As the winds of change billowed through Sarawak’s slumbering industries about two decades ago, the use of information technology (IT)took a clearer foothold among the state’s businesses and government agencies.
Realising this emerging growth, the Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS) was established in 1991 with the task of spearheading the development and implementation of IT within Sarawak’s state government to better integrate and utilise its resources.
“Our vision is to leverage IT as a core component in enabling Sarawak socio-economic development. Since then, SAINS has effectively enlarged and intensified the utilisation of ICT in the state of Sarawak,” chief executive officer and managing director Dato Teo Tien Hiong said in SAINS’ corporate profile.
Formed initially as Sarawak Computerisation Services Sdn Bhd, SAINS humbly started out as an independent body to address the software needs of Sarawak’s state government.
Over the years, its immense growth record can be seen through its numerous awards and internationally renowned softwares and IT solutions while its more than 700 employees, supporting business partners and customers across multiple industries are evidences of its success story.
To date, according to SAINS’ company profile, the company has 19 offices and subsidiaries in Malaysia. It has also established partners throughout Southeast Asia and its IT solutions have garnered awards and recognitions both within the Asia Pacific region and on the global platform.
Closer to home, through Silicon Communications Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of SAINS, the company also has offices in Peninsular Malaysia and in Borneo, to establish its presence in Brunei, SAINS has also partnered with Zimacsilicon Technology (B) Sdn Bhd a prominent local IT provider.
Recently, SAINS achieved another hallmark with the expansion of its influence in Papua New Guinea through the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with its government. The MoA involved providing a consultancy ICT model based on SAINS’ experience in developing its IT solutions for Sarawak.
Some other notable highlights include the establishment of PayBills Malaysia; an electronic bill presentment and payment system, SarawakNet; a premier government intranet service for Sarawak’s government, Angkasa; a library management system, e-recruitment, data centres, and more.
To ensure a critical mass of knowledge of mainstream technology, SAINS said it seeks out synergistic partnerships and alliances with leading technology firms in the industry.
“Together with our business partners, SAINS will continue to build strong business relations with government entities and multinational corporations in Malaysia and beyond,” it added.
Aside from that, on the community-front, SAINS has actively given back to society via its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Its hands-on CSR initiatives include its key project; the Rural ICT Guided Home-Based Technopreneur (RiGHT) programme. This programme is part of SAINS’ effort to bridge the urban-rural divide by educating and building the ICT capacity among youths in rural areas of Sarawak. It also aims to develop youths in rural area to become ‘local anchor ICT experts’ in their own community.
As an extension to the RiGHT programme, the RiGHT Mart & Homestay programme is a way for graduates of the RiGHT programme to give back to their own community through the sale of local handicrafts and homestay packages. The programme educates and trains its participants on website creation and e-Commerce.
To further aid the community in rural areas of Sarawak, SAINS had also launched the RiGHT Community Healthcare Advancement Nurturing for Growth Ecosystem (CHANGE) Programme to help residents in rural areas gain easier access to healthcare services through the use of online technology and portable medical testing equipment.
Now in its third decade, SAINS is looking to grow beyond its IT capabilities.
In its SAINS’ Coporate Year Book 2013 to 2014, Teo said: “It is noted that as SAINS grows into its third decade, we are increasingly developing an additional more ‘human’ angle to our two earlier core business objectives.
“Our original objective was assisting the state in public sector computing. This was essentially achieved in our first decade of formation.
“The second objective was to develop sustainable business, especially corporate sector business, beyond the state civil service.
“With some overlap, and a change in our business partnership model, this occurred during our second decade. And now, with overlapping initiatives from our secod decade, we are well on our way towards building a well balanced triangle of business philosophy, supported by the board and the shareholders.”
Forming a united front to empower Sarawak’s ICT
In the near future, tech experts believe the data market will grow exponentially with institutions and organisations viewing its facilities and services as a vital part of their operations.
(From left) SAINS head of procurement & store, education & training Tan Aik Min, Chan, Teo, and Schneider Electric East Malaysia branch manager Ng Soon Leong pose for a photo call after a press interview at SAINS’ Kota Samarahan office.
In a statement last year, the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicted that the big data technology and services market are expected to exhibit strong growth momentum as businesses accelerate their transformation into data-driven companies.
In its forecast, it projected a compounded annual growth rate of 23.1 per cent within the 2014 to 2019 forecast period with annual spending expected to reach US$48.6 million in 2019.
“The ever-increasing appetite of businesses to embrace emerging big data-related software and infrastructure technologies while keeping the implementation costs low has led to the creation of a rich ecosystem of new incumbent suppliers,” Ashish Nadkami, Enterprise Servers and Storage programme director, said in a statement.
Ashish had also highlighted that this strong growth momentum opens up boundless opportunities in terms of new investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities.
Across the globe, technology companies are now joining hands to meet this rising demand while at the same time, ensure that these vital facilities are kept at top shape.
Teo is seen handing over a SAINS gift bag to Chan to mark SAINS’ and Schneider Electric’s partnership.
In Sarawak, to leverage on the swift development of ICT in the state, one such partnership has taken place to meet this growing demand.
Earlier this year, global specialist in energy management and automation Schneider Electric launched an exclusive authorised service provider (ASP) programme. It has appointed two companies to be part of this programme.
These companies include home-grown Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS).
During the launch of the programme, Schneider Electric IT Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Schneider Electric Malaysia) business director Chan Jian Wen in a statement said, “Schneider Electric’s market in Malaysia has grown significantly over the years and our services business has been growing twenty per cent annually since 2013.
“At this juncture, we need the help of partners to scale the reach and not only continue to grow our after-sales services business but also, to empower our partners with new revenue opportunities.”
Under this ASP programme, Schneider Electric will train and certify engineers from participating companies annually to ensure that these engineers possess the critical knowledge in providing after-sales support such as preventive maintenance, response to breakdowns and diagnosing problems that were triggered by alerts.
“There is an increase in demand in terms of after-service support and there is also an increase for predictive support.
“It is not like before as the risk has grown now. We want people who are certified and are trained to service or maintain our equipments,” Chan told BizHive Weekly during a recent sit-down with SAINS and Schneider Electric at SAINS’ recently opened office and data centre in Kota Samarahan.
To note, in Malaysia, Schneider Electric offers data centre solutions which include storage systems, modular UPS’ and cooling systems, pre-fabricated micro data centres and server room infrastructure including rows and rack (automation).
The collaboration between SAINS and Schneider Electric has been viewed as synergistic by both parties as SAINS is already an well-established IT company in Sarawak while Schneider Electric’s IT solutions and services are internationally well-known.
SAINS has also indirectly established a long-term partnership with Schneider Electric via the American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) which was subsequently acquired by Schneider Electric in 2007.
“This is a long term journey for both of us and we are going to start this programme to equip the engineer to provide the necessary support,” Chan said.
Meanwhile, SAINS chief executive officer (CEO) Dato Teo Tien Hiong in a previous statement had said, “SAINS was given the task of spearheading the development and implementation of IT within the Sarawak state government to better integrate and utilise its resources.
“Our vision is to leverage IT as a core component in enabling Sarawak socio-economic development.
“This programme and certification from Schneider Electric will definitely benefit the professional skills of our engineers and help us deliver on our mission and accelerate our own growth in the process.”
He also noted that the idea of this collaboration is to go beyond what SAINS and Schneider Electric have been doing for the last decades.
“Now, we are looking at a more comprehensive representation with Schneider Electric to see what we can achieve together.
“We are excited and keen to see where and what we can bring to the market through this collaboration, particularly in East Malaysia,” he told BizHive Weekly.
A win-win coalition
For SAINS, Teo explained that for more than 20 years, SAINS has developed more than 300 ICT solutions and it has also established partnerships with companies throughout Malaysia as well as Asia, Africa and the Oceania region.
“In the deployment of those solutions, there will be a need for the services which Schneider Electric can provide.
“We are looking at a win-win collaboration. Schneider Electric needs a partner to provide a reason for potential customers to purchase their products while SAINS also needs a partner that can support the products and solutions that we provide,” he added.
With two data centres already established in Kuching, namely one in Kota Samarahan and the other in Petra Jaya, Teo pointed out that the need for partnerships with data solutions providers such as Schneider Electric becomes even more vital to equip their engineers with the right knowledge to maintain and operate their facilities.
“Today, we need a bigger a platform to operate and to serve the growing demand. We can no longer work alone in this day and age as information and data grows at a rampant rate,” he commented.
Sustaining operations together
Beyond SAINS, Teo highlighted that there is a high possibility that more companies would outsource their ICT services in order to improve and sustain their operations.
Today, as consumers demand more round-the-clock services, businesses have grown more dependent on ICT which can provide the 24-7 services to needed.
At the same time, like a car, these ICT facilities also need to be taken care of and maintained in order to sustain its operations and subsequently, ensure that the businesses are not disrupted by ‘down-times’ or system failures.
Teo noted, “As businesses and industries grow, the importance of ICT becomes more prominent. When it comes to storing and calculating massive data from a business or industry, it becomes even more of a concern to ensure that their operations and equipments run smoothly.”
This comes down to the solutions and services which Schneider Electric can provide and which its ASP programme is expected to help supplement their after-sales services.
Schneider Electric had noted the company is a trusted partner known for its reliability and energy efficiency. It added that with the appointment of ASPs, Schneider Electric it would be able to efficiently serve the increasing demand from cloud computing, Internet of Things (IOT) and new economies.
“Schneider Electric is confident that this programme will benefit its customers in Malaysia and contribute to the bottom line for both Schneider Electric and its partners.
“Data centre solutions is a significant business for Schneider Electric and the organisation remains committed to empower data center managers with access to all the data and tools they need to operate their data centers more reliably, efficiently, productive, safe and green,” it said in a recent note.
Teo also viewed that through this programme, SAINS would be able to also provide its engineers who are certified and trained in maintaining Schneider Electric’s equipments.
“The training and this partnership goes hand-in-hand. When the products are sold, we have people ready who can offer their services to maintain the products.
“One of our core value is service and customer support. We take pride in giving customer service and support,” he said.
Chan added, “Besides having the resources who can offer a quick-fix to the products, the parts are equally as important.
“We provide quality parts. That’s why we are particular with this training and equipment parts because eventually, this would effect the brand’s reputation.
“This collaboration is to educate the market as well. We hope that this partnership would show the market that there is an importance in terms of maintenance and having a certified team to maintain the product.”
Schneider Electric goes the extra mile for a greener future
Energy consumption across world has more than doubled over the last decade as urbanisation even faster than before.
In its World Energy Outlook 2015 report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projected that overall, world energy demand is expected to grow by nearly one third between 2013 and 2040, with net growth driven entirely by developing countries.
It pointed out that despite signs that a low-carbon transition is underway, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to be 16 per cent higher by 2014.
The report also highlighted that the world’s appetite for electricity would lift demand by more than 70 per cent by 2040.
Nevertheless, IEA also revealed that aware of this growing demand and possible impact on the environment, concerted efforts are underway to reduce the environmental consequences of power generation.
Schneider Electric, global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, is one such company which has made it its mission to gauge a company’s potential while reducing the impact on the environment.
“Schneider Electric sees that the growth of energy demand would double in the next approximately five years.
“When energy demand is growing, we see that there is this concern over global warming because whenever there is demand for energy, often the production of energy can effect the environment.
“This is a dilemma as urbanisation grows, the energy demand increases and at the same time, global warming is increasingly becoming a problem,” Schneider Electric IT Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Schneider Electric Malaysia) business director Chan Jian Wen highlighted to BizHive Weekly.
He further pointed out that Schneider Electric’s main mission and commitment is to provide solutions to companies or industries to ensure that energy is consumed efficiently not only for the benefit of the environment but for businesses’ or industries’ as well, in terms of cost efficiency.
“The holistic view is to ensure that the global warming potential is kept low while people have more access to energy,” he added.
According to Schneider Electric, the company aims to boost energy efficiency in developed economies throughout all market segment including new economies.
In Malaysia, one particular division which Schneider Electric is focusing on is energy efficient solutions for data centres in the country.
Chan had revealed that one of the biggest consumer of energy is data centres and with the rapid growth of digital content across the globe, the amount of energy needed to run these growing number of data centres are expected to increase even more than before.
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) had also pointed this out in a 2014 report, noting that with the growth of digital data, big data, e-commerce, and Internet traffic, data centres are becoming one of the fastest-growing users of electricity in developed countries.
“That’s why Schneider Electric goes into data centres because we see the next biggest energy consumer is data centres,” Chan commented.
He added, “Data centres are one of the largest power consumers in the world as data centres consume a lot of energy because there are a lot of servers going into these data centres.
“With this high amount of demand and high processing power, any amount of energy saving will bring a big impact to the world from an environmental perspective.”
He also noted that this was one of the reasons why Schneider Electric had acquired APC in 2007. APC, as a well established manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies, electronics peripherals and data centre products provides a leverage for Schneider Electric to provide more energy efficient solutions to its readily-available products.
Through its recently launched ASP programme, Schneider Electric also hopes to train and certify its partners’ engineers to ensure that its products and equips are well maintained in order for it to run at an optimum level and subsequently, save on energy for the long run.
On the background of Schneider Electric, according to its website, the company was established more than 180 years ago.
Starting out as a company involved in the iron and steel industry, and heavy machinery and ship building and eventually, it transformed its business strategy to electricity and automation management.
In a press statement, it said, the company now has more than 150,000 employees worldwide and it has achieved sales of 24 billion euros in 2013, through an active commitment to help individuals and organisations “make the most of their energy”.