PROMIS e-Resources for SMEs Business Legislation in Europe Caterina Berbenni-Rehm, Dr. Chief Executive Officer FUTUREtec GmbH Hauptstrasse 188, D - 51465 Bergisch Gladbach (Germany) Tel.: 0049 2202 2826 0 eMail: crehm@futuretec-gmbh.de www: http://www.futuretec-gmbh.de

The Mission To provide SME’s with tailored business services in the field of Environment, Health and Safety and Quality (EHS-Q), with the goal to strengthen their competitive advantage at an affordable price.

ASP Subscription Model and Compliance Management System What is PROMIS A trademarked, process-oriented, multilingual, ASP Subscription Model and Compliance Management System focused on the fields of Environment, Health and Safety and Quality (EHS-Q) designed especially for small and medium sized enterprises, to provide easy access to information and services essential for them to comply with the complex legal and social requirements at national and international level

Key Problem: Health and safety (H&S) at work, including environmental and plant safety, are major issues of the European Union. SMEs very often lack the time and manpower to implement these safety requirements themselves and therefore use the support of H&S advisors. These advisors in turn need knowledge about updated laws and safety requirements. The flow of information and the exchange of knowledge is based on conventional means and need to be improved with interactive services.

Opportunity: …to allow SMEs to be prepared for a low cost and high quality services to comply with legal requirements and use the offered services via the internet.

PROMIS offers Solutions to… …ease the access to all relevant information and contents connected with EH&S-Q sensitive processes; …assist SMEs with self-analysis and design of an Integrated Quality Management system, suited to their industry sector and size of operation; …provide company-specific “Roadmaps” and guidelines, to support SMEs controlling their processes up to certification; …to buy a virtual workplace in which to define their own processes and manage their own company with the on-line assistance of consultants, if and where needed.

Environment, H&S, Quality - 5 Levels Initial top management commitment Commitment to comply with requirements Commitment to take action to improve Commitment to control impacts and improve Commitment to achieve recognised standard

The Services

Technology Used Two platforms existing based on: ORACLE technology 9i and Open Source LAMP (LINUX, Apache, MySQL, PHP) in connection with some components used .NET technology. PROMIS is being deployed in Open Source and the delivery channel is Internet.

Market Size and Approach Potential Market: 12,4 Mio European SMEs Italy (4.5), Germany (3.0), Spain (2.7), UK (2.2) Marketing Approach: Indirect: - Associations of SMEs - Associations of SME Consultants - Sectoral Associations Direct: - SMEs (e.g. Construction, Automotive, Tourism, Textile, Chemical, Leather, Food) - EH&S-Q Consultants & their SMEs

Current Status (1) PROMIS was funded by the European Commission eTEN, former Ten Telecom PROMIS is ready to be rolled out on a pan-European level The PROMIS service will be translated, localised (in technology and content) and deployed in 4 territories. (DE, IT, UK, ES)

Current Status (2) Partners committed to deployment are: - FUTUREtec GmbH - Forum of Switzerland - WEKA Verlag Holding - COASTAL (eTraining in EH&S ) - CNA, Confederation for CRAFT SMEs - AIAS, Association of EH&S Consultants In negotiation: - IlSole24Ore (Legislation & contents) - HVBG

PROMIS Needs to Harmonization and Standards On a Technological Level PROMIS is OSS and we are open to any ICT solution at the service of SMEs On a Methodological Level Code of Conducts and Practice for consultants Rules to assess the quality of Knowledge Codes of professional ethics in ICT ? On a Content and Knowledge Management Level Need to harmonize contents (content providers‘ round tables) Need to harmonize, as well as increase security to manage individual knowledge On a Service Level ……………..

Thank you for your attention ! Caterina Berbenni-Rehm, Dr. Chief Executive Officer FUTUREtec GmbH Hauptstrasse 188, D - 51465 Bergisch Gladbach (Cologne) Tel.: 0049 2202 2826 0 eMail: crehm@futuretec-gmbh.de www: http://www.futuretec-gmbh.de