Monthly Archives: November 2011

Google wants to help 50,000 Malaysian businesses get online

 

Internet giant Google together with Malaysian regulator MCMC [Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission], domain name registrar .my DOMAIN REGISTRY and regional training provider Itrain, want to help 50,000 Malaysian businesses get online with the launch of a new scheme called ‘Get Malaysian Business Online’ (GMBO).

Speaking on 22 November 2011, Google Malaysia country head Sajith Sivanandan said four-fifths of Malaysian small businesses still do not have a website, which means they are invisible to two-thirds of the Malaysian population as well as the rest of the global market who are online. Malaysian agency SME Corp figures show that out of the 700,000 Malaysian SMEs that are currently operating in Malaysia, only 100,000 have a website.

“We think there is tremendous growth potential for Malaysian SMEs [small and medium enterprises] and this programme is part of our long term commitment to the country which we hope can bring about tangible economic benefits for all Malaysians,” said Sivanandan, adding that 17.5 million Malaysians regularly turn to the Internet to research local shops and services.

He said the first 10,000 participants are to get a free website, including domain name and hosting for a year, said the partners on 22 November 2011. “Through GMBO, Malaysian businesses with zero online presence should take no longer than one working day (upon domain approval) to get their business websites up and running with no strings attached.”

 

GMBO training

‘MCMC is glad to be sponsoring the 10,000 domains for the ‘early birds’ to this programme, and together with Google and our other partners, we intend to take GMBO nationwide,” said MCMC chairman, Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi.

“It is our fervent hope that this attractive package can help SMEs to register their business online where they are able to widen their market and increase sales,” said .my DOMAIN REGISTRY chief executive officer, Tengku Intan Narqiah Tengku Othman. “Having your own website also signifies that you are serious in business dealings besides having a local presence with .my domain name.”

“We will be conducting GMBO training around several major locations nationwide including East Malaysia and we look forward to exploring the vast potential of the Internet and assisting our homegrown SMEs,” said ITrain chief executive officer, Bikesh Lakhmichand.

To set-up a website, a Malaysian business needs to visit the GMBO site at www.getMYbusinessonline.com.my/ and enter their business details such as licence number, business phone number, street address and opening hours, among others.

Kodak launches EASYSHARE cameras in Malaysia

Digital imaging firm Eastman Kodak (Kodak) has launched two digital camers in Malaysia with features that include easier sharing to social networking sites such as Facebook.

Kodak managing director, consumer & commercial Southeast Asia cluster, Jeet Mehta said: “The two digital cameras – EASYSHARE M5350 and EASYSHARE Z5010 – makes sharing photos easy with Kodak’s Share Button. Once connected to a PC, selected photos will automatically upload to sites like Facebook or can be easily e-mailed. The enhanced KODAK Share Button App builds on the success of Kodak’s Share Button, enabling millions of people to easily share and transfer their favourite images. Face Tagging allows you to stay even more organised by enabling you to upload your images to sites like Facebook with your friends already tagged.

“The EASYSHARE camera family offers the ‘Chief Memory Officer’ so that great 16 MP [megapixel] pictures or 720 HD video can be simply shared,” said Mehta. “The EASYSHARE camera has a compact and clean design and Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture Technology and blur reduction automatically detect the scene and adjust camera settings for a great picture in just about any environment.”

He said the M5350 model included features such as new 16MP sensor and HD video, while the Z5010 model offered 21X optical zoom, and 25mm wide-angle lens. “Kodak’s innovative Smart Capture Technology and blur reduction automatically detect the scene and adjust camera settings for a great picture in just about any environment.”

DiGi: First Malaysian telco to offer Gmail SMS

A partnership between Malaysian telco DiGi and Internet services giant Google means that DiGi subscribers can use the country’s first Gmail SMS service.

“Gmail SMS joins an expanding stable of SMS-based Internet applications and services that offer DiGi customers an alternative yet convenient means to access their favourite online applications,” said DiGi head of mobile Internet & ADS, Praveen Rajan, speaking on 18 Novermber 2011. “This strategic partnership with Google also positions DiGi as the first mobile operator to offer the Gmail SMS service in Malaysia.”

“A recent Nielsen survey reported that Malaysians are spending an average weekly of more than five hours accessing the Internet via mobile devices,” said Rajan. “The partnership with Google empowers us at DiGi to offer the SMS option to millions of Gmail users in Malaysia to significantly extend their chat community through real-time chat via SMS, regardless of any mobile device type.”

“Gmail SMS brings the popular Gmail Service to a non-smartphone easily,” he said. “With Google’s Gmail SMS, people can send free text messages to their friends directly from their Gmail account. Replies and responses to the text message will appear as a reply in Chat.”

“One of the most important aspects of Google’s overall mission is to make information accessible and useful to people,” said Google Malaysia country head, Sajith Sivanandan. “SMS has long been a common means of mobile communications in Malaysia and many Malaysians still rely on their non-smartphones. Gmail SMS makes instant communication between Gmail and a mobile phone possible via SMS.”

For DiGi customers, the service is free and requires no subscription; chat messages sent via SMS from their mobile phones are billed at RM0.10 (US$0.03) per SMS.

Malaysian students introduced to anti-virus industry

One of the initiatives under security solutions firm F-Secure’s collaboration with Malaysian government ICT agency Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is to introduce students to the anti-virus industry.

Monash University Sunway campus is one of the institutions of higher learning in the initiative, said the university’s School of Information Technology senior lecturer, Dr Simon Egerton.

“We received a lot of positive feedback and suggestions from the students last year on how to improve the programme,” said Dr Egerton. “This year, four workshop sessions supplemented the curriculum and enhanced our existing network security offering at Monash University Sunway campus with real-world, up-to-the-minute subject matter. The visit to F-Secure’s office premises and its Research Lab proved to be a big hit with our students.”

“The objective of the partnership between MDeC and F-Secure was to establish a platform to alleviate the IT industry and provide more ‘hands-on’ and ‘real-life’ experiences for students in various participating institutions of higher learning, the Sunway campus being one of them,” said F-Secure’s security advisor for the Asia Pacific region, Goh Su Gim.

“We are honoured to be part of this programme that takes learning beyond the four walls of their lecture halls,” said Goh. “As a leader in mobile and Internet security, we take pride in the cutting-edge research we do, and the opportunity to contribute to the industry. Being part of this programme allows us to share with the students how fast the industry is growing and help to unleash their potential in spurring it on.”

He said this year’s topics exposed the students to four key areas: ‘The state of the Net.’ which covered the evolution of the computer virus and the current threat landscape in the cyber and mobile worlds; to give an insight into working in an anti-virus company, which included a visit to the F-Secure Research Lab and an opportunity to meet the people working there and understand what they do; to introduce students to the analysis of malware; and to give insights into the methodologies of software development and project management.”

“We look forward to the feedback from the students and together with Monash University Sunway campus, we hope to improve the programme to further complement education at Monash, and we look forward to fostering this relationship for the benefit of the students and the IT industry,” he said.

Greater KL NKEA

IBM Global Delivery Center (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd (IBM) will invest RM1 billion over the next five years to build a new Global Delivery Center in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The new centre in Cyberjaya will help IBM deliver information technology services capabilities to its high-value enterprise clients from various industry sectors around the world.

The centre will help to position Malaysia as a hub of skilled IT experts in this region. The centre is part of an extensive network of IBM service delivery centres in more than 20 countries, with multiple sites in many of those countries, which provide IT services and business process outsourcing capabilities to IBM clients around the world.

IBM’s investment will bring up to 3000 high-quality, knowledge-based jobs to the local community as well as a broad range of worldwide level capabilities that will support the market and client demands worldwide. This centre is a key example of a project that brings together economic development and highly skilled jobs in a way that can help transform Malaysia’s economy in the 21st century.

Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the lead agency with support from Invest KL and MIDA, will be working closely together with IBM to identify and place its qualified candidates under MSC Malaysia K-Workers Development Initiative (KDI) in the new Global Technology Services Delivery Centre. IBM will also work with local recruiting firms and university alumni offices on the recruitment process which will commence in January 2012. IBM is one of the first technology companies to invest on shared services centre in Cyberjaya. Since 2003, the company’s strong collaboration with MDeC has helped set world-class standards for the global delivery business model.

Investment RM 1 billion (2016)

Jobs created 3,000 (2017)

Malaysian organisations can profit from BI

Malaysian organisation can benefit from the next generation of business intelligence (BI) solutions, said analyst firm Forrester Research at a recent forum hosted by software giant Microsoft Malaysia.

Forrester Research vice president John Brand said: “Findings from the September 2011 study, called Understanding The Business Intelligence Growth Opportunity, finds that no other software segment enjoys the same positive market dynamics of advancing technologies, business innovation, and companies’ implementation plans.”

“We see business intelligence becoming more pervasive throughout Malaysia as companies here raise their competitiveness by getting strategic, tactical and operational insight into their customers, products, business processes and operations,” said Microsoft Malaysia chief marketing and operations officer, Danny Ong. “Microsoft is taking the lead in business intelligence by giving Malaysian companies flexible deployment options that provide them with the necessary security and capabilities for today’s critical applications. And we’re doing it at a lower total cost of ownership, with better user experience.”

Ong said Microsoft’s approach to business intelligence was to offer a cloud-ready information platform to help customers more effectively take command of their expanding data in order to optimise their operations, find greater efficiencies and capitalise on new opportunities.

“They do this by delivering business intelligence solutions through the market’s leading productivity and collaboration platforms, Microsoft Office and Microsoft SharePoint, while providing powerful management tools built for IT professionals on the SQL Server platform,” he said.

He added that In Microsoft has partnered with HP to create a range of data management appliances from self-service BI to the highest end of data warehousing that meets transforming organisational needs. “Increasingly, organisations are turning to business intelligence appliances, which fuse applications, infrastructure and productivity tools into a single system that helps organisations optimise employee productivity and decision-making, while simplifying the delivery of applications for IT.”

Important vehicle

“Today, business intelligence appliances are becoming an increasingly important vehicle in our journey to the cloud,” said Microsoft Asia regional director, ZSQL server data applicances, Dan Kogan. “Customers get the flexibility they need in a solution that delivers results right out of the box.”

“Looking ahead, business intelligence will be more pervasive. It shouldn’t be a specialty,” said Kogan. “It should be a natural part of everyone’s job. In the future, companies that best manage explosive data growth and derive the best insights from it will be the most competitive.”

He said that the upcoming SQL Server “Denali” would give customers even greater confidence in their mission critical applications and help them unlock breakthrough insights across the organisation. “The technology itself is designed to quickly build solutions across traditional servers, appliances, and private and public clouds. The cloud not only makes managing the oceans of data easier and less expensive, it can help companies create new capabilities and products that weren’t before possible.”

Yes 4G expands to Malaysia’s East Coast

To meet growing demand for its Yes 4G services, Malaysian WiMAX firm YTL Communications has expanded its sales channels to the country’s East Coast, it said.

The Yes sales network comprising more than 37 authorised retailers and distributors will support its customers in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan to help boost broadband penetration in outlying cities and towns within these states, said YTL Communications chief executive officer, Wing K. Lee, who added that the company has launched its first official East Coast outlet in East Coast Mall, Kuantan, Pahang.

“The East Coast market is very important to us,” said Lee. “We see a lot of potential for growth in these three states. There is also an increasing awareness and demand for Internet, especially with high performance mobile broadband.”

“With a network that delivers three to five times faster speeds than any 3G network in the country and with some of the most competitive price points in the industry, this marks another significant milestone in enabling Malaysia’s goal of becoming a high-income economy,” he said.

Lee said that unlike conventional mobile networks, Yes’s unified communications solution replaced physical SIM cards with a single user ID to offer subscribers seamless connectivity across multiple devices concurrently. The Yes service allows subscribers to be contacted on any device, whether mobile phone or computer using just one single 018 number. This innovation is the first of its kind in Malaysia and the world.”

 

IBM, Malaysian university to develop 21st century courses

Technology giant IBM and Malaysia’s Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) have partnered to produce graduates with the business and IT skills that will be required in the 21st century marketplace, said the partners.

The IBM-UNITEN Academic Initiative Programme will provide UNITEN with free IBM software for the university’s educational needs, including training for the academic faculty, internships for students and access to relevant IBM corporate resources, said IBM Malaysia managing director Ramanathan Sathiamutty, speaking on 15 November 2011.

Sathiamutty said students would be trained in IBM DB2 and Rational software technology, with the possibility of a special focus in business analytics in the future. “This initiative is aimed at enhancing the information technology (IT) curriculum at UNITEN. Undergraduates who undergo this curriculum will be armed with high quality software skills and professional IBM certification.”

“This alliance signifies strong commitment by UNITEN and IBM in supporting the government’s aspiration towards human capital development, specifically in addressing the shortage in software technical skills in Malaysia,” he said. “It also aims to position Malaysia as a hub of skilled IT experts and software specialists in Southeast Asia.”

“The IBM Academic Initiative programme speaks of a shared vision with our university in the recognition that new approaches and collaborative innovation are needed,” said UNITEN vice chancellor, Y. Bhg. Dato’ Seri Prof. Mashkuri bin Yaacob. “This collaboration with IBM will grant students from UNITEN an opportunity to gain in-depth IT and business knowledge from a leading IT partner and prepare them for the IT market that sees continuous accelerative growth and relentless competition. With the skills and knowledge obtained from this programme, UNITEN students would have distinctive competitive edge in the job market.”

“IBM has been working with universities and organisations to identify the skills needed in this ever-changing world economy,” added IBM’s Sathiamutty. “We have found that there is a great demand for skilled IT employees to manage complex processes and functions as well as efficient data management, due to the flood of data collected by companies over time. This Academic Initiative collaboration will enable UNITEN to produce graduates with relevant IT knowledge and skills, who will contribute to the industry both locally and globally.”

TomTom opens its first Asia Pacific store

Dutch in-car navigation solutions firm TomTom has chosen Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to be home to its first Concept Store in the Asia Pacific region.

Located at Kuala Lumpur’s Pikom (national ICT industry body) CapSquare Mall, the TomTom Concept Store occupies 690 sq ft (64.1 sq m), said Tom Tom sales director, Southeast Asia and Australia, Brendan Danaher. “The concept store is a great addition for TomTom in Malaysia. We are excited to connect with Tom Tom customers in a new way and to put the most up-to-date GPS [global positioning system] technology in their hands.”

“The opening of the TomTom Concept Store was an exciting opportunity presented to us by one of our partners in Malaysia – Apaq Technology,” said Danaher. “We were also excited by what CapSquare and Pikom had to offer.”.

He said the new store included videos on the technology behind TomTom’s mapping and routing software, which is included in all TomTom GPS devices. “There are also product-specific videos, hands-on experience in using the various devices, many of which are pre-loaded with optional international maps and celebrity voices like Yoda, Darth Vader and Homer Simpson. Specially-trained staff members are also on-hand for product demos of TomTom’s latest technology and devices.”

Danaher said the company’s latest portable navigation devices (PND) available in Malaysia include the XL 250, XXL 550, and GO 750.

Founded in 1991, TomTom, which is headquartered in Amsterdam with more than 3,500 employees, supplies in-car location and navigation products and services in more than 40 countries.

Malaysia’s Pavilion Mall hits 100,000 Facebook fans

Malaysia’s lifestyle mall Pavilion KL has reached the 100,000 fans milestone on their Facebook page in one year.

“Consumerism has dramatically evolved, today’s consumers want to be engaged and they want all the information at their finger tips in real time,” said Pavilion KL director of marketing, Kung Suan Ai, speaking on 4 November 2011.

“Social media is fast, easy and effective, allowing us to share all the latest developments as they happen,” said Kung. “The key to our success was to develop an update strategy that delivered quality content and not spam. Our growth in fan base and the amount of interaction with our fans confirms that we have the right mix and balance of messages. Social media also acts as a transparent customer service tool, communicating the important developments and generating instant feedback from shoppers, visitors, tenants and stakeholders.”

She said that Facebook allowed real time conversations, which has socialised shopping experience. “Communications are starting online and moving offline. A recent study by online viewership by comScore stated that social networking represented almost one third of time spent online in Malaysia in August 2011, ranking as the top online activity for the market.”

Located in Bukit Bintang, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (KL) has more than 1.34 million sq ft net (37,945 sq m) lettable space with 450 stores on seven levels, and comprises two luxury residential towers, a corporate office block, and a proposed boutique hotel.