{"id":159288,"date":"2021-06-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=159288"},"modified":"2021-06-30T06:02:47","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T11:02:47","slug":"ictp-161-the-cost-of-business-automation-and-the-opportunities-and-challenges-for-e-commerce-and-local-and-regional-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/06\/ictp-161-the-cost-of-business-automation-and-the-opportunities-and-challenges-for-e-commerce-and-local-and-regional-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 161: The cost of business automation, and the opportunities and challenges for e-commerce and local and regional trade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>In the June 2021 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Simone Pasmore and Ian Mitchell, the panel discusses: automation for business operations: what does it really cost; and e-commerce and local and regional trade, barriers and opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1078616821&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-161-the-cost-of-business\" title=\"ICTP 161: The cost of business automation, and the opportunities and challenges for e-commerce and local and regional trade\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 161: The cost of business automation, and the opportunities and challenges for e-commerce and local and regional trade<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A major imperative for businesses in today\u2019s environment is to leverage all opportunities and avenues through which greater efficiency, improved effectiveness and increased sales can be realised. However, the opportunities and avenues that can be explored are varied, and to some degree, will depend on factors such as, the country, the industry and target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Caribbean region, it could be argued that businesses are not only subject to external constraints, but also self-imposed ones. However, they all can hinder the degree to which a more efficient, effective and profitable operation can be realised \u2013 though self-imposed constraints may be considerably easier to remove, than challenges over which businesses have little or no control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tension between limitations internal to a business and those external to a business underpin this month\u2019s Community Chat. However, do meet our guests and the topics that will be discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guests and their topics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"150626\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/10\/ictp-079-community-chat-user-experience-studies-testing-blockchain\/simone-pasmore-s-pasmore\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Simone-Pasmore-S-Pasmore-e1572378244102.jpg?fit=513%2C585&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"513,585\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone XS Max&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1556643398&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.25&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;32&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0081967213114754&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Simone Pasmore (S Pasmore)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Simone Pasmore&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Simone-Pasmore-S-Pasmore-e1572378244102.jpg?fit=263%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Simone-Pasmore-S-Pasmore-e1572378244102.jpg?fit=971%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Simone-Pasmore-S-Pasmore-971x1024.jpg?resize=300%2C316&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-150626\" width=\"300\" height=\"316\"\/><figcaption>Simone Pasmore<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/simone-pasmore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simone Pasmore<\/a><\/strong> is the Chief Executive Officer of Webstylze, a web and mobile applications development firm, which also offers social media, search engine optimisation and content development services. It is headquartered in Barbados, along with an office in Florida. In addition to being CEO, Simone\u2019s areas of expertise include, data science, artificial intelligence, web development, and app development, to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although we know that increasingly, the world is moving towards automation, many businesses, particularly small businesses, have been hesitant, and even resistant, to integrating automation. In many instances, the big concern is cost: it is so expensive to implement; but it can also be quite intimidating for business owners who are not very technology savvy. However, Simone is challenging businesses to also consider the cost of <strong>NOT<\/strong> automating, and led us in a discussion on, <strong><em>Automation for Business Operations: What does it really cost?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"147290\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/03\/ictp-047-digital-increasing-access-tech-projects-caribbean\/ian-mitchell-i-mitchell\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?fit=536%2C448&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"536,448\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ian Mitchell (I Mitchell)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Ian Mitchell&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?fit=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?fit=536%2C448&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?resize=300%2C251&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147290\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?w=536&amp;ssl=1 536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ian-Mitchell-I-Mitchell.jpeg?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption>Ian Mitchell<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/iancdmitchell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Ian Mitchell<\/strong><\/a> is the Managing Director for eMagine Solutions Inc., which is based in Saint Lucia, and offers a broad range of website and mobile application-related services. Ian and the eMagine Solutions team is in the process of launching a Caribbean online marketplace, Shopfront, through which individuals and businesses can showcase and sell their services and\/or products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In working with clients over the years, and in order to set up Shopfront, Ian has done a deep dive into e-commerce in the Caribbean. He has thus become even more aware of the needs Caribbean businesses are facing, some of the niche opportunities that exist, along with the broad range of challenges that continue to hinder e-commerce development in the region. Typically, the focus on e-commerce tends to be on the systems to support payments, but that is only part of equation, especially where goods are concerned. The other part is fulfilment of orders and the associated logistics to deliver goods to customers, which drove the discussion on, <strong><em>e-Commerce and Local and Regional Trade: Barriers and Opportunities<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>We would love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/simone-pasmore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simone Pasmore<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.webstylze.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Webstylze<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/iancdmitchell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ian Mitchell<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.emagine.lc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eMagine Solutions Inc.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/westtechshipping.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">West Tech Shipping<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shopfront.store\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shopfront<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express-des-iles.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Express des Iles<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcisecuritystandards.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Payment card industry (PCI) security &nbsp;standard<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/oecs.org\/en\/trade-eastern-caribbean-interreg-teeca-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">INTERREG Trade Enhancement for the Eastern Caribbean (INTERREG TEECA)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits:  S Pasmore;  I Mitchell;  Gerd Altmann&nbsp;(<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>);  Tumisu (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the June 2021 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Simone Pasmore and Ian Mitchell, the panel discusses: automation for business operations: what does it really cost; and e-commerce and local and regional trade, barriers and opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[307,71,292,115,205,204],"class_list":["post-159288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-automation","tag-businesses","tag-e-commerce","tag-e-transactions","tag-entrepreneurship-2","tag-innovation-2","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Featured-Image-June-2021-Community-Chat.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-Fra","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159288"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159306,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159288\/revisions\/159306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}