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6 Disember 2006
ICT Zon tawar sistem multimedia untuk penganjuran majlis
Kini mencari projektor, komputer peribadi mahupun komputer riba bagi sesuatu majlis bukan lagi satu masalah besar.
Sebuah syarikat, ICT Zone yang mula beroperasi tiga tahun lalu menjalankan operasi menyewa peralatan audio visual dan komputer.
Pegawai Pembangunan Bisnesnya Fakhur Razi berkata, ICT Zone bermula tiga tahun lalu dengan gabungan NTP World Marketing dan IT Zone.
“EZ Rental telah dibangunkan bagi membekalkan projektor dan sejak itu pasarannya semakin berkembang,’’ katanya semasa ditemui di pejabatnya baru-baru ini.
Ketika itu, EZ Rental hanya membekalkan projektor tetapi kini telah berkembang kepada pembekalan komputer peribadi, komputer buku dan sistem alat pandang dengar (PA) dengan kemudahan audio visual.
Fakhur Razi berkata, EZ Rental merupakan satu kaedah mudah dan selesa bagi membantu sesebuah organisasi menjimatkan kos apabila menganjurkan sesuatu majlis.
“EZ Rental sesuai bagi pelbagai majlis pembukaan atau pelancaran, latihan, majlis tahunan, perkahwinan, seminar dan pameran,’’ katanya.
EZ Rentak meliputi produk seperti projektor, skrin, televisyen plasma, kemudahan audio visual, bunyi dan cahaya dan bilik latihan.
“Buat masa ini ICT Zone mempunyai dua buah bilik latihan dengan kapasiti 40 orang dalam satu-satu masa,’’ katanya.
Sasaran adalah bagi melatih mereka yang memerlukan kemudahan menggunakan projektor dan komputer peribadi.
Biasanya kata Fakhur Razi, pihaknya membekalkan komputer peribadi dan komputer buku bagi atur cara di hotel seperti perkahwinan kaum Cina.
Selain itu mereka yang melibatkan diri sebagai pengurus acara memerlukan semua produk bagi memastikan majlisnya berjalan lancar.
“Kami mempunyai banyak pelanggan daripada peserta pameran yang mengadakan pameran di hotel dan pusat pameran terkemuka,’’ katanya.
Menyentuh mengenai kos sewa yang dikenakan, Fakhur Razi berkata, kosnya amat berpatutan dan biasanya meliputi jangka pendek dan paling panjang secara bulanan.
Kadar sewa boleh dirunding sama ada harian, mingguan atau bulanan dan diskaun akan diberikan jika pengguna menyewa lebih lama.
Misalnya kos menyewa projektor adalah RM200 sehari, RM500 seminggu dan hanya RM1,200 sebulan.
“EZ Rental juga menyediakan komputer dengan cip pemproses terkini mengikut keperluan dan kehendak pengguna,’’ katanya.
Sementara harga yang ditawarkan bergantung kepada tempat, kuantiti (jenis dan unit) serta rangkaian yang diperlukan.
Biasanya Fakhur Razi berkata, kos sewaan di kawasan Kuala Lumpur lebih murah kerana kos penghantaran yang rendah.
“Bagaimanapun kami masih menerima tempahan dan pasaran kami meluas sehingga ke seluruh Semenanjung Malaysia.
“Bagi kawasan di luar Lembah Kelang, kami akan mengenakan sedikit kos pengangkutan,’’ katanya.
Sekarang tumpuan lebih diberikan kepada projektor dan komputer yang mana ICT Zone mempunyai 200 buah komputer dan 50 komputer buku dengan nilai RM400 ribu.
Bagi projektor pula, ICT Zone mempunyai tiga kategori iaitu 20 unit kecil, lima unit pertengahan dan tiga unit besar.
Fakhur Razi berkata, pelanggannya terdiri daripada empat industri iaitu pengguna akhir bagi majlis perkahwinan dan pelancaran produk, industri seperti perhotelan dan pusat konvensyen, latihan dan sektor kerajaan.
“Bagi menjaga kualiti perkhidmatan, pihak kami akan menghantar, memasang dan menguji semua peralatan sebelum majlis bermula.
“Malah pihak kami juga akan menghantar juruteknik bagi membantu melicinkan operasi jika diperlukan,’’ katanya.
Apa yang lebih istimewa pengguna di kawasan Lembah Klang berpeluang mendapatkan gantian produk yang rosak serta-merta semasa majlis berlangsung.
Pengguna EZ Rental juga mendapat faedah seperti
1. kualiti produk
2. kualiti perkhidmatan
3. pengguna tidak perlu menanggung kos risiko kerosakan misalnya apabila mentol lampu terbakar tukar dengan mentol baru tanpa kos.
Pengguna hanya menanggung risiko kehilangan dan kerosakan akibat terjatuh yang biasanya melibatkan projektor.
Semasa penghantaran pengguna akan meneliti keadaan dan berpuas hati sebelum menerima produk yang dipesan dan perlu mengembalikannya dalam keadaan seperti diterima.
Fakrur Razi menambah selain EZ Rental, pihaknya juga memberikan perkhidmatan EZ Service kepada pelanggannya.
“Perkhidmatan yang memberikan penekanan kepada projektor dilancarkan awal tahun sebagai salah satu kaedah promosi.
“Pelanggan boleh memeriksa projektor mereka secara percuma dan mendapatkan khidmat nasihat dan laporan teknikal tanpa caj,’’ katanya.
Pelanggan hanya dikenakan caj minimum sebanyak RM100 sebagai bayaran servis am termasuk servis dalaman dan mencuci badan projektor.
Apa yang lebih menarik, pelanggan yang membeli projektor di mana-mana kedai boleh menghantarnya di ICT Zone bagi EZ Service.
Bagi pelanggan ICT Zone di sekitar Lembah Kelang, EZ Service memperkenalkan sistem pengambilan percuma serta memberikan produk pinjaman semasa pembaikan.
Mereka juga tidak dikenakan bayaran perkhidmatan minimum sebanyak RM100 dan hanya dikenakan kos alat ganti.
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Wednesday November 8, 2006
Making software more ‘valuable
Making software more ‘valuable'
Why do some consumers buy pirated copies of Microsoft products?
It is not because they cannot afford genuine software but because they do not think it is worth paying for, said Raveesh Gupta, business group leader of the information worker division at Microsoft Malaysia.
"We believe that consumers can afford to buy genuine software but do not want to because they do not see the value it gives them," he said. "This may be due to ignorance or because we were unable to show our users the value of our products."
Gupta said Microsoft has realised that merely enhancing its products with more features may not offer a compelling enough reason for users to buy it - especially when users are unaware that these features exist or do not know how to use them.
For example, Microsoft Office users could have years of experience with the software but may still not know most of its features.
"The onus is on us to show the value proposition of our product because we believe people will pay for it when they realise it is worth their investment," Gupta said.
He said Microsoft will be taking this route with its upcoming products - the Windows Vista operating system, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 - which will be launched simultaneously worldwide in a few months.
But instead of talking to customers directly, Microsoft plans to reach out to users through its partner ecosystem, which includes independent software vendors and consultants.
"We’ll host a series of awareness programmes for enterprises of all sizes, to not only show them the features of our new products but how they can use them to solve current business problems," Gupta said.
Among its more ambitious programmes, Gupta said, is a "sneak preview" of Office 2007 that Microsoft will be hosting in Malaysia soon.
"It’s aimed at demonstrating to technology users how they can use the new Office to increase their work productivity," Gupta said.
Better design
Microsoft has also redesigned its software to make it easier for users to "discover" features by themselves.
Dr Nitin Paranjape - Maestros Mediline Systems Ltd chairman and managing director and Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional for the Office System - pointed out that many businessmen use Office programs such as Word and Excel, yet not many have undergone training to use it efficiently.
"Most industries care about productivity and streamlining their business processes but probably never look at what people do on their desktops," Nitin said.
He said that typically when people find a way to do something in Office, they do not usually bother if it is the most optimal way to do it, as long as the job gets done.
"They may waste a few minutes here and there to do something in many steps which may be done in just one mouse-click," he said. "This may not be noticeable individually - but when everyone in the organisation does the same thing, the accumulated time wasted can be astounding."
Office 2007 changes this, according to Nitin. Though more features have been added, these features are more sensibly categorised to reflect how people work, instead of clustering them into complex menus.
"Relevant features are grouped together to increase the chances of users discovering and using them," he said.
"Important or commonly-used features are placed more prominently on the interface and tool tips are now replaced by information tapes, which contain not only a description of tools but an example of how it can be used," Gupta chipped in.
"Instead of having users stumble upon features through trial and error, certain features are made more visible to encourage its use," Nitin said. "When users can make better use of a product, it increases their productivity and the value of the product in their view."
For the three upcoming Microsoft products, Gupta said the software giant will continue its policy of releasing several editions with feature sets that cater to different user groups - so users only have to pay for features that are relevant to them.
"Pricing and licensing would be reflected accordingly. Also, we’ll provide a different set of licensing and pricing for students and government schools," he said.
He added that software pricing will be tweaked to a certain extent based on the country.
However, these pricing and licensing strategies are hardly new approaches. Americans have to pay approximately USD199 (RM736) for a full version of Windows XP Home, while Malaysians can buy the cheaper Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) version for RM320.
Yet, it is not uncommon to hear complaints from Malaysian consumers that Microsoft’s software is still too expensive - due to differences in exchange rates, Malaysians may have to cough out a larger percentage of their monthly salary compared to other countries for the same piece of software.
When asked about this issue, Gupta said he could not promise that its upcoming products would be any cheaper, but that the Microsoft is always considering various ways to make its software licensing more flexible.
He told In.Tech the company is also not discounting the option of a "staggered payment" structure that allows customers to purchase its software through monthly instalments
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Thursday August 31, 2006
Don’t forget to budget for software
The fourth quarter of the year is usually the time when companies plan their budget for the coming year. Many spending proposals and budget allocations are made in this period in anticipation of the coming year’s business strategy and prioritisation.
An area which is often overlooked is software spending. Software can be expensive if it is not planned and managed properly. If a realistic and structured approach to managing software is applied, businesses could reap a wide range of financial and business benefits, and avoid being surprised during the year with unexpected software costs.
In budgeting for software, businesses should ask some questions include:
·Do we have sufficient licenses for all your existing staff?
·What upgrades will be required to existing software to meet our business requirements?
·What new software will our business need?
·What additional licenses might be required for new employees?
The following four simple steps will help businesses to plan and budget software requirements:
Step 1: Review software requirements with your employees;
Step 2: Assess business growth plans and new employee requirements;
Step 3: Compare software requirement register with your business plans. Assess potential reuse of licences and identify what is needed to allocate budget for; and,
Step 4: Consult the licensing options available from software vendors.
Plan to prevent software piracy
Besides financial and business benefits, good software management will ensure that companies avoid falling into the software piracy trap in their workplaces.
In Malaysia, business owners and senior management of companies are held legally accountable for software piracy in the workplace and they can be fined up to RM20,000 for each unlicensed copy and/or face imprisonment of up to five years.
As part of the 2006 Ops Tulen: Korporat & SME crackdown by The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA), a software antipiracy operation on all companies, enforcement action is continuing.
MDTCA, working with the Business Software Alliance (BSA), has also formed Ops Tulen Teams to conduct visits to companies nationwide to educate senior management on the need to proactively audit their software and to use original licensed software in business.
BSA will also be coming to your town soon as part of the BSA “Free Advice” Licensing Consultation Roadshow starting Sept 6, to answer licensing questions and explain the advantages of using licenced software from BSA member companies.
Also, as part of the 2006 Ops Tulen campaign, the “Software Piracy is STEALING” Survey has started on The Star Online. It ends on Sept 5.
Answer the survey at http://poll.thestar.com.my and you could win exciting prizes, worth a total of RM10,000, from Adobe, Microsoft and Trend Micro.
(This article was contributed by the Business Software Alliance.)
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Friday September 15, 2006
Best practices for branch office networking and security
BY ANDY MILLER
THE increase in direct Internet connectivity for the branch office, coupled with the rising prevalence of internal and external threats — such as worms, viruses and spyware, is driving the need for dedicated, high-performance security processing.
According to the 2005 FBI Computer Crime Survey in the United States, IT departments conveyed a common theme of frustration: A non-stop barrage of viruses, trojans, worms, and spyware.
The survey also stated that there were over twice as many unauthorised access incidents coming from outside the organisation than there were from within; and the survey specifically underlined the importance of intrusion prevention/detection systems as well as firewalls, logs, password complexity, and other technology and physical security measures to address the rapid growth of threats to any enterprise.
In this security environment, branch networking is getting tougher and tougher, with more people than ever before, working remotely.
It is not easy to provide them with the same level of IT resources and responsiveness because there are special challenges, including a mix of network services, various server types and configurations servers, firewalls, etc and the requirement that problems be dealt with, remotely.
Miller
Security routing and connectivity
Requirements are evolving because of increasing geographical diversity: Across the international landscape, 80-90% of enterprise employees are now working in branch or regional offices to be closer to customers and employee resources.
Meanwhile bandwidth to the branch is getting cheaper with broadband technology and Ethernet services – such as metro Ethernet services, which are picking up in Asia.
These highly distributed enterprises blur the traditional perimeter of the enterprise and raise new challenges for security, with wireless LANs (local area networks) demanding security and routing performance, high performance wide area network (WAN) links breaking traditional T1/T3 performance barriers, and employees being increasingly mobile across the enterprise — adding productivity but bringing new threats into the extended trust perimeter, often at the branch.
Many branches also have remotely-managed IT resources such as mail and file servers, which require special security and defence measures due to the increased threat at the branch.
These resources also require dedicated performance in a secure environment.
While employees are increasingly distributed, IT is beginning to consolidate resources at the central office with centralised e-mail, file services, backups, telephony, client/server applications, and wireless access to branch and centralised resources; demanding greater performance at the branch.
The demand for performance used to require separate multi-zone firewalls, routers and LAN switches but today’s technology increasingly provides integrated alternatives.
That’s because technology has evolved to meet the needs of enterprise branches with multi-service routers, unified threat management devices, integrated application acceleration platforms, integrated wireless access and IP (Internet Protocol) telephony in the branch.
Today’s branch office solutions can combine any number of these components into multi-function platforms designed to address the need for manageable security, LAN segmentation, high-speed WAN and segment-to-segment LAN access, and advanced IP services in the branch.
Various approaches
The approach can vary depending on the type and size of enterprise:
- Self sufficient branch offices or small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will usually have local e-mail, file services, onsite backup, local wireless and remote access, and can have local or centralised telephony.
For them, the issues include multi-zone security segmentation between local resources, wireless segments and HQs as branch offices are often the first line in security defence against malicious threats that are particularly high-impact de to localised resources and typically, few IT personnel.
For this requirement, the WAN (wide area network) link is not the critical bottleneck, but zone-to-zone security demands a high-performance solution.
In this environment, multi-zone security performance is critical in terms of LAN (local area network) security and segmentation but WAN throughput requirements are low and are likely to be provided by T1 lines, broadband, or E1 (Ethernet).
These organisations are not likely to move towards a centralised architecture in the near-term and for them, a single gateway security device is preferable for ease of management, configuration and deployment
Their requirements may include high performance routing and firewall for intra-zone traffic, WAN or Ethernet physical interface to the public network, and a possible VPN (virtual private network) connection for centralised telephony or other services; as well as Quality of Service provision for telephony.
They also require unified threat management features as a first line of defence against malicious attacks from mobile machines and the Internet, and they would normally require wireless LAN.
- The distributed enterprise branch office would have centralised e-mail, and web-enabled enterprise applications, with central or distributed or hybrid file storage and backup, centralised remote access, local wireless, and local or centralised telephony.
Their issues include multi-zone segmentation for security between local resources, wireless segments and HQs.
Their applications and resources are often in a state of transition between branch co-located and centralised models. The branch defends against Internet and mobile threats while centralised security provides mail and application defence.
For them, WAN bandwidth and performance requirements are moderate-to-high and growing and they may have a potential interest in moving to an MPLS networking platform and/or carrier Ethernet services in the future.
Zone-to-zone security is critical for the WLAN but a single gateway security device is still desirable.
Typically they require high performance WAN and LAN routing for intra-zone and branch-to-WAN traffic, high performance VPN, QoS (quality of service) support for VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol), and for them threat prevention remains a high priority – but integrated mail and file scanning takes second place to defence against network-based attacks (worms, malware)
- The centrally managed branch, on the other hand, will have most resources owned and deployed in a central data centre – centralised e-mail and web-enabled enterprise applications, centralised file storage and backup, centralised remote access and telephony, and local, centrally managed and authenticated wireless.
For them, there is low demand for multi-zone security, but they are still required to provide wireless LAN guest access.
As in other cases, the branch provides the first line of defence against local threats before they cross the WAN, but there is very high demand for WAN bandwidth performance and WAN & LAN routing optimisation, along with VPN, and support for quality of service.
High availability is critical because all resources including authentication, are centralised (both in hardware terms and on the WAN)
Summary
Branch offices and SMEs are challenged by new security requirements and the impact of technology is driving the need for net total bandwidth in the WAN beyond the speeds of the traditional WAN pipe.
To address these changing needs, enterprises can leverage a variety of technologies – but integrated services gateway solutions are particularly appealing in branch office and SME environments due to cost and IT staffing constraints.
They can provide multifunction security services, advanced content security, LAN segmentation, small packet performance, high speed encryption, next generation WAN support and central or delegated resource management.
When looking for an integrated services gateway solution, look to ensure that the offering can simplify architecture management while maximising availability, improve application performance with WAN optimisation and resilient, and secure VPN to branch offices.
Also make sure the solution can protect data, servers and infrastructure and offer a clear upgrade path to MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) VPN for QoS (quality of service) and traffic engineering to regional offices.
Ensure that the offering’s security features include multi-protocol deep inspection technology for intrusion prevention to mitigate against threats entering the network, web filtering policy implementation in dedicated and multi-function firewalls, integrated antivirus with inbound blocking of spyware, adware and keyloggers, and integrated antispam.
(Andy Miller is vice-president of Juniper Networks Asia Pacific’s enterprise division.)
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