Problem:
The increasing popularity of scuba diving, coupled with the current programs
of the Department of Tourism to promote the country’s tourist attractions
pose great impacts in the Marine underwater environment. How do we get
data to evaluate and monitor the condition of the dive sites? How do we
analyse trends in diving to improve its business and promote better dive
experience? How do we manage its impacts to the marine environment?
Solution:
Kristina Di V. Ticman
CEO
Mobile No: +63 923 343 4582
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com
Investment Requirements:
Php 50,000.00
Use of Investment Proceeds:
Data Gathering Fieldwork including the
following:
Transportation: Php 25,000.00
Marketing and Promotion:
Php 15,000.00
Miscellaneous:Php 10,000.00
Measure of Profitability:
DivR© Subscription: Php 199.95/mo.
Web Advertisements:
a. Logo and Link: Php 199.95/mo.
b. Banner Ads: Php 499.95/mo.
EC-GIS Services: Php 15,000.00Php 40,000.00 (1 project package)
Management Team:
Kristina Di V. Ticman
CEO, OIC-Finance
MS Geomatics Engineering Student
LRA-LTCP GIS data build – up
Ransie Joy A. Apura
OIC-Systems Development
MS Geomatics Engineering Student
LRA-LTCP GIS data build – up
Java Programmer
Edgardo G. Macatulad
OIC-Web GIS Development
MS Geomatics Engineering Student
Researcher at Environmental
Systems Applications of Geomatics
Engineering Research Lab
Greg F. Galang
OIC-Marketing and Research
TDI Certified Diver
MS Geomatics Engineering Student
The SISID Project – An online platform (Shared and Integrated Site
Information for Divers) that provides a system of monitoring dives and dive
site conditions in the Philippines.
Addressable market:
The Diving Community including:
1. Divers
2. Dive Organizations
3. Dive Resorts
4. Dive Gear Shops
5. Investors interested in setting up dive resorts
6. LGUs
Market Validation:
As per statistics from the 2010 Professional Association of Diving Instructors
(PADI), there are a total of 135,038 diver members and 16.3% of are divers
in the Asia pacific region. There are available online dive logs catering to the
international market, but none yet that focuses on the Philippine setting. The
divers interviewed gave positive feedback regarding the project and is willing
to support its development.
Competitive advantage:
The SISID Project offers an online portal for the diving community, with the
following features:
1. DivR®, an online storage for their dive logs and geo-tagged dive site
pictures, that they can access, view in map, and share with others,
FREE for a limited storage size, but upgradable through an additional
fee.
2. Dive resorts and dive shops may advertise their services and promos on
the website for a corresponding fee.
3. A Dive site monitoring system using embedded maps and the shared
dive data as inputs.
4. EC-GIS, Local Government Units and agencies concerned with the
Marine Environment Agencies may request for Consultation Services
regarding Environmental Impact Assessment on the dive sites.
Technology development/status/plans:
The SISID Project website is already set up and designed for gathering
inputs from divers with embedded map.
The website is initially using free webhosting from yola.com. Paid domain
hosting will be availed for the website upon the official start of operation.
Further system design will be done to incorporate capabilities to integrate
advertisements.
Coordination with dive groups and other resource persons is on-going.
Business/revenue model:
Year 1
CAPEX + OPEX = Php 134,400.00
REVENUE (Assuming an average 50 monthly subscribers for
Logo&Link, 20 monthly subscribers for Banner ads starting on the
3rd month of the business operation, 1 consultancy project @20,000
and 200 user subscriptions a year) = Php 260,000.00
PROFIT = Php 98,000.00
Year 2 onwards (OPEX = Php 11,200/mo. and REVENUE = Php 260,000.00)
PROFIT = Php 125,600.00
ROI of 1 Year with 10% interest
theSISIDproject
1. Key Concept and Business Impact
The Start-up Business Idea of the SISID Project is to develop an online Dive Site Monitoring service that will
have the following value propositions:
a. An online information system for divers wherein they can see dive trends such as hotspots, through
shared dive data, and also current dive site conditions through shared pictures from the diving
community.
b. An online diving community wherein dive resorts, dive shops and dive organizations may post
advertisements, promos and events.
c. An online gallery of dive site pictures that may help evaluate the current state of the marine
environment.
In order to establish this Dive Site Monitoring service, the SISID project is composed by two (2) components:
the DivR® and the Environmental Consultation/Geographic Information System (EC-GIS) Service.
DivR®
An online personal storage of dive log and dive site pictures for divers, in which they can view the data
in an embedded Google Map and can be shared and viewed by the diving community. Free and
premium subscriptions are available with the former offering a limit of 50 photos for storing and limited
photo resolution, and the latter offering unlimited photo storing and no limit on photo resolution.
EC-GIS
An online site for GIS consultation services focused on Environmental Impact Assessment, specifically
catering to the diving community and other concerned groups. The GIS services will especially be
valuable for the Local Government and agencies who want to monitor and manage respective dive areas
An online tool for people looking for optimal locations for establishing businesses related to the diving
community.
With the above features, the SISID Project may also indirectly contribute to the following aspects:
a. Promotes sharing in the diving community.
b. Promotes a better diving experience for divers.
c. Promotes environmental awareness and responsibility.
2. Business Model Structure
The SISID Project would primarily get its revenue stream from Advertisement subscriptions from the diving
community. Dive resorts, dive gear shops and dive organizations may opt to subscribe monthly for any of
two types of advertisement: Logo and Link Ads or Banner Ads. Other agencies or diving groups may also
avail of this service. The initial price offering for the available services are summarized in Table 1 below.
To gather support from the divers, the DivR® service is offered which can be availed through a FREE
subscription that can be upgraded to the premium subscription priced as also shown in Table 1. The
Business model that is implemented is shown in Figure 1 below.
Kristina Di V. Ticman, CEO
Mobile No: +63 9233434582
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com
theSISIDproject
Table 1. Initial Price Offering for the Services
SERVICE PROVIDED
UNIT PRICE
Logo & Link Ads (Monthly)
Banner Ads (Monthly)
Php199.95
Php499.95
DivR® Premium Subscription (Yearly)
EC-GIS Consultancy Services (per project):
- Locating potential seeding sites
- Dive Resort Location
- Dive Site Monitoring
- Others
Php199.95
Php15,000.00
Php20,000.00
Php35,000.00
Varies
Figure 1. The SISID Project Business Model
The uploaded dive data can be shared for usage in the dive site monitoring system. Local government units
and other agencies concerned with the Marine environment may request for EC-GIS consultation services
Kristina Di V. Ticman, CEO
Mobile No: +63 9233434582
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com
theSISIDproject
for the corresponding fees shown in Table 1 above. This includes data analyses and map visualizations of
highly impacted dive sites and potential seeding location (site rehabilitation) among others.
3. System Architecture
The System Architecture involved in the SISID Project comprises of the following components:
A. Website design
The online platform will have the following components:
1. Home Page – contains information about the company, on how to use the website as well as
information about the products and services being offered by the company
2. Login Page – contains registration details for free and premium subscriptions. Upon successful log in,
other features are activated (photo gallery, personal dive site map, dive site trends and pattern
analysis, dive records – public or private, etc). Subscriber has the option to share his/her dive data.
3. Dive Site Map – exhibits dive site and dive resort locations all over the Philippines. May contain dive
data freely shared by subscribers.
B. Website hosting
The Sisid Project will be built on a reliable and secure web hosting platform with custom domain name
of http://www.thesisidproject.com.
C. Server
The project will use virtual servers available on the Internet (Cloud Server Hosting). A paid subscription
for cloud server hosting will be availed to secure storage access and reduce risk of down-time.
4. Business Feasibility
A. Market Analysis
According to the 2010 member statistics of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI),
diver members reached to 135,038, 16.3% of which (22,011 diver members) are divers in the Asia Pacific
region. Interviews conducted with several divers yield positive results for the project. They have
expressed interest in the project as well as willingness to purchase an online dive log storage service.
B. Financing Plan
It is assumed that the first two months of the business operation would be spent for preliminary
fieldwork on marketing and promotion activities and data gathering. This constitutes the capital expense
for the project. For the operation expenses, only the minimal costs required for the start-up are
considered. Table 2 below shows the estimates project start-up costs.
Table 2. Estimated Project Start-up Costs
Capital Expenses (CAPEX)
Field work (Marketing, Promotion and Data
Gathering)
Monthly Operation Expenses (OPEX)
1. Subscription for Photo Storage
2. Subscription for Cloud Server
Kristina Di V. Ticman, CEO
Mobile No: +63 9233434582
UNIT COST
Php 50,000.00
Php 11,190.00
Php 90.00
Php 600.00
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com
theSISIDproject
3. Webhosting and Domain Subscription
4. Marketing
Php 500.00
Php 10,000.00
The OPEX as well as the Revenue Stream for the first year of operation are projected to begin upon the
official start of the online service expected to be on the third month. To estimate the Revenue stream
for the first year, average monthly advertisement subscriptions of 50 for Logo and Link Ads and 20 for
Banner Ads are assumed, with 200 Premium DivR® subscription and 1 EC-GIS service project at
Php20,000 yearly. Considering the prices listed in Table 1 above, the first year financial projection is
computed as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. First Year Financial Projection
MONTH
COST
CAPEX (Php '000)
OPEX (Php '000)
Total Cost (Php '000)
REVENUE
Logo and Link Ads
@199.95/mo.
Banner Ads @499.95/mo.
DivR® Premium Subscription
(@199.95 yearly) – 200
subscribers
EC-GIS ConsultancyService
(@20,000)
Total Revenue (Php '000)
Total Profit (Php '000)
1
2
30
20
30
20
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
11.2
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
20
16.4
20
40
45.2
20
54
20
62.8
20
71.6
20
80.4
20
89.2
20
98
40
-30
-50
60
-1.2
20
7.6
Considering the computed profit, it can be seen in Table 3 that positive profit starts from the 4th month
of operation. Projecting an average yearly revenue stream same as estimated in Year 1 which is
Php260,000.00 versus an annual OPEX of Php134,400.00 and assuming zero depreciation and inflation
rates, from Year 2 and onwards the Profit will be Php125,600.00.
5. Risk Analysis
The following are the identified risks that may be encountered in the implementation of the Business Model:
A. Market Acceptance
Appropriate marketing and promotion is needed to encourage divers to use the service and share their
dive data to the dive site monitoring system. There is a need to emphasize that they will be contributing
to the benefit of the marine environment. Marketing strategies would be necessary to encourage divers
to subscribe to the DivR® service which would influence the number of subscriptions for
advertisements. And with increased number of shared dive data, better EC-GIS service is provided.
B. Competition
Kristina Di V. Ticman, CEO
Mobile No: +63 9233434582
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com
theSISIDproject
Although there are websites with similar concepts as the SISID project, none yet focuses on the
Philippine diving community. The SISID project will also use embedded maps to visualize the distribution
of the divers’ dive data to serve as dive site monitoring. However, since the data are “shared” and free,
there is no guarantee when the data is already available that competitor service providers will not start
to offer similar service for equal or lower costs.
C. Technical Capacity and Capability
There is a need to display competency and credibility, especially for offering the GIS consultation service
and Environmental Impact Assessment. The team is confident on providing GIS services. However, for
concerns on the dive site and marine environment evaluation, the current team needs to acquire knowhow or to get support from marine scientists in order to provide credible marine environment
assessment.
D. Financial Stability
Although the operation expense is only Php11,200.00 per month, the revenue stream would depend
greatly on the market acceptance of the project. The number of divers that would subscribe in the DivR®
service will affect the target number of clients to avail of the advertisement and may not be met
immediately as projected in the financial estimates.
E. Concerns on data access, sharing and security
Because the data for dive log and dive site conditions are obtained through crowdsourcing, there may
be certain issues concerning access and re-distribution of the data, as well as the usage of this data for
by-products.
Kristina Di V. Ticman, CEO
Mobile No: +63 9233434582
Email: thesisidproject@gmail.com
URL: thesisidproject.yolasite.com