4. National absorption of Information Technology
“Nepal web site” (like Singapore’s national web site, Infomap <http:// www.sg>). This is especially true for sites such as government agencies (again see The Singapore Government web site at <http://www.gov.sg>).
was first established by small groups of enthusiasts in the university and research community,19 but that was not the case in Nepal. Commercial organizations led the way there, but they were late. By the time that Nepalese companies began experimenting with store and forward (UUCP) email service in 1994 and 1995, most other nations already had full IP connectivity, commercial Web services were being deployed,20 and an international conference had already convened on the role of the Internet in tourism, an important business in Nepal.21 As a result of this late start, Nepal finds itself with a relatively immature commercial Internet industry and presence.
Looking at the web sites that do exist, one sees further evidence of Nepal’s late start on the Internet. They are first generation web sites — small, static sites typical of the early “electronic brochures” that were found on the Web several years ago in all nations. They will evolve with time, but they are dated. Dhukuti.com, <www.dhukuti.com>, is an improvement over most of these sites. It is a US-hosted site selling books, music, handicrafts and booking travel and trekking tours that was built with table-driven store package. It has the look, shopping cart, credit card verification, and site evaluation feedback that US shoppers are familiar with today, and access in the target market is fast because it is hosted in the US. Modern web sites are comprehensive, providing all the information and service a user requires. They are interactive, allowing the user to customize the experience, retrieve material from and update databases, complete transactions and payments, arrange for fulfillment, etc. They gather information from users, leading to effective customer relationship management and the possibility of creating a community among the users themselves. They also provide views of corporate information for and communication with suppliers, vendors and other business partners.
MOS is the oldest Nepalese ISP, and appears to be the leading business connectivity provider. They have between 20 and 30 leased line customers and roughly 80 per cent of their dial up accounts are businesses. MOS is also doing off-shore programming for Bloomberg Financial Services, and is developing an online retail mall, which will be integrated with back-end processing for ordering, inventory, fulfillment, etc. They also have a 10person news-gathering organization, and produce <www.nepalnews.com>. This site has approximately 4’000 visitors per day, and is a potential source of revenue domestically and among the Nepalese expatriate community (some 80 per cent of the visitors to the site are from North America). Nepal’s late start with the Internet has left it with relatively little business activity. Table 4.1 summarizes the listings of tourism and export related companies in the Nepal Directory, which is available both as a hard copy Yellow Pages and online.Even in these export-oriented industries, only 49% of the companies listed in the Yellow Pages have email addresses, and many fewer have web sites.22 One problem is the sheer number of online directories for Nepal. In fact there are so many, they have run out of original names (e.g., <www.catmando.com>). Most only list the organizations they host. It would be useful and reassuring to have an officially sanctioned
For example, a mature travel presence could provide one-stop information for potential visitors. It would gather valuable data on visitors to the site, and provide a customized experience for different types of traveller (business, general tourist, Buddhist tourist, rugged trekking, mountain climbing, etc.) from different parts of the world. The system would be comprehensive, covering the travel experience from basic familiarity with options through visa application, airline reservations (international and domestic)5 , ground transportation, hotels and lodging, guides,
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