T

he adoption of mobile apps by conventional business players could help promote their products and eventually increase the volume of sales, according a top executive of a telecommunications operator.

PT Indosat president director Alexander Rusli said that conventional businesspeople should be informed about using mobile apps to improve their operations and learn how to integrate e-commerce with conventional business practices.

'€œEspecially for conventional businesspeople in rural areas, some are used to their own methods. They do not see the use of services provided by mobile apps and smartphones. If they are more aware of the opportunities, then it could change the dynamic of how Indonesians do business,'€ Alex said in a discussion during the IDByte event on Friday.

He said people in rural areas did not have difficulty in understanding the use of mobile apps. The problem was that not many of them saw the need for that kind of technology in their lives.

To give an example, Alex noted that conventional businesspeople could benefit from interconnection by using mobile apps, including using transport services such as Go-Jek to help transport items, or find item suppliers online.

Once conventional business becomes more aware of the potential of mobile apps for business purposes, smartphone penetration in some parts of Indonesia could also be increased.

In some rural towns such as Sukabumi, West Java, he said that smartphone penetration was only measured at 7 percent.

'€œ[Private companies] should lead the way in informing people because we, especially as a telecommunications company, understand the development of digital trends sooner than most. Sell more success stories and more people will be more aware of the potential of integrating e-commerce with traditional business,'€ he said.

Additionally, businessman Sandiaga Uno, who also spoke at the discussion, explained how the use of smartphones could be beneficial for traditional market vendors due to inter-connectivity.

'€œMarket vendors could be more updated with price movements and therefore set their prices and budgets according to market trends. They could also make themselves more accessible to customers by integrating their services with apps such as Go-Jek. The problem is that merchants are not yet empowered enough in this form of literacy,'€ he said at the discussion.

Aside from informing conventional businesspeople, three factors needed to be addressed beforehand in order for integration efforts to effectively work, said Facebook vice president for business development John Lagerling.

Lagerling said the main barriers toward effective inter-connectivity lay in the adequacy of digital infrastructure and the affordability and relevancy of technology for many members of the public.

Indonesia currently has 150 million people that are without data connectivity.

He added that in terms of relevance, there are those who think that using the internet is not relevant to their daily lives.

'€œAround 50 to 70 percent of those without internet connection in the developing world are simply unaware of it. It would help if there was an emphasis on local content,'€ John said.