Here’s some shocking stats to digest. There are more than 645,000 SMEs in Malaysia and over 60% of SMEs do not have any web presence. That’s a lot of businesses not taking advantage of the internet. It is based on those statistics that the annual Digital SME Day came to be. Organised by PanPages, a technology and search company, in partnership with Google and Alibaba.com, Digital SME Day’s main objective is to help Malaysian SMEs to harness the power of the internet.
The one-day event held at the Sunway Convention Center in Sunway Pyramid drew approximately 1,500 SME attendees.
In his opening keynote, Fong Wai Leong, CEO of PanPages said, “Internet is a powerful yet disruptive force. It is like a storm chaser and in order to stand out in this competitive market, we need to borrow the power of the internet. There are may winning stories that have proven that the internet can be the best tool a SME can have. For the past 25 years, PanPages has been working hard to meet market needs with our in-house printed product – SuperPages and since 2008, we had joined the internet wave and reached out to the ASEAN market with our partners Google and Alibaba.com. It is estimated that more than 24 billion things will be connected to the internet by 2020.”
The convention brought together some industry leaders and internet practitioners to provide tips and best practices on SEO, trading platforms, social media platforms and cloud computing.
The line-up of distinguished speakers included Matthew Heller, Google Head of Channel Sales – Southeast Asia; Timothy Leung, Head of Global Development of Alibaba.com; Reginald Singh, Vice President for Asia NetSuite; Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin, Chairman and Co-founder of Skali; Tan Sai Hup, COO of Business Media International; Cheryl Goh, Regional Marketing Head of GrabTaxi; Michael Chia, PanPages Chief Content Strategist; and Christopher Ng, PanPages Chief Revenue Officer.
There were also panel discussions on various subjects including cloud computing, customer experience and internet marketing tools.
Tong Chee Leung, CEO of CBSA hosted the cloud computing discussion along with panelists Fong Wai Leong, Aima Aiza Nasharuddin and Reginald Singh.
The second panel discussion was hosted by Song Hock Koon, Regional CEO of PanPages where the subject matter focused on customer experience.
The final panel discussion touched on the impact of the internet on business operations. Customers from various backgrounds ranging from manufacturing to high street retailers were invited to share their success stories.
Apart from keynote presentations and panel discussions, other activities at the convention included sponsor exhibitor booths and a live demonstration on how to implement Google Street View into businesses by utilising Pan Pan360°.
With the success of the Digital SME Day 2014, PanPages looks for a bigger and better convention next year.
Follow PanPages on facebook.com/panpagesMY.
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