The Launch of the Very First Multi-Location Cloud in Malaysia by Exabytes
On last Tuesday, Exabytes launched the very first Multi-Location Cloud Hosting in Malaysia that provides the choice for customers to choose the location of their cloud servers in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya,Singapore or theUnited States. Everything from ordering, billing, provisioning of the cloud services are fully automated via online and customers can buy a cloud virtual server and have it up and running within 10 minutes. At the same time, the MOU signing ceremony between Exabytes and MDeC also took place before an audience that included over ten pressmen from different publications.
The time was10.30am; more than a hundred guests had made their appearance at Cyberview Resort and Spa, Cyberjaya to get first-hand information on the first Multi-Location Cloud inMalaysiaas well as Exabytes MSC Cloud Program.
The event officially kick-started at 11.00am sharp. Addressing the audience first was founder and CEO of Exabytes, Mr. Chan Kee Siak, who later presented to the attendees the Live Demo of Exabytes Cloud. According to Chan, the partnership between Exabytes and MDeC plays a crucial role in supporting MSC Malaysia Cloud Initiatives – SAAS Acceleration program and it is part of Exabytes’ corporate objective to develop the Malaysian ICT sector in line with the maturing local market of more savvy providers and consumers.
Taking over the stage was Mr Dinesh, Director of Infotech Industry Cluster at MDeC. In his keynote speech, Mr Dinesh stressed that cloud is a critical enabler forMalaysia’s ICT sector and for the economy as a whole. The MSC Malaysia Cloud Initiative is in line with the targets of MSC Malaysia, which is lowering the barrier of entry for ICT companies and SMEs alike. “The initiative and partnership will pave way for cloud solutions to become more available and accessible to MSC Malaysia SMEs, and will undoubtedly make them more competitive globally”, he added.
Subsequently, it’s MOU Signing Ceremony between Exabytes and MDeC. A strong impetus to growth, the partnership is set to help greatly in achieving the following objectives:
- 60 Online Solution Providers on the Cloud by end 2012
- 6000 New *Digital Enterprise by end 2015 (*Malaysian SMEs utilizing ICT solutions and conducting business online)
- 1500 new jobs for engineered positions by end 2015
- 1% share of (Cloud Computing) global market to be contributed by MSC Malaysia companies by 2015
This is followed by the photo session for Exabytes and MDeC before the presentations by two ISVs (independent software vendors).
The first vendor to share his experience with cloud technology is Mr. Billy Loo from Imaginixe.com. Before the adoption of cloud, the company’s self-hosted HR application could only be sold to large enterprises. However, since the conversion to SaaS Platform using cloud, Billy is able to market his application to SMEs and increase his revenue significantly.
Next, Mr. Yong, the IT Director from SEGi University stepped forward to tell us the expenses incurred as well as the problems encountered by the University’s IT department in the past before they adopted cloud in November last year, when Exabytes first launched its cloud hosting services. According to him, the university is glad that they have made the right choice to shift its in-house IT burden to Exabytes and reduce its IT expenses by hosting on dedicated server or server co-location.
Under Exabytes MSC Cloud Program, Exabytes will offer RM3,000 of Cloud Hosting Credits to all MSC Status companies. These companies may use the RM3,000 credit to buy any Cloud Hosting Package suitable for them. The credit is valid for 6 months, subsidized by Exabytes.
For MSC Status Companies who has developed Software and which can be converted to Cloud Based Software As A Service (SAAS) model, MSC Malaysia will subsidize an additional RM15,000 of Cloud Hosting Credit amounting to a total of RM18,000 of Cloud Hosting from Exabytes and MDEC. On top of the RM18,000, Exabytes will also help the MSC Status companies promote their services to its 60,000+ SME Customers during road shows and exhibitions. That adds an additional RM13,000 of marketing value to the MSC Status companies.
According to CEO Chan, cloud hosting / computing is not limited to just large, ICT-strong organizations. Rather, it can rightly benefit SMEs even more as it (cloud computing model) advocates a very cost-effective way to utilize IT and technology to support business activities.
Q&A session was later conducted before the much awaited lucky draw session. The lucky winner would bring home a 21” Dell LCD Monitor sponsored by DELL. CEO Chan was invited to the stage to present the prize to the luckiest person of the day. Finally, the event ended at around 2.00pm, amid lunch and networking among Exabees, members of the press and our valuable guests.