Malaysia ICT Sector Highlighted In MSE 2008

Middle East – key area for growth for Malaysian ICT companies.

January 10, 2008 - SHARJAH - MSC Malaysia’s presence within the GCC area is set to be further enhanced by its participation at the Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE 2008), which will take place from January 13- 15 at the Sharjah Expo Centre.

Ten of the top MSC Malaysia-status ICT Services companies ranging from those involved in Software Applications and Services to Outsourcing Solutions and Services, will represent the ICT sector at MSE 2008. The companies are Basis Bay, Britesoft, SCAN Associates, Custommedia, CWorks, Extol Corporation, Microlink Solutions, N2N Connect, Nexustel, Outsourcing Malaysia, and Xybase.

According to Badlisham Ghazali, the CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) of Malaysia, ICT companies participation in MSE 2008 are examples of the comprehensive, credible and cutting edge ICT services we offer to world at competitive costs. MDeC is the lead agency spearheading the MSC Malaysia project. MSC Malaysia is a national initiative spearheaded by the Malaysian Government to promote both the national ICT industry and provide a test-bed for the global ICT industry.

Currently, there are more than 1,900 ICT companies operating within the MSC Malaysia area, ranging from Internet-based business solutions and services providers to software application and services providers. Some of the sectors where Malaysian ICT companies can provide world-class applications include Financial Services Industry (FSI), Telecommunications (Telco) and e-Government services.

He added that MSC Malaysia industry development programs have produced globally competitive ICT companies delivering award winning solutions and world class service. These leading companies have successes in their delivery across continents covering Asia, Europe, US, Africa and the Middle East.

They include N2N Connect, which provides mobile trading technology for the Financial Services Industry in over five continents; Custommedia with their world class software testing solutions and services; Britesoft – providers of most advanced non-coding software development tools and services; Xybase is today’s leading Total Airport Management System and services with more than 20 international airport implementations globally, just to name a few.

For MSE 2008, Badlisham will represent the ICT sector to speak at the industry forum with a topic entitled, “MSC Malaysia: Are You Ready for the New World?” on Tuesday, January 15 at 5.30pm to 7pm, focusing on world solutions provided by MSC Malaysia to optimize strategies and opportunities in the New World of developing nations and economic power houses.

Among others, he will provide the ICT industry outlook in Malaysia as well as the opportunities in the New World order emerging in the East and the entire region. Badlisham will reinforce the MSC Malaysia messages and desire to be a strong partner with Middle Eastern Businesses and Governments, together bringing them to the next levels of excellence through ICT.

Badlisham will also deliver in his keynote, the opportunities within the Government-to-Government (G2G), Business-to-Government (B2G) and Business-to-Consumers (B2C) sectors. He will also speak on Kuala Lumpur’s preparation to host the 16th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2008).

Business owners and multinational corporations in the region should not miss the opportunity to experience how MSC Malaysia empowers Governments and businesses through one-to-one business meetings and round-table discussions.

The MSE 2008, which will host over 160 Malaysian companies and showcase and brand a diverse range of Malaysian services in the region, is aimed at increasing collaborative possibilities between Malaysian service providers and businessmen in the region, especially in areas such as construction, education, engineering, energy and power generation, financial, healthcare, ICT, logistics and transportation sectors, management services, oil and gas.

Malaysia vows to drive ICT goals

ZDNet Asia
Thursday, March 13, 2008 06:53 PM

Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has pledged to further develop the country's ICT ambitions this year, focusing on improving the quality of its entrepreneurs and status as an outsourcing destination.

The custodian of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia said it wants to continue to further enhance its ongoing programs, create more young entrepreneurs and improve the capabilities of MSC Malaysia-status companies in 2008.

First mooted in 1996 and formerly called Multimedia Super Corridor, the MSC Malaysia is a government ICT initiative aimed at accelerating the country's position as a knowledge-based economy.

MDeC CEO Badlisham Ghazali said the government body is committed to its charter to help Malaysians improve their quality of life and to empower businesses to achieve more.

"We will [continue] to develop sectors in the creative multimedia industry, create more young entrepreneurs through our technopreneur development [programs] and prepare our MSC Malaysia-companies to be ready to compete globally," Badlisham told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview.

He said the MDeC will continue to capitalize on Malaysia's position as the third-most attractive outsourcing destination, behind India and China. He noted that while Malaysia may not be the cheapest outsourcing location, it offers quality human capital for the ICT industry.

One sector, he added, in which the MSC Malaysia made remarkable progress last year was the development of creative multimedia and digital content.

The industry segment, encompassing animation, mobility, online and offline games, will be further enhanced and more grants will be given to reach more potential candidates through MSC Malaysia this year, Badlisham said.

"I'm sure the MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia and Content Initiative (MCMC-I) with its pitching competitions, global distributor engagement programs and business matching will continue to expose our talents and companies globally," he said. "We hope the MCMC-I will exceed our expectation of 15 percent growth from 400 million ringgit (US$125.5 million) sales achieved last year."

Challenges abound, competition tough
Despite the progress MSC Malaysia made in the past year, Badlisham acknowledged that there are still too few local companies going global. He said local ICT companies must realize that "to go global, they have to be really good".

"The competition is very stiff. Companies from Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore are showing more and more potential. Local companies must be knowledgeable in world trends and continue to improve their capabilities," he explained.

The quality of services provided by MSC Malaysia companies, while better than previous years, still has room for improvement, he said.

The MDeC is, therefore, stepping up efforts to encourage more companies to obtain globally-recognized certifications, Badlisham said. The government body is also offering various development programs, particularly management programs, to enhance the quality of its local CEOs, he said.

According to Tony Pua, economic advisor to Malaysia's opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), there is an urgent need to improve the quality of IT education provided by Malaysian universities and colleges. This can be achieved by boosting entry requirements, employing better qualified lecturers and setting higher passing standards, Pua said in an e-mail interview.

"Malaysia needs to transform the administrative and civil service mindset that the ICT industry can be geographically confined within areas, such as MSC Cybercities or designated industrial parks, [and] focus on the ubiquitous nature of ICT which transcends physical boundaries," he said.

The country also needs to open up the current "opaque government process in IT requisitions", to one that supports the best and strongest IT companies instead of non-performing companies, Pua said.

"If this trend is not reversed, projects will be delivered at a higher cost but less effectively. Also, better qualified IT companies will be disadvantaged in the process of transforming themselves into world-class companies," he said.

Raphael Phang, IDC's Asia-Pacific research director for government, said while Malaysia has formulated a strategic ICT vision, it needs to bring policies into reality.

"Malaysia, like all other economies, needs to face similar issues of execution plans with clear, objective ROI (returns on investment) and KPI (key performance indicator) benchmarks and measurements," Phang told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview.

"Other issues such as insufficient or untrained manpower that are unable to exploit available technologies, can [also] hamper the success of any implementation," he said.

The IDC analyst added that the Malaysian government would do well to work with foreign or private sector expertise in areas where it lacks sufficient resources to support an efficient implementation.

Outsourcing Malaysia (OM) to Drive the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) - Malaysia Chapter

Cyberjaya, Wed, 31 October 2007 – Outsourcing Malaysia (OM), an initiative of the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM), announced today that it will drive the Malaysia chapter of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).

Chairman of OM as well as PIKOM David Wong informed that Malaysia is the first South East Asian country to set up the IAOP chapter. “The primary purpose of the IAOP Malaysia chapter is to position the country as a strategic location focused on outsourcing services spanning its core competencies. Its principal aim is to enable IAOP members and the global sourcing industry with thought leadership and information from Malaysia,” Wong said.

Currently, there are three professional individuals from Malaysia who are IAOP members and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is the only Malaysian corporate member. “The target is to recruit 50 professional individuals by the end of next year,” Wong said adding that IAOP professional membership costs US$345 (RM1200) per annum and corporate membership costs USD15,000 per annum .

At the opening speech of the inauguration of the IAOP Malaysia Chapter, Wong said that the chapter will work closely with other regional (and global) chapters as well as the government via MDeC to bring together shared competencies, including contributing directly to creating outsourcing professionals within the larger region through IAOP’s Certified Outsourcing Professional program. “To support the COP program, OM and MDeC will allocate RM100,000 in subsidies,” said Wong who is targeting to qualify 10 Malaysian COPs by end of 2008 by subsidising 50 per cent of their certification programs. The COP program costs US$1000 for each individual.

“Apart from focusing to provide insights into location competencies specific to South-East Asia, this chapter will also serve as a forum for chief-level decision makers, providers, buyers and advisory firms in South East Asia to network, collaborate and share best practices in the industry”, Wong explained.
He added that more activities by OM will be incorporated to drive IAOP’sMalaysia chapter. These include collaborations with local institutions of higher learning and professional organisations on the development of training materials, thought leadership seminars and white paper series on outsourcing.

Wong informed that the setting up of the chapter will encourage more knowledge workers to be involved in the local shared services and outsourcing (SSO) industry. He cited that the local SSO industry is currently worth US$ 300 million growing at a CAGR of 30% year on year, compared with the current global IT outsourcing size of US$ 24 billion. In 2012, the Malaysian SSO industry is targeted to be worth US$ 2 billion providing 300 000 jobs.

The IAOP Malaysian chapter was inaugurated by Dato’ Narayanan Kanan, senior vice president of MDeC’s industry development division. “MDeC recognises that OM is one of the key organisations that are driving the SSO sector in Malaysia. We will continue to work with all parties that are willing to come forward with progressive and innovative programs for industry development,” said Kanan.

About IAOP -The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) is a global membership-based organisation headquartered in New York. It was formed in 2005, having been carved out of a previous entity called "Michael F.Corbett & Associates", a firm that has been in action since 1989, hosting the Outsourcing World Summit each year.

Comprising a total of over 500 corporate members and over 40 000 professional members worldwide, its members are line and staff, executives and managers, with the vision and expertise it takes to design, implement, and manage their company’s global corporate ecosystem, thus shaping the future of outsourcing as a management practice, as a profession and as an industry. 
This new breed of outsourcing professional enhances their company’s success and their own careers by taking advantage of a wide-array of association services including networking, research, training, and certification.

IAOP works through focused committees namely the "Strategic Advisory Board'. The board is comprised of executives representing the association’s Founding Members as well as key industry participants invited by the board to be Executive Members. Through their commitment to advancing outsourcing’s professional standards, IAOP members distinguish themselves every day as preferred customers, providers, and advisors with whom to work. IAOP’s standards program is led by the Outsourcing Standards Board -- a separate not-for-profit organisation created by IAOP expressly for the purpose of developing and advancing industry-wide standards and certification programs.

MDeC (Multimedia Development Corporation) has been an active member of IAOP for over two years. Recently MDeC, as a corporate member of IAOP received approval to commence the Malaysia Chapter, which shall form part of the international network of chapters. As one of the Outsourcing Malaysia (OM)-MDeC strategic partnership program, OM which is the initiation of PIKOM; will be taking the lead to drive this chapter.

About OM - Outsourcing Malaysia is a consortium led by senior industry leaders with the collaboration of the Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV), Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM). Its mission is to promote and develop Malaysia’s outsourcing service industry as a global hub for high-value sourcing activities.

The prime objective of this organisation is to enhance global visibility of Malaysian service provider capabilities to the global buyers, and to promote the outsourcing industry to another level. OM shall focus on enabling both buyers and providers of services to work together on addressing service needs, within the aegis of global best-practices and competencies.