KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 2011 (Bernama) -- MY E.G. Services Bhd (MyEG), the e-government services provider, Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan's National Information Technologies JSC (NIT) to jointly introduce e-government services in that country.
In a statement Wednesday, MyEG said its first overseas venture would leverage on its experience in delivering online government services in Malaysia to help NIT build Kazakhstan's national information technology infrastructure.
The signing ceremony, witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak Tun Razak, who is on a four-day official visit to Kazakhstan, and his counterpart Karim Massimov, was held in conjunction with the World Islamic Economic Forum.
MyEG's Executive Chairman Datuk Dr Norraesah Mohamad said MyEG had developed its expertise and has a track record in providing online public services which could be potentially applied to other markets.
"We are excited by the opportunities presented by this collaboration given that it marks our first venture overseas.
"We hope this mutually-beneficial venture would result in a substantial source of additional revenue from overseas for MyEG and diversify our earnings base in the long-run," she said.
Both parties hope to see the outcome of the collaboration after a year.
BERNAMA
http://www.pmo.gov.my/?menu=newslist&page=1731&news_id=7493&news_cat=13
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Axiata & Ericsson Enter Into Long-Term Strategic Cooperation
Kuala Lumpur 3rd November 2010 - Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s largest telecommunications companies, today announced that it has entered into a five-year strategic global framework arrangement with Ericsson, a leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services. In the agreement, one of the most comprehensive and advanced in the industry, both Axiata and Ericsson have agreed to work together to establish a streamlined procurement platform which will realise business efficiencies and competitive advantage through cash flow improvement and timely purchasing. The agreement will also enable Axiata to leverage on its volume, across five countries in the region, for pricing arrangements which will ultimately translate into cost savings for Axiata Group.
Specifically, the Axiata-Ericsson framework agreement will provide Axiata and the Axiata group of Companies (OpCos) a common platform for the purchases by Axiata and its group of Companies (OpCos) of telecommunications and other products as well as the provision of related works and services from Ericsson. This cooperation which will improve engagement and further strengthen the relationship between the two companies, will involve the regular exchange of information on technical and technology areas relating to products, works and services purchased by Axiata and the Axiata Companies. Axiata will therefore have better visibility of Ericsson’s roadmap and be able to leverage off this knowledge base and target its spend more efficiently.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata, Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said “Speed is crucial in the telecommunications industry and this agreement reduces the time required by each of the companies in purchasing products and services thereby translating into faster time to market which will ultimately benefit customers. We look forward to working closely with Ericsson, towards a mutually beneficial agreement”
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson said; “Leveraging our long successful partnership with Axiata group, the agreement will streamline the procurement process while achieving time and cost savings – true win-win situation for both of the companies. We’re proud of being chosen as the first vendor to be awarded this credibility by Axiata group.”
About Axiata
Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused on high growth low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran. India and Indonesia are amongst the fastest growing markets in the world. In addition, the Malaysian-grown holding company has stakes in non-mobile telecommunication operations in Thailand.
The Group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Robi’ in Bangladesh, ‘HELLO’ in Cambodia, ‘Idea’ in India, ‘M1’ in Singapore and ‘MTCE’ in Iran (Esfahan).
The Group, including its subsidiaries and associates, has over 130 million mobile subscribers in Asia. The Group revenue for 2009 was RM13.1 billion. The Group provides employment to over 25,000 people across Asia. Axiata’s vision is to be a regional champion by 2015 by piecing together the best throughout the region in connectivity, technology and talent, uniting them towards a single goal: Advancing Asia.
Axiata was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009 and 2010 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group and the Telecom Asia Best Regional Mobile Group 2010 for its operations in multiple Asian markets.
For further information on Axiata visit www.axiata.com
About Ericsson
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with featurerich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the "prime driver in an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
www.ericsson.com
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress www.facebook.com/technologyforgood www.youtube.com/ericssonpress
Axiata
Faridah Hashim
http://www.axiata.com/node/186
Specifically, the Axiata-Ericsson framework agreement will provide Axiata and the Axiata group of Companies (OpCos) a common platform for the purchases by Axiata and its group of Companies (OpCos) of telecommunications and other products as well as the provision of related works and services from Ericsson. This cooperation which will improve engagement and further strengthen the relationship between the two companies, will involve the regular exchange of information on technical and technology areas relating to products, works and services purchased by Axiata and the Axiata Companies. Axiata will therefore have better visibility of Ericsson’s roadmap and be able to leverage off this knowledge base and target its spend more efficiently.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Axiata, Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said “Speed is crucial in the telecommunications industry and this agreement reduces the time required by each of the companies in purchasing products and services thereby translating into faster time to market which will ultimately benefit customers. We look forward to working closely with Ericsson, towards a mutually beneficial agreement”
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson said; “Leveraging our long successful partnership with Axiata group, the agreement will streamline the procurement process while achieving time and cost savings – true win-win situation for both of the companies. We’re proud of being chosen as the first vendor to be awarded this credibility by Axiata group.”
About Axiata
Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused on high growth low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran. India and Indonesia are amongst the fastest growing markets in the world. In addition, the Malaysian-grown holding company has stakes in non-mobile telecommunication operations in Thailand.
The Group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Robi’ in Bangladesh, ‘HELLO’ in Cambodia, ‘Idea’ in India, ‘M1’ in Singapore and ‘MTCE’ in Iran (Esfahan).
The Group, including its subsidiaries and associates, has over 130 million mobile subscribers in Asia. The Group revenue for 2009 was RM13.1 billion. The Group provides employment to over 25,000 people across Asia. Axiata’s vision is to be a regional champion by 2015 by piecing together the best throughout the region in connectivity, technology and talent, uniting them towards a single goal: Advancing Asia.
Axiata was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009 and 2010 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group and the Telecom Asia Best Regional Mobile Group 2010 for its operations in multiple Asian markets.
For further information on Axiata visit www.axiata.com
About Ericsson
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with featurerich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the "prime driver in an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
www.ericsson.com
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress www.facebook.com/technologyforgood www.youtube.com/ericssonpress
Axiata
Faridah Hashim
http://www.axiata.com/node/186
Axiata Group Berhad Continues Winning Streak with Frost & Sullivan 2010 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group for the second consecutive Year
Kuala Lumpur 10th June, Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) continues to gain momentum in the industry as it received more prestigious regional awards with the Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group of the Year, for the second consecutive year. Axiata Group also took home six awards in total, with Celcom Axiata Berhad winning the regional award for Service Provider of the Year as well as Malaysia’s Mobile Service Provider and Wireless Data Service Provider of the Year. Robi, in Bangladesh, was voted the best Emerging Market Service Provider of the Year. Alongside these, Axiata’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, was given the prestigious individual award for CEO of the Year: Service Provider award. The honours follow on from the Group’s recent sweep at the Telecom Asia awards, where three awards in total were picked for the Group.
To qualify for the Telecom Group of the Year category companies were studied on their growth and performance in 2010 in Asia Pacific through its investments in the region. Contenders were evaluated based on revenues, Group EBITDA margin, and strength of regional footprint as well as valuation improvement. Shortlisted companies were interviewed, and the data collected compared with proprietary Frost & Sullivan resources, as well as secondary research available from public sources.
Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Axiata said “We are greatly honoured by the awards and would like to thank Frost & Sullivan for the recognition. The awards reflect the great team that we have with us and are really a collective victory to be fully shared with all our employees. I also have to thank our stakeholders, especially the customers, and the relevant authorities.”
“Axiata continued to establish itself as one of the premier regional telecom groups in Asia Pacific region in 2009, recording another outstanding performance for 2009. The group reported revenue growth of 15.5% year on year and was the only major regional operator to grow in double-digit revenue figures. Driven particularly by its operations in Malaysia and Indonesia and a turnaround year in Bangladesh the operator was not only able to grow its top line but also successfully controlled costs as its Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) also grew by 18.4%. Through its associates and subsidiaries Axiata subscribers was at 120 million, an increase of 34%. In 2009 the Axiata also underwent an important regional re-branding exercise to create a unified and regional image as the company transitions from a holding company to an integrated Asian telecom service provider” said Shaker Ibne Amin, Industry Analyst, Asia Pacific ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan.
With Asia Pacific’s mobile penetration rate standing at a mere 56.06% at the end of 2009 there is significant subscriber and revenue growth to come in the region. Axiata Group has built a strong portfolio including investments in ten markets in the region, many of which are among the world’s fastest growing. Fuelled by a stellar year in Indonesia, Axiata Group witnessed strong subscriber and revenue growth outside its home market, and has taken steps in other markets to ensure future operating success.
“The awards are an acknowledgement of the continued success of our operating companies in the region as well as an acknowledgement of the Group’s transformation, barely two years since becoming a stand alone company and just over a year as Axiata. I would also like to congratulate all Celcom and Robi employees and in particular Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly and Michael Kuehner, for their strong and creative leadership, in winning their respective awards” Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim concluded.
About Axiata
Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused on high growth low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran. India and Indonesia are amongst the fastest growing markets in the world. In addition, the Malaysian-grown holding company has stakes in non-mobile telecommunication operations in Thailand and Pakistan.
The Group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Robi’ in Bangladesh, ‘HELLO’ in Cambodia, ‘Idea’ in India, ‘M1’ in Singapore and ‘MTCE’ in Iran (Esfahan).
The Group, including its subsidiaries and associates, has over 130 million mobile subscribers in Asia. The Group revenue for 2009 was RM13.1 billion. The Group provides employment to over 25,000 people across Asia. Axiata’s vision is to be a regional champion by 2015 by piecing together the best throughout the region in connectivity, technology and people, uniting them towards a single goal: Advancing Asia.
Axiata was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group and most recently the Best Regional Mobile Group 2010 for its operations in multiple Asian markets by Telecom Asia.
Issued By:
Corporate Communications, Group Strategy, Axiata Group Berhad
http://www.axiata.com/node/155
To qualify for the Telecom Group of the Year category companies were studied on their growth and performance in 2010 in Asia Pacific through its investments in the region. Contenders were evaluated based on revenues, Group EBITDA margin, and strength of regional footprint as well as valuation improvement. Shortlisted companies were interviewed, and the data collected compared with proprietary Frost & Sullivan resources, as well as secondary research available from public sources.
Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Axiata said “We are greatly honoured by the awards and would like to thank Frost & Sullivan for the recognition. The awards reflect the great team that we have with us and are really a collective victory to be fully shared with all our employees. I also have to thank our stakeholders, especially the customers, and the relevant authorities.”
“Axiata continued to establish itself as one of the premier regional telecom groups in Asia Pacific region in 2009, recording another outstanding performance for 2009. The group reported revenue growth of 15.5% year on year and was the only major regional operator to grow in double-digit revenue figures. Driven particularly by its operations in Malaysia and Indonesia and a turnaround year in Bangladesh the operator was not only able to grow its top line but also successfully controlled costs as its Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) also grew by 18.4%. Through its associates and subsidiaries Axiata subscribers was at 120 million, an increase of 34%. In 2009 the Axiata also underwent an important regional re-branding exercise to create a unified and regional image as the company transitions from a holding company to an integrated Asian telecom service provider” said Shaker Ibne Amin, Industry Analyst, Asia Pacific ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan.
With Asia Pacific’s mobile penetration rate standing at a mere 56.06% at the end of 2009 there is significant subscriber and revenue growth to come in the region. Axiata Group has built a strong portfolio including investments in ten markets in the region, many of which are among the world’s fastest growing. Fuelled by a stellar year in Indonesia, Axiata Group witnessed strong subscriber and revenue growth outside its home market, and has taken steps in other markets to ensure future operating success.
“The awards are an acknowledgement of the continued success of our operating companies in the region as well as an acknowledgement of the Group’s transformation, barely two years since becoming a stand alone company and just over a year as Axiata. I would also like to congratulate all Celcom and Robi employees and in particular Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly and Michael Kuehner, for their strong and creative leadership, in winning their respective awards” Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim concluded.
About Axiata
Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused on high growth low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran. India and Indonesia are amongst the fastest growing markets in the world. In addition, the Malaysian-grown holding company has stakes in non-mobile telecommunication operations in Thailand and Pakistan.
The Group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka, ‘Robi’ in Bangladesh, ‘HELLO’ in Cambodia, ‘Idea’ in India, ‘M1’ in Singapore and ‘MTCE’ in Iran (Esfahan).
The Group, including its subsidiaries and associates, has over 130 million mobile subscribers in Asia. The Group revenue for 2009 was RM13.1 billion. The Group provides employment to over 25,000 people across Asia. Axiata’s vision is to be a regional champion by 2015 by piecing together the best throughout the region in connectivity, technology and people, uniting them towards a single goal: Advancing Asia.
Axiata was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2009 Asia Pacific ICT Award for Best Telecom Group and most recently the Best Regional Mobile Group 2010 for its operations in multiple Asian markets by Telecom Asia.
Issued By:
Corporate Communications, Group Strategy, Axiata Group Berhad
http://www.axiata.com/node/155
MDV allocates RM300m for green technology
its newly launched Green Technology Financing Programme.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Md Zubir Ansori Yahaya said under the programme, MDV would work together with Malaysia Green Technology Corp, to identify potential green certified companies for financial assistance.
"Green technology is a key driver in the nation's development and an impetus for change in the world.
"Malaysia is well positioned to be a global leader in green technology. We are committed to playing a role in this growth industry, towards a sustainable future for Malaysia," he told reporters after the launch of the programme here, today.
The Green Technology Financing programme is MDV's third focus area, following Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Biotechnology.
The MDV programme is for local green technology companies growing beyond the pre-commercialisation stage.
With the new loan facility, eligible companies are able to receive contract financing from as low as RM250,000, with financing margins of up to 85 per cent of the contract value and loan tenure periods of up to 10 years.
"At MDV, we work hard to fill in the funding gaps in the financial ecosystem while providing financing for high growth in emerging sectors like ICT, biotechnology and green technology," Zubir added.
To make the loan process easier for potential borrowers, it has been simplified, taking no more than 45 working days upon submission with complete company and project documentation.
Beyond funding facilities, MDV also provides value-added services to its clients, ranging from advisory services to guidance in industry best practices. --
Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110503153207/Article/index_html
Using ICT to compete in the global economy
KUALA LUMPUR: Local businesses must make use of the latest information and communication technology (ICT) solutions to enhance their productivity and to compete in the global economy, said SME Corp Malaysia CEO Datuk Hafsah Hashim.
She said one of the criteria for developed countries was that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should contribute to at least 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP), but local SMEs currently contributed 31% to GDP.
“This means that SMEs have to grow 1% or more per annum to reach the desired 40% by 2020 (the year Malaysia aims to achieve a developed-nation status). We need a leapfrog growth driven by innovation and productivity,” she said at the launch of Microsoft's Office 365 cloud computing service.
The launch marked the beginning of a private-public partnership between SME Corp and Microsoft Malaysia to enhance the take-up of cloud computing among Malaysian businesses.
Office 365 is Microsoft's newest ICT solution that utilises cloud computing to integrate business function over four primary products - office, sharepoint online, exchange online, and lync online.
“SME Corp and Microsoft will also promote the cloud service through joint roadshows as well as a Microsoft booth in SME Corp's new one-stop referral centre in KL Sentral,” Microsoft Malaysia managing director Ananth Lazarus told StarBiz.
Hafsah also said SME Corp would use the SME Competitiveness Rating for Enhancement (Score) programme to evaluate the ICT effectiveness of SMEs. SME Corp will take the lead in adopting cloud computing by using Office 365 in their KL Sentral office.
By JOHN LOH
She said one of the criteria for developed countries was that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should contribute to at least 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP), but local SMEs currently contributed 31% to GDP.
“This means that SMEs have to grow 1% or more per annum to reach the desired 40% by 2020 (the year Malaysia aims to achieve a developed-nation status). We need a leapfrog growth driven by innovation and productivity,” she said at the launch of Microsoft's Office 365 cloud computing service.
The launch marked the beginning of a private-public partnership between SME Corp and Microsoft Malaysia to enhance the take-up of cloud computing among Malaysian businesses.
Office 365 is Microsoft's newest ICT solution that utilises cloud computing to integrate business function over four primary products - office, sharepoint online, exchange online, and lync online.
“SME Corp and Microsoft will also promote the cloud service through joint roadshows as well as a Microsoft booth in SME Corp's new one-stop referral centre in KL Sentral,” Microsoft Malaysia managing director Ananth Lazarus told StarBiz.
Hafsah also said SME Corp would use the SME Competitiveness Rating for Enhancement (Score) programme to evaluate the ICT effectiveness of SMEs. SME Corp will take the lead in adopting cloud computing by using Office 365 in their KL Sentral office.
By JOHN LOH
johnloh@thestar.com.my
Global tech spend to jump 7.1 percent in 2011: Gartner
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Information technology spending this year will grow faster than previously forecast, boosted by strong demand for new telecom gear and for computing hardware, research firm Gartner said on Thursday.
Gartner said it now sees the global IT market growing 7.1 percent this year to $3.672 trillion. It had earlier forecast 5.6 percent growth this year.
The IT services segment, led by IBM, HP and Fujitsu, will see growth accelerating from the previous year, with the market growing 6.6 percent to $846 billion, Gartner said.
Gartner said it now sees the global IT market growing 7.1 percent this year to $3.672 trillion. It had earlier forecast 5.6 percent growth this year.
The IT services segment, led by IBM, HP and Fujitsu, will see growth accelerating from the previous year, with the market growing 6.6 percent to $846 billion, Gartner said.
by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Will Waterman
http://my.news.yahoo.com/global-tech-spend-jump-7-1-percent-2011-074011621.html
Cyberview Partners with Information Technology and Internet TV Company: Cuzzy Media to Market Cyberjaya, Malaysia Globally
Malaysia, internet tv, information technology, cyberjaya, cost competitive city - Cyberview, the landowner of Cyberjaya, Malaysia and the entity mandated by the Government of Malaysia, to spearhead the entire development of Cyberjaya, Malaysia has partnered with information technology - knowledge-based, internet tv operator Cuzzy Media to promote Cyberjaya, Malaysia utilizing Web 2.0 strategies, while simultaneously leveraging the power of selected global television networks, namely, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News.
Cuzzy Media, an internet tv services provider and a MSC MALAYSIA status company, is headquartered within Malaysia's most high tech and yet the most cost competitive city of, Cyberjaya. It is one of the many developments owned, operated and maintained by Cyberview. Cuzzy Media owns and operates a highly successful free internet tv platform called XBB.TV (Extreme Broadband Broadcast Television) that delivers dynamic interactive content to a broadband enabled audience, globally. www.xbb.tv is a free site. In this campaign, Cyberview"s TVC and info-documentaries are also concurrently screened on Cuzzy Media's internet tv platform - XBB.TV , to further capitalize on a large information technology literate traditional media audience.
Cyberview's Managing Director Redza Rafiq said, "Cyberjaya, Malaysia is now 11 years old and the past two years saw us aggressively promoting Cyberjaya, Malaysia, and I am proud to say that we have been successful in branding Cyberjaya, Malaysia as an information technology leveraged, yet highly cost competitive city to live, study, work and play in."
He said the success rate can be seen in the number of companies that moved to Cyberjaya, Malaysia in the last two years. "A total of 172 companies moved to Cyberjaya, Malaysia between 2006 and 2007, as compared to the 302 companies from 1998 to 2005. We would like to attribute the increase to informative marketing exercises coupled with tailor made packages that we offer investors from all over the world, especially those operating research and development activities, shared services operations and other tech based outsourcing operations from a cost competitive city in Asia."
Cyberjaya, the nucleus of MSC Malaysia, now hosts 474 companies, 30 of them multinationals and 444 home-grown companies. Amongst the multinational corporations who have operations in this cost competitive city of Cyberjaya include, DELL, HSBC, BMW , DHL, SHELL and many others. They chose Cyberjaya as it delivers modern infrastructures and a ready pool of cost competitive multilingual knowledge workers who graduate from a series of Universities that are located within Cyberjaya. These universities specialize in Information Technology, Business, Medical Sciences and Creative Content disciplines. They also enjoy a large pool of foreign students from China, India, Africa, Middle East, Eastern and Central Europe , as they deliver internationally recognized curricular.
Mr Jeffrey Raj, Founder and CEO of Cuzzy Media said: "As a fellow corporate citizen of Cyberjaya, and as an operator of a global internet tv platform, we are pleased to be given this opportunity to partner with Cyberview in marketing Cyberjaya to the world. These campaigns capture the real essence of a thriving international community serving a globalise world. We have created an engaging series of messages that helps Cyberjaya achieve its branding objective of becoming a branded information technology based, cost competitive city of choice for the global business community.?
The city of Cyberjaya, Malaysia sets the standard for outsource / shared services city of choice, for foreign corporations who wish to re locate their knowledge based activities, that requires state of art modern infrastructure, yet at very competitive prices in comparison to their peers within Asia.
By Fadzilah Hj. Muhamad
http://newscentre.msc.com.my/articles/839/1/Cyberview-Partners-with-Information-Technology-and-Internet-TV-Company-Cuzzy-Media-to-Market-Cyberjaya-Malaysia-Globally/Page1.html
Cuzzy Media, an internet tv services provider and a MSC MALAYSIA status company, is headquartered within Malaysia's most high tech and yet the most cost competitive city of, Cyberjaya. It is one of the many developments owned, operated and maintained by Cyberview. Cuzzy Media owns and operates a highly successful free internet tv platform called XBB.TV (Extreme Broadband Broadcast Television) that delivers dynamic interactive content to a broadband enabled audience, globally. www.xbb.tv is a free site. In this campaign, Cyberview"s TVC and info-documentaries are also concurrently screened on Cuzzy Media's internet tv platform - XBB.TV , to further capitalize on a large information technology literate traditional media audience.
Cyberview's Managing Director Redza Rafiq said, "Cyberjaya, Malaysia is now 11 years old and the past two years saw us aggressively promoting Cyberjaya, Malaysia, and I am proud to say that we have been successful in branding Cyberjaya, Malaysia as an information technology leveraged, yet highly cost competitive city to live, study, work and play in."
He said the success rate can be seen in the number of companies that moved to Cyberjaya, Malaysia in the last two years. "A total of 172 companies moved to Cyberjaya, Malaysia between 2006 and 2007, as compared to the 302 companies from 1998 to 2005. We would like to attribute the increase to informative marketing exercises coupled with tailor made packages that we offer investors from all over the world, especially those operating research and development activities, shared services operations and other tech based outsourcing operations from a cost competitive city in Asia."
Cyberjaya, the nucleus of MSC Malaysia, now hosts 474 companies, 30 of them multinationals and 444 home-grown companies. Amongst the multinational corporations who have operations in this cost competitive city of Cyberjaya include, DELL, HSBC, BMW , DHL, SHELL and many others. They chose Cyberjaya as it delivers modern infrastructures and a ready pool of cost competitive multilingual knowledge workers who graduate from a series of Universities that are located within Cyberjaya. These universities specialize in Information Technology, Business, Medical Sciences and Creative Content disciplines. They also enjoy a large pool of foreign students from China, India, Africa, Middle East, Eastern and Central Europe , as they deliver internationally recognized curricular.
Mr Jeffrey Raj, Founder and CEO of Cuzzy Media said: "As a fellow corporate citizen of Cyberjaya, and as an operator of a global internet tv platform, we are pleased to be given this opportunity to partner with Cyberview in marketing Cyberjaya to the world. These campaigns capture the real essence of a thriving international community serving a globalise world. We have created an engaging series of messages that helps Cyberjaya achieve its branding objective of becoming a branded information technology based, cost competitive city of choice for the global business community.?
The city of Cyberjaya, Malaysia sets the standard for outsource / shared services city of choice, for foreign corporations who wish to re locate their knowledge based activities, that requires state of art modern infrastructure, yet at very competitive prices in comparison to their peers within Asia.
By Fadzilah Hj. Muhamad
http://newscentre.msc.com.my/articles/839/1/Cyberview-Partners-with-Information-Technology-and-Internet-TV-Company-Cuzzy-Media-to-Market-Cyberjaya-Malaysia-Globally/Page1.html
Data recovery completes disaster recovery
We all know, computers have taken over the main stage in our digital lifestyles' professional and personal. We use computers for so many tasks' from business to finance to storing family memories' that the amount of data we are storing is growing exponentially. According to research firms IDC and Gartner, this trend will continue to grow since PC shipments are up 13 percent over last year. This is a clear indication that people are using computers to perform more tasks than ever before, creating a greater need to store their increasingly important data.
As a matter of fact, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by storage company Maxtor, nearly one third of computer users admitted their content was 'priceless.' At the same time, nearly half of all adult computer users in the United States are at risk of losing their data because they fail to make backup copies' approximately 46 percent of the respondents to the survey do not back up their data, according to the survey.
As such, with more data being stored, there is an increased likelihood for data loss. Thus, implementing a solid and secure data backup procedure is a necessary part of any disaster recovery plan. Such a plan will better ensure access to data when a disaster strikes and businesses need to be able to recover and press on.
Unfortunately, due to the expense, remote data back-up services or expensive storage solutions is out of reach for many small businesses, leaving them in a difficult position. In a disaster or data loss situation, some companies face the possibility of losing all of their critical data' client contacts, billing accounts, financial spreadsheets, proprietary documents' and a future without the information necessary to keep them operating because they don'[TM]t practice stringent backup methods. A recent Gartner study found that half of all small and midsize businesses that experience a major data failure lasting more than 24 hours will go under. To boot, depending on the scope of disaster, some companies that think they are well protected are not immune to data loss problems. When backups fail, an all too common problem, or natural disasters hit, such as the extreme case of hurricane Katrina, companies can lose their prime systems as well as their back-up facilities.
When situations like this occur, it is important for computer users to remember that deleted or destroyed doesn'[TM]t mean gone and that data recovery companies like Kroll Ontrack, headquartered in Eden Prairie, have many years of experience recovering data from seemingly impossible situations.
First, to clarify' the type of data recovery referenced here should not be confused with how 'data recovery' has often been defined. Many understand data recovery as working with a backup company and restoring data from previously backed up media; however, many companies don'[TM]t have this type of relationship because of the expense. So, in this case, data recovery means working with a professional recovery service that specializes in rescuing the original (and most up-to-date) missing data directly from the damaged drives or media themselves after the damage occurs.
Data recovery often is the missing element of disaster recovery planning and can serve as a 'Hail Mary' attempt when all other options have been exhausted. The following story' granted an extreme case' demonstrates the importance of having a well-rounded disaster recovery plan that includes true data recovery.
Seemann Composites, located in Gulfport, Miss., had a backup plan for their backups. As a custom fabricator of advanced composites and products, Seemann Composites has thousands of files with proprietary information that cannot be recreated. As Katrina approached, Office Manager Jan Niolon suspected their main office on the coast would be in danger, so she took the company'[TM]s backup tapes and stored them in an offsite location three cities away. We do custom work for every job so original files are crucial to our business," said Niolon. Sure enough, Katrina flooded their main production facility with enough water to cover all of their computer equipment and files. Unfortunately, Katrina hit the offsite location as well, flooding the backup tapes in the process.
Rather than panicking, Niolon had an additional procedure to supplement her data back-up plan' data recovery services. "We were in danger of losing several years worth of unique data," said Niolon. 'We needed access to our files since we do a lot of work for the government and are subject to defense contract audits. Utilizing data recovery eased those concerns by retrieving files we thought were unrecoverable and helping us get back to business as usual.' In only a few short days, Niolon had most of the lost data back, which helped Seemann continue with current projects and ensure they were protected for the future.
This example illustrates how important data recovery services can be to businesses in need. In addition to the problems highlighted in this situation from Katrina, it'[TM]s important to note that backups often are susceptible to problems of their own. Reliability is the major issue, as a high percentage of backups fail every year. According to Microsoft, 42 percent of attempted recoveries from tape backups failed in the past year. Strategic Research estimates that as many as 50 percent of remote backups fail. That said, although a robust backup plan definitely is the best way to keep your company protected, establishing a relationship with a data recovery provider is an imperative enhancement to include in any disaster recovery plan.
The various reasons why backups fail are too numerous to mention, but the point is that they do fail, and, on a fairly regular basis. The only real way to combat data backup issues is by spending a significant amount of money in hopes of achieving 'perfect' backups' defined here as backups that are made regularly, tested periodically and stored away from the computers they are protecting. As this is simply unattainable by many, a better plan is to implement a backup system that works on a regular schedule, utilizes some type of remote storage and also incorporates data recovery into the equation in case Murphy'[TM]s Law takes effect.
So whether your business has a high level of preparedness with strict disaster recovery procedures and data backup planning, or a low level without any specific measures established, you should always look at data recovery as an option to help get your business back up and running.
If it does come to the point where a data recovery provider is the best course of action, these tips are useful in helping to choose the best provider:
* Only work with a recovery provider that can tell you exactly what they can recover after an initial evaluation. A company's expertise should be demonstrated immediately, so you can confidently determine the best course of action before making a large financial commitment.
* After the evaluation, verify that there are no undisclosed charges for viewing or accessing that listing of recoverable files. Similarly, make sure that any cleanroom work or additional parts that are necessary during the evaluation process will not incur additional charges.
* Research a provider'[TM]s history to see how long they have been involved with data recovery and determine their level of expertise.
* Determine if they can provide a variety of recovery solutions such as recovery software, in-lab service and remote data recovery, and which service is best for a particular scenario.
* Make sure you are dealing with a responsive and professional staff that provides regular updates and is up-font with all interactions.
* Select a provider that has authorization to work with sensitive and confidential material, including classified government information.
Erick Stevens from Ingersoll Rand' Climate Control Technologies sums data recovery up best, 'in a perfect world users would be more proactive about backing up their data, but real world tells us that this cannot always be the case. Things happen and it is nice to know that there is an option for us to help our users when their hard drive crashes and I cannot recover data using typical means.'
As a matter of fact, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by storage company Maxtor, nearly one third of computer users admitted their content was 'priceless.' At the same time, nearly half of all adult computer users in the United States are at risk of losing their data because they fail to make backup copies' approximately 46 percent of the respondents to the survey do not back up their data, according to the survey.
As such, with more data being stored, there is an increased likelihood for data loss. Thus, implementing a solid and secure data backup procedure is a necessary part of any disaster recovery plan. Such a plan will better ensure access to data when a disaster strikes and businesses need to be able to recover and press on.
Unfortunately, due to the expense, remote data back-up services or expensive storage solutions is out of reach for many small businesses, leaving them in a difficult position. In a disaster or data loss situation, some companies face the possibility of losing all of their critical data' client contacts, billing accounts, financial spreadsheets, proprietary documents' and a future without the information necessary to keep them operating because they don'[TM]t practice stringent backup methods. A recent Gartner study found that half of all small and midsize businesses that experience a major data failure lasting more than 24 hours will go under. To boot, depending on the scope of disaster, some companies that think they are well protected are not immune to data loss problems. When backups fail, an all too common problem, or natural disasters hit, such as the extreme case of hurricane Katrina, companies can lose their prime systems as well as their back-up facilities.
When situations like this occur, it is important for computer users to remember that deleted or destroyed doesn'[TM]t mean gone and that data recovery companies like Kroll Ontrack, headquartered in Eden Prairie, have many years of experience recovering data from seemingly impossible situations.
First, to clarify' the type of data recovery referenced here should not be confused with how 'data recovery' has often been defined. Many understand data recovery as working with a backup company and restoring data from previously backed up media; however, many companies don'[TM]t have this type of relationship because of the expense. So, in this case, data recovery means working with a professional recovery service that specializes in rescuing the original (and most up-to-date) missing data directly from the damaged drives or media themselves after the damage occurs.
Data recovery often is the missing element of disaster recovery planning and can serve as a 'Hail Mary' attempt when all other options have been exhausted. The following story' granted an extreme case' demonstrates the importance of having a well-rounded disaster recovery plan that includes true data recovery.
Seemann Composites, located in Gulfport, Miss., had a backup plan for their backups. As a custom fabricator of advanced composites and products, Seemann Composites has thousands of files with proprietary information that cannot be recreated. As Katrina approached, Office Manager Jan Niolon suspected their main office on the coast would be in danger, so she took the company'[TM]s backup tapes and stored them in an offsite location three cities away. We do custom work for every job so original files are crucial to our business," said Niolon. Sure enough, Katrina flooded their main production facility with enough water to cover all of their computer equipment and files. Unfortunately, Katrina hit the offsite location as well, flooding the backup tapes in the process.
Rather than panicking, Niolon had an additional procedure to supplement her data back-up plan' data recovery services. "We were in danger of losing several years worth of unique data," said Niolon. 'We needed access to our files since we do a lot of work for the government and are subject to defense contract audits. Utilizing data recovery eased those concerns by retrieving files we thought were unrecoverable and helping us get back to business as usual.' In only a few short days, Niolon had most of the lost data back, which helped Seemann continue with current projects and ensure they were protected for the future.
This example illustrates how important data recovery services can be to businesses in need. In addition to the problems highlighted in this situation from Katrina, it'[TM]s important to note that backups often are susceptible to problems of their own. Reliability is the major issue, as a high percentage of backups fail every year. According to Microsoft, 42 percent of attempted recoveries from tape backups failed in the past year. Strategic Research estimates that as many as 50 percent of remote backups fail. That said, although a robust backup plan definitely is the best way to keep your company protected, establishing a relationship with a data recovery provider is an imperative enhancement to include in any disaster recovery plan.
The various reasons why backups fail are too numerous to mention, but the point is that they do fail, and, on a fairly regular basis. The only real way to combat data backup issues is by spending a significant amount of money in hopes of achieving 'perfect' backups' defined here as backups that are made regularly, tested periodically and stored away from the computers they are protecting. As this is simply unattainable by many, a better plan is to implement a backup system that works on a regular schedule, utilizes some type of remote storage and also incorporates data recovery into the equation in case Murphy'[TM]s Law takes effect.
So whether your business has a high level of preparedness with strict disaster recovery procedures and data backup planning, or a low level without any specific measures established, you should always look at data recovery as an option to help get your business back up and running.
If it does come to the point where a data recovery provider is the best course of action, these tips are useful in helping to choose the best provider:
* Only work with a recovery provider that can tell you exactly what they can recover after an initial evaluation. A company's expertise should be demonstrated immediately, so you can confidently determine the best course of action before making a large financial commitment.
* After the evaluation, verify that there are no undisclosed charges for viewing or accessing that listing of recoverable files. Similarly, make sure that any cleanroom work or additional parts that are necessary during the evaluation process will not incur additional charges.
* Research a provider'[TM]s history to see how long they have been involved with data recovery and determine their level of expertise.
* Determine if they can provide a variety of recovery solutions such as recovery software, in-lab service and remote data recovery, and which service is best for a particular scenario.
* Make sure you are dealing with a responsive and professional staff that provides regular updates and is up-font with all interactions.
* Select a provider that has authorization to work with sensitive and confidential material, including classified government information.
Erick Stevens from Ingersoll Rand' Climate Control Technologies sums data recovery up best, 'in a perfect world users would be more proactive about backing up their data, but real world tells us that this cannot always be the case. Things happen and it is nice to know that there is an option for us to help our users when their hard drive crashes and I cannot recover data using typical means.'
by Todd Johnson
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BRZ/is_2008_Wntr/ai_n31214412/2008 forecast: if you build it, they will come
What would you store on a one-terabyte hard drive?
Every so often milestones are announced that put into perspective how far we've come and the direction we're heading' they may even give us a peek into the future. The milestone announcement of the first digital camera for instance, reminded us of how much photography has evolved and it put film developers and traditional camera makers on notice that things were about to change. The same could be said for other milestone announcements: the first car, the first organ transplant, the first wireless phone.
On January 4, 2007, an announcement was made that marks another important milestone. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of visitors attending the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a group of very dedicated employees from Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced the first one-terabyte hard drive.
Before you let out a yawn, consider the following: since first being introduced some fifty years ago, the hard drive has had a significant impact on our lives, in a relatively short period of time. Even if you've never owned a computer, this data storage device has changed your life. Without it there would be no ATMs or credit cards; you would have to go to the library's card catalog for your research, and get in line at the travel agent to book a flight, get a hotel reservation or rent a car. Hard drives are the enabling technology behind everything from supermarket scanners to CAT scans and MRI technology. Businesses wouldn't have word processors or spreadsheets and you wouldn't have the quick and inexpensive ability to purchase the clothes you wear, the food you eat or the medicines you take.
So, you may ask, what's a terabyte and why is a one-terabyte hard drive so important?
A terabyte is approximately 1,000 gigabytes or 1 million megabytes. For you and me, it's enough storage capacity to hold a million books or half a million family photos. It's has also been a holy grail milestone of sorts for hard drive engineers who are continually developing new technologies that stretch the limits of what these incredible devices can do.
For the past 25 years or so, the amount of data that can be stored on a hard drive has increased while the cost per megabyte of storage continued to decrease. As a result, these ubiquitous devices, oftentimes working invisibly behind the scenes, have literally changed our day-to-day lives. If you enjoy listening to music on an MP3 player, you owe a bit of gratitude to the advances in hard drive technology that first made them possible. The same is true for video game players, cell phones, GPS systems, video streaming, online music, automobile navigation and maintenance systems, PDAs, laptop computers, digital video recorders, digital cameras, text messaging and e-mail, to name just a very few. As capacity and price improve, new life-changing applications follow. And one thing has been proven again and again' our thirst for quick access to more and more storage is insatiable.
Reaching the world's first one-terabyte milestone was no small feat. There was a ceiling of how much data could be placed on hard drive platters using current technology. Breaking that barrier required a new approach something called Perpendicular Magnetic Recording where the bits of data are aligned perpendicular to the plane of the disk, rather than lying down horizontal to the disk. By standing the data up side-by-side, more data can be stored in the same amount of space. For users, it means huge new possibilities. Consider this:
A one-terabyte hard drive can not only store about one million ebooks, but it can hold 333,000 high resolution photographs, 80 hours of home videos or 500 standard-definition movies. In fact, a one-terabyte drive can hold 250,000 MP3 songs, enough music to play nonstop for about two years without ever repeating a tune. The need for more storage capacity is already upon us with the high-definition (HD) TV programs and Hollywood movies becoming standard. HD video requires at least four times more space to store than standard-definition formats.
But that's what the one-terabyte drive can do now. The future is even more fun to imagine. You need only compare the graphics of today's video games with those of just five or six years ago to understand the implications that higher-capacity hard drives bring to next-generation home entertainment systems. In fact, the one-terabyte hard drive will be a pivotal catalyst for tomorrow's 'smart homes' where everything from lights and security alarms to movies and music will be digitized and networked together. The hard drive will become the epicenter for the entire household with quick any-room access to movies, games, photos and digital appliances of all kinds.
We're already seeing the idea of the 'personal era' of storage take hold. With nearly unlimited, inexpensive data storage, we will soon be able to record every detail of our day-to-day lives. Forget business cards. In the future, every conversation, every person we meet, every movie we see, letter we write, experience we have, will be easily recorded and saved for later recollection. That's where terabytes of storage become necessary. That's the kind of imaginative possibilities this milestone hard drive makes possible.
The first hard drive was introduced in 1956. Named RAMAC (for Random Access Method of Accounting Control), this marvel was about the size of a refrigerator, stored five megabytes of data and cost $35,000 a year to lease. In less than a lifetime, the digital storage capacity of hard drives has increased more than 200,000 times while the dimensions of the disk drive itself has shrunk from a closet-size machine to something that can easily fit into your pocket. The five megabytes of data that used to cost over a quarter of a million dollars to store for a year can now be safely archived for about 19 cents. What's even more fantastic is what this technological evolution has meant to our everyday lives. The world's first one-terabyte hard drive from Hitachi has opened the door to incredible new possibilities.
Larry Swezey is director, Consumer and Commercial HDD, for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
www.hitachigst.com
Larry Swezey, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Every so often milestones are announced that put into perspective how far we've come and the direction we're heading' they may even give us a peek into the future. The milestone announcement of the first digital camera for instance, reminded us of how much photography has evolved and it put film developers and traditional camera makers on notice that things were about to change. The same could be said for other milestone announcements: the first car, the first organ transplant, the first wireless phone.
On January 4, 2007, an announcement was made that marks another important milestone. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of visitors attending the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a group of very dedicated employees from Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced the first one-terabyte hard drive.
Before you let out a yawn, consider the following: since first being introduced some fifty years ago, the hard drive has had a significant impact on our lives, in a relatively short period of time. Even if you've never owned a computer, this data storage device has changed your life. Without it there would be no ATMs or credit cards; you would have to go to the library's card catalog for your research, and get in line at the travel agent to book a flight, get a hotel reservation or rent a car. Hard drives are the enabling technology behind everything from supermarket scanners to CAT scans and MRI technology. Businesses wouldn't have word processors or spreadsheets and you wouldn't have the quick and inexpensive ability to purchase the clothes you wear, the food you eat or the medicines you take.
So, you may ask, what's a terabyte and why is a one-terabyte hard drive so important?
A terabyte is approximately 1,000 gigabytes or 1 million megabytes. For you and me, it's enough storage capacity to hold a million books or half a million family photos. It's has also been a holy grail milestone of sorts for hard drive engineers who are continually developing new technologies that stretch the limits of what these incredible devices can do.
For the past 25 years or so, the amount of data that can be stored on a hard drive has increased while the cost per megabyte of storage continued to decrease. As a result, these ubiquitous devices, oftentimes working invisibly behind the scenes, have literally changed our day-to-day lives. If you enjoy listening to music on an MP3 player, you owe a bit of gratitude to the advances in hard drive technology that first made them possible. The same is true for video game players, cell phones, GPS systems, video streaming, online music, automobile navigation and maintenance systems, PDAs, laptop computers, digital video recorders, digital cameras, text messaging and e-mail, to name just a very few. As capacity and price improve, new life-changing applications follow. And one thing has been proven again and again' our thirst for quick access to more and more storage is insatiable.
Reaching the world's first one-terabyte milestone was no small feat. There was a ceiling of how much data could be placed on hard drive platters using current technology. Breaking that barrier required a new approach something called Perpendicular Magnetic Recording where the bits of data are aligned perpendicular to the plane of the disk, rather than lying down horizontal to the disk. By standing the data up side-by-side, more data can be stored in the same amount of space. For users, it means huge new possibilities. Consider this:
A one-terabyte hard drive can not only store about one million ebooks, but it can hold 333,000 high resolution photographs, 80 hours of home videos or 500 standard-definition movies. In fact, a one-terabyte drive can hold 250,000 MP3 songs, enough music to play nonstop for about two years without ever repeating a tune. The need for more storage capacity is already upon us with the high-definition (HD) TV programs and Hollywood movies becoming standard. HD video requires at least four times more space to store than standard-definition formats.
But that's what the one-terabyte drive can do now. The future is even more fun to imagine. You need only compare the graphics of today's video games with those of just five or six years ago to understand the implications that higher-capacity hard drives bring to next-generation home entertainment systems. In fact, the one-terabyte hard drive will be a pivotal catalyst for tomorrow's 'smart homes' where everything from lights and security alarms to movies and music will be digitized and networked together. The hard drive will become the epicenter for the entire household with quick any-room access to movies, games, photos and digital appliances of all kinds.
We're already seeing the idea of the 'personal era' of storage take hold. With nearly unlimited, inexpensive data storage, we will soon be able to record every detail of our day-to-day lives. Forget business cards. In the future, every conversation, every person we meet, every movie we see, letter we write, experience we have, will be easily recorded and saved for later recollection. That's where terabytes of storage become necessary. That's the kind of imaginative possibilities this milestone hard drive makes possible.
The first hard drive was introduced in 1956. Named RAMAC (for Random Access Method of Accounting Control), this marvel was about the size of a refrigerator, stored five megabytes of data and cost $35,000 a year to lease. In less than a lifetime, the digital storage capacity of hard drives has increased more than 200,000 times while the dimensions of the disk drive itself has shrunk from a closet-size machine to something that can easily fit into your pocket. The five megabytes of data that used to cost over a quarter of a million dollars to store for a year can now be safely archived for about 19 cents. What's even more fantastic is what this technological evolution has meant to our everyday lives. The world's first one-terabyte hard drive from Hitachi has opened the door to incredible new possibilities.
Larry Swezey is director, Consumer and Commercial HDD, for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
www.hitachigst.com
Larry Swezey, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
2008 forecast: creating a dynamic IT infrastructure with grid storage
Today's IT organization is getting squeezed from all directions. To support more data, storage environments continue to grow and become more complex to manage. Tighter controls on data access and management, increased compliance regulations, e-discovery, and corporate governance add to the complexity. Businesses are demanding improved services like higher availability levels. IT is also being asked to contain their spending while data continues to grow at alarming rates.
These challenges have taken their toll--IT today is bogged down with mundane, tactical tasks and has little time to focus on providing a dynamic, responsive IT service that creates strategic advantages and propels a business forward.
The business impact of these challenges is driving the advent of next-generation dynamic storage solutions that offer enhanced flexibility and intelligence to leverage resources for greater efficiency and adaptability, while reducing complexity and cost. Grid storage is a new architecture designed to address these challenges.
Grid storage architectures have evolved since the initial concepts of 2004. Today's grid storage provides a community of smart nodes cooperating to provide a set of integrated data management services. Capabilities include data de-duplication (dedup), automated management, true continuous availability, and near limitless scalability, which eliminate complexity and cost, enabling IT to manage information and not just storage infrastructure.
These challenges have taken their toll--IT today is bogged down with mundane, tactical tasks and has little time to focus on providing a dynamic, responsive IT service that creates strategic advantages and propels a business forward.
The business impact of these challenges is driving the advent of next-generation dynamic storage solutions that offer enhanced flexibility and intelligence to leverage resources for greater efficiency and adaptability, while reducing complexity and cost. Grid storage is a new architecture designed to address these challenges.
Grid storage architectures have evolved since the initial concepts of 2004. Today's grid storage provides a community of smart nodes cooperating to provide a set of integrated data management services. Capabilities include data de-duplication (dedup), automated management, true continuous availability, and near limitless scalability, which eliminate complexity and cost, enabling IT to manage information and not just storage infrastructure.
Karen Dutch
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BRZ/is_2008_Wntr/ai_n31214403/7 Ways Facebook, Microsoft Can Partner Beyond Skype
Facebook said Wednesday it will add Skype to its menu of services. The VoIP specialist, of course, falls under Microsoft’s domain once Redmond's $8.5 billion deal to purchase the company closes. But Internet calling is just one area where collaboration between Microsoft and Facebook makes sense--especially if both want to continue their dominance in software and social networking. Apple is mounting a big challenge to Microsoft in the former, and Google is hot on Facebook's heels in the latter. Here's a look at some other opportunities the two tech behemoths could jointly exploit.
1. Enterprise social networking: Businesses for the past couple of years have been toying with Facebook-like networks to ease collaboration and communication between employees, but it hasn’t caught on. IBM, Jive, Microsoft itself, and others offer business-oriented social platforms, but none has the brilliantly intuitive interface that’s drawn 750 million people from around the world to Facebook. Microsoft could adapt a version of that UI for the enterprise, bundle it with Office, and marry it to its administrative and security tools. Firewalls could be established between workers' business and personal Facebook presences. It's a scenario that could see social networking finally take off in the enterprise. 2. Search: What would the above scenario cost Microsoft? Perhaps nothing, or little, if, in exchange for a Facebook UI license, it shared its Bing search engine with Facebook. Facebook's lack of a proper Internet search tool is an Achilles heel that could give Google's new Google+ social network an opening. Facebook needs search. For Microsoft, seeding Facebook pages with Bing could help it cut into Google's search dominance faster than it ever could on its own. A revenue sharing deal for paid search listings along the lines of Microsoft's existing agreement with Yahoo could work for both parties. 3. Web Apps: Need to quickly share a document with a friend or colleague? The ability to launch, edit, and collaborate on files directly from within Facebook would add a whole new level of functionality to the site for everyone from softball captains to sales managers. There's already word that Google Apps is coming to Google+, so Facebook needs to respond. Microsoft's Office Web Apps suite, which comprises lite, cloud-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote, would be a perfect fit.
4. Streaming content: Microsoft has a trove of movies, music, TV shows, and other licensed content available for streaming through its Xbox Live service and other paid outlets. Facebook has none. See a fit? Microsoft's problem is that, while its content is just as good as Apple's (in many cases it's exactly the same), it lacks Apple's distribution clout, which comes mostly by virtue of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. But for more and more people, the first destination when you fire up your iPhone is Facebook. Streaming content from Microsoft would give Facebook users one less reason to jump to sites like Hulu and Netflix.
5. Games: Facebookers love games, Microsoft has lots of them. Since the debut of Windows Phone last year, Microsoft Game Studios has produced a slew of mobile-optimized titles in its own XNA format. Most Facebook games run in Flash, but it’s hard to see why Facebook could not provide support for XNA. XNA on Facebook would allow developers to write once for the Xbox, Windows Phone, and the world’s biggest social network--a powerful trio that could be irresistible to developers currently wedded to Apple's App Store.
6. News: By virtue of its stake in MSNBC and licensing deals with other NBC properties, Microsoft compiles and curates a rich cache of real-time news and information. And Facebook’s right-hand sidebar has a lot of open real estate that's just begging for customized news feeds. Again, it's a lock that Google+ will integrate Google News, so Facebook needs an answer.
7. Merger? With all the potential synergies, should Microsoft attempt to acquire Facebook outright? Yes. The theme through all of the above is the fact that Microsoft has a wealth of first-rate back-end platforms and services, and a bunch of crappy, consumer unfriendly front ends. Just look at the mess that is WonderWall (MSN's celebrity news site.) And MSN? Doesn't even crack the Web's top ten, according to the traffic watchers at Alexa. But Facebook trails only Google as the world's most frequently visited site.
Microsoft tacitly acknowledged its weakness in portals when it made a pitch for Yahoo two years ago. The proposed deal fell victim to personality conflicts between Steve Ballmer and then-chief Yahoo Jerry Yang, as well as some notable shareholder resistance. Its failure should be seen now by Redmond as an opportunity. Facebook would be a far more valuable asset, one that could be a Google killer, if combined with the right assets. Microsoft has them.
A Microsoft-Facebook tie-up would also yield a nice symmetry. Ballmer likely has less than a decade to go atop Microsoft. And Mark Zuckerberg, widely hailed as this millennium's Bill Gates, could step into the role after a transition period. He is the sort of visionary Microsoft has sorely lacked since the real Bill Gates faded into the role of disinterested chairman.
How much is Facebook worth? In 2007, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in the company for $240 million. That valued the site at $15 billion in total. Since then, Facebook has cemented its status as what pundits called the world's "social operating system." It's easily worth $60 billion today. Microsoft is one of the few companies around that wouldn’t recoil at that price tag. It has $50 billion in cash and equivalents on hand right now. It could put a good chunk of that towards the transaction and finance the rest through the investment banks. The deal could work--Microsoft should take a shot.
IT is caught in a squeeze between requests for new applications, services, and device support and demands from upper management to keep budgets lean, staffing light, and operations tight. These are irreconcilable objectives as long as we spend the vast majority of our resources on legacy services.
By Paul McDougall InformationWeek
July 07, 2011 05:12 PM
July 07, 2011 05:12 PM
Information Technology for Sports Management
Introduction
This article will address the topic of information technology for sports management and will attempt to provide an overview of how information technology (called IT) is changing the nature of management practices in sport. The discussion of IT applications in the profession can be done in a few broad areas:
1st How the tools of today's "technological revolution" can be applied to the administration of sport.
2nd How developments such as the Internet and world wide web help in specific management functions such as training and marketing
3rd How e-commerce can make participation in sports more available through lower priced equipment and lastly,
4th The digital divide: and underlying condition that keeps some from participating fully in the benefits in the IT revolution.
The Technological Revolution
We are living in the midst of one of those very unusual occurrences that come along once every few generations: a society wide paradigm shift. The close of the last millennium has seen a fundamental change that is moving society the age of industry to the age of information. The currency in this new society that is being formed is information and the medium of exchange is called IT (and sometimes computer technology - CT). IT is simply the tools and methods used for the identification, organization and manipulation of facts that we call data. IT has become the engine that is driving all sectors of today's economy be it industry, government, education or indeed, sports.
The most important piece of equipment that lies at the heart of the whole IT process is the computer. The computer and the software that it runs is an essential element in the new societal paradigm and it is a key to success for the modern sports manager. It is THE piece of equipment that allows the sports administrator to maximize the return on scarce resources whether this is people, facilities and equipment or finances. In turn, it is also perhaps the single most important tool to the sports administrator to extend the reach of sport and recreational programming to as many potential participants as possible.
Just as money has been the currency and a source of power in the old paradigm, information is the currency and a source of power in the new paradigm. No where is the old saying "that knowledge is power" more true than in a society where information or data is the force that drives the new economy. The secret to managing knowledge and information is in the development and maintenance of computer databases.
A database is nothing more than an organized collection of common records that can be searched, accessed and modified. Database software is very widespread as most standard office computer software packages will typically have a simple database program in addition to word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications.
There is, however, a far more powerful and useful kind of database for sport managers than the one that comes in the standard software suite: the relational database. A relational database is a data management system that stores information in a series of tables consisting of rows and columns of data. When the operator conducts a search, a relational database allows the individual to match data from one table with data from a second to produce a third table or a report.
An illustrative example is that of an individual charged with overseeing a complex sports competition, the details of which have been entered into a relational database. The time for a scheduled event can be pulled from one table, a roster that has the names of qualified referees who can officiate the event from another table, their availability from a third table resulting in a report that lists all of the personnel who can undertake the officiating task at the appointed place at the appointed time. This task which could take hours of manual manipulation from paper records can be done in a fraction of the time from digital records. Similar event management software can assist the sports manager with a myriad of other tasks associated with the competition ranging from facility scheduling, equipment set up and knock-down, or even ordering soft drinks for the concession stand.
From the foregoing the value of using IT tools can be readily seen for the organization of a competition. These tools are even more important for the day-to-day operation of the sport organization as can be seen by the kinds of sport program information that can be contained within these databases:
First are athlete specific information such as team rosters that include biographic information including name, sex, age, contact information and even clothing sizes for team uniforms. The same database may also contain details on medical conditions, performance history, or other participation characteristics of the athletes.
Another common use is the development of rosters of program support personnel such as officials, timekeepers, drivers, or medical staff. Aside from details such as their addresses, a database of this type might also contain information about availability and reliability. For example, do they actually show up when they volunteer?
Money is always an issue for today's sport management professional. Databases are particularly useful for tracking donors or potential donors whether and they contribute money or in-kind services. In addition to the expected biographic information will be other keys to successful fund rasing such as the source of their motivation or affiliation and the frequency with which they give.
Databases are also essential for other types of administrative information. Examples include accounting and business records, employee files, equipment inventories or facility maintenance records. The organizational marketing information system (MIS) is also typically a database program in which are tracked information such as season ticket sales, gate receipts or merchandising sales. It is particularly useful if different software applications interface with each other seamlessly which is to say, "do the programs talk to each other?" Can, for example, the data entered in the MIS resulting from ticket sales be imported directly to the accounting program?
To be effective, databases can and should be regularly updated to record changes. Bear in mind that the passage of time presents a more comprehensive picture of most activities and the ability to record change and make sense of it is essential for long term survival. Further, there is nothing so constant as change, particularly in sports organizations, and a well thought out and maintained database is a great way to develop and maintain an "institutional memory"; a record of those changes and the impact they have had on the organization.
As great as databases are for effective sport program management, the real power of information technology comes when individual computers are tied together through the medium of a network. This is truly a case where there are synergies created as in 2 + 2 = 6. A computer network simply is the hardware and software required to connect two or more machines together so to allow the sharing of data and other resources. Most larger enterprises, use computer networks to link together their operatives in a common computing environment. All of the permeations and configurations available to the sports administrator are clearly beyond the scope of this presentation except to note that the most common configuration of these kinds of networks are of the client - server variety. This type of network is has a main server that houses most of the information and database files. The individual operatives access the server through their desktop terminals or workstations which are called clients.
Aside from sharing data, a network can share other resources as well. For example, a network can have any number of computers sharing a very good quality printer instead of a using a number of mediocre workstation printers. A powerful server can substantially increase computing speed and effectiveness throughout an organization. So what are the key issues to be addressed when considering the acquisition and implementation of an organizational IT system?
First and foremost, once the decision is made to introduce IT systems to the organization, the table of organization and staffing patterns will need to change. The new IT system cannot simply be "layered on" to the existing structure; it must be imbedded into the organizational processes. The adoption of a IT strategy and associated changes in procedures usually means extensive training for the staff.
The next consideration is that of hardware. What is the computer system configuration and computing capacity that the organization will need? Capacity should not be underestimated as a relational database can consume huge amounts of memory. So do other strategies that enhance organizational effectiveness such as moving data files off the hard drives of individual work stations and onto a file server on a computer network.
Another crucial decision revolves around operating software. Standard vendor prepared software packages are usually developed on the basis of the lowest common denominator for a group of potential clients. It is not uncommon that only about 80% of an organization's needs are met by an off-the-shelf product. So the sport administrator is left with the choice of writing their own software programs or adapting organizational operating procedures to some degree around the software package. The former can be hugely time consuming, very expensive and the end result is not always assured. Generally, the more extensive the modification required for a software product, the more expensive the product becomes and the more difficult it will be to accommodate software upgrades from the vendor.
The Internet
It is important to note that computer networks need not be limited to a single site or facility. Wide Area Networks (WANs) can link together sports administrators located throughout a country. For example, all of the regional offices of a national sports governing body such as the National Football Association can be linked together regardless of their geographic location. All of the operatives so linked can share administrative and programming information and communicate with each other cheaply and efficiently through the medium of e-mail.
The computer network with which the public is most familiar is the Internet and the World - Wide - Web, known simply as "the Web", is what most people think of when we say the "the Internet". While the Internet has been around for decades going all the way back to ARPAnet in the 1960s, the Web is a comparatively new innovation first introduced in the mid 1990s. It is a digital medium which presents information in text, audio and graphics in a simple hyper-text computer language readable by a browser. This medium has simply exploded and today there are more than 15 million web addresses called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), many with hundreds of individual pages on their sites. Thousands or applications for new URLs are received every week.
The ways that the Web has changed society are almost too numerous to mention. Suffice to say it has become an extremely important medium of communication, education and commerce and its importance in these areas will only continue to grow in the future. In terms of communication, for example, USA Today which is the closest thing a national newspaper in America, gets more than three million visits per day. Some 60% of these visits are to its sports pages. In terms of education, the concept of "distributed learning" or "distance education" gains more adherents with every passing day. Through the U.S. Sports Academy, for example, one can do the entire course of study for an accredited Master of Sport Science degree through the Web without leaving their home. The same possibilities exist at the undergraduate level through the International Sports Academy.
But most significant at this juncture is the marketing and commerce applications of the web. There are virtually no professional sports teams in the United States that do not have a Website and most are linked together through networks of Websites coordinated through the various league offices. Just how tight these linkages are is driven in part by agreements between the league teams on activities such as revenue sharing for media broadcasting rights and merchandise sales.
The Web is currently used by professional sports teams in ways that the developers of this technology never envisioned. For example, there are no English language radio broadcasts in Montreal for the Montreal Expos professional baseball team. Fans wanting hear the play-by-play in English can only do so by calling up the team's Website and listen to it coming across as an audio feed. Another example of how deeply the Internet has penetrated professional sports is how some pro hockey teams now require their players to have e-mail addresses as a means to interact with both the team administration and their fans.
These examples lie at the heart of how the Internet will affect sports in the future: through the changing of the way that the sports fan will consume the sport product. Where in its infancy sport marketing did not extend much beyond putting out a sign on the side walk saying "Game Today", now sports teams have well developed and extensive Websites to more effectively market to their customers. The trend in this regard is also clear. What will emerge is networks of teams and users bound together by a common interest and driven in part by advances in information technology.
These developments are not limited to the upper end of the sports hierarchy. Compared to the extremely high cost of traditional television broadcast, the comparatively low cost of "webcasting" will bring to sports fans events that could never before be seen on traditional broadcast media. A simple example of how this can occur is an annual sailboat race from Mobile to Tampico across the Gulf of Mexico. Last summer the skipper of a local boat participating in the event took photos every four hours with a digital camera of the race activities and uplinked them by a satellite phone to his own website. Thus his friends in the community, or anyone else in the world who stumbled onto the website, could participate in this event as they never could before. Sports events of a distinctly local flavor without the mass appeal that make them economical for television broadcast can so be distributed through the web to anyone with an interest. The web is not constrained by the limited availability of broadcast channels and high production costs. And while bandwidth is currently an issue for the web, this will resolve itself in the near future with the introduction of broadband technologies.
E-Commerce
It is also appropriate to briefly examine how the web will change the sale and distribution of sporting goods which is central to running sport programs. The relative cost for sports equipment can be an issue for the profession, particularly in terms of trying to broaden the appeal of sport to the greatest number of participants. E-commerce through the Internet holds the potential for containing costs for sports equipment as illustrated by the following example.
In the traditional model of manufacture and distribution through a sporting goods store, it is not uncommon for a tennis racquet which cost $40 to manufacture to be marked up as much as 300 to 400% to as much as $160 as it moves through various wholesalers and retailers in the distribution chain to a tennis player. With an e-commerce arrangement whereby the manufacturer can reach the player directly without going through middlemen, the mark-up in distribution can be reduced to as little as 50% of the traditional retail price resulting in a sale price to the end user of about $80. Very simply, the more middle men in a distribution chain, the greater the benefit derived to the end user from using e-commerce distribution.
E-commerce is well on its way to becoming a force in the world economy as it serves to remove barriers both natural and artificial. The barriers that will vanish include those of time and space as well as national borders both physical and ideological. That this will occur is underscored by the fact that this year e-commerce will employ more than 2 million people and create a turnover in excess of $500 billion. By next year, the turn over is expected to pass $1 trillion.
The Digital Divide
In closing I would be remiss if I didn't call attention to one important problem: technological tools can be expensive, which has resulted in what we call in the United States the "Digital Divide". In the U.S., approximately 60% of American adults are connected to the Internet and are on-line. These users are largely from the upper and middle class and have the financial wherewithal to purchase computers and Internet services. It is a matter of great concern that the very people who stand to benefit the most from economies to be realized through information technology as outlined earlier in my discussion on e-commerce are the ones least able to afford it. It is the economically disadvantaged that are currently being left out of the IT revolution.
This Digital Divide also transcends national borders. While 60% of American adults are connected to the Internet, only about 5% of the global population can make that claim. Some areas, Africa for example, are almost totally disconnected and can only be considered disadvantaged as a result. Herein lies the challenge for the future.
IT applications in sports management is dramatically changing the way that we do business. Thinking through how we can use this kind of equipment and these tools greatly enhances outcomes. The bottom line is that these IT tools are rapidly becoming a necessity for the sports administrator at whatever level in the sports hierarchy they are working.
This article will address the topic of information technology for sports management and will attempt to provide an overview of how information technology (called IT) is changing the nature of management practices in sport. The discussion of IT applications in the profession can be done in a few broad areas:
1st How the tools of today's "technological revolution" can be applied to the administration of sport.
2nd How developments such as the Internet and world wide web help in specific management functions such as training and marketing
3rd How e-commerce can make participation in sports more available through lower priced equipment and lastly,
4th The digital divide: and underlying condition that keeps some from participating fully in the benefits in the IT revolution.
The Technological Revolution
We are living in the midst of one of those very unusual occurrences that come along once every few generations: a society wide paradigm shift. The close of the last millennium has seen a fundamental change that is moving society the age of industry to the age of information. The currency in this new society that is being formed is information and the medium of exchange is called IT (and sometimes computer technology - CT). IT is simply the tools and methods used for the identification, organization and manipulation of facts that we call data. IT has become the engine that is driving all sectors of today's economy be it industry, government, education or indeed, sports.
The most important piece of equipment that lies at the heart of the whole IT process is the computer. The computer and the software that it runs is an essential element in the new societal paradigm and it is a key to success for the modern sports manager. It is THE piece of equipment that allows the sports administrator to maximize the return on scarce resources whether this is people, facilities and equipment or finances. In turn, it is also perhaps the single most important tool to the sports administrator to extend the reach of sport and recreational programming to as many potential participants as possible.
Just as money has been the currency and a source of power in the old paradigm, information is the currency and a source of power in the new paradigm. No where is the old saying "that knowledge is power" more true than in a society where information or data is the force that drives the new economy. The secret to managing knowledge and information is in the development and maintenance of computer databases.
A database is nothing more than an organized collection of common records that can be searched, accessed and modified. Database software is very widespread as most standard office computer software packages will typically have a simple database program in addition to word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications.
There is, however, a far more powerful and useful kind of database for sport managers than the one that comes in the standard software suite: the relational database. A relational database is a data management system that stores information in a series of tables consisting of rows and columns of data. When the operator conducts a search, a relational database allows the individual to match data from one table with data from a second to produce a third table or a report.
An illustrative example is that of an individual charged with overseeing a complex sports competition, the details of which have been entered into a relational database. The time for a scheduled event can be pulled from one table, a roster that has the names of qualified referees who can officiate the event from another table, their availability from a third table resulting in a report that lists all of the personnel who can undertake the officiating task at the appointed place at the appointed time. This task which could take hours of manual manipulation from paper records can be done in a fraction of the time from digital records. Similar event management software can assist the sports manager with a myriad of other tasks associated with the competition ranging from facility scheduling, equipment set up and knock-down, or even ordering soft drinks for the concession stand.
From the foregoing the value of using IT tools can be readily seen for the organization of a competition. These tools are even more important for the day-to-day operation of the sport organization as can be seen by the kinds of sport program information that can be contained within these databases:
First are athlete specific information such as team rosters that include biographic information including name, sex, age, contact information and even clothing sizes for team uniforms. The same database may also contain details on medical conditions, performance history, or other participation characteristics of the athletes.
Another common use is the development of rosters of program support personnel such as officials, timekeepers, drivers, or medical staff. Aside from details such as their addresses, a database of this type might also contain information about availability and reliability. For example, do they actually show up when they volunteer?
Money is always an issue for today's sport management professional. Databases are particularly useful for tracking donors or potential donors whether and they contribute money or in-kind services. In addition to the expected biographic information will be other keys to successful fund rasing such as the source of their motivation or affiliation and the frequency with which they give.
Databases are also essential for other types of administrative information. Examples include accounting and business records, employee files, equipment inventories or facility maintenance records. The organizational marketing information system (MIS) is also typically a database program in which are tracked information such as season ticket sales, gate receipts or merchandising sales. It is particularly useful if different software applications interface with each other seamlessly which is to say, "do the programs talk to each other?" Can, for example, the data entered in the MIS resulting from ticket sales be imported directly to the accounting program?
To be effective, databases can and should be regularly updated to record changes. Bear in mind that the passage of time presents a more comprehensive picture of most activities and the ability to record change and make sense of it is essential for long term survival. Further, there is nothing so constant as change, particularly in sports organizations, and a well thought out and maintained database is a great way to develop and maintain an "institutional memory"; a record of those changes and the impact they have had on the organization.
As great as databases are for effective sport program management, the real power of information technology comes when individual computers are tied together through the medium of a network. This is truly a case where there are synergies created as in 2 + 2 = 6. A computer network simply is the hardware and software required to connect two or more machines together so to allow the sharing of data and other resources. Most larger enterprises, use computer networks to link together their operatives in a common computing environment. All of the permeations and configurations available to the sports administrator are clearly beyond the scope of this presentation except to note that the most common configuration of these kinds of networks are of the client - server variety. This type of network is has a main server that houses most of the information and database files. The individual operatives access the server through their desktop terminals or workstations which are called clients.
Aside from sharing data, a network can share other resources as well. For example, a network can have any number of computers sharing a very good quality printer instead of a using a number of mediocre workstation printers. A powerful server can substantially increase computing speed and effectiveness throughout an organization. So what are the key issues to be addressed when considering the acquisition and implementation of an organizational IT system?
First and foremost, once the decision is made to introduce IT systems to the organization, the table of organization and staffing patterns will need to change. The new IT system cannot simply be "layered on" to the existing structure; it must be imbedded into the organizational processes. The adoption of a IT strategy and associated changes in procedures usually means extensive training for the staff.
The next consideration is that of hardware. What is the computer system configuration and computing capacity that the organization will need? Capacity should not be underestimated as a relational database can consume huge amounts of memory. So do other strategies that enhance organizational effectiveness such as moving data files off the hard drives of individual work stations and onto a file server on a computer network.
Another crucial decision revolves around operating software. Standard vendor prepared software packages are usually developed on the basis of the lowest common denominator for a group of potential clients. It is not uncommon that only about 80% of an organization's needs are met by an off-the-shelf product. So the sport administrator is left with the choice of writing their own software programs or adapting organizational operating procedures to some degree around the software package. The former can be hugely time consuming, very expensive and the end result is not always assured. Generally, the more extensive the modification required for a software product, the more expensive the product becomes and the more difficult it will be to accommodate software upgrades from the vendor.
The Internet
It is important to note that computer networks need not be limited to a single site or facility. Wide Area Networks (WANs) can link together sports administrators located throughout a country. For example, all of the regional offices of a national sports governing body such as the National Football Association can be linked together regardless of their geographic location. All of the operatives so linked can share administrative and programming information and communicate with each other cheaply and efficiently through the medium of e-mail.
The computer network with which the public is most familiar is the Internet and the World - Wide - Web, known simply as "the Web", is what most people think of when we say the "the Internet". While the Internet has been around for decades going all the way back to ARPAnet in the 1960s, the Web is a comparatively new innovation first introduced in the mid 1990s. It is a digital medium which presents information in text, audio and graphics in a simple hyper-text computer language readable by a browser. This medium has simply exploded and today there are more than 15 million web addresses called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), many with hundreds of individual pages on their sites. Thousands or applications for new URLs are received every week.
The ways that the Web has changed society are almost too numerous to mention. Suffice to say it has become an extremely important medium of communication, education and commerce and its importance in these areas will only continue to grow in the future. In terms of communication, for example, USA Today which is the closest thing a national newspaper in America, gets more than three million visits per day. Some 60% of these visits are to its sports pages. In terms of education, the concept of "distributed learning" or "distance education" gains more adherents with every passing day. Through the U.S. Sports Academy, for example, one can do the entire course of study for an accredited Master of Sport Science degree through the Web without leaving their home. The same possibilities exist at the undergraduate level through the International Sports Academy.
But most significant at this juncture is the marketing and commerce applications of the web. There are virtually no professional sports teams in the United States that do not have a Website and most are linked together through networks of Websites coordinated through the various league offices. Just how tight these linkages are is driven in part by agreements between the league teams on activities such as revenue sharing for media broadcasting rights and merchandise sales.
The Web is currently used by professional sports teams in ways that the developers of this technology never envisioned. For example, there are no English language radio broadcasts in Montreal for the Montreal Expos professional baseball team. Fans wanting hear the play-by-play in English can only do so by calling up the team's Website and listen to it coming across as an audio feed. Another example of how deeply the Internet has penetrated professional sports is how some pro hockey teams now require their players to have e-mail addresses as a means to interact with both the team administration and their fans.
These examples lie at the heart of how the Internet will affect sports in the future: through the changing of the way that the sports fan will consume the sport product. Where in its infancy sport marketing did not extend much beyond putting out a sign on the side walk saying "Game Today", now sports teams have well developed and extensive Websites to more effectively market to their customers. The trend in this regard is also clear. What will emerge is networks of teams and users bound together by a common interest and driven in part by advances in information technology.
These developments are not limited to the upper end of the sports hierarchy. Compared to the extremely high cost of traditional television broadcast, the comparatively low cost of "webcasting" will bring to sports fans events that could never before be seen on traditional broadcast media. A simple example of how this can occur is an annual sailboat race from Mobile to Tampico across the Gulf of Mexico. Last summer the skipper of a local boat participating in the event took photos every four hours with a digital camera of the race activities and uplinked them by a satellite phone to his own website. Thus his friends in the community, or anyone else in the world who stumbled onto the website, could participate in this event as they never could before. Sports events of a distinctly local flavor without the mass appeal that make them economical for television broadcast can so be distributed through the web to anyone with an interest. The web is not constrained by the limited availability of broadcast channels and high production costs. And while bandwidth is currently an issue for the web, this will resolve itself in the near future with the introduction of broadband technologies.
E-Commerce
It is also appropriate to briefly examine how the web will change the sale and distribution of sporting goods which is central to running sport programs. The relative cost for sports equipment can be an issue for the profession, particularly in terms of trying to broaden the appeal of sport to the greatest number of participants. E-commerce through the Internet holds the potential for containing costs for sports equipment as illustrated by the following example.
In the traditional model of manufacture and distribution through a sporting goods store, it is not uncommon for a tennis racquet which cost $40 to manufacture to be marked up as much as 300 to 400% to as much as $160 as it moves through various wholesalers and retailers in the distribution chain to a tennis player. With an e-commerce arrangement whereby the manufacturer can reach the player directly without going through middlemen, the mark-up in distribution can be reduced to as little as 50% of the traditional retail price resulting in a sale price to the end user of about $80. Very simply, the more middle men in a distribution chain, the greater the benefit derived to the end user from using e-commerce distribution.
E-commerce is well on its way to becoming a force in the world economy as it serves to remove barriers both natural and artificial. The barriers that will vanish include those of time and space as well as national borders both physical and ideological. That this will occur is underscored by the fact that this year e-commerce will employ more than 2 million people and create a turnover in excess of $500 billion. By next year, the turn over is expected to pass $1 trillion.
The Digital Divide
In closing I would be remiss if I didn't call attention to one important problem: technological tools can be expensive, which has resulted in what we call in the United States the "Digital Divide". In the U.S., approximately 60% of American adults are connected to the Internet and are on-line. These users are largely from the upper and middle class and have the financial wherewithal to purchase computers and Internet services. It is a matter of great concern that the very people who stand to benefit the most from economies to be realized through information technology as outlined earlier in my discussion on e-commerce are the ones least able to afford it. It is the economically disadvantaged that are currently being left out of the IT revolution.
This Digital Divide also transcends national borders. While 60% of American adults are connected to the Internet, only about 5% of the global population can make that claim. Some areas, Africa for example, are almost totally disconnected and can only be considered disadvantaged as a result. Herein lies the challenge for the future.
IT applications in sports management is dramatically changing the way that we do business. Thinking through how we can use this kind of equipment and these tools greatly enhances outcomes. The bottom line is that these IT tools are rapidly becoming a necessity for the sports administrator at whatever level in the sports hierarchy they are working.
Submitted by: Dr. T.J. Rosandich
Pool IT resources, Asean urged
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has proposed to Asean telecommunications and information technology ministers (Telmin) to consider pooling their resources to improve pan-Asean connectivity.
By doing so, the cost of bandwidth in Asean could be lowered, he said.
"If we are able to accomplish this, inter-Asean connectivity will be greatly improved as will opportunities for enhancing Asean-originated content and value creation for Asean products and services.
"Much of our connectivity still routes to the US and Europe before reaching an Asean country," he said at the opening of the 10th Telmin meeting yesterday.
At the same time, Najib urged Telmin to develop a comprehensive plan for Asean to address cyber threats and cyber criminals, who were getting more sophisticated and posed great risks to any country and government.
"Steps must be taken to improve our capacity in dealing with such threats or they will cause irreparable damage to economies and our nations," he added.
The prime minister reminded Asean members not to forget their cultural roots and values as they embraced developments in ICT in the face of the onslaught of modernity and globalisation.
"We should never, in the name of development, compromise our values."
On ICT's contribution to a nation's economy, Najib said it played a vital role as a catalyst for sustainable development and growth.
Studies have shown that every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration boosts gross domestic product by an average of 1.3 per cent and a 10 per cent increase in mobile tele-density results in a 0.7 per cent increase in GDP.
"Having said that, I must add that a mere increase in broadband penetration or cellular density in itself would not guarantee economic growth and an improved well-being of our people.
"These advancements in communications infrastructure must be coupled with real and concrete applications, which will increase productivity and economic output.
"New ways of providing applications and services should be explored and initiated across all sectors of the economy."
Today, more than 78 per cent of Asean citizens are using ICT in different facets of their lives. The sector employs nearly 12 million people and generates more than three per cent of Asean's GDP.
For Malaysia, Najib said the government had targeted an average of six per cent annual GDP growth through 2015 under the 10th Malaysia Plan, which had stated the central role of ICT in vaulting the country towards a high-income economy.
"I am pleased to share that our broadband penetration today is 55.6 per cent, surpassing our original target of 50 per cent by the end of last year.
"I am particularly proud that when I set the target in July 2007 in my capacity then as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on National High Speed Broadband, our penetration rate was hovering at 12.8 per cent," said Najib.
2011/01/13
By Azura Abas and Rozanna Latiff
news@nst.com.my
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2mix/Article/
By doing so, the cost of bandwidth in Asean could be lowered, he said.
"If we are able to accomplish this, inter-Asean connectivity will be greatly improved as will opportunities for enhancing Asean-originated content and value creation for Asean products and services.
"Much of our connectivity still routes to the US and Europe before reaching an Asean country," he said at the opening of the 10th Telmin meeting yesterday.
At the same time, Najib urged Telmin to develop a comprehensive plan for Asean to address cyber threats and cyber criminals, who were getting more sophisticated and posed great risks to any country and government.
"Steps must be taken to improve our capacity in dealing with such threats or they will cause irreparable damage to economies and our nations," he added.
The prime minister reminded Asean members not to forget their cultural roots and values as they embraced developments in ICT in the face of the onslaught of modernity and globalisation.
"We should never, in the name of development, compromise our values."
On ICT's contribution to a nation's economy, Najib said it played a vital role as a catalyst for sustainable development and growth.
Studies have shown that every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration boosts gross domestic product by an average of 1.3 per cent and a 10 per cent increase in mobile tele-density results in a 0.7 per cent increase in GDP.
"Having said that, I must add that a mere increase in broadband penetration or cellular density in itself would not guarantee economic growth and an improved well-being of our people.
"These advancements in communications infrastructure must be coupled with real and concrete applications, which will increase productivity and economic output.
"New ways of providing applications and services should be explored and initiated across all sectors of the economy."
Today, more than 78 per cent of Asean citizens are using ICT in different facets of their lives. The sector employs nearly 12 million people and generates more than three per cent of Asean's GDP.
For Malaysia, Najib said the government had targeted an average of six per cent annual GDP growth through 2015 under the 10th Malaysia Plan, which had stated the central role of ICT in vaulting the country towards a high-income economy.
"I am pleased to share that our broadband penetration today is 55.6 per cent, surpassing our original target of 50 per cent by the end of last year.
"I am particularly proud that when I set the target in July 2007 in my capacity then as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on National High Speed Broadband, our penetration rate was hovering at 12.8 per cent," said Najib.
2011/01/13
By Azura Abas and Rozanna Latiff
news@nst.com.my
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2mix/Article/
Asean launches ICT Masterplan 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) today launched a plan that will harness the potential of information and communication technology (ICT) in the region, to help in establishing an inclusive, vibrant and integrated Asean community.
The Asean ICT Masterplan 2015 is comprehensive and has specific actions and projects with clear targets and timelines in six strategic thrusts to be implemented in the next five years.
"It aims to deliver four key outcomes namely ICT as an engine of growth, recognition of Asean as global ICT hub, enhanced quality of life and contributions towards Asean integration," Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said.
Speaking to reporters on the final day of the Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur today, he said: "We (Asean ministers) welcome and invite all relevant stakeholders and parties to support and actively contribute to the implementation of actions and measures embodies in the masterplan."
Rais said the ministers have tasked their respective senior officials to review the existing ICT cooperation.
These include amongst others the Asean e-commerce database, international mobile data roaming charges and interoperability framework in Asean projects.
"The senior officials will also need to identify available funding sources to come up with the recommendations to ensure timely implementation of the masterplan for consideration at the ministers next meeting," he said.
The Asean ICT Masterplan 2015 is comprehensive and has specific actions and projects with clear targets and timelines in six strategic thrusts to be implemented in the next five years.
"It aims to deliver four key outcomes namely ICT as an engine of growth, recognition of Asean as global ICT hub, enhanced quality of life and contributions towards Asean integration," Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said.
Speaking to reporters on the final day of the Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur today, he said: "We (Asean ministers) welcome and invite all relevant stakeholders and parties to support and actively contribute to the implementation of actions and measures embodies in the masterplan."
Rais said the ministers have tasked their respective senior officials to review the existing ICT cooperation.
These include amongst others the Asean e-commerce database, international mobile data roaming charges and interoperability framework in Asean projects.
"The senior officials will also need to identify available funding sources to come up with the recommendations to ensure timely implementation of the masterplan for consideration at the ministers next meeting," he said.
2011/01/14
By Azlan Abu Bakar
alan@nstp.com.my
By Azlan Abu Bakar
alan@nstp.com.my
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/AseanlaunchesICTMasterplan2015/Article/
ICT to be prime mover in teaching process
PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday launched the Information, Technology and Communications in Education Policy which aims to make ICT the prime mover in the teaching and learning process.
He said the policy would be carried out through a centralised management programme to co-ordinate all ICT in education initiatives.
In ensuring its effectiveness, Muhyiddin said the new policy would be supported by four components, which include Third Party Outsourcing, Public-Private Partnership, the involvement of Communities of Practice as well as Extended Communities.
The policy is already in place in many developed countries and their benchmarking tool would also focus on eight main areas of education.
"These practices, which will be used as benchmarks, will ensure that all components of ICT in Malaysia's education system meet international standards.
"This policy, which is a continuation of the Smart School initia-tive, emphasises the use of technology as the tool to promote creati-vity, learning through cooperation, critical thinking and problem solving.
"It will merge and coordinate with all existing ICT initiatives, such as the SchoolNet, the Computer Laboratory, the EduWebTV, Access Centre and also other ICT initiatives which would be implemented in future with the aim of raising the performance of the students," said Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, after launching the policy here, yesterday.
Muhyiddin added that by using the policy as a source of reference and guidance, the implementation of all ICT programmes in the ministry would move towards a common goal, which was to raise student performance and ensure that every student had access to quality education.
"With the introduction of the policy, no ICT initiative under the ministry would be enforced separately from other initiatives, thus raising the efficiency of resource management and economy."
Also present were Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom, deputy secretary-general (management) Dr Rosli Mohamad and Multimedia Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.
By Farrah Naz Karim
farrah@nst.com.my
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/03bas/Article/
He said the policy would be carried out through a centralised management programme to co-ordinate all ICT in education initiatives.
In ensuring its effectiveness, Muhyiddin said the new policy would be supported by four components, which include Third Party Outsourcing, Public-Private Partnership, the involvement of Communities of Practice as well as Extended Communities.
The policy is already in place in many developed countries and their benchmarking tool would also focus on eight main areas of education.
"These practices, which will be used as benchmarks, will ensure that all components of ICT in Malaysia's education system meet international standards.
"This policy, which is a continuation of the Smart School initia-tive, emphasises the use of technology as the tool to promote creati-vity, learning through cooperation, critical thinking and problem solving.
"It will merge and coordinate with all existing ICT initiatives, such as the SchoolNet, the Computer Laboratory, the EduWebTV, Access Centre and also other ICT initiatives which would be implemented in future with the aim of raising the performance of the students," said Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, after launching the policy here, yesterday.
Muhyiddin added that by using the policy as a source of reference and guidance, the implementation of all ICT programmes in the ministry would move towards a common goal, which was to raise student performance and ensure that every student had access to quality education.
"With the introduction of the policy, no ICT initiative under the ministry would be enforced separately from other initiatives, thus raising the efficiency of resource management and economy."
Also present were Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom, deputy secretary-general (management) Dr Rosli Mohamad and Multimedia Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.
By Farrah Naz Karim
farrah@nst.com.my
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/03bas/Article/
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