Efficiency a Prerequisite

As Mr. Syed Azhar puts it, “Time is of the essence especially when you are managing a service… you want to make sure customers are able to access information at their fingertips, so that they can better plan their journeys and make the most of their time while visiting Kuala Lumpur, there’s plenty to see. And when you’re managing buses… so many things can go wrong aside from the common traffic jam.” This is exactly why the Starfish Tracking System found an ideal home in his growing fleet of tour buses.

Hop-on Hop-Off KL is a service which plies major attractions within the city, and the company constantly seeks to upgrade its services, so as to enhance Kuala Lumpur’s status as a tourist friendly destination. In striving to do so, it requires the latest technology that is up to par with those found on similar bus services found across the world. This is for two reasons, so that tourists get more value out of tours, and to ensure punctuality.

Star of the show

The Starfish Fleet Management System is a technology which epitomises tracking technology which had been rapidly evolving over the past decade. Meticulously designed, and easy to innovate upon, it is now a vital piece of equipment for KL’s Hop-On Hop-Off business. Mr. Amin Rahmat and Mr. Syed Azhar explain that it has helped their bus operators up the standard of their service, in terms of punctuality and reliability. At the same time, the technology has been adapted to provide tourists with interactive menus which provide real-time audio commentaries via sets of headphones, as they pass historical landmarks in the city. Each and every seat is equipped with its own individual system, allowing users to access commentaries at their own time – saving them the hassle of scrambling for headphones when timed messages used to be played.

Once upon a time, making such efficient service available to tourists was difficult for the company, as it was extremely expensive to outsource the latest tracking technology from foreign countries which did not suit all their needs nor prove themselves to be cost-effective in the long run. Their answer came in the form of a little black box known as the Starfish, and the technological know-how of Michael Lam, Chief Technical Officer of IES, who modified the technology according to their unique needs as a fleet which operated on the basis of precision, allowing bus drivers and personnel working from operations centres to liaise and synchronise effortlessly.

The unique symbiosis

In the past, tourists would hear pre-recorded commentaries in eight different languages through a shared speaker system, and in eight different languages, when they pass a landmark. This ‘magic’ was once achieved by a bus operator manually handling the audio-system on board, playing the appropriate tracks when required, on eight different players.

With Starfish, a centralised system triggers messages instantly each time a virtual grid is crossed, and playback is now achievable in nine languages, with the recent addition of the Tamil language. The system can in fact handle many more languages and much more useful data for tourists, all made achievable by an up-gradable memory chip in each device. This allows Hop-On Hop-Off to constantly upgrade their services as needs arise.

One thing you will notice if you should step onto one of the fleet’s buses is that the driver is seated near a computer screen. This is not just a GPS device to help him choose the best routes, but more importantly, it allows the driver to see the exact location of other vehicles in his fleet, in real time. This makes it possible for previously unachievable synchronisation between drivers, allowing them to coordinate independently and help keep each other’s punctuality in check. In addition, the reliability of the new system is enhanced by an operations centre that monitors and manages driver requirements, and which is able to provide assistance immediately should complications in transit occur.

Marrying Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and GPRS technologies, Starfish allows for near real-time data transfer speeds between drivers and fleet operators. This bypasses a step in previous technologies, where phone calls and SMSes were managed by operators in a station, and relayed between parties without any proper system that could enforce their legitimacy.

As explained by Mr. Amin, 
unnecessary delays directly affect their customers, as tourists visiting a foreign country expect a tour service that is reliable. One that turns up on time, and offers up to the minute information that helps them maximise their time abroad. He hopes that with the continued collaboration of IES, technology for making all bus-stops able to display arrival and departure times as well as the locations of vehicles in transit will be available soon, making their service nearly flawless.

Creating Pioneers

Hop-On Hop-Off KL is the first service in Malaysia and possibly the world to adapt such advanced tracking technology in its fleet. Since the implementation of Starfish Fleet Management Systems on their buses, delays due to traffic jams indigenous to KL have become the least of the company’s problems.

Starfish has allowed the fleet to cover a circle route that allows tourists to start and end their tour at the same location, along a route which brings them to 40 of Kuala Lumpur’s hottest attractions, where they can hop-on or off at 22 designated stops – with buses arriving at stops every twenty five to thirty minutes from 8.30am to 8.30pm. It is also interesting to note that the design of each system is made to be tamper resistant - another amazing aspect about the technology which is constantly being innovated, so as to meet the needs of each individual fleet, as and when required, via internet solutions and its unique electronic tracking devices.

Mr. Syed Azhar and Mr. Amin Rahmat both agree that much more has yet to be discovered with the Starfish Fleet Management System, as it has, in addition to its technological prowess, an upgradable memory card which allows for data storage, encompassing maps, markers and information vital to ensuring the continued and improved efficiency of the
Hop-On Hop-Off KL fleet.

It has also helped them minimise their costs significantly – within 6 months of implementation, they had already saved RM200,000 in maintenance fees previously incurred by irresponsible drivers and tariff charges accompanying conventional Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVLS) which suffered from bad latency; delays in vital data. With that, the company is continuing to expand, adding new buses to its fleet not having to worry about managing more assets, as more tourists are beginning to embrace the convenience the technology offers them. Thanks to the
Starfish Fleet Management System which turns logistics into child’s play.

Working towards excellence

Although IDR only started operations in May 2009, its formation was approved as far back as 2005 by the Perak State Assembly then. However, owing to the change of administration in 2008, the plans were shelved until Datuk Seri Zambry assumed office early this year.

According to Mr. Aminudin, the objective of IDR is to assist the State Government in carrying out research and providing advice on the implementation of strategies. These are particularly linked to socio-economic development, improving State GLCs and Government departments, and the 
investment climate.

Ultimately, as he puts it, “Institut Darul Ridzuan aims to function as the thinking cell and implementation centre of excellence towards positioning the State as a vibant and prosperous State that will significantly improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Perak.”

Speaking further on the topic, Mr. Aminudin revealed that while the acronym IDR may stand for Institut Darul Ridzuan, it also has another meaning that sums up the mission and goals of the think-tank. Thus the I represent Ideas and Insights, the D stands for Direction and Development, while the R is representative of Realisation and Results. As such, IDR acts as the brains that will bring about the strategies which will translate to benefits for the people of Perak.

When asked about the strategies that IDR is working on, Mr. Aminudin shared that the priority areas are the medium to long term ones that would “sustain the socio-economic development of Perak”. As such it has been working on engaging the public as well as other stakeholders to formulate the right plans.

This, he told us, involves activities such as gathering data, understanding the issues, and doing on-the-ground observations. At the end of the day, IDR works on what Mr. Aminudin describes as “principles of collaboration and consultation”, which is why - as he explained - more sessions need to be held with stakeholders before “more complete strategies and programmes can be announced”.

However, while concrete plans of actions may still be in the works, IDR has not been slack in looking at ways to improve the state. Thus among some of the areas of investment that it has been looking at are the tourism and agri-business sectors, which Mr. Aminudin described as having high potential that will have an immediate and significant impact on the people 
of Perak.

"Institut Darul Ridzuan aims to function as the thinking cell and implementation centre of excellence towards positioning Perak as a vibrant and prosperous State."

- Mr. Aminudin Hashim

Ultimately, what IDR aims to be, as Mr. Aminudin told us, is “an effective generation and insights provider for the State of Perak”. For him, Perak is a state with great potential that requires “a clear roadmap and strategies, an able implementation mechanism, an effective team of implementers, and well coordinated execution.” The setting up of Institut Darul Ridzuan is a leap forward in helping the State achieve that.

Blueprint for ICT

Drafted and presented by Datuk Seri Zambry in 2005 when he was State Executive Councillor for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Communications for Perak, the Blueprint, officially known as KPerak 2010, has identified ICT as the core driver of Perak’s development, laying the foundation for a fully-developed state by 2020. The plan has two main thrusts, based around the Federal Government’s K-economy plans. The first is to use ICT as a catalyst and an enabler for economic growth and prosperity and for people to increase their income and profit. This is ensured via the second thrust which is to reshape the economic landscape
of Perak by developing ICT into the engine of growth, to make ICT as the new wealth-creating sector
for Perak.

“What I intend to do is to put Perak on the world map of ICT, that is the vision that I have for the state.
I believe we can do it,” Datuk Seri Zambry told us while comparing the state with Ireland. He said that
if Ireland, which has a population of five million people, can achieve rapid development in its ICT
sector, so too can Perak. “There are challenges ahead and we are aware of our limitations, but we are confident that we can achieve our target.”

With the slogan “From Tin Mines to MIND Industries”, Datuk Seri Zambry also highlighted Perak’s ICT initiatives that revolve around MIND, which are the four critical components that the state is focusing on to ensure the development of Perak as a K-State. These four components are Multimedia Content, ICT Outsourcing, New Media and Data Services, each complementing each other and creating positive synergy towards the state’s development. The ICT initiatives are also in line with the national policy on Multimedia
Super Corridor Malaysia (MSC Malaysia).

These four components also encompass the four strategic areas that the state plans to develop – K-Government, which is to use ICT to improve the State government’s service to the community and businesses and make them available on a 24-hour basis, and K-Infrastructure, which is to make easy availability of good quality
broadband connectivity with the goal of exceeding the national average for broadband and Internet penetration.

Then, there are K-Society which aims to bridge the digital “divide” between rural and urban communities, with the emphasis on implementing and making Statewide awareness of ICT, educational and outreach programmes a long term effort; and last but not least, K-Economy, which is to develop, within 16 years, a vibrant ICT sector
in Perak with emphasis on growing the shared services and outsourcing (SSO) and creative content industries
while facilitating the development of ICT entrepreneurs.

“We are looking to transform Perak into an SSO hub of global standards and we also aim to build up the creative content and multimedia industry,” Datuk Seri Zambry shared. These two industries will provide the backbone of the ICT sector on a whole in Perak, with the responsibility of ensuring that all the plans are carried out left to KPerak INC Corporation (KPerak Inc), the state-owned agency that was established to spearhead and manage ICT development in the state.

Committed to the cause

When asked about the State Government’s efforts thus far in the development of the state’s ICT sector, Datuk Seri Zambry stressed that since it was the State Government that introduced this blueprint, it will always remain committed to the task of leading the transformation of the state into a vibrant, developed state through the KPerak2010 blueprint. He told us that during his time as State Executive Councillor, he managed to obtain approval from the State Government to pump in RM20m a year over a fiveyear period to carry out the state’s
ICT initiatives.

“We are serious about turning Perak into an entry-level developed state by 2010 and a fully-developed state by 2020. The RM100m the State Government has set aside is one way of indicating our commitment to the cause,” Datuk Seri Zambry explained.

With the assistance and support provided by the Federal Government through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the State Government has been busy implementing the social aspects
of Perak’s ICT thrusts. Datuk Seri Zambry shared that the state intends to make available a combination
of free and affordable basic ICT training for the community, targeting 5% of the population annually. With
this plan, within a decade, more than 50% of the population would be ICT literate.

Within 20 years, Perak will be considered highly ICT literate. He also noted that as there are still many who could not afford personal computers or broadband in their homes, public access terminals would be made available for the public in town centres and rural areas. Thus, Perak will leverage on the many existing rural ICT development schemes put in place by the Federal Government such as kedai.com.

The Federal Government, through the MSC Malaysia initiative, has also did its part to help grow the state’s ICT sector, by first designating Cybercentre status to Perak Techno-Trade Centre (PTTC), followed by Cybercity status to Bandar Meru Raya.

Milestones

Datuk Seri also expressed his satisfaction as he related several success stories that showed the progress Perak has made since the KPerak2010 Blueprint was instituted. One of the first he mentioned is Spacetoon International, the Middle East’s leading children’s creative content conglomerate. Spacetoon announced last year that it would be establishing an animation warehouse in Ipoh and has also earmarked a 50-acre site in Meru Raya to build the Spacetoon Academy, a Multimedia University College, an animation production centre, studios and administrative offices.

The centre for creative content advancement is the first of its kind in Malaysia and possibly the largest integrated creative content and animation development. A joint collaboration between Spacetoon, KPerak Inc and Perak State Economic Development Corporation, the impressive project is expected to be completed in 2010.

Besides that, on the area of SSO, he shared that Perak is one step closer to fulfilling its KPerak vision of becoming a global SSO hub of international standards with the launching of the KPerak Walter Rhodes Global SSO Centre at the Perak Techno Trade Centre on the 28th of May. This is a joint initiative between Walter Rhodes, a leading technology management consulting firm and KPerak INC, with both parties envisioning the development of the SSO centre as a regional outsourcing hub for technology companies to run outsourcing operations for their products or services.

The Global SSO Centre in Perak will function as a nucleus that connects 10 other SSO hubs that Walter Rhodes and KPerak aim to establish in the region. Two of the SSO hubs would be launched in Suzhou and Huaqiao, China by the end of the year and another in Hanoi, Vietnam next year.

The New Zealand Government has also collaborated with Perak on the implementation of the KPerak E-Learning Cluster system in five Perak schools. Under this system, the five will be able to interact with each
other and other cluster schools in New Zealand via video-conferencing and virtual classroom facilities. The
structural focus of this pilot program is the development of a cluster-based model of professional development,
where the members of the cluster are actively involved in contributing as well as drawing from the pool of
expertise and shared experience.

A collaborative project developed by Innovative New Zealand Education (iNZed), KPerak INC and Perak Department of Education, the initiative was given full support by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark when she visited one of the cluster schools, SMK Raja Perempuan Kelsum, Kuala Kangsar, in 2007, as well as by the Federal Government, which has expressed its interest to expand the system
to other schools in other states. According to Datuk Seri Zambry, iNZed has also expressed their keen
interest to collaborate again to expand the system.

Lastly, he also named The Red Snapper Group as another success story to come out of Perak’s ICT initiatives. The Group deploys large scale wireless networks and had built wireless broadband infrastructure across Perak and Malacca under mandate from the two states. It was the first to offer extended, long range WiFi so that even at public places like the roadside, fields and even a simple kopitiam, people are able to log on to the Internet. Today, the Group has made their presence known internationally through an operational joint venture in India
with You Telecom, one of India’s two largest independent ISPs and fastest growing cable TV operator.

“Perak remains on track to meet the objectives of KPerak2010. I am confident that our vision to see the state transform into a fully-developed K-State by 2020 will be met,” Datuk Seri Zambry shared.

As Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, explained, the achievements of the KPerak 2010
Blueprint thus far show that investors are confident of Perak as a prime location to do business. Therefore, he remains unperturbed about the global economic slowdown derailing the state from carrying out its plans. To facilitate this effort, he noted that it is important for the state to foster a conducive, stable and hospitable environment for businesses to thrive. As such, he hopes to see all parties working together to bring in investments and fostering the state’s economic growth as well as contributing to Malaysia’s overall development.

Bad times

When the global downturn was expected to hit Malaysia at the end of 2008, the E&E sector was bracing for the impact the downturn would have caused. Even then, no one could have predicted the scale of the impact it would have on the industry, especially with regards to exports.

As the downturn spread across the globe, demand for E&E goods fell drastically, particularly from countries such as China and the U.S. As a result, for the past eight months, total exports have been on a consistent downward trend as shipments of E&E goods and commodities continued to fall.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry reported that overseas exports plunged by 29.7% in May from a year earlier to RM42.95b (US$12.2b), after declining 26.3% in April. With regards to the E&E sector specifically, total exports fell by RM12.7b (US$3.5b) to RM90.1b (US$25.2) from January to May 2009 period to RM102.8b (US$28.7b) in the same period in 2008.

The recession has caused many multinational companies in the E&E sector to reassess their business strategies. Speculation was rife that MNCs would be forced to retrench staff as companies scale back their global operations. The gravity of the situation was first felt when Western Digital, the world’s second-largest hard disk manufacturer, announced in December 2008 that it will shut down its Sarawak facility and lay off 1,500 employees. However, having reached a deal to sell the facility to Hitachi, the former Western Digital staff in the plant have become employees of Hitachi instead.

In Penang, where the E&E sector employs over 100,000 people, there were also fears that many global electronics manufacturers will be laying of staff as they scale back operations. Intel Corp has since shut down two of its facilities in Bayan Lepas and is in the process of relocating to Kulim while another company, Jabil Circuit, has already offered voluntary separation schemes (VSS) to 200 of its 5,000 employees and closed facilities.

The Malaysian-American Elec-tronics Industry (MAEI) revealed that in all, global sales by U.S. companies are expected to decline 27.5% to RM54.6b (US$15.2b) this year. The group also said the global recession will continue to hurt demand for computer chips and other devices.

Signs of recovery

Despite the predictions of gloom and doom from the Government and industry experts, some have claimed that there are “green shoots” sprouting in the industry. Indeed, while the MAEI is still cautious about its predictions for the year, its chairman, Datuk Wong Siew Hai opined that signs indicate that the E&E sector will rebound late in the second quarter of 2009 with exports increasing between 15% and 20% higher than the first quarter and that by 2010, the sector will experience a complete turnaround.

Datuk Wong said this was in view that members of MAEI have lifted the hiring freeze which they instituted at the peak of the recession and have begun to hire staff at the start of the second half of the year. This, though, is currently done in a stringent and highly selective manner, with the companies preferring contract workers and the most skilled staff possible. He also pointed to the resurgence of fresh orders from top consumers in Asia, especially China. Moreover, according to him, many companies are also resuming normal working hours since they received new pick-up orders from China, and have expressed their optimism that U.S. may follow as well.

One of the factors that have driven the increase in demand is the extra money the various stimulus packages implemented in China, South Korea and Japan. According to Datuk Wong, the hundreds of billions of dollars released on the market which these three countries have put together will play a major role in driving demand up and jumpstarting the recovery sorely needed by
the industry.

Besides that, he also credited the global recession to have benefited Malaysia in the sense that it has sparked a shift of priorities among some of MAEI’s members. He explained that Malaysia’s E&E sector has often been dubbed as a “screw and test” sector as it focuses mainly on assembling and testing of electronic & electrical components. However, the recession has caused the MAEI members to realign their priorities and take on additional responsibilities in the areas of design and development (D&D), procurement, outsourcing services and IT and human resource shared services.

Furthermore, the recent decision by the Government to deregulate the Foreign Investment Committee is seen as step in the right direction. Commenting on the move, Datuk Wong said that it will encourage more foreign SMEs in the E&E industry to set up in Malaysia.

Word of caution

However, there are also other analysts who warn against expectations of a long term recovery because using stimulus measures as a gauge for recovery is foolhardy. They said that stimulus measures only offer short-term solutions and while signs of “green shoots” appearing in the sector are encouraging, full recovery still relies on the rate and extent of the recovery of the U.S. economy.

Andrew Stotz, the Head of Research at CLSA Securities, Asia’s leading, independent brokerage and investment group, revealed that, it is difficult to determine when global recovery in the E&E sector will happen as it is not possible to forecast a definite time of recovery. The only way to estimate it is by looking to the U.S. economy, but even then, it is too difficult to predict.

Datuk Wong also admits that MAEI members are still cautious about the current market situation. Because of that, the MAEI has unanimously agreed to reduce capital investments for product development and upgrading facilities from RM2.5b (US$701m) in 2008 to RM1.6b (US$448.6m) in 2009 while adding that the group’s total export is expected to contract by 27.5%.

Taking all the facts and viewpoints into consideration, it can be safely concluded that the resurgence of Malaysia’s electronics and electrical sector may in fact be temporal. For the sector to really pick up its recovery pace, it has to rely more on the outlook of the U.S. economy besides hoping for a prolonged increase of demand from the Asia-Pacific region. However, it is never wrong to be an optimist and time will tell whether these green shoots will blossom or wither away.

The theme of the forum was “Seeing Your Way Clearly in the New Reality” and featured the following panellists:

Ms. Ho Lai Kwin
Director, Public Services, SAP Asia Pacific-Japan

Mr. Eric Yeap
Industry Sales Manager, SAP Malaysia

Mr. Nadza Abdul
Chief Operating Officer, PosLaju National Courier

Mr Nagendran Perumal
Director, Software Development Lab, Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS) Berhad

Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Mohd. Zulkifli Tan Sri Mohd. Ghazali
Professor at the Business & Advanced Technology Centre, UTM International Campus, KL and former Vice-Chancellor of UTM

The forum opened with a welcoming address delivered by Ms. Grace Chong, the Marketing Manager of SAP Malaysia, where she thanked the more than 80 participants from various government agencies and SAP’s partners for attending the forum. She also touched briefly on the reason for the forum, which is the need to understand the current challenges faced by the public sector in implementing ICT and what a solutions provider like SAP can offer that to resolve the challenges.

Business solutions for public sector efficiency

After the welcoming address by Ms. Chong, Ms. Ho Lai Kwin, Director of Public Services at SAP Asia Pacific-Japan, was the next speaker. She introduced three of SAP’s key applications in its BusinessObjects range – the BusinessObjects Intelligence Platform, Business Objects Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) Platform and the BusinessObjects Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Platform – to the participants, as well as demonstrating briefly how each platform works according to various scenarios such as crisis management and budget planning. One key benefit of these platforms is that it ensures that the government achieves optimum performance by connecting people, information and the various government ministries and agencies across 
government networks.

She concluded her presentation by stressing on the importance of the public-private partnership and the need to continuously enhance the partnership through forums, seminars and collaborative projects. This is so that private sector companies like SAP can continuously develop and improve their technologies to meet the technology needs required by the public sector to help them to perform better and more efficiently as demanded by the public.

From strategy to execution

The next speaker after Ms. Ho’s presentation was Ms. Cindy Tan, the Industry Principal for Public Sector, South East Asia at SAP Malaysia. The highlight of her presentation was on the solution model of implementing SAP’s Business Intelligence solutions – from the planning and strategising stage to the execution stage. She explained that achieving operational excellence and efficiency can be a reality with solutions from SAP.

According to Ms. Tan, the implementation of these solutions is carried out based on a simple five-step process. The first step in the process is to identify the objectives of adopting ICT use – what does the agency want to use the ICT for, the areas it hopes to improve, the right technology to use, and to establish clear goals and standards. The next step would then be devising an implementation strategy. Things to consider are timelines to the different phases of the implementation stage as well as the scope. The third step of the process involves the planning stage, where decisions on the “how” of the implementation process is discussed and factors such as budgeting and managing timelines are considered. The fourth would then be cost management where the cost of implementation and other associated costs are assessed and determined. Then, following the implementation or the execution of the strategy, the fifth and final stage involving the analysis and measurement of the success of the implementation will take place.

She concluded her presentation by informing the audience that with SAP’s Business Objects applications, SAP is able to provide fast, seamless connectivity between all government institutions and agencies. Thisensures speedy and effective delivery of real-time data and information to the masses via various communication channels.

Challenges and expectations

After a short interlude, the “Public Sector Challenges & Solutions for Growth” forum began, with Datuk Beatrice Nirmala, the Managing Editor of Technology Business Review and Executive Director of the Adaikalaraj Media Group, as moderator. The first question posed to the panellists touched on the challenges faced by the public sector as Malaysia moves towards being a knowledge and innovation driven economy and the expectations of 
the public.

Mr. Nadza Abdul, the Chief Operating Officer of PosLaju National Courier, spoke first on the need to constantly change tactics and improve if we want to move forward and to be able to see our way clearly in this new reality. Therefore, as the public continues to demand for quick, immediate information from the government, he believes that the public sector has to explore alternative methods to meet the public’s demands. This is what the public is expecting from the Government - they want to see Government agencies operate and perform more at the same level of efficiency as the private sector. The challenge then, is on the Government to find out how to transfer all the information from the various Government agencies and send the information out to the public as fast as possible.

Mr. Nagendran Perumal, the Director of the Software Development Lab in MIMOS which manages the R&D component of ICT, agreed with Mr. Nadza. He noted that all the public wants today is information. He shared that what we mostly have today is just incomprehensible data, which has to be converted to comprehensible information, and then, information has to become knowledge so that we can disseminate the knowledge. The challenge that needs to be addressed then, is how to come up with innovative ways of making information available to everyone, as information can only become knowledge when it is available to everyone.

The next panellist to share his views was Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Mohd. Zulkifli Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali, who is the former Vice-Chancellor of UTM and currently a lecturer at the Business & Advanced Technology Institute at the UTM International Campus in KL. According to Prof. Zulkifli, the public is now more used to the speedy delivery of services from the private sector and will demand the same from the public sectors. However, as the public sector is still using legacy systems and traditional business processes, one of the biggest challenges is to improve these systems and re-train staff without disrupting business continuity. This has to be addressed if the Government wants to be successful in meeting citizens’ demands in the new economy.

He then pointed out that the country’s economy used to depend on land, labour and capital but now, the emphasis is on market-led innovations, human capital and venture capital. These are three needs that will drive the new economy. Therefore, people should be prepared and this means that we should focus on capacity building. Prof. Zulkifli believes that our universities must continue to strive towards world-class standards so that they can produce people who are capable of meeting the new challenges.

The last speaker on the issue was Ms. Ho, who offered her perspectives from a private solutions provider’s point of view. She opined that the Government sector is made up of many complex structures and components and faces many challenges and KPIs. With each challenge and KPI different in each department, the most important thing when it comes to the solution is that technology is definitely an enabler. She stressed that technology will enable the public sector to transform, innovate, enhance and speed up the quality and delivery of services. She pointed out that many governments have already recognised this and Malaysia has also been innovating with technology. To support this, SAP has always sought feedback from executives and directors in the government sectors to find out what their needs are and then develop the tools and frame works that will help their organisations to quickly deliver the services and meet those KPIs.

Her advice to the audience is to choose a platform that is not technology-based, but is process based so that their organisation can be flexible and quick enough to change with a changing economy and to help the government become a high-performing government.

Effectiveness of ICT use in the public sector

The next topic discussed by the panellists was the effectiveness of ICT implementation and adoption in the public sector. With regards to this, Mr. Nagendran opined that there are three barriers hindering the effectiveness of ICT use. Firstly, there is the existence of a communication and connectivity gap despite the rollout of the national broadband plan. For example, there are still many areas such as Sabah and Sarawak that have yet to be connected, thus preventing Malaysia from becoming fully connected as a nation. Mr. Nagendran added that the Government is aware that there is a need to get people to adopt ICT and that is why there are incentives such as the EPF scheme to encourage people to buy a PC. And thirdly, there is also a need to provide value because people want to know how these technologies would benefit them if they use it.

He told the forum that value is derived from the content, which is the information that is made available to the public through the technology. And this is one area that the government also needs to address. Using the Government’s e-portal, myGovernment, as an example, he said that one often encounter broken links and outdated information. In order for information to become knowledge, the user will have to obtain relevant and up-to-date information. MIMOS has been doing what it can to also help encourage capacity building as well to encourage adoption. Mr Nagendran concluded by stressing that while the Government is aware of the need for ICT, more needs to be done to make sure ICT is used effectively not just in the public sector but also in the whole country.

However, from Mr. Nadza’s view, the Government has been quite successful in adopting ICT in the public sector. He explained that the Government has a very cohesive and extensive plan on how to introduce ICT in the public sector and how to roll out ICT capabilities to the public. This is manifested in the plan known as MyICMS 886 from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture, which will roll out High-Speed Broadband (HSBB) to the whole country.

As explained by Mr. Nadza, the roll out of HSBB will be done in a focused way throughout Malaysia and implemented according to three zones. Zone 1 focuses on all the state capitals, major townships and high impact economic zones in the country, Zone 2 on the suburban areas and Zone 3 on all the rural areas. What is unique is that the coverage of HSBB for all these areas is dissimilar, for example, the Government expects to offer HSBB coverage for up to 70% of Zone 1, 55% for Zone 2 and 30% for Zone 3. He opined that this is a very practical target to have and a practical objective to put into a plan. This shows that the government is very realistic in its ability to introduce and adopt ICT in the Malaysian context.

Prof. Zulkifli opined that the government and public service sectors have improved tremendously over the years and that ICT clearly played a major role in it. Of course, there is always room for further improvement in many other areas such as security. He called on the Government to continue improving technology so as to enhance the quality of services, and said that the Government have to make sure that it makes use of capacity building to make sure that the people are equipped to use technology. He also stressed on the importance of universities and agencies like MIMOS to continue innovating technologies, saying that this would be the way forward for Malaysia.

Explaining from SAP’s point of view was the fifth panellist, Mr. Eric Yeap, who is the Industry Sales Manager for SAP Malaysia. He said that with regards to encouraging adoption, the Government has always been very pro-active in their efforts to promote myGovernment through publicity campaigns and TV advertisements. This shows the Government’s sincere commitment to push for the adoption of ICT not only in the public sector but also among the citizens. By understanding the needs of the end-user, SAP is able to align its objectives in tandem with the government’s ICT planning, and help facilitate the Government’s implementation of a firm ICT foundation for today and for the future.

Learn and use or use and learn

Another issue discussed by the panellists was whether ICT awareness and adoption should first be improved before implementing it in services or whether the implementation should proceed first and then be used as a way to encourage the uptake of it in the public. Ms. Ho, Mr. Nadza and Prof. Zulkifli all believe that it can be done either way. However, Ms. Ho said emphasis should be given to the initiatives that would give the most impact. This calls for prioritising and implementing the initiative that makes the most effective impact rather than one that will take a few years to show results. Prioritising also refers to cost management, implementing projects that would benefit the most people and at the same time, is cost-effective. The costs that are saved can then be used to produce and provide more quality services for the people. Most importantly, as with any initiative undertaken, there has to be transparency in all matters, because at the end of the day, the Government is accountable to the people.

Mr. Nadza, on the other hand, is of the opinion that rather than deciding on either strategy, it can be carried out in a two-prong manner. He believes that it is possible to implement the services while at the same time increasing awareness among the people of the benefits of ICT use through various channels like SMS, TV and radio. He said that the Malaysian Government has always been doing this, increasing awareness of how ICT can offer efficiency and convenience for the public while constantly introducing new ICT-based services for the people. An example of this is the mySMS, which is a government SMS portal that disseminates information to the public via SMS. This service is provided free of charge and all the people need to do is register for the service through the web portal.

Although Prof. Zulkifli agrees that it can be done either way, the most important thing is that people must, of course, know basic ICT knowledge in order to use the services implemented by the Government. He says that learning is a continuous process and acquiring competency in ICT is now as important as learning to write.

Mr. Nagendran believes that the important thing is to show that that the Government is committed in the effort to push for ICT adoption by demonstrating that it has the technologies and services in place. Only when people start to use it, can the Government can improve on the services based on public feedback.

Mr Yeap added that SAP understands changes often happen with time especially with regards to policies and decisions from the Government. In view of this, he stressed that SAP is always here and is ever ready to also change and adapt because it understands the necessity for change. He told us that SAP has experienced this many times from its customers and being adaptable and flexible is a quality that SAP is proud to have. This is reflected in the solutions that it offers, such as the industry specific solutions since the public sector services are also industry specific such as the Ministry of Health, the fire brigade and the Ministry of Education.

Enhancing public-private partnerships

On the fourth point, the panellists from the public sector were asked to contribute their inputs on how adopting ICT in public sector service delivery can help them streamline with the needs and demands of the private sector in order to enhance the public-private relationship. Mr Nagendran shared that MIMOS has been doing this by establishing centres of excellence through link-ups and partnerships with major companies from the industry. To date, MIMOS has established six such centres and have linked up with various companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco and SAP as well. Besides tying up with TM and other local companies, MIMOS has also formed partnerships with other international companies as well, such as HP, Intel and Yahoo!

For Mr. Nadza, the question that the private sector often asks is how Government investments in ICT will benefit them. According to him, the answer would be in terms of procurement and investments. Any investments made by the Government, such as ICT spending, will often be channelled to the private sector, because the private sector have the resources, equipment and the skill to help the Government implement its initiatives. The private sector will often gain contracts to provide their services to the Government. He noted that it is always beneficial for the private sector whenever the Government makes an investment in ICT. The onus, however, is on the Government to identify a specific type of ICT spending that will have the biggest multiplier effect on the economy. The private sector, however, should propose and enlighten the Government on that.

Prof. Zulkifli opined that all businesses in the private sector want speed and efficiency. This means quick and reliable services and infrastructure such as broadband connection. The public sector, he said, should not be envious of the way the private sector performs because the needs are different. However, the goal is still the same – both want to see the country’s economy grow. Public sector services play an important role in helping the private sector by simply offering the most effective and efficient service. Collaborations between the Government and private sector to develop services and technologies should also be further encouraged, especially by increasing investments.

Overcoming challenges

The final question posed to the panellists touched on the Government’s initiatives to overcome the challenges discussed and how solutions providers such as SAP can help enhance the capabilities of the public sector. Prof. Zulkifli talked about the importance of decision-making that is based on the latest, up-to-date and most accurate as well as reliable information. He also cautioned against not making a decision simply because one is waiting for more information, as this will lead to procrastination and cause unnecessary delays. The heaviest responsibility in the public sector is making decisions because at the end of the day, that person will be held accountable for the decision. Therefore, he must attempt to get all the information necessary for him to make a decision and to help him do that, he must have the right info at the right time. To Prof. Zulkifli, this is the key to a successful decision-making.

For Mr. Nagendran, trying to come up with a cost-effective solution is always the biggest challenge, especially regarding the cost of implementing systems. Budget planning can sometimes go wrong, particularly in the Malaysian scenario, Mr. Nagendran added. For instance, the Government often plans two years ahead for a five-year plan, and usually by that time, technology would have changed. The information may no longer be reliable or accurate. This is where the solutions provider like SAP can step in to help – by linking the total cost of ownership down to the individual.
The Government provides the infrastructure, agencies like MIMOS provide the knowledge grid and private sectors like SAP can put their platforms on to the knowledge grid and cost is kept low for the public because you pay only when you use SAP’s system.

Mr Nagendran also noted that tendering is very vendor-driven and it should not be this way. Rather, it is more important to look at the needs of the department or identify the best services that will best benefit the people.

Mr. Nadza shared two specific issues to address – speed and clarity. He highlighted the fact that implementation of ICT projects in the public sector is often a very long process due to various reasons. When an ICT project takes up too much time, things can start to go wrong. Secondly, there are a lot of Government agencies that are taking up ICT projects on various scales, and often, the public becomes confuse or unsure of which entity they should go to in order to address their concerns. Thus, there is a need to bring all these agencies together to present a unified front for the consuming public so that they can go to one place where all the Government services are available. The myGoverment portal is one such example of an initiative undertaken by the Government to address this challenge.

From the private sector point of view, both Ms. Ho and Mr. Yeap concurred that the right decisions, a clear strategy must be there and the speed to deploy has to be ensured. Mr Yeap advised the public sector to always consult experts who know the field and who can analyse the problems and give suggestions that will enable them to make the right decisions. He stressed that this is what SAP does best, as it provides consultancy before providing or advising on the type of solution needed. Ms. Ho also stressed that SAP emphasises on developing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with its clients. It is never about selling products but helping clients to make the right decision to enhance performance and improve the quality of services with the best ICT solution.

With that the Forum came to a close. To summarise, the challenges faced are improving the speed of services delivery, the take up of ICT in Malaysia and keeping ICT projects cost-effective. Overall, the panellists also expressed optimism in the direction the Government is heading with regards to its ICT agenda, pointing to the many ICT initiatives that have been implemented by the Government thus far.

Business intelligence the way to go

There was a short presentation on how SAP’s Business Intelligence processes helps improve information delivery and information management, presented by SAP Malaysia’s Senior Solutions Architect, Mr. Adrian Lee. Mr. Lee showed that Business Intelligence is the glue that binds the EPM, ERM and GRC technologies offered by SAP under their BusinessObjects umbrella. He explained to the participants that Business Intelligence helps to communicate strategy, facilitates collaborations and planning between various departments within an organisation or even between various organisations who have SAP’s Business Intelligence processes in their systems.

Testimony of a satisfied client

After Mr. Lee’s presentation, the final speaker of the day’s event was Mr. Rahim Osman, the CEO of Vantage Point, one of SAP’s current partners and clients. He gave a brief overview on how Vantage’s adoption of SAP’s BusinessObjects ERP system has led to a holistic integrated system that has successfully ensured optimum operation efficiency for Vantage’s client, Telekom Malaysia (TM). The project which Vantage undertook involves implementing the GEMS initiative for TM, and they opted for SAP’s ERP system to streamline the entire TM Group’s operations. It was SAP’s largest implementation effort thus far. The project was first mooted back in 2002 before the final blueprint for the implementation was decided in 2005. Within less than two years, on the 3rd of January 2007, the GEMS for TM was successfully launched.

Mr Rahim shared that since the implementation of SAP’s ERP system, TM has successfully managed keep costs down by reducing its inventory from RM300m before GEMS to only RM72m. And at the same service level before GEMS implementation, TM has also managed to trim the size of its logistics staff from 430 to only 150, ensuring greater efficiency. On other improvements on the human resource aspect, he also shared that the GEMS has managed to speed up payroll processing, thereby ensuring TM’s staff get their salaries on schedule. An since the operations have been streamlined, it also allows for a higher proportion of time spent concentrating on HR issues such as training and performance evaluation rather than on administrative issues.

With the conclusion of Mr. Rahim’s testimony, the participants who attended the event managed to attain valuable insights into how SAP’s award-winning BusinessObjects solutions have been able to enhance the quality and efficiency of services delivery in the public sector. Overall, there’s no doubt that the participants have also learnt much about what they can do in their respective departments and organisations to further encourage the adoption of ICT that will not only add value to the organisation but also help elevate the image of the public sector.

The Framework for Success

Turn ICT operations into profit centres with Walter Rhodes’ MIS Optimisation Framework
by Andrew Ser, Principal Consultant, Walter Rhodes

Walter Rhodes, a leading global technology management and business advisory firm, shares with Technology Business Review on how organisations can turn their costly ICT operations from a cost centre into a profit centre with its very own MIS Optimisation Framework.

The definition

The Management Information Systems (MIS) Optimisation Framework or MISOF is a proprietary business and ICT strategy framework used in the management of ICT systems in an organisation. It not only governs ICT practices but also enhances organisational structure and processes to improve overall efficiency ad productivity.

It differs from standard ICT frameworks in that it emphasises on both the business operations and ICT implementation aspect. Walter Rhodes specialises in MIS restructuring exercises where it has extensive experience in combining technology management with strategic business acumen. Beyond the fact that it necessitates the adoption of best practices in business processes and ICT strategy, Walter Rhodes’ MISOF encourages the ownership of Intellectual Property (IP) which is subsequently utilised to achieve tangible business value.

The benefits

The benefits that companies can attain via MISOF include:

• The creation of Intellectual Property (IP) - As a result of lesser dependence on third party vendors and software.
• New revenue streams from the converted ICT unit. - With the proper restructuring via MISOF, organisations are able to retain their domain and technical knowledge, thereby securing their IP to serve as a new source of revenue through the sales of products and services to companies that are external to the parent organisation. Thus, transforming what was once seen as a costly support centre into a profit centre.
• Operational efficiency – Efficiency is through the streamlining of business operations using business best practices and high standards are achieved through implementation of IT Service Management best practices.
• Cost reductions – Since costs for third party software support and administration have been greatly reduced, organisations are able to focus resources on their core businesses.
• Qualification for certain standards of industrial certifications and government-backed incentives, which are specifically reserved for technology businesses. These may include tax exemptions, grants, loans and proficiency development courses for knowledge workers.

Before the implementation of MISOF, all an organisation needs is some form of investments into ICT. Without this, it may be too difficult to conduct the necessary restructuring activities to achieve the required optimisation. When implemented, MISOF typically takes three to four months – from the planning stage to development to implementation.

Organisations are then able to see gradual positive changes after the implementation of MISOF. They begin to see more efficient work flow, simpler management processes, leaner information systems, as well as increased productivity. Within six months, tangible results can be measured and within a year, they are able to achieve better profits.