Digital strategy to lift economy

2010/10/08
By Farrah Naz Karim
farrah@nst.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is set to embark on the third phase of its Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) with focus on shifting to the innovative digital economy.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the new phase, to begin from next year until 2020, would see Malaysia increasing its leverage on information and communications technology (ICT) to catapult the country to a new economic level.

He said with sound initiatives carried out, the ICT sector could contribute 10.2 per cent of the country's gross domestic product by 2015.

He said in executing a well-planned digital strategy, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) would spearhead five recommendations yielded from the 22nd Implementation Council Meeting and the 13th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel that would ensure Malaysia continued to compete and excel on the global front.

The MDeC will lead in:

- the development of the architecture for a national Innovative Digital Economy framework;

- the infusion of technology across all economic sectors in driving productivity and innovation;

- making Malaysia a vibrant hub for creation of ICT solutions leading to become a net exporter;

- ICT empowerment as a source of national competitive advantage; and,

- pervasive use of ICT to increase the quality of life across all communities.

Najib, who chaired the meetings at his office yesterday, said ICT would play a key role in the Economic Transformation Programme.

Under the ETP, 85 of the 131 entry points projects, which are collectively worth RM670 billion, are ICT-dependent, with 28 of them being ICT-intensive.

The prime minister said the second phase of MSC, which is coming to an end, had been extremely successful with the targets set surpassed.

The second phase, he said, had contributed RM35 billion towards the GDP between 2004 and now, creating 83,000 jobs, and strengthening Malaysia’s position as a global ICT hub with new sub-sectors. This resulted in the emergence of a new class of technopreneurs.

“Now on the cusp of phase three of the MSC Malaysia agenda, the way forward requires us to start working towards an innovative digital economy.

“Our goal is to stimulate human creativity with new technologies, outlets and opportunities,” Najib said, adding that these as catalysts would, in turn, lead to innovation in products, services and processes created.

These would also promote productivity for individuals and businesses while giving a boost to their competitiveness in the global digital economy.

Najib said the digital economy contributed 35 per cent to the global trade of US$17 trillion (RM59.5 trillion) last year and that global e-commerce revenues
would hit US$3.8 trillion by 2020.

He said talent development would continue to be a prime focus, with initiatives put in place to improve the quality of graduates entering the workforce and attracting those abroad to return.

Key initiatives would focus on expanding partnerships with industry players in a “Finishing School” programme to train 25,000 knowledge workers and
work with institutions of higher learning to deliver curriculum that was market-driven.

Najib said that annually “1,000 qualified foreign students from local institutions of higher learning would be issued work permits to address the projected shortfall in ICT talent”.

MSC Malaysia, NEF to list Bumiputera ICT Companies in first-time directory
 
Published : 20 April 2010 (News Straits Times) 

MSC Malaysia and the Malaysian Association of Bumiputera ICT industry and Entrepreneurs (NEF) are now calling for all Bumiputera companies in multimedia, technology and ICT to register their companies for inclusion in the Bumiputera Technology & Multimedia Directory 2010/2011.

The directory will include companies in software development, games, mobile content, web content, e-commerce and other related fields. Registration is free and can be done online.

The Directory will be launched towards the end May and made available online, in hardcopy and in CD format. The hard copy version of the directory will also be distributed to all Malaysian Government ministries as well as agencies such as MIDA, SME Corp, and others.

The directory will add value to the expanding Bumiputera ICT community, said Roslan Bakri, MDeC´s Director of Technopreneur & Enterprise Development.

"It is also part of a larger effort by MSC Malaysia and NEF to fertilise the growth of Bumiputera Technopreneurs, which is in line with the Prime Minister´s vision of the New Economic Model," he added.

Building capacity, skills vital for 21st century Bumiputera

Published : 2011/03/24 ( News Straits Times)

Friday, July 08, 2011, 09.12 AM 
 

KUALA LUMPUR: The 21st century Bumiputera needs to build capacity and skills as a landmark to benefit from the opportunities available and not get caught up in the never-ending polemic over rights, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister said the 21st century Bumiputera must be equipped for his era, while focusing on rights without optimizing the opportunities that came from these rights was not only fruitless and wasteful to the individual but the whole Bumiputera community as well.

"This happens, for instance, when Bumiputera companies and individuals allocated with RM54 billion worth of shares by the government are eventually left with only around RM2 billion," he said at the first presentation of ICT awards of the Malaysian Association of Bumiputera ICT Industry and Entrepreneurs-Awani at the Putra World Trade Centre, here, today.

Najib said a lot of people would be angry when faced with the fact, "but to begin solving any problem, we must first identify the problems that need to be tackled".

He said Bumiputeras must be resilient, resourceful and capable of inventing and reinventing themselves for every situation.

The prime minister said the Bumiputera community must also be proud of their work and achievements, and not be afraid to venture out into uncharted waters.

"We don't want to see the Bumiputera community that is always asking (for aid), easily satisfied and likes to be in the comfort zone.

"The competition today is of minds and skills. Those who are knowledgeable and have mastered information, are the power that can change their surroundings. Therefore, we must not take the easy way by being dogmatic and easily satisfied with the form compared to the content.

"The nation is now at a critical crossroad, to make quantum-leap transformation involving structural, institutional, policy and work method changes or ad hoc or slow but risky changes that will make us a failed state.

"The latest challenge is even bigger as we have to face all these while ensuring social justice and stability without causing fear to any party."

Najib also said that no quarters could deny that transformaton had changed the country's political landscape of the last 50 years.

He said from an agriculture country dependent on export commodities, Malaysia had diversified its economy with the manufacturing and services sectors being dominant.

Najib described the success achieved in the last 50 years as monumental, with economic growth and wealth creation moving in tandem, and the creation of social justice through the principle of equitable distribution of wealth.

"As a result, poverty has been drastically reduced and Malaysia has moved from being a low-income to a moderately-high income nation," he said.

The award-presentation which was broadcast live by Astro Awani was held in recognition of the excellent achievements of information communication technology (ICT) companies which have impacted the lives of multiracial Malaysians, as well as a recognition for Bumiputera technopreneurs.

The prime minister presented 13 awards to the recipients.

Najib said ICT organizations had been playing a very important role in the development of the ICT industry in Malaysia.

"I am proud that our country has a strong foundation in ICT, including in the development of software, applications and service provision," he said.

Bernama

Microsoft launches Office 365 in Malaysia

 Published: 2011/06/29 ( News straits Times)

 Friday, July 08, 2011, 06.45 AM

 

Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of Microsoft Office 365 in Malaysia, giving local businesses access to the company’s next-generation cloud productivity service. Office 365 brings together Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date service, at a predictable monthly fee.

Malaysia is among the 40 countries to roll out the cloud service which brings
powerful productivity and collaborative tools to businesses of all sizes. These
tools put enterprise-grade email, shared documents, instant messaging, video and Web conferencing, portals and more at everyone’s fingertips.

“A little more than a year ago, our Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer was in
Malaysia to unveil Microsoft’s cloud computing strategy. The availability of

Office 365 in our market today is a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to bring
the latest cloud computing technologies to Malaysian businesses,” said Ananth
Lazarus, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.

Office 365 was first made available to Malaysian businesses as part of a public
beta that launched in April, giving their employees new ways to work together
with ease, on virtually any device, using the familiar Microsoft Office
applications that they already know and love - all at a predictable monthly
cost, backed by the industry’s most robust financially-backed service-level
agreement (SLA).

“For large organisations, Office 365 allows IT staff to deliver a better, always
up-to-date experience with a range of service plans designed for enterprise
needs. They can focus on more strategic work and leave the rest to trusted
experts,” said Ananth.

“For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it is a game-changer,” he added. “SMEs play a very critical and strategic role in Malaysia’s economy, and thus in its development. About 99.2% of businesses in Malaysia are SMEss, accounting for 37.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); about 56% of total employment and 20% of exports.”

“This is why the sector is a key area in the Government’s Economic
Transformation Programme or ETP.”

“Office 365 gives local SMEs enterprise-class IT capabilities without the need
for them to have dedicated IT staff, while enterprises can get these world-class
capabilities without the need to maintain their own datacentres,” said Ananth.

”All businesses can now access enterprise-class business solutions for the price
of a good cup of coffee, on a per user per month basis, effectively removing the
need for significant upfront investments in IT infrastructure and maintenance,”
he added.

A Game-Changer for Businesses of Two to Two Hundred Thousand
Moving to the cloud with Office 365 doesn’t require a business to change the way it works, because the service is based on familiar productivity tools people
know and trust, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and more. Employees get new ways to work together with ease, on virtually any device or mobile phone, and businesses get the reliability, security and IT controls they need in the cloud, even without dedicated IT staff.

For Jaime Chong, Director, Operations & Special Projects, Crystal Edge Sdn Bhd, the key benefits are increased productivity and collaboration.

“We’re an agency, so communication is certainly an important aspect of our
business. With Lync Online we are able to communicate with our colleagues,
business partners and customers around the world in a more engaging and
effective manner through Instant Messaging (IM), video calls and online meetings which include ad-hoc online meetings with audio, video and screen sharing. All this can be done with the convenience just several mouse clicks,” she said.

“Now we are able to gain operational efficiencies within our business workflow
through reduction in long distance call charges, travel costs as well as the
cost of third-party conferencing solutions.”

About Office 365
With Office 365 small businesses can be up and running with the full suite of Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online for US$6 per user, per month.



Service offerings tailored to the needs of larger businesses are available for monthly per-user subscriptions ranging from US$2 to US$27, depending on the Office 365 components they sign up for.

Office 365 for enterprises has an array of choices, from simple email to comprehensive suites to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. Customers can now get Microsoft Office Professional Plus on a pay-as-you-go basis with cloud-based versions of the industry’s leading business communications and collaborations services. Each of these plans come with the advanced I.T. controls, security, 24x7 IT support and reliability you expect from Microsoft, with a financially backed 99.9% uptime SLA.

Availability

Office 365 for small businesses and Office 365 for enterprises are now available
in 40 markets worldwide. Businesses can try it for free for 30 days by signing
up at www.office365.com or from their local
Microsoft partner.

my second task :D

From Malaysian Sources :)

Postal firm to spend RM50m on ICT upgrade, rebranding

BY : Zurinna Raja Adam  ( News Straits Times) Friday, July 08, 2011, 06.47 AM 

 

 POS Malaysia Bhd (4634) will spend some RM 50 million to upgrade its information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and on a re-branding exercise to transform the national postal company's business platform.

Since the mailing trend has been slowing down over the years, it has been looking for other income streams that offer higher margin services.

In July, Pos Malaysia teamed up with Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and RHB Bank Bhd to offer the banks' financial services at post offices.

This follows the trend among postal companies around the world, where financial services are one of the largest contributors to their profit.

Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar hopes the group will be able to begin offering the financial services by the first quarter of next year.

"Our pilot project with RHB Bank at selected post offices started in May this year. At Pos Malaysia, we offer financial services like consumer loans, money transfers, withdrawal and cash deposits," he said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

It was earlier reported that he expects financial services to generate more than half of Pos Malaysia's revenue in the future.

Currently, financial services are handled by Pos Malaysia's retail arm, Posniaga which contributes about 30 per cent to Pos Malaysia's total revenue, while financial services generate 17 per cent of Posniaga's revenue.

Pos Malaysia saw its net profit dip 31 per cent to RM38.5 million in the first half of this year as revenue fell particularly from its postal and related services. The group was also faced wit higher operating costs.