a boost for ict training

CYBERJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has opened the first Huawei global training centre outside China that will put Malaysia on the world map of ICT players.

The Huawei Malaysia Global Training centre here is aimed at positioning Malaysia as the venue for global professional training in the next generation of ICT technologies.

The Prime Minister said the facility would provide training to Huawei's global customers from the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Testing, testing: Najib trying out one of the Huawei smartphones while Huawei country director of consumer business Wong Wey Hwa explains to the Prime Minister its functions in Cyberjaya as Huawei senior vice-president Victor Wang (centre) looks on.

“The fact that Huawei chose Malaysia over 140 countries to build this centre is a great honour,” he said.

“But I would like to think that it is a reflection of the increasingly important role we play in the global marketplace.

“All these initiatives by Huawei are expected to contribute a total of RM1.2bil in gross national income by 2020,” he said here yesterday.

Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider with about 150,000 employees and its revenue last year stood at US$35bil (RM111bil). Among its clients are 45 of the world's top 50 telecommunication operators.

Najib said Malaysia was entering a crucial phase of transformation where the challenges did not get any easier as it aimed to become a developed nation by 2020.

“That is why, in making that final push, Malaysia must make every effort to cultivate a knowledge-intensive and innovation-led economy

“To this end, I introduced the Economic Transformation Prog-ramme which identifies 12 key areas with the potential to drive economic growth and 131 Entry Point Projects to kick-start development across those sectors.

“The ETP's aim is simple: To drive growth, investment and create jobs without neglecting to take into account the complexity of modern economy and, in particular, the fact that digital technology continues to exert an increasing influence in every aspect of our lives from business and entertainment to communications, content and infrastructure,” he said.

Najib added that the digital economy now accounted for more than a third of global trade while total worldwide ICT spending was expected to grow by 3.7% to US$3.8tril (RM12.1tril) this year.

by : zuhrinazam@thestar.com.my

ict a must for SMEs

ALTHOUGH information and communication technology (ICT) has been a buzzword for many businesses for quite a while, this does not exactly hold true for most small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In a “borderless” world where communications such as voice, data and video play an important role on individual and companies, lacking proper ICT usage can be a big loss.

Fitri Abdullah ... ‘With ICT tools, you can move around and do more in a landscape without boundaries.’

Maxis Bhd vice-president and head of enterprise and carrier business Fitri Abdullah says ICT is an integral requirement for all companies – including SMEs – to improve efficiency and productivity. It is now used more as a business enabler or differentiator.

“We live in a connected world where communications – voice, data or video – ‘collapses’ distance and time. Communication has always been a part of efficient business. It underpins all commercial transactions as it enables not only information exchange, but also facilitatestransactions such as long-distance money transfers, flight bookings and check-ins.

“With ICT tools, you can move around and do more in a landscape without boundaries, and with accurate and real-time data,” he tellsStarBizweek.

With the launch of Maxis Unity Solutions – Malaysia’s first mobile unified communications – in January this year, SMEs now have the option to enjoy seamless communications across systems and devices through a unified interface, designed for maximum mobility and flexibility.

The company recently says it aims to have 30,000 users by year-end for Unity Solutions as part of a strategy to expand its SME business segment. He adds that the company will be launchign four or five products from this service later this year.

Unity Solutions offered packages like Unity Conferencing, Unity Hotline, Unity One Number and Unity Reception.

Unity Solutions require no costly infrastructure set-up and businesses have the option to scale upwards when it suits their need, Fitri adds.

Unity Hotline enables one to route up to 10 calls to 10 lines sequentially or simultaneously with a single business number. Unity Reception, on the other hand, can forward calls to up to 50 lines without a receptionist. It is, therefore, expected to be helpful to small businesses looking to increase efficiency and accessibility.

Fitri says Maxis, as an integrated communications provider, is working with top solutions partners to provide ICT solutions which can be applied easily and affordably to increase competitive productivity and creativity.

Matthew Willsher says Maxis is committed to introducing advanced mobile devices, affordable data packages and social networking applications.

There is so much potential for industry players, especially SMEs, to raise their game and be globally competitive, he says. SMEs account for 99.2 % of all business establishments in Malaysia,

Fitri says SMEs are now in a better position to penetrate global markets with the abundance of business and opportunities being created as more suppliers and consumers become connected on voice and data networks.

With this, he adds, ideas and collaborations can be facilitated with easier conversation and information exchange which should allow one to reach target audience as well as new audiences effectively and affordably through digital message distribution.

International calling and roaming is also simpler and more affordable than ever for this segment (SMEs). In this regard, for example Maxis IDD offers Synergy Rates with partners in India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka which are among the lowest in the market.

It also offers data roaming packages for business travel at RM38 for unlimited daily use in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Apart from the above services, the celco provide easier billing within budget under the 1Country, 1 Rate programme. It offers one rate for calling home and GPRS services regardless of the network one is roaming with.

Late last year, Maxis presented M-IFW’09 (Malaysian International Fashion Week), in recognition of the role of communications technology in growing the fashion industry, and in increasing local designers’ representation on a global platform.

The media, including digital ones, has been gaining momentum of late in promoting a company’s products and services effectively. Maxis Bhd chief marketing officer Matthew Willsher says the company is committed to introducing advanced mobile devices, affordable data packages and social networking applications which enable communication through the most functional new media channels.

For example, Maxis’ BlackBerry service packages allow users to enjoy a full range of services from high-security email to social messaging functions.

“Late last year, Maxis was also the first communications service provider in Malaysia to provide a full range of mobile services to the top three Social Networking Services (SNS) in Malaysia, namely Facebook, Twitter and Friendster.

“The new service, ‘fb2mobile’, connects Maxis subscribers to Facebook and Twitter via SMS and MMS. Maxis had previously launched the Friendster Alert service in May 2009, allowing subscribers to receive updates on their Friendster account via SMS,’’ he notes.

Internet and digital growth

The popularity of the Internet and digital growth can be seen from the latest survey by research company IDC.

According to IDC’s December 2009, Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, more than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world’s population – used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world’s population – are expected to be using the Internet.

More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion, with mobile internet ramping faster than desktop internet adoption.

Community-based sites are the internet’s leaders. Mobile web visitors to Facebook grew more than 600% in 2009, according to web traffic figures from browser firm Opera, which also said that Twitter was the other big winner in terms of growth in 2009, with the number of unique users jumping more than 2800%.

According to Matthew, innovation is a key driver behind Maxis’ commitment to delivering products and services which add value to life.

Innovation has been part of the value chain for Maxis and is crucial for consistent and differentiating performance on a global platform, as well as in fulfilling brand promise to immediate customers, he adds.

For example, Maxis invested RM3bil in its network expansion between 2006 and 2009. It was also the first in the country to deploy High-Speed Packet Access technology, incorporating next-generation data transmission capability to make 3G browsing enjoyable and seamless, he says.

Along with next generation network capability, he says Maxis introduced a new mobile content shot in contemporary Malaysian setting but weaved in well-remembered folklore – Dimensions, the country’s ‘first made-for-mobile sci-fi series’.

Fitri says Maxis will improve its products to enable users to interact with customers without investing in costly infrastructure or large working teams.

Another example of the importance of the SME population to Maxis took place in October 2009. Maxis launched an alliance with the SME Credit Bureau to speed up SMEs’ applications for its communications services, by referring to the credit and ratings facility with customers’ consent.

Another example of an ICT solution easily built into a business at low upfront cost and with low maintenance is Maxis Mail, a hosted email solution based on Microsoft Exchange, which gives customers an enterprise-grade email service without them making an expensive system purchase.

Also designed for SME customers is Enterprise SMS, which has as one of its features, ease of communication with partners in Chinese-speaking countries, he adds.

by : DALJIT DHESI

IT solve the problem :)

KUALA LUMPUR: Fighting rising food prices and solving agriculture sector problems using information technology (IT) has become Malaysia’s goal in its bid to be a more IT-oriented nation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia would soon be using smartcard technology to better manage and facilitate the dissemination of subsidies to agriculture workers.

“We have, for a few years now, been working on ICT-based solutions to solve certain problems and bottlenecks that we face along the agriculture supply chain,’’ he said.

“One such solution is a technology that makes available real-time market information to far-

mers, fishermen and smallholders through the Internet,” he added when making his speech before opening the 16th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2008) here yesterday.

Well done!: Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan Hong Nam (left) congratulating Abdullah after the launch of WCIT 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Monday. With them is Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib. — Bernama

He added that Malaysia’s National Broadband Initiative will also be launched soon.

“Under this initiative, broadband services will be expanded to reach 50% of Malaysian households by the year 2010, a sharp increase from 15.5% last year.

“Fast access to the Internet is no longer a luxury. It is increasingly becoming a necessity,” he said.

Abdullah said ICT had indeed played “a crucial role” in helping to raise the efficiency and competitiveness of Malaysia.

“I am pleased to note that in the ‘World Competitive Report’ released only last week, Malaysia had ranked as the 19th most competitive economy in the world, surpassing even giants like the United Kingdom and South Korea.

“This is a vast improvement from our 23rd position last year,” he said, adding that Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was now home to more than 2,000 companies.

At a later event, Abdullah also launched the MSC Malaysia Sarawak Initiative in conjunction with the WCIT.

by ELIZABETH LOOI (the star)

health technology information

HEALTH information technology (IT) has great potential for growth globally in the wake of rising healthcare costs and demand for better healthcare, according to US-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) president Stephen Lieber.

“Health IT is one of the key components to help improve the cost and quality of healthcare,” he told StarBiz.

Lieber was in Malaysia to attend the HIMSS Asia Pacific conference held in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Citing an example, Lieber said the quality of patient care could be improved via an electronic health record system where all the data and medical treatment given to the patient were accessible, so that correct and timely treatment could be given to the patient.

Stephen Lieber ... Health IT is one of the key components to help improve the cost and quality of healthcare. On the left is Steven Yeo.

Jimmy Cheah ... the size of the market is still big.

There is also a clinical decision support system where suggestions are offered to doctors preparing for the next round of treatment for the patient.

“Having electronic medical record systems also avoids unnecessary or ineffective tests on patients as whatever tests that are done would be available at a glance.

“This will avoid any repeat tests which may not be necessary if the patient’s condition is unchanged thus increasing costs. If there was more information available about the patient, certain tests may not even be necessary,” Lieber said, adding that healthcare savings were estimated at 20% to 25% in the United States due to the use of IT.

In the United States, electronic health record systems are used mainly in the radiology, cardiology, laboratory and opthalmology departments.

HIMSS vice-president and executive director (Asia-Pacific region) Steven Yeo said that in the Asian region, Hong Kong and Singapore were expected to launch an electronic health record system for all their hospitals next year.

Australia, South Korea and Japan were exploring the possibility of integrating the electronic health record systems among their hospitals, while Malaysia and Singapore had such systems in place but no integration yet, he said.

“In Asia, spending on health IT has grown by 10% to 12% in the past two years.

“There is great potential for further growth for health IT in the region – at least a compounded annual growth rate of 11% in the next five years.

“This is because there is a realisation that health IT can improve quality of care and reduce rising healthcare costs. Asia also has a large ageing population and a lot has to be spent on them in the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

The Middle East is another area where significant growth in IT spending is expected as a number of countries there have not invested much in health IT in the past.

In addition, some Middle Eastern countries have also put in significant resources in new hospitals and are building up the healthcare infrastructure in their countries.

High growth is also expected in emerging markets such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, India and the Philippines.

Yeo said based on the 2006 data on healthcare spending per capita in the Asian region, Australia was the highest at US$2,600; South Korea, Singapore and Japan at over US$1,000; Malaysia US$200; and China and India US$60.

According to Lieber, health IT spending in the United States was estimated to be US$30bil to US$35bil over the next five years due to a newly-passed government legislation that would provide incentives to the healthcare industry to acquire technology.

“We are on the verge of a tremendous explosion in IT adoption in the healthcare industry in the US,” he said.

Nevertheless, Lieber sees various challenges in the adoption of health IT globally.

“The technology exists but the biggest barrier is funding. There is also the resistance to changes that technology brings, such as a change of work processes for physicians,” he said.

HIMSS is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting a better understanding of healthcare information and management systems.

Founded in 1961, it has offices in Chicago, Washington DC, Brussels, Singapore and globally. HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual and over 350 corporate members.

 by : ELAINE ANG (the star)

SoftSpace Sdn Bhd

PETALING JAYA: Financial transactions in Malaysia may just be revolutionalised as SoftSpace Sdn Bhd's smart device payment technology begins to attract corporates, small medium enterprises, freelancers and foreign partners.
Founder Chang Chew Soon has received enquiries, funding and even an acquisition offer since SoftSpace was incorporated to market its brainchild technology.
The technology, also called SoftSpace allows payments to be made on smart phones and tablets through a card reader.
The company is funded through angel investments and has turned down funding offers from local investment banks. SoftSpace began operations with a start-up capital of RM2mil and is looking to privately raise RM8mil this year.
“The reason we have resisted funding support from any banks is that we want to remain neutral so that we can work with any institutions,” he said, adding that there was also interest from a technology company to acquire but SoftSpace's valuation was higher than expected.
SoftSpace is currently exploring to roll out the payment system withMaybank, AmBank and Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corp.Aside from banks, the company is also talking to Maxis, Celcom and DiGias Chang “believes they are the ones in the position to help realise the implementation”.
It has teamed up with Malaysia Airline's insurance partner Mondial Assistance and other local partners include online payment service providers iPay88 and MOLPay.
It has engaged Taiwanese company ID Tech to manufacture the card readers.
On whether small businesses will warm up to this mode of payment, Chang said that the change towards cashless transactions would likely happen in one to two years. “We are fulfilling a demand, not creating one,” he said.
SoftSpace was also in talks with North American mobile payment service provider P'Eh Phone.
P'Eh stumbled upon SoftSpace just six weeks ago when co-founder Landon Letendre was looking through his Google Alerts on credit card and smart phone payments.
“We came across them on my Google Alerts and they were on the headline. We move fast when we see a product that is secure,” he said.
With SoftSpace, P'Eh would be the first to bring a chip-based card payment platform to North America. 
by : lizlee@thestar.com.my