HKPC Digital DIY Portal Beta Version to Help SMEs Thrive in the New Normal

HKPC Digital DIY Portal Beta Version Debuts 100+ Digital Transformation Solutions Available to Help SMEs Thrive in the New Normal

The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) announced the debut of its brand-new Digital DIY Portal Beta version today. A press conference was held in a novel format employing the mixed reality experience technology AltspaceVR so that the media can join anytime, anywhere with a just simple click (https://youtu.be/VSFtXhvRwHk).

Digital transformation (DX) has become a key element for business growth and sustainability development. It is an irreversible trend and SMEs are no exception nor traditional industries, which must accelerate their pace of DX to cope with the new operating models driven by the changes in living habits under the new normal such as work from home, online shopping, e-learning, telemedicine services, etc. According to the “Standard Chartered Hong Kong SME Leading Business Index” survey for the first half of 2022, nearly 90% (88%) of SMEs expect a rise or no change in the share of e-commerce in their total turnover. More than 80% of those expecting changes in their investment will maintain or even increase their investment in information technology (IT). The importance of digital transformation cannot be ignored.

In view of the ardent needs of enterprises for DX, HKPC proactively collaborated with various sectors to set up the Digital DIY Portal with a collection of practical and must-have DX solutions for enterprises to select. Digital DIY Portal aims to facilitate local enterprises in identifying suitable DX solutions and connect them to reputable service providers which in turn assist them in implementing DX, improve operational efficiency and open up new business opportunities.

One-Stop Platform with Abundant DX Information

Digital DIY Portal is a free one-stop online platform with abundant DX information, providing a novel way for enterprises, especially SMEs, to get connected with DX solution providers for low-cost and highly efficient solutions that match their needs; and provide the latest information on digital and innovation and technology (I&T) activities, and related training courses. The portal currently has already gathered more than 100 business digital application solutions, covering e-commerce, smart office management, network security solutions, e-marketing, data analytics, etc. Most of them offer flexible payment methods such as monthly or pay-as-you-go charges, which can help ease SMEs’ worries about upfront investment in DX.

The Digital DIY Portal will also invite experts from different fields to share successful cases, in-depth analysis of the pain points of SMEs regularly so as to keep track on specific needs of different industries and offer suitable DX solutions. Moreover, online and offline events will be held to enhance SMEs’ awareness of DX such as Digital DIY Live, industry seminars, 1:1 consultation sessions and related training.

Mr Mohamed Butt, Executive Director of HKPC, said, “The pandemic has changed the business landscape. Under the new normal, digital transformation is essential for many SMEs. However, there are numerous DX solutions on the market. How to choose the best fit solution is a great challenge to many SMEs. This Digital DIY Portal is precisely addressing these pain points, providing SMEs with a variety of convenient, flexible affordable solutions, as well as sharing of successful cases, with an aim to facilitate them to choose the best-fit solutions to implement DX according to their own needs. We hope the platform can play the role of a super-connector and a collector of the latest DX information and provide service providers an additional channel to communicate with SMEs in need. We strive to create more successful DX cases for Hong Kong enterprises, and contributing to the development of Hong Kong as an international I&T centre.”

Overwhelming Support Across Industries

The Digital DIY Portal has received overwhelming support from nearly 100 trade and industrial organisations and technology partners across sectors, including the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, Federation of Hong Kong Industries, Hong Kong Chinese Importers’ & Exporters’ Association, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business and Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprise Association, that make its launch possible.

Among them, Microsoft Hong Kong is one of its major strategic tech partners showing full support to the Digital DIY Portal. “Striving to empower every local organisation to achieve their goals and continue driving innovation in this dynamic digital era in any way we can is always our core mission,” said Ms Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau. “As a long-term strategic partner of HKPC, we are thrilled to support the launch of Digital DIY Portal, joining hands to empower local SMEs and providing them with a host of holistic technology solutions. The solutions cover the hybrid workplace, marketing and promotion, and digital management, leveraging cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data. In all cases, our goal is to accelerate business automation and build resilience to respond to changing market demands.”

Exclusive Offers Benefiting over 200 Enterprises

The launch of the Beta version of Digital DIY Portal comes with a series of exclusive offers for its users. Moreover, from now until 30 June, SME users can log in to the Portal and participate in a quiz, and they will have the chance to enjoy one of the following offers: free 12-month high-speed broadband service, free 6-month access to Microsoft 365, free 12-month Microsoft 365 cloud backup service and free cybersecurity assessment; or other offers as stated in Appendix 1, available on a first-come, first-served basis, while stocks last. (Please click https://ddiy.hkpc.org/campaign to join)

Digital DIY Grand Launch in July

HKPC is committed to raising the productivity and competitiveness of Hong Kong businesses with advanced technologies and innovative services. The launch of Digital DIY Portal is one of the projects this year that focus on the uses of technology to improve productivity. During the Beta run of the portal, HKPC will listen to opinions, visit technology partners, and keep collecting more digital transformation solutions and tips. The full version will be launched in early July. At that time, the platform will further enhance with more information on DX, sharing of more successful cases, more insightful tips from experts. We will also actively engage various sectors to arrange more practical webinars and solution demonstration with an aim to closely connect technology service providers and enterprises and help SMEs take their first steps in digital transformation.

Wish to try out the basic functions of Digital DIY Portal such as solution search and event updates, please click https://ddiy.hkpc.org. The Portal offers local SMEs a more comprehensive view of digital solutions for selection to fulfil their specific operational and business development needs at different stages. Digital DIY Portal aims to increase the overall competitiveness of local SMEs, and help Hong Kong become a highly digitalised smart business city.

Digital DIY Portal aims to facilitate local enterprises in identifying suitable DX solutions and connect them to reputable service providers which in turn assist them in implementing DX, improve operational efficiency and open up new business opportunities