This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 18, 2021 - January 24, 2021
NEWS
TIME makes major push into cloud computing via AVM Cloud acquisition
TIME dotCom Bhd has acquired a controlling stake in AVM Cloud Sdn Bhd, a leading private cloud computing provider.
The acquisition signal’s TIME’s efforts in turning cloud computing into its newest pillar of business, alongside fixed line services, global network connectivity and data centres. With the inclusion of AVM Cloud in the TIME family, the group now possesses a full spectrum of product offerings that can meet the needs of its enterprise customers across the region.
AVM Cloud is a homegrown brand that was founded by five Malaysian entrepreneurs and has grown to count itself as one of the leading VMware (virtualisation software) service providers in Southeast Asia and North Asia.
Over the past decade, AVM Cloud has established itself in the industry for its ability to compete with, and complement, global cloud service providers. The company now serves over 250 enterprise customers and its products range from private cloud offerings to system integration services via its wholly-owned subsidiary, Integrated Global Solutions Sdn Bhd.
Poptron securesUS$1 mil in seed funding
Poptron, a lifestyle social commerce platform headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, secured
US$1 million in funding from a Nasdaq-listed company to develop the platform’s version 2.0, expected to be up this month.
The fund will also be used to expand the team and begin operations in Singapore by 1Q2021. Poptron is aiming to fundraise the remaining US$375,000 from equity crowdfunding platform, pitchIN, by 1Q2021. It did not mention who funded it but Shin Associates, which acts as its legal adviser, is known to be one of its investors.
Launched on Sept 4, 2020, the e-commerce site offers a platform for microbrands that sell high-quality, natural and eco-friendly products or artisanal goods, connecting them with like-minded conscious consumers. Over 100 microbrands with more than 700 different types of product listings are available at the site, ranging from personal care, fashion items, arts and crafts, and pets necessities to home and living products.
The Serviceable Available Market for Poptron is about US$3.8 billion, and it aims to capture US$1.6 billion of the market with 600,000 microbrands by 2025.
Poptron claims to help sellers overcome key pain points in customer acquisition, business management and regional growth by handling everything from enquiries to shipping. It says consumers will be able to shop through a practical and intuitive user interface while tracking each delivery straight to their doorstep.
Malaysian integrated car e-commerce platform sets up its first technical institute
Carsome, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, established its first technical institute in Malaysia, Carsome Academy, this month. The academy offers technical education and guaranteed career opportunities to Malaysian youth.
Carsome Academy follows the National Dual Training System (NDTS) accredited by the Department of Skills Development under the Ministry of Human Resources. The training programmes comprise 30% theoretical lessons conducted at the academy and 70% industrial training at any of the local Carsome inspection centres.
According to Carsome co-founder and academy director Teoh Jiun Ee, this is the first car e-commerce platform to provide skillset courses and certification. The company aims to create a positive social impact in the local communities.
Students have to clock in 1,840 hours of industrial training to graduate. Carsome Academy also offers the widely-accredited Malaysian Skills Certificate (MSC) Level 3 in Motor Vehicle Inspection (Roadworthiness).
The academy will continue introducing new courses to create more all-rounded technical professionals in the automotive industry. It is also exploring opportunities to collaborate with automotive industry players to provide the optimum learning experience and practice arena, as well as career opportunities.
NTT collaborates with Tenaga’s GSPARX to focus on renewable energy solutions
NTT Ltd, a leading global technology services company, has partnered with GSPARX, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Bhd, to install a solar power panel within NTT’s data campus to support its power requirements and reduce its carbon footprint.
GSPARX will also build sheltered car parks that are equipped with solar panels at designated locations within NTT Cyberjaya’s premises. NTT expects to reduce its carbon footprint of up to 921 metric tons per year in line with its green initiative to promote the generation of sustainable energy.
Currently, electricity accounts for a significant share of NTT’s overall CO2 emissions. This is especially relevant in Malaysia where NTT continues to expand its data centre business.
“Our shift to solar power brings us a step closer towards addressing corporate environmental sustainability concerns to reduce our carbon footprint and CO2 emissions. We are proud to be the first global foreign ICT company to collaborate with Tenaga on this green project. We are very excited as this initiative has come in a very timely manner, as the new Cyberjaya 5 Data Center is scheduled to be available early this year,” says Henrick Choo, CEO Malaysia at NTT.
Construction is expected to commence in the first quarter this year, and the solar installations are expected to be fully operational by the third quarter.
PEOPLE MOVES
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief operating officer Datuk Ng Wan Peng resigned at the end of last year, after 22 years with the government agency. Her resignation was effective Dec 30, 2020.
She joined MDEC in 1998 (when it was still known as the Multimedia Development Corporation) after leaving Sapura Advanced Systems, where she was a programme manager, and was promoted to vice-president in 2003. She became chief operating officer in 2009.
MDEC CEO Surina Shukri, in announcing Ng’s departure in a message to MDEC staff, said she would be overseeing her responsibilities in the interim period and in the meantime, eCommerce (led by Song Hock Koon), Business Digital Adoption (led by Muhu Kamarapullai), Data Ecosystem Development (led by Dr Karl Ng) and Digital Infrastructure & Services (led by Wan Murdani) will be reporting directly to her.
Ng, who announced her departure from MDEC in a long post on Facebook, said she was often asked why MDEC overlaps with other agencies. “[But] we started those initiatives long before other agencies were established.”
She said MDEC has built a solid digital ecosystem in the past 20-odd years. “We have established a vibrant data cloud ecosystem, a good base for technology solutions and services, we have a solid talent development framework, a good environment to facilitate global talents’ foray into Malaysia to work or to start businesses, we have world-class business locations.
“We have laid the foundation for IP creation and management and we are the preferred location for GBS (global business services) [as well as] the leader in [the] creative content industry. We have established our fintech ecosystem, we have programmes to digitalise the businesses.
“So go on to soar high, work with the right people out there and there is no limit to what can be done,” she concluded.
THIS JUST IN
Nokia’s long-awaited new model is out
HMD Global has announced the Nokia 3.4, which comes with a powerful processor – the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 Mobile Platform. It is the first in its series to include a punch hole display front camera and a triple rear camera with an ultra-wide lens and AI imaging. It has a two-day battery life and comes with Android 10 OS and the Nokia smartphone Android promise of receiving three years of monthly security updates and two years of OS upgrades.
It is also good to look at, coming in three vibrant colours to reflect the natural beauty of the Nordics: Fjord (a cyan blue that shifts to purple), Dusk (a deep purple that shifts into a golden red tone) and Charcoal (a classic grey with subtle golden tints).
Plus, the Nokia 3.4 can help you and your family set healthy habits. With Family Link integrated, this smartphone will help you guide your children as they learn, play and explore, by letting you set limits for content and screen time, and allowing you to view app activity to keep them safe and balanced.
Retailing at RM599, the 3/32GB memory variant has been available from Dec 12 last year at all Nokia e-commerce platforms on Macpie, Shopee and Lazada and from Dec 16 at retail stores.
It is also be available with redONE’s postpaid phone bundle plan, priced at RM68: https://www.redone.com.my/promotion/smartplans.
PICTURE OF THE WEEK
Mountain trekking to catch a signal — meet the Philippine student who is determined to study as school gates stay locked
Grade 5 student Lovely Joy De Castro, 11, takes notes while attending an online class using a smartphone — as schools remain closed during the Covid-19 outbreak — at Manila South Cemetery where she lives with her family in Makati City.
TECH BOOKS
Kickstarter has launched The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization by Timur Kadyrov and Seva Batischev, who are founders of escape room projects and owners of a board games company.
The 400-page edition describes the most significant and impressive mechanisms, processes and materials ever invented. The book is divided into sections devoted to medicine, mechanisms, materials, military arts, society and entertainment. It has large bizarre illustrations that combine engineering drawings and medieval art. These illustrations show how to make a radio, a deadly trebuchet, a camera, an Australian didgeridoo and many other things.
“Most people know little about how the main inventions of our civilization work. People usually don’t know how to make electricity or a combustion engine; they don’t know which ingredients are essential for paper or gunpowder; they don’t know what sense social rituals such as seppuku have,” says Kadyrov.
“In the book, we also show these inventions from a new perspective.”
The Ultimate Guide was created as a unique artefact similar to the world’s most mysterious books, such as the prominent 15th-century Voynich manuscript and the Summa Technologiae by Stanisaw Lem. The book is also influenced by the imagery of the renowned Codex Seraphinianus, which is an unconventional book by Italian architect Luigi Serafini.
A team of illustrators, writers and editors, with the assistance of technical experts, worked on The Ultimate Guide. The book will be printed on high-quality matte art paper and have a hard cover.
You can pre-order The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/162596099/the-book-0?ref=9588vf&token=d47d6a4a.
“Use Signal”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in response to an announcement by WhatsApp that starting Feb 8, it will share users’ personal information, including phone numbers, IP addresses, contacts and more with Facebook, with no opt-out. (Signal is an alternative to WhatsApp that presumably does not share user data.)
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