Many governments have not explicitly focused on ICT adoption by SMEs in the non-ICT sector. They have either focused on growing the ICT sector or supporting the growth of SMEs, but they have not focused on integrating the two areas to implement broad-based policies. Since most SMEs who can benefit from the use of ICT are not in the ICT sector, they have not been able to receive the benefits.

In addition, workshops and training seminars, the most common way for governments to encourage ICT adoption by SMEs, often did not tailor the content to the type of audience and did not focus enough on the concrete benefits. To encourage SMEs to adopt ICT, efforts first need to concentrate on convincing top management that implementing ICT can improve their business, whether through cost savings or enabling expansion to new markets. This is because these managers determine the overall strategy of the firm, and they make the decision whether or not to adopt ICT. Middle management are usually the ones to implement the ICT project and thus need to have a deeper knowledge of how to implement it, so their training should include a mix of strategy and implementation skills. Frontline employees are the ones who will use ICT on a daily basis. It is therefore more important to concentrate their training on the actual skills required than on the strategic benefits of ICT. The difference in training based on the roles of people in the firm is characterized.