IASA Opens Asia-Pacific Hub In Malaysia

MSC Malaysia Moves To Be At The Forefront Of IT Architecture Readiness

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) Chief Operating Officer Ng Wan Peng (fifth from left), with the Founder and Chairman of International Association of Software Architects (IASA) Asia Pacific Aaron Tan Dani (third from right) and IASA CEO Paul T.Preiss (fourth from right) in a group photo with the IASA chapters representatives from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

CYBERJAYA, AUGUST 24, 2011 – The Global Professional Body of Architects (IASA) announced that it will set-up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Malaysia, following a strong collaboration on IT Architecture development initiatives with MSC Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).

Based in Kuala Lumpur, IASA’s Asia-Pacific headquarters will provide a regional operating base supporting the growth in various countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia and China. Established in 2002, IASA is an international non-profit business association dedicated to the advancement and sharing of issues related to software architecture in the enterprise, product, education and government sectors.

"The Asia Pacific region, with all its diversity, has a vibrant and rapidly growing technology sector that has attracted many multinational companies to set up operations in the area. Malaysia continues to deliver strategic national economic and technological initiatives, such as those initiated by MDec. Placing IASA Asia Pacific in Malaysia will give the profession a strong operating base while supporting growth throughout the region. In addition, IASA provides support to the technology community as a whole and supporting national agencies, who are focused on technology architecture development, education and growth initiatives," said Paul Preiss, The Founder and CEO of IASA Global.

"This is another major milestone for IASA, Malaysia and the region. It all started with the Malaysian government's believe in the value of IT Architecture for the country and the groundwork was set in place with the invitation of IASA to expand its efforts in this region. IASA Malaysia Chapter has grown tremendously over these years and its members have benefitted greatly from these efforts and other IASA Asia Pacific activities", said Aaron Tan Dani, Founder and Chairman of IASA Asia-Pacific.

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of MDeC said: “MDeC and IASA have fostered a strong collaborative relationship since 2005, resulting in initiatives that are focused on developing and delivering standards, education programmes and services for MSC Malaysia companies. By working closely with IASA, MDeC steadily raised both the number and professional calibre of IT architects in Malaysia. To-date, a total of 300 MSC Malaysia companies have so far benefited from this”.

“MDeC’s ongoing collaboration with IASA reaffirms the importance that IT Architects play in moulding Malaysia’s software economy. IT without architecture and strategic alignment with the business is pointless, and more importantly, the speed at which an organization adopts and practices sound IT architecture strategy will be one of the critical determinants for success. We are particularly pleased to see IASA choosing Malaysia as its Asia-Pacific headquarters. We look forward to more initiatives with IASA that will harness the global competitiveness of our MSC Malaysia companies – a vital element in our nation’s goal to become an innovative digital economy,” added Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of MDeC.

IASA’s IT Architecture certification has been included in the MSC Malaysia Professional Development Programme, an initiative aimed at raising the international capability standards of local companies. MDeC’s accreditation programme, MSC Malaysia Certified Solution Standard, is then endorsed by IASA.

Following the move of its Asia-Pacific headquarters to Malaysia, IASA will be working together with MDeC for the next IT Architecture Regional Conference, which is slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur during MDeC ICT week held in October 2011. Both organisations are already currently working on a more developed enhancement programme for MSC Malaysia companies on enterprise architecture principles.