Canon Recognized as the Best Cost-Saving Solution

Klang Municipal Council Revamps Systems with Canon’s Solutions

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 November 2013 – The Klang Municipal Council, the first local government council in Malaysia to fully implement uniFLOW to address document security, strengthen operational integrity, and  cost saving, recently held an Integrity and Safety Awareness Seminar in collaboration with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Before the seminar started, Mohd Ikhsan Bin Mukri, Deputy Yang Dipertua, Klang Municipal Council launched the Cost-Saving Operation officially announcing the revamp of all printers and copiers to Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE series as well as the utilization of the Canon uniFLOW software solution.

Mohd Ikhsan Bin Mukri in his keynote address spoke about the importance of building a culture of integrity in all aspects of daily and business dealings.

Mohd Ikhsan Bin Mukri, Deputy Yang Dipertua, Klang Municipal Council (1st from right) trying the Canon imageRunner ADVANCE multi-function device (MFD).

“We practice a prudent approach to investments and make it our guiding principle in our decision-making process.  By continuously encouraging this positive wave of transformation in our mindset and attitude, we are proud to be the first municipal council to intently research and revamp our systems to ensure that we are taking steps to effectively prevent abuse of assets, save cost and yet be able to raise our level of productivity,” said Mohd Ikhsan.

“We are delighted that the Klang Municipal Council has chosen Canon as their provider of a cost effective and efficient system. At Canon, living up on our “Delighting You Always” tagline, we strongly believe that our solutions, the level of professionalism and our competent technical support adds up towards making business processes simpler yet better. Nonetheless, the working partnership with Klang Municipal Council has affirmed that our solutions are able to assist them with their cost-saving initiative, and we hope to work with many more local councils and government offices in similar projects,” said Ooi Chik Hoe, Director of the Business Imaging Solution (BIS) Division of Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

Kevin CW Ho, Senior Group Manager of Government / Channel Sales, Business Imaging Solution Division, Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (2nd from right) explaining the Canon uniFlow software solution to Mohd Ikhsan Bin Mukri, Deputy Yang Dipertua, Klang Municipal Council.

In line with the integrity themed seminar, also present was Abdul Samat bin Kasah, Assistant Chief Commissioner, Community Education Division of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) who talked about the importance of the civil society’s role in assisting MACC in combating corruption. In line with MACC’s “Independent, Transparent & Professional” tagline, the Klang Municipal Council hoped to enhance the culture of integrity of the Klang council through the use of Canon solutions.

Canon's exclusive uniFLOW software provides businesses the ability to consolidate enterprise output management into a single, unified platform for device management, secure printing, document routing and accounting, mobile solutions and cloud capabilities. uniFLOW also adds production printing modules that enable organizations to manage and utilize their corporate reprographic departments (CRD) in conjunction with their office print and scan infrastructure from one platform.

Frances Yip, Assistant Manager, Business Imaging Solution Division, Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Whether you are a SOHO business owner or a multi-national organization, you can use uniFLOW to gain effective control and management of your entire multi-function device fleet. This comprehensive software system is both modular and configurable, giving you the freedom to implement a solution that is aligned to your specific business requirements.

On the other hand, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE series helps you track, manage and influence user behavior by lessening waste of print-outs, analyzing colour input, enforcing double-sided printing if necessary and route jobs to the most cost-effective device to give you maximum savings. Combining powerful workflow integration, high-end finishing and outstanding usability, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE series delivers brilliant results and a rapid return on investment.

Mohd Ikhsan Bin Mukri, Deputy Yang Dipertua, Klang Municipal Council (left) exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with  Abdul Samat bin Kasah, Assistant Chief Commissioner, Community Education Division of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) (right).

Oracle Launched New Upgarded Oracle FLEXCUBE for Finanacial Institutions

To Help Banks Enhance Mobile and Payment Capabilities, Streamline Compliance and Achieve Better Business Performance Insight

Kuala Lumpur, November 8, 2013 – Oracle Financial Services Software Limited today introduced new Oracle FLEXCUBE capabilities that help financial institutions to support regulatory compliance, offer richer and more personalized customer experiences, improve perfromance and streamline their IT environments.

Oracle FLEXCUBE has expanded capabilities to support these areas including new contactless payment and rich, personalized portal enhancements as well as new Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) certification and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) compliance.

“Financial institutions are grappling with evolving customer and regulatory requirements and the need to reduce IT complexity,” said Chet Kamat, CEO & Managing Director, Oracle Financial Services Software. “The latest enhancements to Oracle FLEXCUBE help banks to provide an enhanced customer experience, meet industry standards, such as FATCA regulations and SWIFT standards, as well as streamline compliance, reduce risk and minimize IT complexity.”

Oracle FLEXCUBE Mobile Banking now supports contactless payments, including near field communication (NFC), quick response (QR) code support, person-to-person (P2P) and social media payments, enabling banks to offer a new level of convenience and flexibility for customers.

In addition the new Oracle FLEXCUBE Direct Banking enables banks to provide more comprehensive, flexible and consistent service as well as greater customer convenience with end-to-end multi-channel, multi-step and multi-device collaborative originations capabilities for retail and corporate customers. It also provides expanded customer self-subscription and onboarding features and enables full-scale straight through processing (STP) and support for offline processing.

The enhanced Oracle FLEXCUBE platform also integrates more easily with multiple channels, such as call centers, ATMs and kiosks to quickly and effectively enable customers to access their accounts.

To help financial institutions better divide and compare transactional data while managing profitablity, cost and performance, Oracle also includes Oracle FLEXCUBE Information Server. This new capability enables users to analyze products, review current profitability data and trends to better optimize business decisions and manage competitive pressures, and review standard reports and enhance accountability by monitoring branch-level performance.

SEAGATE’S SAMSUNG HDD DIVISION SHIPS WORLD’S THINNEST 2TB STORAGE SOLUTION

High capacity and thin design hard drive gives customers the ideal solution for external and mobile applications

MALAYSIA — November 8, 2013 — Seagate Technology today announced that its Samsung HDD division is shipping the new 2.5-inch Spinpoint M9T, which at 9.5 mm thin is the world’s thinnest 2TB hard drive.  Offered in capacities of 1.5TB and 2TB, the Spinpoint M9T mobile drive gives OEMs, channel system integrators and consumers a thin, high-capacity storage solution ideal for external storage, notebook integration and upgrades, desktop, and gaming system applications.

“The M9T combines the highest areal density shipping in a single storage device with an innovative design that fits into mainstream notebook applications. While other 2TB are solutions on the market are 15 mm thick, the vast majority of mobile devices are designed to use a 9.5 mm drive; with the M9T, those devices can now have 2TB of storage, enabling a richer computing experience,” said Dave Frankovich, senior product line manager, Samsung HDD.

“Samsung HDD with the new Spinpoint M9T continues to lead the effort in aerial density in a small form factor to supply our channel partners and customers with the highest-capacity and thinnest storage solution in the market,” said Doug DeHaan, general manager, Samsung HDD division.

“With consumer demand for storage capacity continuing to grow in mobile applications, the M9T answers this demand and is positioned to fulfill capacity needs in virtually any application.”

Spinpoint M9T includes a SATA 6Gb/s interface and microactuation to ensure fast, consistent hard drive performance, along with NoiseGuard™ and SilentSeek™ technologies to deliver ultra-quiet operation.

Availability
The Spinpoint M9T hard drive is currently available in the Samsung Portable product line, which includes the M3 Portable and P3 Portable external drives, as well as with select partners. Learn more at http://samsunghdd.seagate.com.

TED Prize winner at the Leaps of Knowledge Conference

Sugata Mitra, alongside prominent thinkers and leaders to share ground-breaking ideas on Internet-enabled education

 KUALA LUMPUR, 8 NOV 2013 — 1BestariNet virtual learning platform provider FrogAsia will present the second installation of the Leaps Of Knowledge series.“The Future of Learning” Conference on 5 December, will feature 2013 TED Prize winner Professor Sugata Mitra. Mitra is professor of educational technology at Newcastle University and Chief Scientist, Emeritus, of the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT).

Mitra’s 1999 “Hole in the Wall” experiment proved that children could learn how to use computers without formal training. That experiment has since been repeated at many places and acclaimed in literacy and education studies around the globe, inspiring other educators as well as the Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Mitra will appear in Kuala Lumpur as a keynote speaker in the Leaps of Knowledge series, following on from motivational speaker Nick Vujicic earlier this year. Leaps of Knowledge seeks to engage parents, educators and prominent thinkers in discussions about how education can be transformed through the use of technology and the Internet; and to inspire them with what is possible today.

Other speakers include author, facilitator and leadership coach Alvin Ung and Intel APAC and Japan Vice President Gregory Bryant. Conference speakers will also join three luminary figures in education and government in a panel dialogue.
Guests on the panel are:

● Lord Stewart Sutherland, who previously held the positions of Vice-Chancellor of Edinburgh University, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Principal of King’s College London and Chief Inspector of Schools in the UK
● Dato Seri Idris Jala, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and CEO of PEMANDU.
● Dr. Ganakumaran Subramaniam, Head of Faculty of Arts and Education at University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus), and President of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA)

The theme of this year’s conference is centered around Mitra’s US$1 million TED-prize winning vision, “The Future Of Learning”. Mitra’s keynote will share his findings on how children can self-organise and achieve their learning objectives with minimal supervision. Ung will share his inspiring experiences in a Malaysian school in the jungles of Pahang that became this year’s most improved school in the country. Bryant will talk about cloud technology and the learning possibilities now available with the advent of devices such as Google’s Chromebook.

The full-day conference will include workshops aimed to equip and empower educators and parents to prepare the students of today for a digitally-driven future.
FrogAsia Executive Director, Lou Yeoh, said Leaps of Knowledge is another FrogAsia initiative to highlight how innovations in technology can revolutionise learning for this and the future generation of Malaysian students.

“Mitra is globally changing the future of education as we know it. His approach to learning is at once simple and ground breaking. FrogAsia is working to realise this exact vision in all 10,000 Malaysian government schools. With Yes 4G connectivity, the Frog Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the FrogStore, our online education marketplace, and Google Apps for Education — we are equipping our schools with the tools to make possible the future of learning,” Yeoh said.

Seats to Leaps of Knowledge “The Future of Learning” Conference are limited. The event is presented in partnership with Yes 4G. It is sponsored by YTL Foundation and supported by Intel, Google and TedX.

Conference details are:  
DATE: Thursday, 5 Dec 2013
TIME: 9.00 am to 5.30pm
VENUE: JW Marriott Hotel, 183 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
FEES:   RM100 per person (1BestariNet ID holders)
RM300 per person (public)
  Group of 5 (1BestariNet holders): RM75 per person
Group of 5 (public): RM225 per person

EARLY BIRD: There is an early bird discount of 50% for participants who register before 16 Nov.

For more information and to register for the conference please log on to http://www.leapsofknowledge.com.

Gartner Says Smartglasses Will Bring Innovation to Workplace Efficiency

In 2017, Smartglasses May Begin to Save the Field Service Industry $1 Billion per Year

Kuala Lumpur, 8 November 2013 — Smartglasses, such as Google Glass, are causing CIOs to take a fresh look at the impact wearable electronics will have on the enterprise. Gartner said that the use of smartglasses has the potential to improve worker efficiency in vertical markets such as manufacturing, field service, retail and healthcare.

"Smartglasses with augmented reality (AR) and head-mounted cameras can increase the efficiency of technicians, engineers and other workers in field service, maintenance, healthcare and manufacturing roles," said Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner. "In the next three to five years, the industry that is likely to experience the greatest benefit from smartglasses is field service, potentially increasing profits by $1 billion annually. The greatest savings in field service will come from diagnosing and fixing problems more quickly and without needing to bring additional experts to remote sites."

Smartglasses still remain an emerging technology in the enterprise and less than one percent of companies in the U.S. have implemented smartglasses, although Gartner predicts that may increase to 10 percent during the next five years for companies with offsite workers, such as field service personnel and inspectors. The introduction of lower-priced, consumer versions of smartglasses will further help adoption such that in 10 years, perhaps half the companies that would benefit from using smartglasses will give them to at least some of their employees who could make use of them.

Adoption of smartglasses will be slow because the benefits they provide depend heavily on the apps and services targeted at smartglasses. However, during the next five years, the ecosystems will evolve to include more apps that do specific tasks with smartglasses, which may cause IT organizations to provide them for a wider range of employees.

Smartglasses are expected to have the most impact on heavy industry, such as manufacturing, and oil and gas, because the AR glasses enable on-the-job training of workers in how to fix equipment and perform manufacturing tasks. The impact is likely to be medium for mixed industries, such as retail, consumer packaged goods and healthcare, where the benefits may mostly be looking for information via a visual search.

The weightless industries, such as insurance, media and banking will likely experience a low impact from smartglasses. However, there are still potentially beneficial uses for smartglasses. Insurance agents, for example, may use smartglasses to video property that has been damaged and then check on the replacement value of items they have identified using a visual search. Financial institutions and the media will use smartglasses to deliver alerts via subscription services for smartglasses to professionals who need up-to-the-minute information.

Gartner expects some of the basic functions of smartglasses to help bring added efficiency to the enterprise. How-to instructions and illustrations on the smartglass displays enable workers to perform tasks even if they do not remember all the procedures. The virtual assistant on the smartglasses could serve as an interactive, hands-free "how-to" manual. Thus, workers may successfully complete tasks they have little experience doing. In addition, workers with mild memory issues or cognitive impairment may find smartglasses useful tools for remembering how to complete tasks.

Video collaboration with experts in remote locations results in faster repairs and saves the expense of flying an expert to the site to help. Employees at remote sites can communicate and share video of what they see with experienced workers to get advice on how to diagnose and fix problems. In this way, enterprises can improve the cost-effectiveness of their field service and remote operations by employing a larger ratio of less-experienced workers to experienced ones or specialists, thus saving labor costs.

The streamed video can be stored as evidence that a job was performed correctly or that everything looks fine during an inspection. Such video records can be valuable if customers make allegations against the field service company. The video record is important for other industries as well, notably insurance adjusters, real estate appraisers, construction inspectors and couriers to prove package delivery.

"Given these advances, the goals of corporate training may evolve away from memorizing procedural steps to knowing how to use smartglasses and access key information using voice commands," said Tuong Nguyen, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Classroom training and tests on the content of manuals can be reduced since much of the practical training can be done 'on the job' with the assistance of smartglasses. However, training must always include safety and employees should continue to know how to use equipment for routine tasks."

For the healthcare industry, smartglasses would facilitate telemedicine and expert consultations with doctors in a different locale, and they would serve as a how-to guide for performing medical procedures. Smartglasses could streamline the patient experience at the doctor's office. Patients could opt-in to have their face in their doctor's database. The electronic medical records of the patient would be ready for the doctor as soon as facial recognition identifies the patient.

"IT organizations are already being asked to make recommendations about whether smartglasses should be used in the workplace based on benefits and risks perspective, as well as policy and implementation," said Ms. McIntyre. "Now is the time for IT organizations to refresh their bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies with smartglasses in mind. Though IT organizations will provide smartglasses to employees who regularly wear them for their job task, much of the IT impact may come from employees wearing their personal smartglasses at work."

From a Tiny Galaxy Far, Far Away Comes “Star Wars: Tiny Death Star”

Disney Interactive, in collaboration with LucasArts and Tiny Tower creators NimbleBit, launches a new 8-bit builder game for iOS, Android and Windows Devices

In a galaxy far, far away, the Emperor is building the ultimate power in the universe level by level, and he needs help.  In partnership with LucasArts and NimbleBit, the makers of Tiny Tower, Disney Interactive brings a whole new mobile game where fans build a Death Star their own way in Star Wars™: Tiny Death Star™.

Players live life on the dark side by joining Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader on a mission to attract more than 30 unique species of Galactic bitizens, run intergalactic businesses, and build an all-new 8-bit Death Star. As players progress they will expand their Death Star and construct over 80 types of Star Wars™ themed floors, including secret Imperial levels deep within their space station.

In addition, within the Imperial levels, fans will need to craft special supplies to aid the Empire in its battle against the Rebel Alliance. Players will also need to be extra vigilant to find and capture Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and other Rebel spies before they can escape.

With the power of the dark side, players will be able to:

• Build over 80 types of Star Wars themed residential and commercial floors like Rebo’s Karaoke and Cloud City Spa.
• Attract more than 30 unique species including Wookiees, Ewoks, and more.
• Create top-secret underground Imperial levels to craft special supplies and aid the Empire in its battle against the Rebel Alliance.
• Capture Rebel spies such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and more before they can escape.
• Unlock new cut scenes featuring iconic Star Wars characters including Han Solo, Chewie, Jabba the Hutt, and more.

Players can start building the largest, most destructive space station in the galaxy by downloading the game from the iTunes App Store http://di.sn/eOY, Google Play http://di.sn/cNb, Windows Phone Store http://di.sn/dNX and Windows Store http://di.sn/rHq. Star Wars: Tiny Death Star will be coming soon to the Amazon App Store as well.

Pivotal Opens Innovation Centre to Help Drive New Business Value for Enterprises

Partnering with Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Centre Helps Enterprises Capitalize on Transformative Forces in the Era of Big Data, Applications and Cloud

● Ahead of its first ever Asia Pacific Pivotal™ Summit 2013, Pivotal announced that it has opened the Pivotal Innovation Centre by partnering with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

● The Pivotal Innovation Centre is the first Pivotal lab dedicated to helping customers execute advanced Big Data Analytics projects while leveraging Pivotal’s resources and expertise in data science, agile application development, big data and cloud technologies. 

● Designed for enterprises, government entities, and forward thinking companies, the Pivotal Innovation Centre represents opportunities and examples of innovation in data science and analytics, data infrastructure modernization with Hadoop, legacy system modernization, rapid application development, and the path to Enterprise platform-as-a-service (PaaS). 

● The launch of the Pivotal Innovation Centre comes in advance of the highly anticipated launch of Pivotal's revolutionary Enterprise PaaS product, Pivotal CF™, powered by Cloud Foundry™, on November 12, 2013. Registration for this announcement can be found at www.gopivotal.com/ThePlatform.

Kuala Lumpur, November 8, 2013 – Pivotal, the company setting the new standard for enterprise PaaS, partnering with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), announced that it has opened the Pivotal Innovation Centre. With a foundation built on Big Data, the Pivotal Innovation Centre is the first lab in the region and the first of its kind to be developed in Asia. It is dedicated to helping customers accelerate delivery of prototypes that prove the feasibility and return on investment of advanced analytics applications and Big Data platform technologies.

The Pivotal Innovation Centre will help fill an immediate need in helping IT organizations accelerate and deliver their increasing number of Big Data Analytics projects. According to a recent Gartner report , “The Nexus of Forces - or the convergence of mobility, cloud, social computing and information into a unified set of forces - is driving IT-related decisions in many Asia/Pacific enterprises, especially those that are investing in markets outside their base countries.”

The report added: “Enterprises in Asia/Pacific are keeping up with the pace of changing technology and catching up fast in using the Nexus of Forces to turn ideas into action. This is evident in Gartner's CIO agenda research that highlights the top three key technology priorities among CIOs in Asia/Pacific as mobile, BI and analytics, and cloud computing.”

A new collaboration space, the Pivotal Innovation Centre is a perfect starting point for government agencies and enterprises to begin their transformation and create new business value. Specific to Singapore, Pivotal’s initiatives with the IDA have been geared towards developing the Big Data Analytics ecosystem.

This includes driving demand for Big Data Analytics projects by showcasing innovative, cutting-edge prototypes while providing Pivotal’s expertise and resources during implementation. The Pivotal Innovation Centre will also help meet the emerging demand for analytics professionals by providing training and activities devoted to developing Singapore’s workforce.

Pivotal is uniquely positioned to help enterprises modernize each facet of their technology operations starting with a comprehensive portfolio of products spanning data, applications and analytics and converging these technologies into a coherent, next-gen Enterprise PaaS platform.

The Pivotal Innovation Centre provides access to over USD $8M in Pivotal hardware and software and removes barriers by providing an infrastructure and test bed that customers can use to experiment and create proof of concepts.

Additionally, the Pivotal Innovation Centre is a collaborative environment where Pivotal data scientists work directly with customers and partners to implement proof of concepts (POC). Pivotal’s team of data scientists implement advanced research prototypes for customers across all verticals, including a POC that models the city traffic flow by joining and analyzing data not traditionally used due to its size and complexity such as mobile phone, GPS and traffic sensors. This models how individuals move through the city, thus providing a predictive visualization of where traffic issues will exist in the city based on changing conditions.

DiGi LoL Festival is back with more merchants, discounts and giveaways

Lucky customer to walk home with all expense paid trip to Korea 

SHAH ALAM, 6 November 2013 – DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (“DiGi”) will be holding a bazaar sale with its merchant partners on 16-17 November 2013 at Ground Floor Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya. Organised specially for the public, this second edition of the DiGi LoL Festival 2013 will have more than 30 participating merchants and items with discounted prices of up to 80%.

Organised for the first time in February 2013, this year-end edition of the event will see more merchants, goodies and discounts for everyone. DiGi LoL will also feature performances by local popular artistes, Spin & Win and many more fun activities from 10.30 am to 10.00 pm during the two-day festival. Additional discounts on top of the promotional prices on offer will be announced during the Happy Hour from 2.00pm to 3.00pm daily.

DiGi customers who spend a minimum of RM100 will also have the exclusive privilege of participating in the Spin & Win held throughout the festival period, with chances to win exciting prizes including mobile phones, air conditioner, cash vouchers, exclusive DiGi premiums and many more worth up to RM100,000  in total. For customers who spend min RM300 (inclusive of spending at DiGi booth), they will have the opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip to Korea for a family of four.

“This is our second time organising the DiGi LoL Festival and we have had very encouraging responses from our merchant partners.  This year end   sale is an extension of our DiGi Rewards programme. It is our way of thanking our customers by offering them great discounts on their favorite brands and at the same time be entertained by celebrity friends of DiGi while they shop We also wanted it to be a great opportunity for our customers to get a head start on their year-end shopping,” said Justin Cheah, Head of Loyalty, Rewards & Partnerships at DiGi.

More than 10,000 visitors are expected during the two-day event, where they can check out exclusive deals from a long list of household brands for the home, family or simply to pamper themselves - including exciting travel deals from Travelar.com. DiGi’s Starbucks fans will also get to enjoy their favourite beverage at only RM1 (limited to 1st 1000 customers). Artistes and friends of DiGi, including Soo Wincci, Gina, Altimet, and Awie Rafael and the cast of the upcoming Ah Beng: Mission Impossible comedy, will also be there to entertain and meet their fans.

BonusLink Members can enjoy On-The-Spot redemption and receive special welcome points when they sign up for selected DiGi packages during the festival. There are also up to 1 million Free BonusLink Points up for grabs in the Spin & Win. For non-members, the exciting BonusLink privileges can easily be enjoyed with the convenient on-the-spot new membership registration service.

Participating merchants are from well-known brands across various categories including Health & Beauty, Travel & Leisure, F&B, entertainment, apparel, books, technology and appliances. For the full list of participating merchants and location map, please visit www.digi.com.my/lol

Myanmar mobile users to get free access to Wikipedia

Myanmar given free access to the world's knowledge with Wikipedia Zero

(Fornebu, Norway, and San Francisco, California -  7 November 2013) -- Telenor Group and the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, today announced Myanmar as the latest country to be included in their existing agreement to bring Wikipedia Zero to Telenor customers in Asia and Europe. Telenor is supporting the country's ambition of connecting its 60 million people. Through this agreement, Telenor's future subscribers in Myanmar will be able to access Wikipedia's vast knowledge base free of mobile data traffic charges when Telenor begins services in the country.

"The Wikimedia Foundation imagines a world in which every single person has free access to the sum of human knowledge. By working with Telenor, we are able to put this knowledge in the hands of the masses, helping to close the knowledge gap between developed and developing countries. Today's announcement will pave the way for Telenor to offer all the knowledge that comes with Wikipedia Zero to its customers in Myanmar," said Carolynne Schloeder, Director of Mobile Programs at the Wikimedia Foundation.

The partnership between Telenor and the Wikimedia Foundation was established in February 2012, and was founded on a shared commitment to bring Wikipedia to Telenor customers free of data charges. The initiative is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's mobile strategy, which focuses on reaching the billions of people around the world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile device. Following the agreement, special versions of Wikipedia for mobile phones were launched in Thailand, Malaysia and Montenegro. In addition, Telenor aims to launch Wikipedia Zero in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Serbia in 2014.

"Access to high quality telecommunications tools and affordable services plays a substantial role in developing societies. To Telenor, this partnership enables us to provide a strong support to local communities by promoting the exchange and sharing of open knowledge. Offering Wikipedia free of traffic charges also helps introduce internet to mobile users, often for the first time. I am satisfied that our cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation will now include Myanmar," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

On 27 June 2013 Telenor was announced as one of the successful applicants for a telecommunications license in Myanmar. Following the process described in the auction guidelines, the company is now in discussions with the Myanmar authorities regarding the final terms and conditions of the license agreement. Telenor aims to launch services in Myanmar within eight months after the final license agreement is signed.

The extension of this partnership was celebrated today in Oslo when Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, met with Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Rolv-Erik Spilling, Head of Telenor Digital to participate in an event announcing the expansion of service. Mr. Jimmy Wales was also a keynote speaker at the "Digital Winners" conference hosted today by Telenor Digital at Telenor Headquarters, where he shared his views on crowdsourcing for the common good.

HungryGoWhere is first food portal in APAC to provide personalised recommendations

Personal search platform analyses each user’s unique tastes and preferences 
to generate highly intuitive food recommendations

Malaysia, 7 November, 2013 – HungryGoWhere Malaysia today announced that it is the first food portal in APAC to provide personalised food recommendations according to each user’s unique tastes and preferences.

A first-of-its-kind personalised food recommendation system in APAC, the ground-breaking service from HungryGoWhere Malaysia works its magic with a hassle-free artificial intelligence system that is powered by Nara Logics, Inc. Nara’s personalisation algorithm works by combining what is right for you with where you are, computing recommendations all around you as you move through space.  After the user makes a few selections such as favourite cuisine type, preferred type of eatery and desired price range, Nara starts to build a ‘Digital DNA™’ profile for each user.

Drawing from a source database of over 35,000 eateries throughout Malaysia, even the pickiest of eaters are offered suggestions to suit their exacting taste buds. “Hungry Go Where?” will soon become “Hungry? I know exactly where to go!” The more one uses the system, the more accurate it gets. As users like and dislike a restaurant, the system is able to modify, filter and refine suggestions to match each user’s evolving ‘Digital DNA™’ profile.

“Knowing that Malaysians are passionate about good food, we are very excited to be the first to bring this great new technology to APAC, helping users discover the best makan places that might usually be out of their comfort zone,” said Mr Loo Cheng Chuan, Head (Local L!fe), of SingTel’s Digital L!fe division, SingTel.

“The integration of personalisation into HungryGoWhere Malaysia is significant in acquiring, engaging, and retaining users who want to find eateries that are most relevant to them, based on their preferences. We see web and search personalisation as the future, and we will continue to look for ways to enhance the user experience of the portal and app and make it more relevant and personal to each unique user,” he added.

HungryGoWhere Malaysia also offers a mobile app (available on iOS and Android platforms) that helps users find personalised eatery recommendations nearby by using advanced geo-location technology. There are plans to launch the service in Singapore and Australia next, enabling foodies to receive customised recommendations based on their preferences even when travelling out of the country.

Making food discovery fun 

To make food discovery even more fun, HungryGoWhere allows users to ‘level up’ as they use the site and mobile app, gaining points and earning badges that will appear alongside their user name. For example, those who share content regularly with their friends on Facebook become ‘BuzzyBees’, and ‘Superstars’ are those who amass a certain number of followers. Regular reviewers become ‘Food Critics’, and ‘Shutterbugs’ are those who are obsessed with taking and posting shots of their meals. There will also be badges for foodies who ‘specialise’ in certain types of cuisine, so a user can then become a ‘thai cuisine expert’, for example.

For more information, please visit www.hungrygowhere.my or download the free mobile app from the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

HungryGoWhere 将成为亚洲太平洋
首个提供个性化建议的美食门户网站

该搜寻平台通过分析每一位用户的独特口味和喜好而提出高度直觉性的美食建议

马来西亚 11 月 7 日讯 – HungryGoWhere 马来西亚今天宣布它乃是亚洲太平洋首个根据每一位用户之独特口味和喜好而提供个性化建议的美食门户网站。

该亚洲太平洋前所未有的个性化美食推荐系统乃是 HungryGoWhere 马来西亚之一项突破服务，它采用 Nara Logics, Inc 所供应的毫无麻烦人工智能系统以呈献这项神奇功能。Nara 的个性化演算法能结合适合您的的美食和您所处在的地点，然后随着您跨越时空而运算周围的建议。在用户作出一些选择如最爱吃的美食种类，首选的食店类型和向往的价格范围之后，Nara 将开始为每一个用户建立一个 '数码 DNA™' 概况。

通过收集马来西亚各地超过 35,000 家食店的资料数据库，即使是最挑剔的食家都能找到所喜爱的口味。"到哪里用餐?" 的疑问很快就有了答案，即 "我就知道上哪一家馆子!"。更多人使用该系统意味着其答案会更准确。随着用户对某家食店按赞或按贬，该系统将可修改，过滤和筛选建议，以匹配每一位用户的变化中 '数码 DNA™' 概况。

"我们非常清楚马来西亚人是民以食为天的民族，因此以率先在亚洲太平洋推介该伟大的新科技而感到振奋，以协助用户发掘一些或许是得来全不费工夫的最佳食店，" 新电信(SingTel)之 Digital L!fe 组的主管(Local L!fe) Loo Cheng Chuan 先生说道。

"将个性化功能纳入 HungryGoWhere 马来西亚对争取，接触和留住那些寻觅最适宜和迎合自己喜好之食店的用户很重的。我们认为网页和搜索的个性化乃是大势所趋，我们将继续想方设法提升用户浏览门户网站和使用应用程序的体验，务求它更适宜每一位独一无二的用户，" 他补充道。

HungryGoWhere 马来西亚也提供一个移动应用程序(可在 iOS 和 Android 平台找到) ，以协助用户通过先进的地理定位科技找到附近的个性化食店建议。其他计划包括于将来在新加坡和澳洲推出这项服务，以便出国旅游的食客可根据本身的喜好取得度身定制的建议。

呈献发掘美食的乐趣
为了使发掘美食更具乐趣，HungryGoWhere 让用户随着使用该网站和移动应用程序，累积分数和赢取列于他们的用户名之旁的徽章而提升等级。例如，那些经常在面子书与朋友分享内容者将成为 ‘BuzzyBees’，而吸引足够追随者的用户将成为  ‘Superstars’。经常写评语者将成为 ‘食评家’，最爱拍摄和张贴美食图片者则称为 ‘Shutterbugs’。其他专长于某种美食的食家也将赢得各种徽章，例如，某位用户可能因此而成为 ‘泰餐专家’。

欲知详情，请浏览 www.hungrygowhere.my 或从 Apple App Store 和 Google Play store 下载免费的移动应用程序。

! SPEEDCAST EXPANDS ITS GLOBAL MARITIME VSAT NETWORK WITH ADDITIONAL CAPACITY ACROSS THE INDIAN AND SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEANS

Rotterdam, The Netherlands, November 7th, 2013 – SpeedCast, Asia-Pacific’s leading satellite telecommunications service provider, today announced the launch of new expanded coverage for its global VSAT maritime network in the Indian and South Atlantic Ocean regions.

The enhanced service strengthens the reach of SpeedCast’s network in these two key shipping regions, utilizing multiple satellite footprints, and now completes the VSAT coverage for all major maritime routes.

SpeedCast has seen a sharp increase in the demand for its maritime services across the transatlantic route from Africa to South America and across the Indian Ocean. The new coverage of the two heavily traversed routes is provided via three satellites which enable increased availability, uptime, and resiliency; and further improve the user experience for all of SpeedCast’s maritime customers operating in the regions.

André Eerland, Vice President of Maritime Services, said, “This is an important investment in our maritime network which not only provides complete coverage of all key maritime routes, but also enhances our coverage with multi-satellite support for additional redundancy.”

The launch of the Indian and South Atlantic VSAT services strengthens and expands the reach of SpeedCast’s existing maritime VSAT network. SpeedCast pioneered the delivery of a seamless auto-beam-switching broadband network using multiple satellites operating in the Ku-band. This latest expansion highlights SpeedCast’s unwavering commitment to its customers to provide expanded coverage in critical regions.

“Today’s maritime market is moving progressively towards higher broadband speeds.

With this bandwidth expansion, SpeedCast continues to offer the best available coverage, optimized service availability and high speeds for our customers”, said Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast.

HTC MALAYSIA ANNOUNCES PRICING REVISION ON SMARTPHONES

MALAYSIA – 25 October, 2013 – In line with our beliefs of providing the best devices on even better prices, HTC is proud to announce our pricing revision on certain models in our line of smartphones.

Details of the pricing revision are as of below:

Model	RRP	Colours
HTC Butterfly	RM1,899	Fervour Red, Stealth Black, Glamour White
HTC One 32GB	RM2,199	Glacial Silver, Stealth Black, Glamour Red
HTC Desire 600	RM1,199	Polar White, Stealth Black
HTC Butterfly s	RM2,299	Glamour White, Metallic Grey, Fervor Red
HTC Desire 200	RM499	Polar White, Stealth Black
HTC One mini	RM1,699	Glacial Silver, Stealth Black

Through this new pricing, HTC is hoping to be able to provide our consumers better access to our range of devices, especially in the upcoming festive season.

Schneider Electric Lauds Green Initiatives in Budget 2014

Schneider Electric believes this will help boost the development of green technology and lifestyle in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, 07 November 2013 – Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, applauds the announcement of the Malaysian Green Foundation with a grant of RM15 million in the Budget 2014. The government has also introduced other green initiatives which include investment tax allowance for the purchase of green technology equipment and income tax exemption on the use of green technology services and systems.

“The strong support from the government will cement its position towards a greener country and enable businesses to leverage technology to achieve sustainable development and long term financial gains. This is in line with Schneider Electric’s commitment to help businesses make the most of their energy, says John Atherton, Vice President of Schneider Electric Malaysia IT Business.”

A poll was carried out during Schneider Electric’s Xperience Efficiency event to better understand how Malaysian businesses perceive the importance of “energy efficiency” and “sustainable growth” in Malaysia. Out of the 427 participants who participated in the survey, 50 percent invested in energy efficiency programs in the past 12 months. A remarkable 60 percent say that energy cost savings is the biggest driver that impacts energy management decisions in their respective organisations. Through the poll results, it is found that 42 percent of participants would like to venture into building automation and 35 percent in renewable energy efficiency approaches within the next 5 years. The results showed that the government’s green incentives are coming at a time when businesses have put the energy efficiency agenda high up on their list of priorities.

The Budget 2014 also sees the government to undertake energy audits as well as retrofit Ministry buildings for energy savings. Just recently, the Prime Minister’s Office’s was retrofitted using Schneider Electric’s Building Management System (BMS). The project is expected to achieve up to 30% energy savings.

“Investment tax allowance for the purchase of green technology, services and systems is clearly favorable to businesses. The tax allowance will help businesses achieve sustainable growth and development, and improve on cash flow. And using green technology itself will help reduce carbon emission and the impact on the environment. As such, we support the government’s decision to drive energy efficiency adoption in the country through green technology products and services. We hope to see all the green initiatives in Budget 2014 implemented next year and in the near future to steer Malaysia into a greener country, added Atherton.”

Servion, Brandt Alliance to Deliver Holistic Customer Experience Solutions

MSC Status Companies’ pact to benefit Corporate Malaysia and Consumers alike

Kuala Lumpur, 7 November 2013 – MSC status companies Servion Global Solutions, world leader in Contact Center Management (CCM) and Customer Interaction Management (CIM) solutions and Brandt International, a Malaysian company specializing in Business Transformation Consulting and Business Process Managed Services today announced their agreement to provide a full suite of Customer Experience (CE) solutions in Malaysia and the region. Extending Servion’s global expertise in providing CE services to global brands from the financial services, healthcare, telecom, insurance, aviation sectors, the companies will jointly focus on these key sectors in Malaysia.

Servion brings its strong strategic consulting, technology implementation expertise and global experience to the table. Brandt International, a fast growing Malaysian firm, has been identified as one of the most promising business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) service providers to go regional and global under the National Key Economic Area (NKEA), Business Services (Entry Point Project) category. Brandt adds the much-needed local knowhow of the Malaysian market. In preparation for the launch, Servion-Brandt have been actively pitching their services to local brands and found strong traction amongst local small and large enterprises.

Abhijit Banerjee, Vice President and Region Head, APAC, Servion Global Solutions said, “This is a perfect timing for the Servion Brandt partnership. There is huge buoyancy in the Malaysian economy. Millions of customer interactions are taking place, most of which unfortunately are very low on customer satisfaction. We can help organisations fix that. While the consumers have become consumers 2.0 with the help of smart devices, all pervasive inexpensive mobile broadband, Customer Experience being provided by companies remains archaic. We can dramatically alter this situation by specifically providing remedial consulting solutions. Additionally there is a huge opportunity in supporting Malaysian companies to build infrastructure for customer service jobs and take advantage of the benefits being provided by the Malaysian government.”

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali CEO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) said,  “Malaysia continues to offer clear competitive advantage as a preferred outsourcing destination in Asia. Today, nearly 300 foreign and multinational companies have set up regional and global shared services and outsourcing centers in Malaysia, bringing along billions of Ringgit in investment value and creating thousands of jobs. This is complemented by local grown sources who perform various SSO activities, ranging from IT and business process outsourcing and increasingly, knowledge process outsourcing.”

Added Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, “Servion’s and Brandt’s partnership clearly indicate the readiness of home grown outsources to move into the global arena. I look forward to seeing the fruits of Servion’s and Brandt’s partnership as agents of change for Malaysia’s customer service industry.”

Said Munirah Looi, CEO/President and Founder of Brandt International, “We are very proud to partner with a market leader like Servion. Many local and foreign companies based in Malaysia will need to develop a customer engagement strategy to deal with customers in the region and globally. As a Malaysian company, we are proud to play a role in improving our country’s customer service standards. We hope that our partnership will also allow us to tap into green field opportunities in the region and beyond.”

“Our partnership with Brandt is complementary as it brings a people element to our offering in Malaysia. While Servion provides the design capabilities to help organizations align their CIM strategy with their brand promise, Brandt’s expertise is in people strategy development supported by process re-engineering and change management intervention.” Abhijit added.

The Servion-Brandt alliance will provide separate and unique approaches to target mid-market and large enterprise companies. For the mid-market and the SME sector, there will be a packaged approach combining consulting and technology implementation, helping companies set up contacts centers of up to 100 seats in 30-90 days time. However the approach for large enterprise customers will be comparatively long-drawn requiring detailed discovery, design and deliver phases.

Ovum Comment: Cisco acquires its spin-in Insieme

OVUM COMMENT

David Krozier, Principal Analyst, Network Infrastructure, Telecoms, Ovum

“Cisco acquires its spin-in Insieme”

“Today Cisco announced it would acquire its spin-in Insieme, and provided new detail on the Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI) for data centers that Insieme introduced in June 2013.  Cisco continues to promote the role of hardware in delivering future high performance networks and took great pains to distance itself from pure software based overlay virtualized networks (like the Nicira technology VMware acquired, Junipers Contrail, and Alcatel-Lucent’s Nuage) in the data center.

Insieme’s ACI solution consists of:

    The 100 Gbps ready Nexus 9000 Series switches that run under a new optimized version of NX-OS and can support up to 1.92 Tbps of bandwidth capacity per slot.  The 8-slot Nexus 9508 is available now, and other switches in the family will follow.

    The Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) supports a common policy framework that Cisco will extend to bring compute, storage, and network infrastructure under a common pane of glass for management and control. APIC uses a common application network profile similar to the service profile in Cisco’s UCS that will allow applications to be placed where they need to be instead of being tied to an IP address. APIC and the optimized NX-OS will be available in April 2014.

Ovum notes that while the 9000 Series switches can operate standalone, the features provided by the APIC controller require Cisco hardware.  While this may raise the hackles of those who believe future networks should be based on generic hardware platforms, this approach is unlikely to match the performance capabilities of ACI.”

AMD’s Revolutionary Mantle Graphics API Adopted by Industry Leading Game Developers Cloud Imperium, Eidos-Montréal and Oxide

— New developers join AMD to advance PC game performance improvements and simplify PC game development with close-to-the-metal API for AMD Radeon™ GPUs and APUs —

MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur — Nov. 4, 2013 — AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced three new game developer partnerships for Mantle, its highly acclaimed, groundbreaking graphics API. Cloud Imperium Games, Eidos-Montréal™, a part of the Square Enix® Group, and Oxide Games are the latest game developers to join AMD in optimizing the way PC games are developed to extract maximum performance from a modern graphics architecture that spans desktop PCs, notebooks and consumer devices like tablets.

“AMD is proud to play an instrumental role in transforming the world of game development with Mantle,” said Ritche Corpus, director of ISV gaming and alliances, AMD. “With the support and close collaboration between AMD and industry-leading game developers like Cloud Imperium, Eidos-Montréal and Oxide, Mantle can maximize optimization for highly anticipated PC titles, bringing an unparalleled gaming experience for players.”

Cloud Imperium Games is currently developing “Star Citizen,” the highly anticipated, crowd-funded PC space simulator from legendary game designer Chris Roberts.

"AMD's Mantle will allow us to extract more performance from an AMD Radeon GPU than any other graphics API," said Chris Roberts, CEO, Cloud Imperium Games. "Mantle is vitally important for a game like Star Citizen, which is being designed with the need for massive GPU horsepower. With Mantle, our team can spend more time achieving our perfect artistic vision, and less time worrying about whether or not today’s gaming hardware will be ready to deliver it."

Eidos-Montréal is the studio behind “THIEF™,” an upcoming first-person stealth adventure set for release in February 2014. Eidos-Montréal also developed “DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION®,” an AMD Gaming Evolved title.

“Mantle lets you use AMD Radeon GPUs the way they are meant to be used, unlocking many new opportunities and increased CPU and GPU performance,” said David Anfossi, studio head, Eidos-Montréal. “Because of this, Mantle is one of the most important changes to PC graphics in many years.”

Helmed by industry veterans, Oxide Games is designing the new “Nitrous” engine for 64-bit, multi-core processors.

“AMD’s Mantle technology lets us get more out of the hardware than any other solution available,” said Dan Baker, co-founder, Oxide Games. “Adding Mantle support to our multi-platform, 64-bit Nitrous engine realizes significant gains in performance on Mantle-enabled hardware without adding enormous development overhead.”

Cloud Imperium Games, Eidos-Montréal and Oxide Games will join AMD and DICE in speaking about Mantle architecture and implementation at the AMD Developer Summit (APU 13), running Nov. 11-14 in San Jose, Calif. In addition, Oxide Games will be showing a public sneak preview of Mantle performance at the event.

For those interested, complimentary access to all APU 13 keynote sessions is available by registering online, in limited numbers while quantities last. Notable keynote speakers include: Dr. Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, Global Business Units, AMD; Johan Andersson, technical director, DICE; Dominic Mallinson, vice president, research and development, Sony; and Mark Papermaster, chief technology officer, AMD.

AccessData Continues Growth And Investment In APAC Region With Key Directorial Appointment

Strategic move to support growing demand for company’s CIR solutions and Professional Services

LINDON, UTAH / SINGAPORE – November 7, 2013 - AccessData, a pioneer of digital and mobile investigations, cyber security and litigation support solutions, today announced the appointment of Keith Miller as Director of International Professional Services for Asia Pacific (APAC) region, shortly after the company’s appointment of a new ASEAN regional manager.

The move is part of AccessData’s expansion plans for APAC, investing especially in ANZ and ASEAN as it anticipates significant growth driven not only by demand for its technical solutions but also by the strong demand for the company’s professional services and training capabilities.

Miller will be tasked with fulfilling the demand for professional services with AccessData’s major customers in the region and report to Simon Whitburn, Senior Vice President and General Manager, International Markets.

Born in New Zealand, Miller looks back at a stellar officer career in the armed forces of his home country and later the UK, spanning over two decades. He brings with him strong experience across a variety of areas including military police intelligence, delivery of cyber crime and intelligence functions and system delivery for key military functions on an international level.

Luke Brown, Vice President – International Markets for AccessData stated, “We experienced tremendous interest recently whilst attending GovernmentWare 2013 in Singapore and our customers that attended were very pleased not only with our continued investment into Singapore as our ASEAN ANZ hub, but with the adoption of our Cyber Incident Response (CIR) solutions. Keith’s extensive capabilities will be invaluable in the region together with those of top notch industry experts in our regional team who will strategically support our ambitious growth strategy.”

Miller’s assignment in the region follows the recent appointment of Jeremy Ho, formerly from Symantec, as AccessData’s ASEAN Regional Manager based in Singapore leading the company’s regional sales efforts. Other recent hirings include Inside Sales Representative for Southeast Asia and North Asia Geannie Tan, Sales Engineer for Asia Pacific Matthew Green who manages the technical services for existing and prospective customers, and Senior International Technical Account Manager Jonathan Shorter.

Just recently, AccessData has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the analyst firm’s 2013 Magic Quadrant for E-Discovery. The company has also been recognized as the HP AllianceOne Partner of the Year in the Security category at the HP Discover 2013 in Las Vegas.

PCI SECURITY STANDARDS COUNCIL BRINGS GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON SECURE CARD TRANSACTIONS TO MALAYSIA

• APAC Community Meeting scheduled in Kuala Lumpur on 20th November, 2013
• Agenda to feature thought leadership insight on cybercrime protection, data breach forensics, the future of Payment Card Industry (PCI)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, November X, 2013: MCA Public Services and Complaints Department reported 13 cases of credit card fraud in Malaysia amounting to RM662,000 in the first six months of 2013 alone.

According to PayPal, Malaysia's online shopping market size is estimated to be RM 5 billion in 2014. 58% of online shopping in Malaysia is conducted through card payment. In the 2012 ACI Worldwide Impact Report, credit card fraud rate in Asia Pacific was reported at almost 30% and 14% of debit and credit card holders in Asia Pacific cited having experienced fraud multiple times during the past five years. Statistics show that payment fraud is a serious issue across Asia Pacific. As emerging nations show increasing spending capabilities, using card payment for commodities like travel, consumables, bill payments will rise.

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), an open, global forum for the development of payment card security standards, understands how critical it is to secure card payments and strengthen awareness about security standards among intermediaries, service providers, and consumers.

The Council’s annual gatherings provide the opportunity for global leaders representing a breadth of industries and geographies to come together and discuss the latest updates and challenges in payment card security.

This year, the Asia-Pacific Community Meeting comes to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meeting will feature Paul Black, managing principal for the Verizon Risk Team. Technology forensics expert Paul Black will provide an inside look at the forensic investigator’s role in the payment card industry, including insight into the nature of today’s attacks, and case studies from the Asia-Pacific region. Key stakeholders across the payment card chain as will attend this one day event at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

This year, the meeting will also unveil new versions of the PCI Standards, provide technology updates and discuss the future of PCI with speakers:
• Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council
• Leon Fell, Director, Solutions Standards, PCI Security Standards Council
• Troy Leach, chief technology officer, PCI Security Standards Council

“With the increasing convenience of card payments, there has never been a more apt time for us to engage with the PCI community on insights and challenges around securing card payments, and get companies involved in the conversation about how to protect consumer’s payment card data.

We are excited about being in Malaysia this year. It is a vibrant country, with growing card useage and an emerging hub of all things modern and technologically advanced. We hope to have some very insightful discussions with the PCI community in Malaysia and beyond at the Asia-Pacific Community Meeting this year,” said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI SSC.

With new versions of the PCI Standards coming out this year, we’re looking forward to discussing these updates with the community. The expertise and variety of perspectives represented by this year’s speakers will make for engaging dialogue as we examine the latest challenges in increasing payment security globally,” Bob concluded.

The agenda for this year’s Asia-Pacific Community Meeting can be found at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2013/asiapacific/agenda.html.

DEEZER LEADS THE CHARGE ON INNOVATION FOR MUSIC LOVERS

• New ‘HEAR THIS’ feature offers unique music discovery experience
• New Deezer app for Mac unifies your music collection
• Deezer more than doubles number of paying subscribers to reach 5 million as catalogue reaches 30 million tracks
• 11 new Telco partnerships in 12 months - making 25 partnerships worldwide

Wednesday 6th November 2013: Speaking from the iconic London music venue Ronnie Scott’s, Deezer’s CEO, Axel Dauchez, unveiled two major new platform developments set to confirm Deezer’s credentials as the leader in personalised music discovery.

Dauchez also confirmed Deezer’s success one year on from his $130 million funding address, through revealing the following business milestones:
• More than doubled the number of paid subscribers in a year - reaching 5 million paid subscribers across more than 180 countries
• 11 new telco partnerships, taking the total number of partnerships globally to 25
• Music catalogue reached 30 million tracks, with an average of 27,000 new tracks from all genres and countries added every day, making it the biggest of any music streaming service
• An extensive network of 50 Deezer expert music editors spread around the world providing the best recommendations to subscribers

Axel Dauchez, Deezer’s CEO, said, “Doubling the number of paid subscribers in 12 months sends a hugely encouraging signal that music streaming’s time is now. One year ago we pledged to launch Deezer worldwide because we felt music deserved to be truly global.

One year on, we are proud to say that we have over-delivered on our promises, with more than 5 million subscribers across more than 180 countries and a team of expert editors around the world sharing their love and passion for music. But we’re not content to simply keep up with the world; we want to lead the charge.”

Dauchez also unveiled the following product developments:

‘HEAR THIS’ takes the discovery feature to the next level by combining technology innovation with Deezer’s team of music experts from every continent employed to handpick and recommend the best new music from around the world. The ‘HEAR THIS’ music feed gives daily recommendations based on the music you are listening to, the latest releases from your favourite bands and the playlists created by your friends, as well as handpicked recommendations from Deezer’s music experts. You’ll have your personal and perfect music stream, handpicked by experts and tailored for you.

With more than 75% of subscribers listening to Deezer through their mobile devices, ‘HEAR THIS’ will be accessible from any device to enable users to discover the best music wherever they are.

Another new feature called ‘EXPLORE’ will supplement ‘HEAR THIS’ by providing a unique way to discover the latest releases as well as editors’ picks and recommendations. ‘EXPLORE’ enables you to search by region and genre, which means you can get access to the best new music from anywhere in the world, wherever you are.

Dauchez also unveiled a new exclusive app for Mac which is currently in development:

New Deezer app for Mac
Radically different from a simple desktop app and much lighter and quicker than a web version, this new app unifies your music collection:

•       Regardless of the file format, your personal iTunes music library is automatically synchronized with Deezer, meaning you will have access to your entire collection wherever you are

•       You’ll have access to Deezer’s entire catalogue of 30 million tracks as well as all your favourite music from your personal collection at the touch of a button

•       The new app provides ultimate simplicity bringing together offline music and streaming to provide unbeatable accessibility for music lovers

Daniel Marhely, Deezer’s founder, said: “Innovation is in our DNA. We want to help people build and discover their own unique music identity, which is why this year we are getting personal.  The ‘HEAR THIS’ music feed and the new Deezer app for Mac are game changers for us, they are pure innovation. We’re combining the best of Deezer - man and machine – to give users a unique experience that’s tailored exclusively to them.”

In addition to the new product announcements, Dauchez unveiled two executive appointments:

Christopher Coonen will be joining Deezer as group COO. Founder of PayPal in France and Continental Europe, Coonen brings with him extensive experience in managing fast growth companies in a rapidly changing environment. He will be managing business operations with the aim of reaching the company’s ambitious targets and meeting huge market expectations.

Gerrit Schumann, co-founder of Simfy, has been appointed Deezer’s VP of Europe (outside France). Based in Berlin, his remit is to further strengthen, develop and expand operational activities in Europe. Schumann’s past achievements, unique market experience and entrepreneurship will help Deezer anticipate market trends and further reinforce its position within Europe.

Dauchez concluded: “I want to give music lovers the experience they deserve. With Deezer we want to lead the charge – but there is still a lot to do to reach the point where everyone will be able to legally enjoy listening to and discovering music wherever they may find themselves – and all that for the price of downloading an album.”

Small Businesses Burdened by Aging PCs

Intel Research Finds Older PCs Reduce Employee Productivity, Raise Maintenance Costs, May Increase Security Risks

• Small businesses are keeping PCs longer than in previous years, generating higher repair costs that can equal or exceed the price new PCs.
• Forty-two working hours are lost when an older PC needs repair.
• Intel Malaysia announces SME “Level Up Your Business” Campaign to encourage business owners to assess the use of IT in their business.
• Business owners stand a chance to win a RM20,000 of IT upgrade through the Campaign.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 6, 2013 – On average, small business workers lose more than one work week per year due to old PCs, according to a recent multi-country study commissioned by Intel Corporation and conducted by Techaisle.

The Intel Small Business PC Refresh Study surveyed 736 small businesses in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russia and the United States to gauge the state of their PC equipment. According to the findings, small businesses are holding onto PCs significantly beyond the recommended refresh date, with more than 36 percent owning PCs that are more than 4 years old. These machines require more maintenance, exerting a greater toll on employee productivity and higher equipment costs than the purchase of a new machine.

“Upgrading to new PCs is one of the wisest choices a small business can make,” said Rick Echevarria, vice president of PC Client Group and general manager of Business Client Platform Division at Intel. “PCs are largely considered the foundation for many of these companies, and this study makes a clear cut case for refreshing them on a regular basis.”

Key findings from the research:
• Older PCs negatively impact work performance – On average, employees lose 21 more hours by using a PC that is 4 years or older due to time needed for repairs, maintenance and security issues as compared to PCs that are less than 4 years old. Repair and maintenance is 1.5 times more frequent on PCs that are 4 years or older.

• Repair costs for older PCs either equal or exceed the purchase price of new PCs -- Small businesses are spending an average of $427 to repair a PC that is 4 years or older. This is 1.3 times the repair cost of PCs that are less than 4 years old.

• Security risks and other costs will increase in 2014 -- Forty-seven percent of respondents were unaware that Microsoft is ending service support for the popular Windows* XP platform, placing a higher maintenance burden directly on small businesses. Moreover, since automatic updates will no longer be provided to help protect PCs, valuable business data is more vulnerable to security risks and viruses.

• Small businesses in the United States are using the oldest PCs – Of the countries surveyed, 8 percent of small businesses in the United States are running PCs that are 5 years or older, in contrast to only 5 percent of small businesses worldwide and 1 percent in India.

Intel Malaysia Levels Up Your Business
Intel Malaysia announced in September 2013 its SME ‘Level Up Your Business’ campaign aims to encourage business owners to assess the use of IT in their business; while Intel, through its partners*, will offer free consultation as well as exclusive deals and bundles for Intel-powered PCs to SME business owners.

Business owners stand a chance to win a RM20,000 IT upgrade for their company by interacting with the ‘Level Up Your Business’ IT diagostic tool on the microsite and expressing their ideas on how an IT upgrade an creatively change their business. For more information about the contest, visit http://smb.intel.my/levelup. The contest ends on November 30, 2013.
*Intel partners for the “Level Up Your Business Campaign” are HP, Corpacer, McAfee, ServerWare, SNS Network and TAKNET Systems.

New Intel-Powered PCs Are Lifting the Burdens of Small Businesses
New 2 in 1s, all-in-ones, desktop PCs and Ultrabooks powered by 4th generation Intel® Core™ vPro™ processors offer businesses lower total cost of ownership, better battery life and faster performance for business productivity applications over 4-year-old systems. Additionally, an alternative to Intel Core vPro processors, PCs with Intel® Small Business Advantage (SBA) can automate maintenance for small businesses without a dedicated IT staff.

Survey Methodology
The Intel Small Business PC Refresh Study was conducted by Techaisle on behalf of Intel in April. A total of 736 small businesses (1-99 employees) based in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russia and the United States completed a 20-minute questionnaire. Respondents consisted of IT decision makers with a sampling quota fixed by employee size categories. Results on this study prepared by TechAisle are available for download at intel.com.

Delivering applications with maximum security

November 6, 2013, Kuala Lumpur - As the business world increasingly becomes interconnected, several computing trends and factors in the environment have made addressing IT security more complex. Organizations are finding it harder to maintain and manage enterprise security in terms of sensitive code and corporate data, especially with the increasing usage of virtual applications in the workplace.

The traditional distributed approach to application deployment and management which entails installing, maintaining and supporting applications on individual endpoints, is becoming complex and expensive, especially with the proliferation of applications and devices.

Application virtualization improves the security, manageability and compatibility of applications by isolating them from the underlying operating system and other applications. With application virtualization, applications are installed via an integrated application streaming from a centralized location on the target device where they will execute.

The delivery of virtual desktops and apps on demand is also possible, thus providing self-service access for users and simplified management for IT.  Now, app selections can be instant and hassle-free, with users being able to choose apps from an easy-to-use app store that is securely accessible from any device, including tablets, smartphones and thin clients.

With such solutions, businesses can reduce computing costs, secure apps that are fast over mobile networks, and also enable mobile workstyles to increase workforce productivity and drive innovation.

Mark Micallef, Area Vice President of Citrix ASEAN, provides tips for businesses seeking to deliver applications with maximum security at the workplace.

1. Centralize
Applications should run on centralized servers, as this enables users to view and interact with real-time updates, but at the same time, fully protects information preventing any leakage from the datacenters. As the applications are managed and maintained centrally, any glitches with the software can be rectified in an efficient manner. Consistent user experiences across all devices are maintained, while protecting intellectual property.

2. Secure access, delivery and containment
Organizations should be prepared for employees to access data offline and should opt for a technological feature that supplements data protection and supports offline access for users. The solution should allow the encryption of a workspace, making it a safe zone, such that stored data is automatically wiped clean after an administrator-specified expiration date.  Complementing this with a remote kill functionality also mitigates risk in the event an endpoint is lost or stolen, whereby all confidential corporate data will be deleted automatically.

3. Implement fine-grained access and usage controls
To further strengthen enterprise security, organizations should also consider implementing fine-grained customized policies according to users’ identities. Considerations such as the type, duration and location of access should be determined before configured policies are implemented. This helps to build and enforce a tightly controlled environment.

4. Monitor closely
Organizations should also contemplate having a comprehensive monitoring system in place. For example, session shadowing enables a user’s session to be duplicated and displayed in real-time on an administrator’s workstation. This is helpful for administrators to identify and react to misuse based on malicious intentions, undetected compromises, policy gaps or errors. In addition, this functionality also provides extensive support for compliance with corporate policies, security and privacy regulations, and troubleshooting.

The management and protection of data is a key cornerstone of enterprise mobility. An integrated approach is required to enable IT to seamlessly and safely address business-driven challenges and extend application access to an increasingly mobile workforce.