Assessment framework for ICT acquisition by small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) / Mark Victor V. Mamaril

Year : 2006

Number of Pages : 30 leaves

Adviser : Dr. Rufino S. Mananghaya

Executive Summary

The small and medium enterprises (SME) in our country contributes heavily in the growth and development of the country. They face the challenge of competing in a global market. In order for them to compete in such an arena, they should be able to improve their operations. One of the options that a firm should consider is the utilization of technology to improve their operations. However, most of the SMEs in the country have little access to higher levels of technology which larger corporations have access to. With their low level of technology, they face the threat that the larger corporations will be the ones to benefit since they have the technical and managerial know-how needed to adapt to drastically changing economic conditions. Firms face the challenge of attempting to identify which solution available in the market is best suited to their needs. The lack of managerial skills and exposure to technology hampers their decision making. Hence, they would be enticed to choose to acquire solutions based on cost and functionality alone without considering other features or metrics that should have been considered when they make their decision for technology acquisition. The problem tackled is to help SMEs choose software solutions for their operations. The proponent conducted a study in two steps : (1) survey to come up with an assessment framework (2) verified usefulness of framework in comparing two general ledger systems. An initial assessment framework was successfully formulated with its primary metrics and sub-metrics. Application of the framework to the analysis of two application general ledger systems was able to highlight the applicability of each to distinct SMEs.