Taking the first step to establish your presence in cyberspace? We show you how to do so for less!
In a move aimed at encouraging small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to establish an online presence, an SME Domain Name Reservation initiative was launched in December 2007 to make it easier for new start-ups to reserve a '.com.sg' and '.sg' domain name. They will also be able to save up to $30 for the first-year registration of their first domain name.
Through the initiative, participating registrars are also providing bundled services at special values, like online shopfronts for as low as $230, webhosting for as low as $6 a month and some registrars are even allowing SMEs to register their first domain name for free!
The SME Domain Name Reservation initiative was introduced by SGNIC, which provides Internet registry services in Singapore, in collaboration with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
According to the IDA's 2007 Business Infocomm Usage survey, more companies can leverage infocomm for business advantage. While 66 per cent of SMEs use the Internet, only 31 per cent have a website. IDA's goal is to have 80 per cent of SMEs adopt broadband usage and establish an online presence by 2010.
The new SME Domain Name Reservation initiative helps start-ups to take the first step towards establishing an online presence by enabling them to reserve their domain name when they register their business entity electronically with ACRA's BizFile ( www.bizfile.gov.sg).
Upon successfully registering and paying for the business/company registration at the BizFile system, they will be shown the option for reserving a domain name. To do this, businesses will need to first check if the domain name that they want (ending with '.com.sg' or '.sg') is still available for use. If it is, they can simply provide a name, contact number and e-mail address to confirm the reservation request. The name will be reserved for three months.
Once a domain name has been successfully reserved using the BizFile system, it will have to be 'activated' with any of the seven participating registrars.
The $30 discount applies to the first-year registration for all business or companies without an existing '.sg' domain name. The promotion is valid till December 2010.
Infocomm@SME is an IDA programme aimed at helping SMEs see the value of infocomm and adopt it in their businesses. Infocomm technology provides SMEs with the opportunity to expand and grow their businesses, and promote their products and services anywhere without having a physical store. The SME Domain Name initiative is one of Infocomm@SME initiatives to encourage SMEs to have a Web presence. For more information on the IDA's Infocomm@SME initiatives, visit www.ida.gov.sg.
- This article first appeared in The Business Times on 4 March 2008 and information is correct at the time of publication.
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