Abstract

This paper focuses on a number of ICT, eBusiness, and eWork initiatives in the South East of Ireland. The core theme is that it is essential to develop coherent umbrella regional and national initiatives, with suitable funding, to avoid different initiatives competing with each other instead of co-operating. One example of this integrated approach is the South East Information Society Strategy (SEISS http://www.seiss.ie), a body with representation from all the regional authorities, and relevant industries, established by the South East Regional Authority (SERA http://www.sera.ie). For many micro SMEs, which make up the bulk of SMEs in Europe as a whole, access to on-line services is still problematic. Unless there is direct investment in ICT infrastructure in regions the economic trends will draw industry away from regions to central conurbations increasing the digital divide. This is because in central locations more ICT competition leads to lower costs for the same services. Interestingly wireless options (e.g. wireless GPRS, local wireless LAN or WiFi, satellite) may provide cheap low bandwidth always-on connectivity before any fixed wire options (e.g. cable-modem, ADSL) are actually deployed in peripheral regions.