資訊科技業納入CEPA之後
IT is finally included in CEPA 2, but will be mean beef for the industry? [From The Sun, Aug 30, 2004]http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/fina/20040830/20040830020013_0002.html
選舉論壇可有網上版!
8月24日傍晚,雷暴警告生效中,室外傾盆大雨,而室內正在舉行由兩個資訊科技界別專業學會所主辦的立法會候選人選舉論壇。
隨着「九一二」日漸接近,這些辯論也一次比一次激烈,幸好幾位候選人都很理性,反而台下發問者卻有點忘形,圍攻之情,令筆者感到有些唏噓,正是「本是同行(業)人,相煎何太急」,這就是政治。
眼看這情景,離開容易,留低是難的,筆者就舍難取易,半小時後就走了。走了去藝術中心,因為早已與另一群行家相約,看進念二十面體的「開咪封咪」的演出,總算找回一個歡笑的晚上。
「開咪封咪」的宣傳說,投票之前必看,筆者實在認同;選議員時,大家知道立法會的職能是甚麼?基本法第七十三條說,包括依法制定、修改和廢除法徨律,審核、通過政府提交的財政預算,批准稅收和公共開支等,觀眾都可以在開心歡笑歌聲之中,得以温故知新。
劇名叫「開咪封咪」,宣傳標語說「天地有泠氣,夏天冚棉被」,內容當然與傳媒有關。劇中一段把工商科技局對電台、電視、印刷傳媒、電訊的發牌和監管機制,風趣地介紹出來之餘,更把業內的問題一針見血地指出來,例如電訊商多為地產商控制;電台電視發牌限制多數目少,小眾內容沒有着落之處,落後於如台北等地;傳媒運作保守,甚麼都說沒有市場,結果全無多元化;沒有公平競爭法,基建和傳媒都為大財團攏段,消費者沒有選擇;但流動內容傳送未來將取代電視和電腦,帶來全新局面。
唉,這真比那些候選人講的更直接了當,與其搞選舉論壇,可能資訊科技界選民去看看「開咪封咪」,說不定會更獲益良多,也可以快樂地思考一下社會面對的問題。談到小眾內容,業內人士有否留意,近期藝術發展局之藝術文化網上頻道的計劃邀請?
事源藝發局與香港寬頻達成協議,推出這藝文網計劃,由香港寬頻提供播送平台(寬頻及電視)、製作部份節目、人力及技術支援等,而藝發局會與香港寬頻共同釐定藝文網定位、內容方向及發展策略。香港寬頻將讓所有寬頻用户經網上免費收看節目,而該公司的用户亦可於其電視頻道觀看這些節目。
但甚麼才是藝術?藝發局將委任專業機構作執行機構,管理藝文網,但又有何保障創作自由的機制?要求節目以廣東話為主,這又是否與推動自由創意、多元並存這些目標,自相矛盾?
但無論如何,計劃應該是個很好的新嘗試,網上電視內容,比較網上電台,主要困難在於製作;只有聲音的網上電台,有些在完全缺乏外間資源情况下,竟然能達到十多位主持,每天數小時直播節目製作之勢。可能,下次資訊科技選舉辯論,或選後的定期業界論壇,如能「身體力行」地在網上理性舉行,應該是件好事,引導我們這些「專業人士」上網收聽,以ICQ提問,卻恐怕有點挑戰。
Professionals and organisations in the IT industry are increasingly concerned with the lack of awareness and recognition, among the Hong Kong community, of the importance of IT as an essential enabler in our economic transformation and the enhancement of our quality of life. Mounting evidence include:
§ The persistent unemployment and under-employment of seasoned IT professionals
§ The bursting of the dot-com bubble a few years back which has severely tainted the professional and social image of the IT sector
§ The slow adoption of IT by our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of our economy, despite well-intentioned efforts by the Government and other relevant organisations
§ IT-related studies at our universities, once immensely popular among matriculating students, now experiencing a draught of applicants
In view of this predicament, which if persists would lead to dire consequences for our economic transformation and global competitiveness, four representative organisations in the IT sector, have recently come together to formulate a communal statement on IT and prepare an action plan to revitalise the image and perception of an industry and profession vital to our economy and to our vision to be the leading digital city in Asia. This Statement has received the endorsement and support from six universities and more than twenty trade and professional organisations.
Information technology is the strategic asset to create societal wealth through supporting and gearing our economic transformation for Hong Kong to compete effectively in the global market.
IT is a strategic asset creating societal wealth
That IT is the strategic asset to create societal wealth in any economy is universally recognised. In Hong Kong, the Government’s Digital 21 Strategy aims to exploit and realise the full potential of IT to accelerate our transition to a knowledge-based economy, to provide the impetus to economic growth and prosperity, and to improve the quality of life for all.
In Mainland China, to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing technological, social and business environment of the 21st century, the Central Government has decreed IT as a strategic, leading and pillar industry to improve the national economy, fortify national security, enhance citizens’ livelihood and foster societal progress, and the core industry able to accelerate the national economic transformation, and to speed up the national informatization programme.
Societal wealth created by the effective application of IT extends beyond the economic benefits of revenue and profit growth for Hong Kong enterprises. There would be more quality job opportunities at all levels. Customers and consumers would be able to make more informed choices through ready access to relevant information via an innovative variety of multimedia channels. The integration of IT in the full spectrum of our education system would induce a high degree of IT literacy within our community, which is essential to realise the full potential of the electronic delivery of public and consumer services in a digital society. Bridging the digital-divide would bring forward a better quality and a higher standard of living for our citizens.
IT Gears our Economic Transformation
That IT supports and gears our economic transformation is prominently promulgated in the Government’s Digital 21 Strategy. Apart from the digital-divide in our society, today there exists a significant digital-divide among businesses, specifically between large enterprises and small/medium-sized businesses (SMEs). SMEs are missing out on the advantages of IT-enabled process improvement with ready and wider access to value-added information and services. In Hong Kong’s economy where SMEs’ role is so critical, productivity and efficiency enhancements for the SMEs through IT would be essential to accelerate our economic transformation. A major reason for the sub-optimal adoption of IT among the SMEs is the misconstrued view of IT as an optional and relatively expensive cost item rather than as an essential and value-adding operational and informational tool for business successes.
Therefore, a campaign should be conducted to propagate and instill this pertinent concept of the ‘value’ of IT among the SMEs, together with a more creative and productive approach coordinated by the Government to encourage the wider adoption of IT by these organisations.
IT Enables Hong Kong to Compete Effectively in the Global Market
That IT is the strategic asset for Hong Kong to compete effectively in the global market is supported by our excellent IT-enabled infrastructure and the expertise and quality of our IT professionals.
We have one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in the world, offering innovative and reliable multi-media services. Our mobile phone penetration is over 100%; our broadband network reaches all commercial buildings and virtually all residential buildings. Cyberport, with the recent installation of the Wireless Development Centre and the ultra-modern Digital Media Centre, is making steady progress to fulfill its objective to promote IT development through the creation of high value-added industrial clusters, That our Chep Lap Kok International Airport, our container ports, and other business services are consistently achieving the highest rankings in the world owe much of their successes to our IT-enabled infrastructural facilities. That we have world-renowned IT applications, e.g. the versatile OCTOPUS Card, comprehensive logistics support systems for our multi-modal transportation facilities, the Government-supported ESDlife portal to facilitate access to public services, and many others is the fruitful culmination of the creative design, in-depth technical expertise, project management skills and multi-disciplinary teamwork of our IT professionals working hand-in-hand with other stakeholders.
To strengthen our capabilities to compete effectively in the global market, we need to leverage and further enhance our infrastructural facilities to support our economic transformation, and to align with the needs of the technology focus areas already identified for the development of innovation and technology. It is heartening to learn that, of the thirteen strategic technology areas identified for future development in the Government’s consultation paper “New Strategy of Innovation and Technology Development” issued in June 2004, at least 10 are intimately linked to or enabled by IT.
Furthermore, to maintain our competitiveness, and as acknowledged in the Government‘s Digital 21 Strategy document, “we must have adequate and quality human resources in IT to meet the demand of a knowledge economy and specifically that of commerce and industry”. Towards this objective, we must formulate effective plans to attract quality newcomers to be trained in IT courses, the curricula of which should be relevant to the prevailing needs of our commerce and industry. Together with our seasoned and experienced IT professionals, they would fuel our much-needed human capital in IT for the sustainable development of our economic transformation.
上星期的一天,筆者在四十八小時之內,巧合地有四位朋友說,即將要「回流」加拿大,再加上其他近期曾表示要返加的朋友,情况實有點令人担心,香港現在表面上的經濟復甦,是否只是個假像,實情是另一個即將爆發的移民潮?
如果香港失去更多的中產專業人士,而每天卻要在無選擇權了接收從大陸以單程証來港人士,此消彼長,情况堪慮。香港社會現正陶醉於自由行帶來的快感之中,連政府也樂於自欺欺人,之前還說要撿討人口政策,結果依然捨難取易,試想,中國這麼大,自由行地區逐個開放,香港要真正把握自己未來命運,難道就此一拖再拖?國家為的是香港的好,但如果我們的領導不知爭取我們所需,國家也幫不了我們,香港的經濟轉型只會依然迷失方向,結果如果香港流失了更多我們所倚賴的人才,未來真更令人担心。
再講自由行,雖然為香港確實帶來不少好處,但真正受惠的,只局限於幾個行業、幾個地區的零售、旅遊服務及相關行業,同樣地,經濟學者估計即將重返的通貨澎漲,看來也只以地產帶動;如果經濟復甦不能廣泛地惠及更多行業,有通漲無薪加,普通市民怎能受惠?政府有否經濟發展的全盤政策,還是打算順其自然?
任何的政策都必須能達致平衡,否則好的也會物極必反,自由行也不例外;自由行所惠及的零售類別,如消費電子、化妝品、金飾等,已經把一些旺區的鋪租甚至賣價瘋狂地推高,這變相把不少中小企的生存空間收窄,難道我們希望見到這些行業,變成香港超級市場的競爭情况之翻版?
再要說清楚的,是自由行雖好,但只能為香港「止痛」,不能治本,為香港帶來的是基層服務性,低技術、低增值的職位,雖可短暫為失業率降温,但卻不是幾年前特首、司長們掛在口邊的高科技、高增值、知識型經濟,難道他們又以捨難取易為本,當自已「交了功課」作罷?錯了的當然要改,但說對了,未能做到的,卻不可放棄;香港仍要向內投資教育及產業發展,向外爭取市場及國家政策配合,否則,我們真的不願意看見我們人才的流失。
刊載於《信報》 2004年8月19日
筆者昨天參加了一個名為「全球航空RFID論壇」,這活動是由二大飛機生產商波音和空中巴士聯合主辦,香港是亞洲唯一舉行地點,另外論壇地點為美國亞特蘭大和德國慕尼黑。在港的與會人士來自航空公司、機場、空運、維修工程、零件供應者、應用軟件商,甚至航空監管機構及國防部門,當中大部份由海外參加,如台灣、新加坡、日本、韓國等。
波音和空巴合作為客户與合作伙伴主辦活動,就像百佳與惠康一齊招待供應商,本來有點不可思議,但當細看RFID(射頻識別)為行業帶來的機會和挑戰,一切都變得不難理解。雖然二家公司都先表明暫時不會强制推行RFID,也不會向供應商改變合約要求,但所表達的方向明確得很,事在必行。
原來波音和空巴早在十年前已共同推行一個名為SPEC 2000的條碼標準,而達致的目標,在於改善有關零件的數據管理,需知道航空業在零件方面的總庫存額高達450億美元,大部份都是價值高、體積小、壽命長,常經更換維修再用,而非即棄的零件,故此如果能改善供應鏈流程,對降低成本以至增强安全性,都大有幫助。
空巴表示,五年前他們在毫無商業理由之下,憑着對RFID未來的信念而開始了研究,從而發現不能單單着意於技術層面,反而應集中於數據處理,向客户(航空公司)、供應商及監管者推廣,更重要的,是訂立數據標準,所以就承繼着SPEC 2000在條碼方面的業界合作基礎,與波音及其他業者合作。
航空業RFID應用所要解决的主要問題,是如何制定數據標準,和對付一系列的技術難題,把永久性的條碼及RFID晶片,放入數以千萬計的不同零件中。過去,不同的生產商、零件商、維修商、航空公司等,甚至同機構的不同部門,都在同一件零件上加上不同的部件號碼,加上其他的倉存、維修紀緣等編號,多不勝數,零件上貼上一個個的貼紙,甚至手寫上各種號碼,不要說要把一件零件找出來有困難,就是要訂購新組件,也常出現雞同鴨講,浪費人力和時間。
RFID自動化的一大優勢,是系統的準確性,話說原來受過訓練的打字員的30個字母會打錯一個,條碼閱讀錯誤約三百萬分之一,而RFID將會更加準繩。SPEC 2000在十年前開始訂立航空業條碼標準時,對象是可維修、有時間性(如限時要更換或維修)的零件,設立永久性的編碼,目的包括配合航空規管監察要求、保險核對、保存維修紀綠、飛行時間等,遠超一般倉存要求。
發展至今,在服務中飛機數目或型號,都愈來愈多,新型號飛機零件數目可以高達6百萬以上,而適合以上條件而要加入條碼或RFID晶片的,也選出了五、六千種,新型號飛機可能一架已有二千件這些零件。
從條碼到RFID,重要解決的是通訊干擾的問題,航空監管當局也有嚴格要求,但RFID比較條碼也有很多優勝之處,例如:無需視線接觸,連金屬隔開都可以,能多次讀寫晶片上5KB以上記憶;以後,維修人員只要拿着RFID閱讀器,在機倉行一轉,就能把要更換的組件發現,不用擒高擒低,逐個組件拿來撿看。
除此之外,未來航空業零件數據標準化後,這些資料會在全球一個安全的网絡上給業者分享,一方面改善現時過於分裂的供應縺,又可以進行更多數據分析,以暸解零件性能及表現,對航空安全也有幫助。
論壇在香港舉行,証明香港在航空業仍佔一重要席位,而筆者所見來自台灣的與會者更似是各地之最多,則可能反映香港現時仍擁有的獨特優勢。
香港作為國際城市,中台樞紐,正是最具客觀條件在所有行業及技術標準化爭取地位,這令筆者想到,近期香港創新科技署諮詢成立研發中心,以技術範圍作出發點,未必適合「港情」,如果行業更多參與,可能應以政府引導行業組成聯盟,包括中港台、亞洲及歐美企業,發展支援共同標準的技術,而非一如既往地以大學及技術研究主導。好像空中巴士公司,開發RFID都用了不少德國研究中心,但項目都是由公司提出,不是讓教授們想出來。