HP and DreamWorks Animation Cast Innovation as a Lead in “Rise of the Guardians”

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 December 2012 – HP and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) today marked the latest chapter in their ongoing collaboration by working together to create an epic adventure for worldwide audiences with the breakthrough animation of the studio’s upcoming 3-D movie, “Rise of the Guardians.”

Like each DreamWorks Animation film before it, “Rise of the Guardians,” which hits theaters on Nov. 21, pushes the boundaries of digital animation as the studio’s most technically advanced film to date.

To create a new level of visual richness in an animated film, DreamWorks Animation uses HP Converged Infrastructure technologies that included HP Cloud Services, HP Z Workstations, HP DreamColor displays, HP Networking and HP Proliant server solutions, HP Managed Print Services and digital rendering resources.

“Our goal is to push the limits of what is possible in digital animation and storytelling,” said Derek Chan, head, Global Technology Operations, DreamWorks Animation. “Using HP Converged Infrastructure technologies, we increase the functionality that allows our artists to create more innovative animation with every film.”

DreamWorks Animation uses HP technology throughout the production cycle—from creating character designs, to developing detailed animation scenes, to processing massive amounts of data. Throughout the years, HP technology has played an integral role in creating DreamWorks Animation’s groundbreaking animated feature films, including the franchise properties of “Shrek,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” ”Kung Fu Panda,” “Madagascar” and “Puss in Boots.”

“Rise of the Guardians” tapped the power of several HP technologies, including:
• The HP Z800 and Z820 high-performance workstations, powered by Intel® multicore processors. The Xeon® E5 based HP Z820 was used to process more than 1 million “Rise of the Guardians” render jobs in the desktop render farm, utilizing spare computing power residing on desktop workstations at night and on weekends.
• HP DreamColor professional monitors supporting 1 billion active colors and providing color consistency across multiple departments in the studio. Jointly developed by DreamWorks Animation and HP, HP DreamColor Monitors surpassed the performance of all other LCD displays available on the market.
• HP Remote Graphics Software, allowing for seamless collaboration for artists split across multiple locations to finalize intricate details. DreamWorks Animation’s studios are located in Glendale and Redwood City, Calif.
• HP Flexible Compute Cloud Service, providing 20 percent of total rendering in 2012, up from 5 percent in 2010. As digital resource demands continue to increase from production to production, HP has helped the studio to stay within their existing data center footprint—eliminating a multimillion dollar physical expansion, while continuing to provide the needed resources to meet artistic demands.
• HP Networking: To support the studio’s scalable 10G WAN/LAN infrastructure, 100 percent of the networking equipment used in the United States production of the film was HP network gear.
• HP BladeSystem servers with ProLiant BL460c server blades, enabling the studio to render more efficiently and effectively. HP G8 blades achieved more than 40 percent higher render throughput compared to previous blades and delivered more than 42 percent better performance per watt.
• HP Storage: 3 petabytes of HP storage were used to facilitate data protection and archiving, and the storing of reference data. The studio collaborated with HP to create a dynamic storage infrastructure that can scale storage and performance across geographies to meet the studio’s needs and future growth.
• HP Managed Print Services and multifunction printers help DreamWorks Animation convert electronic workflows and digital images into living, color-rich documents used in previsualization, storyboarding and other animation processes.

“Rise of the Guardians” fun facts:
• The DreamWorks Animation render farm, spanning across three geographic sites, is the most powerful ever used for a studio production.
• 250+ terabytes of disk storage were used in the making of “Rise of the Guardians.”
• The 97-minute “Rise of the Guardians” is composed of more than 130,000 individual computer-generated frames.
• The production of “Rise of the Guardians” required more than 65 million render hours.
• One of the more complicated and amazing special effects is sand. The sand is created by generating lots of points inside the computer called particles.  As many as a billion particles may be needed to create the sand shapes for one scene.

Red Hat Advances Enterprise Virtualization Platform with New Release

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 Globally Available with New Features Spanning Scalability, Networking and Storage, Including Integration with Red Hat Storage

KUALA LUMPUR – December 7, 2012 – Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced advancements for its enterprise virtualization platform with the global availability of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1. The 3.1 release brings Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization forward with compelling new features to enhance its scalability, user administration and management interface, networking, storage and virtual desktop functionality. With this release, Red Hat also brings further flexibility for the combination of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and the full Red Hat portfolio, including its Red Hat Storage and Red Hat Enterprise Linux platforms.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization is the only mission-critical end-to-end, open source virtualization infrastructure designed for enterprise users that is available today. The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 release, which debuted in January 2012, marked a significant industry milestone, offering features, performance, scalability and cost advantages to enterprises. Today, with the introduction of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization’s Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor holds 19 of the 27 published SPECvirt_sc2010 (www.spec.org) performance benchmarks, including the best 2-socket and 4-socket scores and the only published 8-socket scores. At 50 to 70 percent lower cost compared to alternative solutions, it can also offer organizations significant economic advantages.

Key 3.1 Feature Additions
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 incorporates several new key features. For its main platform, 3.1 enables increased scalability of guest virtual machines, now providing support for up to 160 logical CPUs and up to 2 terabytes of memory, per virtual machine, and updates its KVM hypervisor to support the latest industry-standard x86 processors. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization shares the same base KVM hypervisor technology as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and maintains common ABI compatibility, enabling optimized flexibility for combining the two platforms from a single vendor.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 also includes an updated user interface, improved cross-platform web administration portal, updated reporting dashboard, new networking capabilities and enhanced disk storage. The incorporation of a technology preview of storage live migration adds the flexibility to migrate virtual machine disk files between storage domains without having to power down the virtual machine. The power user portal has been enhanced with resource quota functionality to enable self-service for test/development and other private cloud use cases. The release also features new advancements for the platform’s VDI capabilities, including a new virtual desktop autostart policy, improved WAN optimizations and an improved virtual desktop client.

With 3.1, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization also expands its localization enablement with support for English, French, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, enabling the platform to be used even more widely around the globe.

Red Hat Storage Integration
A key addition to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 is integration with Red Hat Storage, Red Hat’s scale-out, open source storage software solution for the management of data. Based on the GlusterFS technology Red Hat received from its Oct. 2011 acquisition of Gluster, Inc., Red Hat Storage Server 2.0 became available worldwide in June 2012, providing enterprise customers with open, unified scale-out storage software.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 provided the ability to access virtual images/storage over iSCSI, Fibre-Channel NFS or on local storage. With Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1, the platform’s versatility is now broadened, enabling it to access the secure, shared storage pool managed by Red Hat Storage. In addition to providing the essential building blocks for open hybrid clouds, this integration also offers enterprises reduced operational costs, expanded portability, choice of infrastructure, flexibility, scalability, availability and the power of community-driven innovation with the contributions of the open source oVirt and Gluster projects. The combination of these platforms is the first step toward Red Hat’s vision of an integrated and converged Red Hat Storage and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization node that serves both compute and storage resources.

Availability
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 is globally available to subscribing Red Hat customers today. A fully supported, 60-day trial of the release is also available at
www.redhat.com/promo/rhev3.



Red Hat Delivers New Choice in Open Virtualization in Collaboration with Key Partner
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Now with HP VirtualSystem VS2 Speeds Virtualization to Increase Performance

KUALA LUMPUR – December 7, 2012 – Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced – in line with the global availability of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 – that Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization is supported by HP VirtualSystem VS2. HP VirtualSystem VS2 is a new converged system reference architecture designed to speed virtualization software deployment while maximizing performance and scale as organizations move to cloud computing.

HP has offered Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization subscriptions and support services on HP ProLiant servers since the launch of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 in January 2012. Consulting, education and implementation services for Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization are also available through HP.

The HP VirtualSystem VS2 Reference Architecture for Red Hat is an enterprise-business, single-rack solution that is optimized for compute density. It is based on the HP BladeSystem C7000 Enclosure, HP ProLiant BL460c servers, HP 5800 Switch Series and HP LeftHand P4800 Storage for BladeSystem and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. The combined solution is designed to support hundreds of virtual machines, and provides a base set of extended configurations and sizing for typical workloads for deployment optimization.

Availability
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, including the new 3.1 update, is available worldwide today from HP.

Red Hat Expands Virtualization Collaboration with SAP via New Certification

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 Certified for SAP® Solution-based Production Environments; Maintaining Leading Benchmark Results and Meeting Customer Needs 

KUALA LUMPUR – December 7, 2012 – Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the certification of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 for SAP® business applications running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This is a continuation of the companies’ joint work on virtualization and an expansion of SAP’s certification of the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.0 platform release. The certification marks the latest milestone in a 15-year alliance formed to help simplify deployments of SAP applications on physical Red Hat servers, in virtualized environments or in the cloud, bringing new choice to enterprises worldwide.

Enterprise customers such as TCC Technology Co. Ltd., Thailand’s leading provider of commercial managed hosting and datacenter services, are turning to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization to achieve business continuity, agility and cost efficiency for their deployments of SAP applications.

“Although virtualization is an established global trend, we had not used it to support mission-critical applications until we found Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and applied it to our hosted services for SAP solutions,” said Kosit Suksingha, managing director of TCC Technology. “It has proven to be reliable, cost-effective and scalable, helping us to offer commercially attractive hosted services for SAP solutions on a pay-as-you-go basis.”

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization is the only mission-critical end-to-end, open source virtualization infrastructure designed for enterprises that is available today. Providing an open virtualization hypervisor with Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and robust management tools based on the open source oVirt project, the portfolio delivers leading performance, scalability, flexibility and cost benefits. Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1, available globally today, delivers new features and integrations spanning scalability, networking, storage and more.

In addition to achieving leading performance results on the two-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) standard application benchmark announced in June1 – with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and its KVM hypervisor running the SAP ERP 6.0 application – Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization has, as of Dec. 1, 2012, attained the seven highest SPECvirt_sc2010 benchmarks (www.spec.org). 

Availability

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3.1 is available globally for production use with SAP solutions today.

Red Hat Continues Leadership and Momentum with Open Hybrid Clouds

Company Expands Cloud Offerings with Delivery of Red Hat CloudForms 1.1 and Two Cloud Solution Bundles with Corresponding Services Offering

KUALA LUMPUR – December 7, 2012 – Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced advancements in its delivery of open hybrid cloud solutions and technologies to enterprises. Expanding its cloud footprint, Red Hat today delivers an update to its open hybrid cloud management platform with the availability of Red Hat CloudForms 1.1 and releases two cloud solution bundles and a services offering combining several of Red Hat’s leading product portfolios.

Red Hat CloudForms 1.1

In early June 2012, Red Hat delivered the first release of Red Hat CloudForms, an open hybrid cloud management platform built to enable enterprises to create and manage Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) hybrid clouds with the ability to make self-service computing resources available to users in a managed, governed and secure way. With CloudForms, enterprises can build and manage an open enterprise hybrid cloud, providing infrastructure choice spanning across multiple virtualization platforms and extending to public cloud resources, and can build and manage applications in their cloud, enabling enterprises to use their cloud for their workloads.

Today, Red Hat updates the CloudForms platform with the release of CloudForms 1.1. With this release, Red Hat has expanded the reach of the product further into Asia Pacific and Europe with enablement for four additional languages, including Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Portuguese. The 1.1 release also incorporates a number of updates and fixes covering features such as:

• System Groups: allowing administrators to easily organize systems to perform actions, such as updating packages, upon many systems as if they were one.

• LDAP Support: allowing enterprises to leverage their existing identity management solutions within CloudForms.

• Content searching: providing enterprises the ability to quickly search all application lifecycle environments for specific pieces of content. 

Open Hybrid Cloud Solutions and Open IaaS Architecture Service Offering

At the Red Hat Summit in June 2012, Red Hat announced a set of solutions designed to enable enterprises to build and manage open hybrid clouds. Combining Red Hat’s full portfolio of products, the solutions offer enterprises an easy on-ramp to open hybrid cloud computing with reduced complexity. 

The first of the four solutions, Red Hat Storage, was delivered in June 2012. Today, Red Hat announces the general availability of two additional open hybrid cloud solutions:

 Red Hat Hybrid IaaS Solution: This offering reduces the complexity of building a hybrid cloud by providing a comprehensive set of software components to save time in deploying a hybrid cloud. The solution includes virtualization management with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization; a hybrid cloud management framework with Red Hat CloudForms; guest operating system with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the ability to add on-demand public cloud compute hours with Red Hat Certified Public Cloud Providers.

 Red Hat Cloud with Virtualization Bundle: With this offering, customers can combine cloud and virtualization projects into one step to enable the acceleration of project completion, the reduction of project hours and lowered total cost of ownership. This solution includes software needed to build and manage a cloud, from virtualization management to cloud orchestration, to cover virtual machine management, systems management and application lifecycle management. Included in the solution bundle are Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and Red Hat CloudForms.

In addition, Red Hat is also launching a new cloud-focused offering from its Services team, called the Open IaaS Architecture Service. Cloud services from Red Hat are designed to accelerate the development of functional, enterprise-ready clouds and their associated services and benefits to enterprises. To help enable a customer’s private or hybrid cloud for success from day one, Red Hat offers its Open IaaS Architecture Service, which defines, designs, installs and optimizes Red Hat’s cloud and virtualization offerings to deliver an open, scalable IaaS specific to each customer’s environment. The service also includes documentation of the installation as well as guidance on best practices for ongoing management.

Availability

CloudForms 1.1 is available today with support from Red Hat. The Red Hat Hybrid IaaS Solution, the Red Hat Cloud with Virtualization Bundle and the Open IaaS Architecture Service are initially offered in North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, with plans for global availability in the future. 

TREND MICRO™ CROWNS THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF THE WIN A CAR CONTEST

Kuala Lumpur, 7 December 2012 - Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704;TSE:4704), a global leader in consumer digital information security today held a prize presentation ceremony at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center during the Pikom PC Fair to crown the winner of its inaugural Trend Micro ‘Win A Car’ contest.

Jean Lim, Marketing Director Malaysia & Indonesia, Director Distribution Management, Trend Micro presented a brand new Proton Saga FL Standard 1.3MT worth RM38, 000 to the grand prize winner, Mr. Kanakaraju A/L Rajoo, 40, an IT Consultant from Kuala Lumpur.

Jean Lim presenting the grand prize to Mr. Kanakarajoo.

Mr. Kanakaraju said, “I was overwhelmed when I received the call from Trend Micro to inform me of my win. This is the biggest win in my life and surely is the best gift for my family during this holiday season!”

“This inaugural ‘Win a Car’ contest demonstrates our commitment to our loyal customers in Malaysia and is one of our many ways to show our appreciation to the consumers for their continuous support,” said Jean at the grand prize presentation ceremony. “We also aim to bring continued excitement to the consumers by organizing such interesting contests in the future,” Jean added.

Mr & Mrs Kanakarajoo with the grand prize.

The contest which ran for six months from the 5th April 2012 to 30th September 2012 is designed to reward loyal Trend Micro customers. Participants were only required to purchase any Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security or Trend Micro Maximum Security Retail Box at participating retailers or from the Trend Micro Online store and complete a slogan “I only trust Trend Micro to protect my digital life because…”

Mr. Kanakaraju earned his entry to the Trend Micro ‘Win A Car’ contest from his purchase of Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012. His winning slogan was “I only trust Trend Micro to protect my digital life because it gives me a sweet and safe homely feeling anywhere, anytime living in the world of digital.”

Tomorrow Together with Hitachi Malaysia Convenience, Comfort and Sustainability in Your Home

Kuala Lumpur, 7 December 2012 – Top leader in ecologically-inspired electronic and home appliances, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad (hereinafter “Hitachi”) today launched a series of home appliances from refrigerators to air conditioners and washing machines that not only deliver high performance, cutting-edge innovation, aesthetically beautiful but also friendly to the environment.

“Tomorrow Together has been Hitachi’s tagline and that is the philosophy that guides the designs and innovations of our products. We want to ensure that Hitachi products contribute to making the world a better place to live in. Every Hitachi home appliance aims to provide deeper satisfaction to you, your family, our community and the world,” said Masahiro Sakata, Managing Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Berhad.

(From L-R): Frankie Tan, Executive Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad and Masahiro Sakata, Managing Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad with the children during the launch gambit.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of these new products today. Our products represent the best of Japan technology, combining beauty with energy-efficiency for higher savings and eco-friendly to the environment,” continued Masahiro.

Hitachi Inverter French Bottom Freezer Refrigerator series 
Model R-WB490P2M GBK

It is known that Hitachi offers the best technology to its consumers.  Refrigerators by Hitachi are widely known for its state-of-the-art features and stylish designs.  The new series is no different; in fact consumers can expect even more!

Built with the ‘Tomorrow Together’ philosophy in mind, the Hitachi Inverter French Bottom Freezer Refrigerators series is powered by Hitachi's Innovative Inverter Technology, equipped with an Inverter and Dual Fan cooling system that cools each compartment independently and efficiently. Hitachi is known for its energy efficient innovations in the market as it provides 25% less energy consumption compared with the usual pre-set electronically controlled refrigerators.

(From L-R): Frankie Tan, Executive Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad and Masahiro Sakata, Managing Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad officially launching the Tomorrow Together product series.

This series is designed with a sleek looking bottom freezer and comes with a French door design.   Additional features include the Smart-Open Vegetable Compartment, Touch Screen Controller and Selectable Mode Compartment.

The new Smart-Open Vegetable Compartment is designed for easy storage of bigger fruits and vegetables with its unique drawer structure.  Designed for comfort, you can access the Smart-Open Vegetable Compartment without needing to bend too low for easy reach. Keeping vegetables fresher for a longer time is the Nano Titanium Filter that eliminates 99% of bacteria and prevents transfer of odour.

(From L-R): Frankie Tan, Executive Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad, Masahiro Sakata, Managing Director, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn, Berhad and Steven Lim, General Manager, Hitachi Sales (Malaysia) Sdn. Berhad with the Hitachi ambassadors.

Enjoy various operations with a gentle touch on the Touch Screen Controller as this series also comes with a selectable mode compartment. This selectable mode provides you an easy way to switch between the ‘Vegetable’ mode for efficient cooling of fruits and vegetables and the ‘Dairy/Meat’ mode if you have mainly dairy and meat to be stored. This series is available in 3 colours for those interior conscious consumers looking for a functional yet incredibly stylish refrigerator.


Hitachi Room Air-Conditioners, Awarded 5 Star Rating by the Energy Commission (EC)
Model RAS-S10CC
Air conditioning is very crucial to hot tropical climate like Malaysia. Aiming to be the best room companion on a hot day, it is of no surprise that Hitachi today is at the forefront of the air-conditioning industry with new technological breakthroughs.

The new range of Hitachi air conditioners is powered with the most advanced technology that provides high quality, efficient energy saving methods and reliable air conditioning solutions. The RAS-S10CC is also awarded the 5-star rating by the Energy Commission (EC), further substantiating Hitachi’s claim for its energy saving capabilities.

Combining Hitachi’s UV Fresh feature and the cutting-edge Nano Titanium Wasabi Air Purification technology that uses a wasabi-modified Nano Titanium catalyst to provide a powerful antibacterial, anti-mold, anti-allergen and deodorizing effect, the RAS-S10CC ensures that the air is cool and most importantly hygienic.

Armed with technological breakthroughs that promises fresher air and energy saving capabilities, the new range is definitely a must have for your home.

Hitachi Big Drum 510 Front Load Washing Machine
Model BD-W70 PV

Designed for your peace of mind, the Big Drum 510 Front Load washing machine does its job quietly and efficiently.  With a bigger diameter drum of 510mm, it generates a powerful beat washing effect that removes dirt and stains even more effectively.

The Hitachi Big Drum 510 Front Load comes equipped with Hitachi very own technology, the 3D Sensor Control Wash detects fabric types to give you complete care for any type of fabric. In addition, the Hitachi Big Drum 510 Front Load Washing Machine comes packed with intelligent sensor system features such as the Load Sensor feature, 3D Vibration Sensor, Revolution Sensor, Foam Detection Sensor and the Water Detection Sensor for smarter use of energy and water in homes all of which contribute to a more eco-friendly environment.

With Hitachi’s unique technology, the Dual Vibration Control System removes vibration and noise to give consumers an exceptionally quiet operation from start to finish. Tested by Hitachi*, this series is proven to use 60% less energy, 58% less water and 49% less time needed for each wash.

It is also easy to navigate with its Easy-to-Understand Pictographic Indicators with options menu and washing programmes that can be understood easily by all.

Available in black, metallic grey and white colours, the Hitachi Big Drum 510 series is great for any household with children as it is equipped with Child Lock features that prevent accidental operation, locking the doors and disabling the operation buttons and dials.

The BD-W70 PV’s Allergy Care programme was also been awarded the Allergy UK’s seal of approval because it reduces mold, house dust mites and bacteria, giving you worry-free washing for people with delicate skin and families with young children. Besides that, the BD-W70 PV’s Wool Programme is also Woolmark certified so you can safely wash woollen items bearing the Woolmark labels.

Hitachi with their tagline, Tomorrow Together continues to strive to be a reliable partner in achieving a better living for a better tomorrow.

Products Availability
The Hitachi French Bottom Freezer Refrigerators, Hitachi Room Air-Conditioners and the Hitachi Big Drum 510 Front Load Washing Machines will be available at major electrical chain stores and electrical shops throughout Malaysia from January 2013 onwards. For more information on these products and more, do check out www.hitachiconsumer.com.my.

DiGizens Hit KL Streets with WWW Internet for All Celebrations

Bringing Internet For All to Malaysians through DiGi’s year-end internet sale

Henrik Clausen, CEO of DiGi (2nd from right) and his management team meeting customers for DiGi’s WWW Internet For All day in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 December 2012: DiGi Telecommunications (DiGi) celebrated its annual year-end event today with 1,400 DiGizens painting downtown Kuala Lumpur yellow in a celebration themed ‘WWW Internet for All’. The DiGizens gathered in two (2) KL hot spots, namely Bukit Bintang and Kota Raya to engage with customers and spread the word about DiGi’s year-end Jualan Internet 2x Ganda sale.

1,400 DiGizens get ready to descend on Kuala Lumpur for DiGi’s WWW Internet For All day.

Among the many DiGizens spotted in the city today included Chief Executive Officer Henrik Clausen and members of his management team. Henrik said, “Our Internet For All ambition is about enabling internet access for all Malaysians, and we have invested significantly in our business this year to provide better mobile internet connectivity for more customers. This remains a core focus for us and today we are bringing this commitment personally to our customers on the street.”

Jualan Internet 2x Ganda sale... 1,400 DiGizens in Kuala Lumpur for DiGi’s WWW Internet For All day.

The company chose to engage with Malaysians in true DiGi-style through a variety of fun tasks. Some handed out free DiGi Web Passes that offer users unlimited access to DiGi Internet services for three days. Other DiGizens created buzz on the Jualan Internet 2x Ganda sale through a flashmob-style 30-second ‘live ad’ performance, and the rest treated customers to yellow lollipops and balloons. Customers also had a fun interactive time with DiGizens through a real time Tweet and win contest, while a specially selected handful of DiGi customers were surprised and serenaded to in appreciation of their long-term support and relationship with DiGi.

Henrik Clausen, CEO of DiGi (middle) and DiGizens meet customers in Kuala Lumpur for DiGi’s WWW Internet For All day.

For more information on DiGi and the Jualan Internet 2x Ganda sale, please visit: http://www.digi.com.my.

TM AND PETRONAS LEADERSHIP CENTRE COLLABORATE TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES IN EMPOWERING ITS WORKFORCE

In strong support towards continuous human capital development, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PETRONAS Management Training Sdn Bhd through PETRONAS Leadership Centre (PLC) for the exchange of knowledge and resources between both organisations.

Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim, Chief Human Capital Officer, TM signed the agreement on behalf of TM while PLC was represented by Haji Yasir Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, Petronas Management Training Sdn Bhd. Dato’ Sri Dr. Halim Shafie, Chairman, TM and Md Arif Mahmood, Vice President, Corporate Strategic Planning of PETRONAS were also present to witness the momentous ceremony.

(From left to right:) Ariffin Rahmat, Head, Core Leadership Development, PETRONAS Management Training Sdn Bhd, Haji Yasir Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS Management Training Sdn Bhd, Md Arif Mahmood, Vice President, Corporate Strategic Planning of PETRONAS, Dato’ Sri Dr Halim Shafie, Chairman, TM,  Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim, Chief Human Capital Officer, TM and Dr Zainal Abu Zarim, Vice President, Group Human Capital Management, TM at the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing with PETRONAS Management Training Sdn Bhd for the exchange of knowledge and resources between both organisations.


Leveraging on the unique strengths of both organisations, the collaboration will enable TM and PLC to jointly conduct mutually beneficial learning and development activities as well as other related areas which include:

a. the provisioning of specific learning programmes and solutions;

b. consultancy services in the design and development of learning intervention materials, programme evaluation, competency modeling, surveys and other learning and development works;

c. sharing of learning and training resources such as speakers, trainers, facilitators, experts and consultants as well facilities such as training venues;

d. organising joint learning and development activities such as learning programmes, seminars, workshops and human resource conferences.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dato’ Sri Dr Halim said, “TM has always placed a high level of commitment towards our human capital development and in providing our 27,000 strong workforce a workplace that fosters personal and professional development. As key assets, employees’ competencies are crucial in ensuring that TM remains competitive. In our effort to support employee career development, TM is always looking for new and different approaches to empower our staff. We provide various training programmes based on specific behavioural and functional competencies modules. TM is glad that today we are entering into this collaboration with Petronas Leadership Centre for joint human capital development initiatives and we believe that this will mutually benefit us in gaining world-class knowledge and resources in producing highly skilled and capable employees.”

“We are also happy to note that this collaboration sees the co-operation between two major GLCs which portrays our support of the Government’s aspirations of producing highly-skilled nation while at the same time further strengthening the relationship between GLCs,” added Dato’ Sri Dr. Halim.

In sharing his thoughts about the collaboration, Md Arif Mahmood said, "PETRONAS leaders have been developed internally. Over the years we have been able to provide the right development content and create opportunities for our people to develop as they progress through the leadership pipeline. Their transition from one leadership position to another is carefully managed, supported by appropriate learning interventions. This is without doubt the formula that brings PETRONAS from just managing the country's natural resources to become a renowned global company."

”To accelerate our learning curve, we have always believed in collaborations that support human capital development. As such over the years we have grown significantly through a learning and sharing process, by collaborating with like-minded strategic partners. These collaborations have enabled us to develop our people as high-performing, global professionals in the oil and gas industry," he added.

PLC has expanded its market to enable both Oil & Gas and Non-Oil & Gas players to have access to its leadership development programmes. The collaboration with TM through capacity building, life-long learning and training initiatives will be the catalyst in the strengthening of human capital development for both TM and PLC. This will not only improve the performance and productivity of the employees of both organisations, but will also prepare the workforce to step up its competency and embrace a high-performing work culture.

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my. For further information on PLC, visit www.petronasleadershipcentre.com.my.

YOUTUBE LAUNCHES PARTNER PROGRAM TO VIDEO CREATORS IN MALAYSIA

Creators of original videos in Malaysia can now join more than 1 million others around the globe making money from their own videos on YouTube

Thousands of YouTube channels make over $100,000 USD a year

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (December 7, 2012): YouTube today announced that it has launched the YouTube Partner Program to video creators in Malaysia, allowing them to make money from their original works. Now any Malaysian creator with even just one original video can apply to become a Partner and start making money. This gives many in Malaysia the chance to follow the path of other YouTube Partners overseas who make a living just from the money they make on YouTube.

The Partner Program is YouTube’s way of sharing advertising revenue with video creators. Once a video creator becomes a Partner, he or she can choose to run ads against their videos. YouTube then splits the revenue generated by those ads, with the majority share going to the Partner. Beyond the opportunity to make money, YouTube provides these video creators with resources and opportunities to improve their skills, optimize their content for YouTube, and build larger audiences.

David Macdonald, Head of YouTube Content Operations in Asia-Pacific, said, “Since launching YouTube in Malaysia earlier this year, we have seen amazing things from Malaysians posting their videos on YouTube. They are coming to YouTube to tell their stories — whether in the form of songs performed in their bedrooms, short films, comedy skits, footage of everyday life, or pet videos. These partners will now be able to make money from videos that find big audiences, and this will help very popular video creators build entire careers on YouTube. We hope this helps bring more Malaysian talent onto YouTube to share with the world.”

Every year, YouTube pays out millions of dollars to people through the Partner Program. There are now more than one million channels earning revenue through the YouTube Partner Program, with revenue more than doubling for four years in a row. Thousands of channels are making six figures a year, and during 2011, the number of partners making more than $1k/month nearly doubled.

To be able to make money from videos, uploaders on YouTube must follow the Community Guidelines and own all the rights to the video and music used. Users must also set up a Google AdSense account to collect revenue earned from their videos.

To find out more about the YouTube Partner Program, go to http://youtube.com/partners.

Hitachi Data Systems Names Wee Kai Teck as Managing Director of Hitachi Data Systems Malaysia

New Appointment to Focus on Continued Growth in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — December 7, 2012 — Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced the appointment of Wee Kai Teck as the new managing director of Hitachi Data Systems Malaysia. The appointment underscores the company’s commitment to customers and partners in Malaysia, and reinforces its drive towards establishing strategic alliances and increasing growth for the company.

Wee joins Hitachi Data Systems from EMC Corporation where his most recent roles in 13 years were as the director for Enterprise Sales and interim country manager for Malaysia. Earlier, he held key sales and IT roles at Western Digital, CSA, Glaxo Wellcome and Oracle in his 20 year career in the IT industry. Wee reports to Ravi Rajendran, vice president and general manager, ASEAN, Hitachi Data Systems.

“Wee comes to us with deep experience and a proven track record of delivering outstanding business results and finding the right solutions for his customers. His expertise holds tremendous value as we continue to penetrate high growth areas and drive sustainable growth in Malaysia,” said Rajendran.

Commenting on his role, Wee said, “These are exciting times for Hitachi Data Systems and I am proud to be part of a highly successful and motivated team that continues to enhance the business here in Malaysia. We have experienced impressive growth and increased our market share, and we will continue to support our customers with the solutions and services to help them manage data, and allow them to innovate and focus on their business.”

The appointment comes at a time when Hitachi Data Systems achieved the highest revenue second quarter (Q2FY12, July 1 to September 30, 2012) in its history*, bringing the company to a total of 8 consecutive record-setting quarters*.

Dell Malaysia raises RM111,945 for charity through its largest ever ‘Run & Ride’ event

Dell continues its commitment to making a difference in the community by supporting three local charities

Bayan Lepas, Penang – 7 December 2012 – In continuing its commitment to making a difference in the community, Dell recently raised RM111,945 for three different charitable organisations, House of Hope, Penang Cheshire Home and Sunshine Cottage Kulim, through its Charity Run & Ride and Family Day 2012.

CS Tang, MD, Dell Malaysia with winners of the run - Women's category.

Dell’s 7th annual event was a record-breaking event as it saw more than 3,500 Dell employees participating in the Dell Charity Run & Ride. Through fund-raising activities such as the dunking of senior management into icy water and ‘Locks of Love’, Dell also managed to raise the highest ever amount of pledges from its team members.

CS Tang, MD, Dell Malaysia with winners of the run - Men's category.

According to CS Tang, managing director, Dell Malaysia, “At Dell, we are inspired by our purpose and guided by our values, to give back to the communities that we live in. Our annual event is a wonderful opportunity for us to reach out and help those in need and since our first Dell run event in 2006, I am proud to say that Dell has contributed more than RM1.145 million benefitting various charitable and non-profit organizations.”

Riders heading for the finish line in heavy rain.

Besides the annual charity event, Dell is constantly looking for new ways to not only engage with the community but with our team members as well. For example, this year Dell included a ‘ride’ element to the run for the first time, where 57 participants cycled from the Asia Pacific Customer Center in Bukit Tengah to the Simon Wong Technology Centre (SWTC) in Bayan Lepas, Penang. In August 2012, the Dell MY Planet platform was also created to drive environmental sustainability awareness and to promote an environmentally responsible culture in Dell. Various activities have been conducted since then which have created awareness on the importance of recycling and turtle conservation. These activities organized by Dell Malaysia are aimed at building stronger communities, creating a supportive workplace, and promoting diversity and inclusion.

Participants flagged off at the run.

 “Caring for the environment is an important tenet in our corporate responsibility efforts. We challenge our team members, suppliers and partners to constantly manage our resources effectively and to find sustainable alternatives as we design, build and ship our products, thus reducing Dell’s environmental footprint and that of our customers. We believe that we can make a real difference in finding better ways to a more sustainable world for our business, our customers and the community,” added CS Tang.

Cyclists on the ferry to continue their ride to SWTC.

After the run & ride event which saw the participants drenched in the heavy downpour, Dell team members and their families were able to spend some quality time together at the family day and food fiesta. There were also stalls offering delicious food and many fun-filled activities such as face painting, caricatures, sand art, clowns, inflatables and even horse rides.

Clowns and Character Mascots Bring Cheer to the 'Run & Ride' Event.

Are you ready to make the switch? Nokia launches Nokia Lumia 920 & Lumia 820

Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 ready for Pre-orders

Wait no longer and look no further as we herald in the most innovative smartphones – the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820.

The new Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 will be retailing for RM1, 999 and RM1, 599 respectively at Nokia retail stores and will arrive in time for Christmas!  Mobile operators Celcom and Digi will also carry the devices and will announce their pricing separately.

Lumia 920

Make a bold statement
The Nokia Lumia 920 is a beauty - with rounded edges, a smooth glass finishing and seamless polycarbonate body - it exudes power and confidence. It boasts a 4.5” PureMotion HD+ display with ClearBlack technology and is the world’s brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen. It also comes with Nokia’s signature PureView imaging technology and Carl Zeiss optics for the ultimate smartphone camera experience. With Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and a revolutionary floating lens built in, you can rest assured you’ll capture perfect moments in every shot, even in low light conditions.

The compact design of the Nokia Lumia 820 makes it a delight to behold. Sleek and stylish, it comes with a fast 1.5 GHz dual-core SnapDragon S4 processor, with a sensitive 4.3” OLED ClearBlack display. Its interchangeable back covers give you flexibility to match your phone colour to your mood, so you’ll never have a dull moment!

Picture-perfection
The Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 present excellence in imaging with Nokia Smart Shoot – so your group shots will always be picture perfect as you pick the best frames with everyone looking fantastic! With Cinemagraph, you can also create fun and unique moving GIF images to delight your friends and share with your loved ones.

See the world with a new lens
Say ‘adios’ to long web searches as the new Lumia devices come with Nokia City Lens, giving you an augmented reality view of buildings and outlines places of interest around you. Simply point your camera at a desired location and get all the information you need – from restaurants, to awesome shopping retreats and many more!

Lumia 820

Easy-breezy charging flexibility
The Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 make charging your device a real breeze as they come with wireless charging capabilities - simply place them on a wireless charging pad and voila! – your device charges up. The inductive Qi technology built into the Nokia Lumia 920 and interchangeable shell covers of the Nokia Lumia 820 ensure that you never have the hassle of dealing with messy wires!

The Nokia Wireless Charging Stand and Nokia Wireless Charging Plate provide easy charging for your devices – just place it on the charging pad for quick and easy charging.

Dance the night away
Convenience is taken to the next level with the Nokia Lumia Purity Pro headset by Monster with Bluetooth and NFC connectivity. You can now sync your favourite tunes wirelessly to the headphones from your Lumia device, and enjoy a power-packed listening experience with Dolby Headphone and stereo sound technology. Simply fold or unfold your headset to turn the headphones on and off, or to activate the Bluetooth function.

Having guests over? Plug in your JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for big sound and great entertainment that’s guaranteed to pump-start any party! The speaker has a wireless charging pad so you can charge up your device while your friends dance the house down!

Pre-orders
Both Nokia Lumia devices come with an impressive list of unique features whereas the Windows Phone 8 provides a more personal smartphone experience. What’s more, Nokia is bringing these new series of Lumia smartphones first to our doting fans through our exclusive pre-ordering campaign. Customers can now pre-order their Nokia Lumia handset from Friday, 7 December at all Nokia Stores.

Submit your #Switch and win!
We want five people to start the New Year’s with a bang! That is why we are giving away three Nokia Lumia 920s and two Nokia Lumia 820s to the five best entries. The closing date is Monday 31, December – which is plenty of time to tell us why you would #Switch to Nokia Lumia via this website: www.facebook.com/NokiaMalaysia. The lucky winners will be announced in early January 2013.

Pricing and availability:
Nokia Lumia 920 (Black, white, yellow, red) S.R.P. RM1,999, 21 December, 2012.
Nokia Lumia 820(Black and white) (wireless charging shell covers available in white, black, cyan, red, yellow) S.R.P. RM1,599,  21 December, 2012.

LTE is here! Gear Up for Higher Speeds in 2013! MCMC Issues Spectrum for 4G Mobile Broadband in the 2600 MHz Band

Cyberjaya: 5 December, 2012 --- Malaysians may not have to wait much longer to enjoy higher mobile broadband speeds. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has announced the allocation of the much anticipated 2600 MHz spectrum band, paving the way for Malaysians to enjoy 4G services which could offer mobile broadband speeds in excess of 100 Mbps.

The technology promises many news services to consumers such as high definition video streaming, enhanced user experience on real-time applications and better connectivity for mobile and consumer electronic devices.

Since the introduction of 3G and WiMAX technology in Malaysia, the demand for better quality mobile broadband service has intensified. This allocation is in line with similar initiatives in developed countries like the US and some European states. Market readiness for 4G technology is also reaching its maturity as increasingly, many of the latest devices in the global market support the use of this technology; hence the economies of scale will bring much benefit to the country.

Eight (8) companies will be allowed access to the 2600 MHz spectrum band. They are, in alphabetical order, Celcom Axiata Bhd, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd, Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd, REDtone Marketing Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd.

MCMC Chairman Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi said, “MCMC is always committed to finding the right balance between the needs of consumers, investors and other stakeholders of the industry. We believe that the balance struck between ensuring healthy competition in the market and promoting industry development will help spur continued growth for existing service providers and provide opportunity for new market entrants.”

Existing service providers may use the 2600 MHz allocation to further expand and enhance the capacity of their mobile broadband networks to meet increasing consumer demands whilst the introduction of a new player is expected to bring fresh ideas and innovation to the market.

Service providers are also expected to enter into smart partnerships and sharing agreements between them which include spectrum and radio access network sharing in order to utilise larger bandwidths, lower the cost of roll out and offer better 4G-experience and affordability to consumers. Additionally, smart partnerships mean shared infrastructure thus reducing the duplication of physical transmission towers. 4G wholesale MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Service) will also be offered to other service providers that do not get access to the allocation.

“With this new technology, the people can look forward to improvements in their digital lifestyle. For the business community, cloud services, teleworking, teleconferencing and video type applications can be better experienced whilst on the move,” said Dato’ Mohamed Sharil.


2.6 GHz Spectrum Allocated to P1

Kuala Lumpur, 6th December 2012 – South East Asia’s leading and one of the world’s first 4G service provider, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”) has been allocated the access to 2.6 GHz spectrum by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Michael Lai, CEO of P1 said, “We are thrilled to have been granted access to 20MHz of 2.6 GHz TD spectrum, and we thank the government, our Ministry and MCMC for their confidence in P1. Being one of the pioneers in the 4G world, we are definitely excited to be able to offer this next generation of 4G technology to Malaysians.”

“Being one of the Steering Committee Members of the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI), we are excited to be able to serve our subscribers with the 4G Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE) technology. Our subscribers will be among the first to taste and experience the latest 4G LTE technology. Continuing our mission of “Broadband for All”, this spectrum allocation will allow us to continue our commitment in bringing cutting-edge broadband technology to every single Malaysian. And simultaneously, contribute to our national broadband agenda and initiative,” he elaborated.

 “We are ready for this, and we look forward to serving our customers even better with complete range of services from 4G wireless, Fiber, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) services and wireless internet leased line,” Lai added.




U MOBILE AWARDED LTE SPECTRUM 

Kuala Lumpur, 6th December, 2012 - U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s most dynamic and innovative telco service provider, is pleased to be awarded a 20MHz block of the 2.6GHz spectrum by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). 

In a letter issued by MCMC yesterday, it was outlined that U Mobile was awarded a spectrum block which the company notes as strategic. 

“The position of our block of spectrum is strategic in that it provides U Mobile with the option of sharing spectrum and possibly collaborating through smart partnerships with other telcos,” said Jaffa Sany Ariffin, U Mobile CEO. “By sharing spectrum we would hope to benefit from reduced rollout costs and pass those savings onto our consumers.”

Jaffa added, “When LTE services are commercially available, the benefit will be an enriching and exciting mobile experience for our customers and it will undoubtedly bring significant change to the way we experience mobile communication services. We thank the MCMC for awarding us the spectrum and we look forward to providing our customers with even faster mobile internet services.” 

The allocation of the 2.6GHz spectrum blocks by MCMC to eight telecommunications players signifies the next phase of the evolution of mobile internet in Malaysia, as it provides the gateway for 4G or Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology. 

Through its LTE services, U Mobile will aim to provide an even better value proposition to its customers with improved technology delivering mobile internet with speeds up to 100 Mbps, better smartphones and applications.

As a result of the spectrum allocation, U Mobile is well placed to play its role in assisting the Government in achieving its national agenda to provide high speed mobile data services for all Malaysians.

To get the latest updates on U Mobile products and services, please visit www.u.com.my.

Camera & Photo Imaging Show CP+2013 World Premiere Connecting the world, expanding the limit of photo imaging Announcement

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) (JCII Bldg. 25, Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan; President: Makoto Kimura) will hold the CP+2013 Camera & Imaging Show from January 31 (Thursday) to February 3 (Sunday), 2013, at the PACIFICO YOKOHAMA.

The history of CP+ stretches back more than 50 years, tracing its origins to the first Japan Camera Show. This year marks the fourth year since the venue moved to Yokohama, a bustling international hub and one of the largest cities in Japan. CP+ has grown into one of the largest comprehensive camera and imaging shows in Asia. Every year more families and women come, as well as business users, and the 2012 event was attended by 65,000 people and enabled the world premiere of 55 cameras. There are expected to be even more such announcements at CP+2013.

Japan is an international leader in the photography and imaging business. Japanese manufacturers command approximately 80% of the global market for digital cameras, and more than 99% of the market for interchangeable lens type digital cameras. Taking advantage of Japan’s position as the center of the photo and imaging industry, CP+ acts as a launch pad for presenting the world with the latest information on a wide range of areas in the industry, from the initial input of data to its final output.

This marks the third year for Photo Yokohama, an event put on by Yokohama City that merges industry and culture through photography. And the event grows even larger this year. This time around, especially, will see citywide involvement with CP+ and Photo Yokohama, in large part through coordination with the Yokohama Museum of Art’s “Two Photographers: Robert Capa Centennial/Gerda Taro Retrospective” exhibit, and the event will continue to accelerate the further development of photo and video culture in the years to come.

As a new development at CP+2013, we will have video-related events and the “Video Area for Professionals”, a new addition where we present a full range of video solutions with a focus on a technology at the center of attention recently, SLR cameras. There will also be a panel discussion and exhibition commemorating 30 years of the Camera Grand Prix.

Through a variety of events such as photo exhibitions and product exhibits that allow visitors to experience the fun of “communicating and connecting” through photographs, the event will also be a 4-day opportunity for the many wonders of photography and video related to industry and culture to come together.

Malaysia ICT Top 10: Hyper-Compete for Growth, Speed and Economics - a Confluence of Factors, says IDC

Kuala Lumpur, December 6, 2012 – IDC sees the theme of Hyper-Competing for Growth, Speed and Economics, to be pivotal in encapsulating the trends that are and will continue to affect organizations for years to come while Malaysia is expected to have a US$10 billion IT economy.

Hyper-Competing or the dynamics of strategic maneuvering amongst competitors especially in new markets where the status quo has yet to be defined is no longer just a buzzword but a reality, according to a 2013 forecast by IT market intelligence company, IDC.

"Hyper-competing is not a buzzword but the current reality for organizations looking to capitalize on a confluence of factors that are shaping industries and nation,” according to Roger Ling, Research Manager - ASEAN Services Research Group, IDC Asia/Pacific.

“While the perfect storm is brewing, there are opportunities available as there are shifting fundamentals shaping the success and growth that will also function as pivots for the IT industry," adds Ling.

Drawing from the latest IDC research and internal brainstorming sessions amongst IDC's regional and country analysts, the following are the top 10 ICT predictions in 2013 for Malaysia.

The predictions are split across 3 different key segments.  Part 1: Malaysia ICT spending a response to Hyper-Competing for Growth, Speed and Economics, Part 2: Banking on the 3rd wave of IT in new normal of Hyper-Compete, and Part 3: Underlying Fundamentals

Part 1: Malaysia ICT spending a response to Hyper-Competing for Growth, Speed and Economics

1. IT Spending: the temporal slowdown creeps in, but hyper-competition intensifies in a 10 billion IT economy
IDC predicts that in 2013, Malaysia's IT spending will cross the US$10 billion mark.  While this is a step in the right direction, IDC notes that spending slowed down to 7.6% year on year as compared to a more robust double digit growth the previous year. What makes a clear case for this prediction in the context of hyper-competing are the following factors that appear to create a deadlock:
o In the context of ASEAN, Malaysia's IT share of spending seems to have declined compared to other ASEAN countries. In 2007 Malaysia made up 18% of the ASEAN IT market. By 2013, this is expected to reduce to 17.2% and by 2016 anticipate Malaysia making up a mere 16.1% of the ASEAN IT Spend.
o While Malaysia's IT spending is expected to decline in the context of ASEAN, sentiments on competitiveness and ease of doing business – which directly or indirectly lead to IT related FDI – are improving. For the 2013 report, Malaysia is ranked 12th for ease of doing business beating out India, China, Philippines and Indonesia; climbing from 18th in 2012. For competitiveness the nation did the same, garnering a stronger perception of competitiveness.

With growing credentials among a host of ASEAN countries, the decline in IT spending seems to contradict the positive light the country is in. IDC believes that in an era of hyper-compete there will be changes, which will create stronger IT spending for Malaysia.

2. Telecommunications Spending: From rebound to growth
IDC expects the telecom services market to experience a year on year decline of 1.6% by the close of 2012, but predicts a gradual rebound reaching 3.7% growth in 2013.

Voice revenues are expected to continue on its steady decline with fixed voice at -4.3% and Wireless voice at -11.3% the rebound comes with the growth in both fixed data and wireless data at 13.1% and 14.9% respectively.

On the flip side, telecom equipment is set for high year on year growth hitting 19.7% in 2013. Enterprise networks will reach 18.6%, Service provider equipment 9.3% and Smartphone's a whopping 34.6% in terms of year on year growth.


Part 2: Banking on the 3rd wave of IT in new normal of Hyper-Compete

3. Cloud uptake will remain lethargic, but market perception of the new normal will provide building blocks for enterprise cloud adoption
In 2012 IDC predicted that cloud as a buzzword in Malaysia will finally come to an end. A confluence of factors led to that prediction and in 2013, the theme rides on manifesting the current reality.  Cloud is no longer a buzzword, but the journey towards the delivery shift is far from hitting peak maturity. This prediction states 3 bold claims:
o The local cloud market is yet to thrive, it is at a state where there is still much work to be done and is an uphill battle
o The local market is entering/in the new normal where there are other shifting fundamentals impacting
o Being in the new normal creates the opportunity for cloud to prevail

4. Big Data, it's about building business use cases
With the growth of information creation, comes the business case to make informed decisions linking to the growth in adoption for Analytics. Referring to IDC's latest Software tracker, the Business Analytics market in Malaysia is estimated to reach US 96.83 Million in 2012 and expected to grow by over 10% in 2013 to hit US 107.16 Million. With data flowing in volume, variety, value and velocity, IDC sees a shift in how organizations are capitalizing on information creation.

Based on IDC's annual Software Study for year 2012, 50% of the respondents are not aware of Big Data, which is the highest among Southeast Asia countries. And another 50% respondents have a different perception on Big Data. In Malaysia, the current business use cases for Big Data that address the issues arising from all 4Vs are far and few in between

The journey to uncover business use cases will create an inflection point for organizations looking to adopt Big Data.

5. Social Business: A fragmented Reality
With reference to the “success” of using social media in the political space, it is clear that Malaysians are ready to leverage on social media as a means to progress. From a political front the business case is clear – use social media to push political wave of change.

IDC predicts that in 2013 that same notion will resurface but will highlight a fragmented reality for upcoming social businesses. On a micro level, companies are treating social media within the confines of individual and unconnected marketing campaigns; resulting in a fragmented view of customers. Each campaign produces data and insight, but these are not necessarily carried over to the next campaign or shared across departments.

6. Mobility: The Journey from Striving to Thriving continues
IDC sees consumerization of IT and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) as a phenomenon not of the future but the very evolving present. It is interesting to note that while spending appears to favor the growth of enterprise mobility, underutilization is creating a deadlock to achieve the intended potential of the phenomenon.

With reference to IDC's C-suite Barometer Survey for 2012, the top two imperatives for the hyper-growth case is cutting cost and efficiency gains. Coupling these imperatives with the current state of underutilized devices leads IDC to predict that in 2013, the journey from “surviving” with enterprise mobility will move towards “thriving” as the hyper- compete case becomes essential.

Part 3: Underlying Fundamentals

7. Bigger cracks will emerge between supply and demand for skilled local ICT workers constricting ongoing
While the concept of leveraging technology as a strategic initiative is clear, therein lays the fundamental problem.  Talent shortage is affecting both the supply and demand side and it's becoming quite apparent as organizations look towards implementing solutions to hyper-compete. The shortage of skilled workers has become a blaring caveat.

IDC’s C-suite barometer survey highlights talent at the core of the problem in leveraging technology for strategic advantage. Over 55% indicate issues from lack of required skill sets/expertise to effectively execute, to lack of thought leadership in ICT strategy and roadmap as a key hindrance to leverage IT.

8. Innovation hunger will drive M2M (Machine-to-machine) deeper into the market
The obstacles for M2M in the past were never related to connectivity but to analytics - specifically the tools that allow companies to extract, create relevancy and monetize the data. But these capabilities are available now and with everything in place, enterprises are now able to utilize M2M to optimize their operations.

With that, IDC predicts that in 2013, innovation hunger will drive M2M deeper into the market with Telco Service Providers (SPs) playing a pivotal role. IDC predicts that the growing trend of M2M will be more significant in the coming years with market revenue of up to US$30 billion up 30% in 2013 for Asia Pacific (excluding Japan). In terms of M2M device connections, IDC estimates that there will be more than 36 million devices in 2013, growing to 65 million by 2015 for Asia Pacific (excluding Japan).

9. 7-inch tablet set to conquer in 2013, but enterprise adoption of tablets remains obscure
Back in 2010 when tablets exploded into Malaysia’s personal computing arena, 7-inch tablets were already in existence. But Apple’s sheer dominance and influence lead the market to believe that a market only truly existed for 10-inch tablets, and from the way iPads were being snapped up, few would argue.

Since then, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has met with success in the 7-inch segment which has proven to be more popular than expected. 7-inch tablets currently enjoy about 27% share of the total tablet market as of Q3 2012, according to IDC’s Malaysia Quarterly Tablet Tracker. Despite all the success among home users over the past 2 years however, tablets have yet to gain noticeable traction in the enterprise space. Even as more powerful hardware is incorporated into 7-inch tablets, enterprise users still encounter constraints due to the lack of a physical keyboard and enterprise-centric apps. The tablet is still regarded as a status item among executives but not yet as an effective tool for content creation.

10. Governance issues take center stage
Several of the super trends that have been and are continuing to transform the ICT landscape over the next several years have significant implications with regards to governance, compliance and the risk involved.

Big Data has implications with regards to the data that is being processed; Cloud brings with it multiple issues with regards to data location, procurement patterns etc.; Mobility and BYOD create problems with regards to data management, identity control and access; Social creates issues concerning overall control, data and content sharing etc.

As these four pillars of technology continue to impact companies around the region, IDC expects these governance issues to become an increasingly important area in 2013 as the pillar are transformational in nature – even to the point that it may delay the uptake of new, value generating technologies and services.

VADS AND MDeC INK COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT ON VADS CLOUD ENABLEMENT PROGRAMME

·         ISVs will get a chance to develop and market their applications via VADS

·         Move seen to encourage Cloud adoption among SMEs and ISVs

  

VADS Berhad (VADS), the Information Communication Technology (ICT)/Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), recently signed a collaborative agreement with Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) to enable ten (10) local Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to leverage on the VADS Cloud Enablement Programme.

Under this agreement, the ten (10) selected local MSC Malaysia ISVs will receive total grants up to RM34,000 each which cover Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), subscription cost (including bandwidth), storage devices and other services as well as tools, platforms, best practices, business and technical workshops/trainings and marketing programmes to assist the selected ISVs to enable their applications as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Besides that, the ISVs will also have access to VADS’ Marketplace whereby they can offer their applications to SMEs, helping to create an ecosystem for ISVs in Malaysia to develop new and innovative products which can be delivered to the local as well as international markets.

“VADS is the premier Cloud Service provider in the country. Backed by TM, the nation’s leading integrated and communications group, we provide one of the most comprehensive Cloud services ranging from Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). We are the 1^st Malaysian Telco to offer comprehensive 3-layer cloud services and a technology neutral cloud infrastructure providing comprehensive suites managed solutions across service/cloud stack. The collaboration with MDeC will not only provide the ten lucky ISVs the access to our extensive range of services but they can also market their applications on our Marketplace or better known as the TM BizApp Store. This is certainly in line with our roadmap towards becoming a prominent ICT player in Malaysia whilst supporting the national agenda to be a key enabler for local SMEs especially ISVs,” said Ahmad Azhar Yahya, Chief Executive Officer, VADS.

“ISVs need the most assistance during the development and testing stages of their applications as they are not yet able to monetise their applications. This is where organisations such as VADS and MDeC come in and lend our hands. We are always committed to support the growth of local ISVs and assist them in promoting their innovative applications and ideas not only to the domestic market, but also to the global front,” he added.

MDeC, the driver of MSC Malaysia development, launched its MSC Malaysia Cloud Computing Enablement Initiative in October 2011 with the aim of accelerating the adoption of Cloud Computing for MSC Malaysia Status Companies, ISVs and Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of MDeC said, “The Cloud Enablement program with VADS is part of the overall MSC Malaysia Cloud Computing Enablement Initiative. This will see the development of a Cloud Computing Ecosystem in Malaysia as a strategic initiative to promote MSC Malaysia software and services both locally and abroad, as well as equip ISVs and SMEs with the cloud capabilities to accelerate the nation’s development into a fully Innovative Digital Economy.”

The MSC Malaysia Cloud Computing Enablement Initiative has so far enabled over 60 MSC Malaysia ISVs to deploy cloud software and services as a utility, while catalyzing demand by local enterprises for ‘Made in Malaysia’ cloud software and services.

The dual target is to first help these MSC Malaysia ISVs cloud-enable their software and hardware solutions, with the aim of allowing them to become more flexible in how they can monetize their services and solutions. This new flexibility is then expected to help the ISVs in turn offer their services to Malaysian SMEs in a more cost-compelling delivery method.