in price competition
with rival companies from developing
nations for the sake of creating high values
and securing mid and long-term marketing
channels. They should compete with their
own brands while properly managing buyers
from drifting away and enhancing the market
recognition of their brands. Since CeBIT
Hannover is the world’s top stage for buyers,
it is time to find ways to overcome challenges
in the global market through one’s
own brands, however difficult and tiresome
it may be.
Secondly, it is advantageous to make the
best use of IT promotion agencies at home
and abroad. As there will be more than 6,000
companies immersed in stiff competition for
marketing at CeBIT, it is essential to secure
overseas distribution channels and unfold
various sales activities. However, it requires
time and energy to have a good grasp of local
markets and prepare countermeasures.
Today, IT promotion agencies, including
KOTRA and the Korea Electronics
Association, share information on overseas
markets and have been engaged in a mission
to assist the carefully-selected IT companies
seek opportunities overseas under the
umbrella of “IT Korea.” Accordingly, if one
makes the best use of putting such cooperation
into practice, one can bring about new
breakthroughs by saving considerable time
and money and raise the chances of a business
success.
Thirdly, the benefits of participating in
overseas exhibitions can be elevated only
when sought relentlessly. An instance of this
can be seen in a company that succeeded in
concluding a contract through a re-encounter
with a buyer at GITEX following a similar
one at CeBIT. By making prearrangements
with buyers for encounters at Hannover, one
can expand human networking. Moreover,
when one wins the confidence of buyers
through continuous participation in exhibitions
and contacts with buyers, the subsequent
fruits will be enriched.
The competition among nations and companies
in the world IT market is growing
more and more intense. If it were not a global
IT company with a worldwide network, the
opening of overseas markets by SMEs alone
is thought to be extremely difficult.
Moreover, the stiff competition among
SMEs and the business environment surrounding
the world market have become and
continue to be more unfavorable to SMEs
with the passing of time. Nevertheless, the
future prospects are bright, as Korea’s image
as a high-tech power has already been disseminated
and the expectations for “IT
Korea” have resulted in the choosing of
Korean products. I hope that Korean SMEs
in the IT field can expand their technological
power and growth prospects through 2006
CeBIT and lay the basis for becoming
invaluable players on the global scene.
1 0 _ March 2006 KOREA IT TIMES