Darwinbox Appoints Ex-Salesforce Product Leader as VP Product to Accelerate Innovation

March 9, 2022 TechENT Syndication Leave a comment

SINGAPORE, March 9, 2022 — Darwinbox, Asia’s leading HR Tech platform, announced the appointment of Vivek Iyer to its Executive Leadership team. Vivek joins as the Vice President of Product.

Vivek Iyer, VP Product, Darwinbox.

An ex-Salesforce and Kony Product Management executive, Vivek will lead Darwinbox’s product & engineering team, spearheading the company’s goal of becoming a tech leader in the Human Capital Management space worldwide. The cloud-based HRMS provider currently serves 650 enterprises, with a third of them having transitioned from established platforms by Oracle, SAP and Workday.

Speaking about the appointment, Vivek said, "The world of work has been evolving at a rapid pace with HR and HR tech taking center stage in this revolution. I am excited to join Darwinbox at this juncture where organizations are getting tremendous value out of modern HR technology." He added, "My mission will be to accelerate Darwinbox’s product innovation in alignment with our business goals and market needs, and I could not be more enthused to amplify our HRMS platform’s value proposition for our customers."

With an 18-year long stint in software engineering with leading multinationals, Vivek has worked across the entire spectrum of product management. Most recently, he has worked at Salesforce where he maximised value for hundreds of Salesforce customers as part of its Industries Cloud. Prior to this, Vivek spent 10 years with Kony building their Mobile Security, Messaging and Marketplace offerings, while leading a team of over 60 engineers, product managers and technical writers. Vivek has an MBA from IIM, Calcutta and is an alumnus of Anna University, Chennai.

"We are delighted to welcome Vivek as we gear up to accelerate our product innovation agenda and strengthen our product & engineering team. His vast experience across mobile application development, enterprise middleware, API management, and SaaS in the enterprise software space both in India and in the United States will add a fresh perspective and more depth to our product roadmap," said Chaitanya Peddi, Co-founder & Product Head at Darwinbox.

The company’s recent Series D funding has energized its mission to continue building technology that enables organizations to unlock the highest potential of their people. With the appointment of seasoned professionals like Vivek, the team at Darwinbox is all charged up to enhance and amplify a world-class product.

Speaking specifically about the planned product innovations, Chaitanya added, "There will be increased focus on EX, AI and ML development, and data analytics for enterprises. We are also aiming to broaden our product offerings with ancillary services and solutions that enterprises can plug and play into their HR tech ecosystem."

Backed by Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India Partners, Endiya and other strategic investors, Darwinbox serves over 1.5 million employees across 90+ countries including fast growing unicorns (Zilingo, Zalora, Carousell, Tokopedia), leading enterprises (SBS Transit, Armstrong, EM Services, MatchMove, Funding Societies, Mitra Adiperkasa) and large conglomerates (JG Summit Holdings, Indorama, Wilmar and parts of Salim, Djarum and Century Pacific groups) in the region. It also serves leading global brands like Nivea, Starbucks, Dominos, T-Systems, AXA, Tokio, Cigna amongst others.

Computers, Lifestyle, News

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is Now Officially Available in Malaysia for MYR 7,399 Onward!

March 9, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Back in February, Microsoft has announced that they are finally bringing the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio to Malaysia. They put it up for pre-order in the middle of February 2022. Now you get to officially buy it in stores.

As mentioned in the previous article, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio was launched in back in September 2021. This is also an era when Intel has yet to introduce their latest 12^th generation Core processors. That also means that the most powerful Microsoft Surface device is still powered by an 11^th generation Intel Core processor.

In case you forgot, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes with a display you can tilt around to make it a sort of a tablet or a touch display with an easel stand or kickstand behind it. It is more stable though since it has the whole weight of the laptop underneath it. Of course, it works like a normal laptop too.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes in either an Intel Core i5-11300H processor or an Intel Core i7-11370H processor. With the Core i5 variant, you get Intel’s proven Iris Xe graphics. The More powerful Core i7 variant gets NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050Ti GPU. The One with Core i7 and the GeForce RTX 3050Ti is the one you want.

There is also a Stylus included with the laptop. The stylus can be used on the brilliant 14.4-inch touch sensitive display that boasts 120Hz in refresh rate. The Studio laptop also features Quad Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos certification to keep you inspired or entertained when it matters.

Surface Laptop Studio Photo 1 — Source: Microsoft

Surface Laptop Studio Photo 5 LR — Source: Microsoft

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is now available via Maxis and all Microsoft’s authorised retailers including Shopee and Lazada. You can choose between two configurations for the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, as mentioned. There is also a third configuration available for Malaysia. It is a Harvey Norman exclusive though. The Harvey Norman exclusive (MYR 11,999) comes with Intel’s Core i7, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050Ti, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of SSD storage, whereas the regular (MYR 9,399) Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio tops out at 16GB of RAM with 512GB in SSD storage. More information on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio can be found on their website.

Computers, Lifestyle, News

Apple Introduces the M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio and fit an A13 Bionic in a 5K Studio Display

March 9, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

No, Apple did not introduce two computing solutions in the Apple event today. They only introduced one computing solution. It is one Mac Studio, and a Studio Display. The Studio Display is just that, a display, not a computing device.

Apple Studio Display

It might as well be though; it packs enough hardware in it to house Apple’s iOS or iPad OS. Yes, it packs Apple’s A13 bionic System on a Chip (SoC). It is a slightly older generation chipset, but still a capable one at that.

The chipset is not used to power an operating system within the display though. It is used to run centre stage capabilities on the built-in 12-Megapixel camera with ultra-wide lens. The powerful chip also allows the six-speakers built into the display to have Apple’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos for an immersive audio when you need it for entertainment.

The main highlight is the 27-inch 5K (5,120 by 2,880 pixels) IPS panel. They say it features 1 billion (10-bit) colours at a wide DCI-P3 colour gamut. This should mean that it features a highly accurate colour reproduction, a sort of requirement if you want to seat it in professional workflows. You can even configure it with something they call Nano-texture coating that acts as an anti-glare coating without the display losing its gloss and colour saturation.

Apple Studio Display 5K Retina 220308 — Source: Apple

Apple Studio Display connectivity MacBook Air 220308 — Source: Apple

Like any good display there are plenty room for I/O expansions on the Stuido Display. Unfortunately, they are all USB Type-C ports. Besides the mandatory power cable for the 27-inch display, you only need on small USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 capable cable to come out from the back to your Mac. It does not support HDMI or DisplayPort, which is rather sad. At the same time, the Thunderbolt port also outputs 96W to keep your MacBook charged when it is plugged it.

The way you work with the Studio Display can be very flexible too. There are three stand options for the Studio Display. You can choose to work with it with a very basic tilt-adjustable stand, a stand with tilt and height adjustment, or a simple VESA ready mounting behind the display.

Price and Availability

The Apple Studio Display will be available in the United States (US) from the 18^th of March onward. It is available in a few configurations. There are not confirmed dates for its availability in Malaysia. We are guessing that it might come somewhere in April.

You can opt for a regular glass display without coating at MYR 6,999 or one with the anti-glare Nano-texture coated glass at MYR 8,299. There are three stand or mount configuration to choose from as well. Unfortunately, they do not seem interchangeable. You also want to add MYR 1,600 to the price tag if you want the stand with both tilt and height adjustments. More information on the Studio Display can be found on their website.

Apple Mac Studio with M1 Ultra

There is no M2 here, not when they have not touched on the Mac Pro. We do not want to say that there is nothing ground-breaking here too, because it is an interesting solution to a problem that Apple created for themselves when they shifted to their own silicon platform for all their computing needs. At the same time, there is nothing too ground-breaking or too surprising on this new Mac Mini lookalike.

Let us get one thing straight though, it is not a Mac Mini. It just looks like one from certain angles. It is also taller than a Mac Mini with more vented ports. Where the Mac Mini stops at the M1 SoC, the Mac Studio starts from an M1 Max, not even an M1 Pro variant here. It is not even priced like a Mac Mini.

There is no need to introduce the M1 Max SoC. It is the same one that you can find on the MacBook Pro. The M1 Ultra though, needs a small introduction, but not that much, you will see our point. Like the M1 Pro and M1 Max, the M1 Ultra is based on the same architecture that the M1 is built upon. They just managed to make it larger than the M1 Max. The result is more processing cores, more GPU cores, more power consumption, and in theory, more power delivered for the MacOS it powers.

Very much like the M1 Max and M1 Pro chipsets though, the M1 Ultra is not truly unique on its own. The only really interesting thing about it is that it is basically two Apple M1 Max SoCs glued together by a connecting bridge that Apple claims to be unique to Apple and no one else. You can hardly refute that claim though, you have never seen the likes of Intel and AMD gluing two of their chips together to make a single larger operating chip. You might see Qualcomm trying to follow suit with their future computing solutions, but we do not see that happening anytime soon.

The result is the M1 Ultra doubles its processing speed from the M1 Max allowing for up to more than triple the CPU performance and nearly five times more GPU performance (Apple claims). It doubles the memory bandwidth allowing for up to 128GB in unified memory, and we expect it to also double the power consumption. They did not specify that, but it makes sense.

Double the power also means twice the heat to manage, which also means that the Mac Mini-esque Studio block gets proper cooling and ventilation to keep the M1 Ultra happy at pace. Thanks to all of that, the Mac Studio is capable of handling 18 simultaneous 8K ProRes video streams in one go for a smooth multi-camera workflow when you need it. Then again, Apple ProRes is Apple’s proprietary video format that should be optimised to Apple’s chipsets and use case. But 18 streams is, at the very least, properly impressive.

According to Apple, the Mac Studio is also capable of handling up to 5 displays. According to the presentation, the Mac Studio can work with up to four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K display. To afford that kind of set-up requires you to spend upward of MYR 100,000 though. The more sensible set up for an editing studio would be a two-monitor editing set-up and a 4K presentation display. If you are going to go all Apple on that, it is still about MYR 40,000 onward.

Still, we should not steal any limelight from the star of the show, the Mac Studio. It packs six Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C ports (four at the back, two up front) and one HDMI port. As per their presentation, it supports up to five displays at the same time. For content creators, there is an SDXC card slot up front for a much more fluid workflow when you need it. Of course, if you work with CF Express cards, you still need a reader.

Price and Availability

You can buy the new Apple Mac Studio in two main configurations – M1 Max, or M1 Ultra. The M1 Max Mac Studio starts at MYR 8,799, which is the price of a decent gaming PC. The M1 Ultra variant of the Mac Studio starts at MYR 16,799, which can be more expensive than a high-end gaming PC. You can top out the Mac Studio with and M1 Ultra with 64-core GPU, 128GB in unified memory and 8TB in SSD storage. That will set you back MYR 32,799. If you really want to, you can add Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro into the package and pay nearly MYR 35,000 for on Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.

It will be available in the US from the 18^th of March 2022. As per the Studio Display, there are no confirmed local (Malaysia) availability dates for the Mac Studio currently. We are guessing as well that it would hit the Malaysian shores somewhere in April or May. More information on the Apple Mac Studio can be found on their website.

PR Newswire

Securonix Announces APJ Business Momentum led by Cloud-Native SIEM Adoption and Partner Program Expansion

March 9, 2022 TechENT Syndication Leave a comment

Company also appoints three senior hires to spearhead regional growth

SINGAPORE, March 9, 2022 — Securonix, Inc., a leader in Next-Gen SIEM, today announced business momentum for the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, and three strategic hires to bolster its regional leadership team and accelerate market growth.

Neil Campbell has been appointed to the role of vice president for APJ, alongside Ajay Kumar as director for APJ and Middle East (ME), and Vinny Sharma as director of marketing for APJ and ME.

Securonix’s regional traction has been driven by record demand for cloud-native security monitoring and analytics, the company’s flexible cloud deployment models, and rapid partner program expansion.

"Leading enterprises and managed service providers in APJ have shown a strong appetite for solutions that enable more effective detection and response to advanced threats in cloud environments, and flexible deployment options that align with their cloud strategies, data retention requirements, and overall business needs," said Andy Vallila, Chief Revenue Officer, Securonix. "Neil, Vinny, and Ajay will play key roles in accelerating the impressive growth we are experiencing in-region and innovative product portfolio go-to-market efforts."

"I am thrilled to join Securonix to help fuel its expansion in the world’s fastest-growing region as Asian enterprises step up their cybersecurity posture to safeguard increasing digital transformation efforts," said Neil Campbell, VP for APJ, Securonix. "Organizations across APAC are reportedly 80 percent more likely to fall prey to a cyber attack due to the region’s digital use and connectivity. I am looking forward to working closely with our regional customers and partners to protect their digital assets and hybrid enterprises against the rising tide of ransomware and other malicious activities."

Over the past 12 months, a record number of APJ customers and managed service providers offering SIEM-as-a-Service (SaaS) have adopted Securonix as a modern security analytics platform to replace their legacy SIEM solutions.

Securonix’s pure SaaS architecture providing complete visibility into complex cloud and hybrid environments, and new ‘Bring your own AWS‘ and ‘Securonix with Snowflake‘ programs have driven regional market traction highlighted by:

100 percent SaaS growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
Expanding in SaaS footprint with new AWS pods in India and Australia to add to current pod in Singapore, with an upcoming pod in Japan.
240 percent year-on-year new managed security service provider (MSSP) logo bookings growth.
100 percent year-on-year employee headcount growth, eclipsing 1,000 employees worldwide.
Securonix was named a leader for the third consecutive time in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), positioned furthest for completeness of vision, and scored highest across all three use cases in the 2021 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).

Securonix has recently secured investment of more than US$1 billion led by Vista Equity Partners to further its global leadership position in cloud-native security analytics and operations.

Securonix’s expansion plan for the APJ region over the next six to 12 months include setting up an office in Japan and establishing footprint across the Southeast Asia (SEA) region, through the appointment of MSSPs and partner enablement. The company currently has operations in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), and Singapore. It aims to double its headcount and achieve double-digit growth across the APJ region by 2024.

Bringing over more than 25 years of leadership and management experience in cybersecurity across global and regional roles, Campbell is responsible for charting Securonix’s overall growth strategy across the APJ region. He was most recently vice president for Asia Pacific (APAC) at Rapid 7 where he spearheaded and built out the company’s sales operations across key markets in the region. Other global and senior leadership roles Campbell had assumed over the course of his career include those held at Telstra and Dimension Data.

Kumar joins Securonix with over a decade of technical sales leadership experience, most recently holding the position of director of solutions engineering for APJ at BeyondTrust. At Securonix, Kumar will lead pre-sales and proof of concepts for the APJ market.

Sharma brings more than 16 years of regional marketing experience in the networking and cybersecurity space to Securonix, most recently holding the position of head of marketing for India at Infoblox. Sharma will lead marketing efforts for APJ and ME at Securonix.

Securonix is actively recruiting in APJ and will continue to add new jobs across all business functions over the next 12 months to leverage the region’s wealth of technical talent. To view Securonix career opportunities, please visit: https://careers.securonix.com/.

About Securonix

Securonix is redefining SIEM for today’s hybrid cloud, data-driven enterprise. Built on big data architecture, Securonix delivers SIEM, UEBA, XDR, SOAR, Security Data Lake, NTA and vertical-specific applications as a pure SaaS solution with unlimited scalability and no infrastructure cost. Securonix reduces noise and prioritizes high fidelity alerts with behavioral analytics technology that pioneered the UEBA category. To learn more, visit www.securonix.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

iOS, Mobile, News

The New Apple iPad Air, Now with M1 Chip at MYR 2,699, Why Do You Want Anything Else?

March 9, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When the Apple iPad Air first launched, we thought: “hmmm, this is a very interesting device”. We must admit too, we wanted one. It is the first Apple iPad that features a modern and generally accepted USB Type-C connectivity. It also brought the Apple iPad ecosystem, save for the iPad Pro, to the modern world with the most powerful Apple System on a Chip (SoC) at its time. The new A14 bionic matched the Apple iPad experience to the most modern Apple iPhone you can find at the time.

The M1 on Air

Still, at its price, it became one of the most desirable Apple tablets you can find. It would be also our recommendation of you had money to spare for a tablet. To be fair, Apple’s tablet game has been unrivaled for quite some time now, why would the Apple iPad Air be any different with what it could offer, before the iPad Pro leapfrogged it with the M1 chip.

Now though, the Apple iPad Air for 2022 has become the most desirable Apple iPad again. It now packs the power of the M1 SoC, the same one you can find on a MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. That is not all they did to improve the Apple iPad.

Built for Video Calls

You now get Centre Stage 12-Megapixel FaceTime HD camera. The previous iPad Air did not get this feature because the front camera is not wide enough for the feature. Out the back is a the regular 12-Megapixel camera that you get from before. Thanks to the new chipset, the Apple iPad Air also gets 5G connectivity out-of-the-box for a quick workflow anywhere, and anytime. Of course, you still could opt for a Wi-Fi only version. That is about it for the improvements on the Apple iPad Air though.

More of the Same Things

Apple iPad Air Apple Pencil lifestyle 220308 — Source: Apple

Apple iPad family lineup 220308 — Source: Apple

The display is still a 10.9-inch, like before. The 2,360 by 1,640 Liquid Retina display with wide colour gamut (DCI P3) is unchanged. There is no home button out front too, like the older device. The Touch ID enabled power button still sits in the same place and the same as before. The iPad OS 15 though, is an expected update.

Price and Availability

The Apple iPad Air for 2022 will be available in the United States starting from the 18^th of March 2022 onward. There is no confirmed local (Malaysia) availability for it at this time, but we are guessing that it will be available later in March, or somewhere in April 2022. It will be available in Space Grey, Pink, Purple, Blue, and Starlight colour options. It is also available in only 64GB and 256GB configurations. Of course, you can choose between a Wi-Fi only or a 5G capable options. Prices start from MYR 2,699 and MYR 3,349 respectively. More information on the Apple iPad Air can be found on their website.

iOS, Mobile, News

Apple Launches Two Green Things and The Apple iPhone SE with 5G

March 9, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s event just happened, and there is a lot to talk about at the event. The event is also almost everything we expected it to be. Everything, except the new colours of the iPhone 13 series. You can now have them in Green. Samsung’s new S22 series in their green colour might have something to do with that. Then there is the Apple iPhone SE, now more powerful than ever.

Apple iPhone13 family lineup 220308 — Source: Apple

Apple iPhone13 Pro alpine green hero 2up 220308 — Source: Apple

If you scroll through its micro site on Apple.com, the Apple iPhone SE opens with its price tag at MYR 2,099 (US$ 429) onward. Yes, it is the most affordable iPhone still, and it looks like the classic iPhone of old (iPhone 8), before they move into the new generation edge-to-edge display that you first see in the iPhone X.

The new iPhone SE is now powered by an A15 Bionic chip, the same one that powers the Apple iPhone 13 series. Hold on, that’s not right. This brings the iPhone SE ahead a few generations from the old one, at a price point much lower than the iPhone 13 flagships. It also brings 5G capability to the most affordable iPhone in their current range. We are not complaining.

More Of The Classic

Of course, as Apple’s most affordable device, there are going to be a few compromises and differences over the iPhone 13. The most obvious difference being the display. It features a 4.7-inch IPS display that you probably recognise from the iPhone 8. You get a display just slightly over 720p at 1,334 by 750 pixels. Because the display is not that big, the ppi count is still at 326. It also features a wide P3 colour gamut, which is good. It is nothing like the Apple iPhone 13’s XDR display, but you are also paying a lot less.

Turn the IP67 chassis around and there is more tribute to the classic iPhone design of old. You are met with a 12-Megapixel camera. That is it, a traditional single camera jutting out of the top left corner of the device supported by a single LED flash. The good thing here is that you get the full processing power of A15 Bionic for your photos, and a simplified interface without the fuss of choosing your lenses. It is also capable of 4K video recording thanks to the System on a Chip (SoC). Out front is a rather regular 7-Megapixel camera, nothing much to shout about there.

Apple iPhoneSE 5G SharePlay lifestyle 220308 — Source: Apple

Apple iPhoneSE iOS SharePlay 220308 — Source: Apple

Yes, the home button is back. The iconic home button is also their traditional Touch ID sensor for biometric security. Unfortunately, that also means that there is no Apple Face ID here.

Bigger Battery Life

The biggest improvement on the Apple iPhone SE that makes them a popular choice is probably their battery life. The Apple iPhone SE of old offers a battery life that is even longer than the flagship devices. Given, the hardware from the iPhone SE requires less power than the flagship iPhones. You can charge the iPhone SE at 20W or even via a wireless charging pad. They claim that the iPhone SE can last up to 2 hours longer than the iPhone 8 in video playback. That is as specific as they get with the battery life though.

Price and Availability

The new Apple iPhone SE will be available for pre-order in Malaysia on 18^th March 2022 onward in Malaysia and will ship 25^th March 2022 onward. It is available in three colour choices – the traditional Midnight black, Starlight white, and (Product) RED. There are also three configurations available to you at 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. Prices start at MYR 2,099 and tops out at MYR 2,799. More information on the Apple iPhone 13 can be found on thei r website.

PR Newswire

China.org.cn: Survey Reveals Overseas Opinion of Beijing Winter Olympics

March 8, 2022 TechENT Syndication Leave a comment

BEIJING, March 8, 2022 — The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics came to a successful conclusion on the evening of February 20, when the Olympic flame was extinguished during a closing song. Over the course of the games, China.org.cn commissioned a specialist agency to conduct an overseas public opinion survey related to the Beijing Winter Olympics. This poll was conducted among individuals aged 20-69 in the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea. According to the data, 73.2% of overseas respondents followed the Winter Olympics to varying degrees; respondents largely viewed the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as being professional, exciting and friendly. It was also found that young people are among the most willing to come to China and learn more about the country.

01.

Over 70% of overseas respondents followed the Beijing Winter Olympics

Those in their 20s and 30s watched most closely

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics garnered worldwide attention, especially from among young people overseas. According to the data, 73.2% of respondents said they had followed the Beijing Winter Olympics to varying degrees. The younger the respondents, the higher the proportion of people who were "very interested" in the Beijing Winter Olympics, with 75% of respondents in their 20s and 30s following the Winter Olympics.

Over 70% of overseas respondents followed the Beijing Winter Olympics

Among those following the Beijing Winter Olympics, 81.4% followed the event on TV, far ahead of other mediums for following the games. The global viewership of the Beijing Winter Olympics reached an all-time high, setting new records in terms of broadcast duration, technology and content production, according to a press conference held for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Based on the data, respondents paid the most attention to "live competitions" as well as "medal tallies and competition results", 53.9% and 50.9%, respectively. Star athletes, the opening and closing ceremonies in addition to life at the Olympic Village were popular aspects of the games.

02.

High praise from overseas: Professional, exciting and friendly were the top key terms

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said in his speech at the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics that "these were truly exceptional games." In the survey, overseas respondents also said they were deeply impressed with the Beijing Winter Olympics, with the top words associated with the event being professional, exciting and friendly.

High praise from overseas: Professional, exciting and friendly were the top key terms

According to the data, respondents believe that China’s successful hosting of the Olympic Winter Games in the face of COVID-19 has had a positive impact mainly in the areas of "carrying forward the Olympic spirit and promoting unity and solidarity among countries" (32.1%) and "promoting sports and cultural exchanges among countries around the world" (31.7%).

03.

Over 70% of the respondents agreed with the slogan, "Together for a Shared Future"

"We all yearn for love. So let’s go hand in hand. Together for a shared future, you and I, we can touch the sky." As the promotional song for the Beijing Winter Olympics slogan, "Together for a Shared Future" was widely sung during the event. Statistics show that "Together for a Shared Future", the slogan for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games, was widely accepted by the international community, with 71.6% of overseas respondents agreeing with the slogan.

Over 70% of the respondents agreed with the slogan, "Together for a Shared Future"

"Together for a Shared Future" is China’s sincere invitation to the world, conveying the positive expectations of 1.4 billion Chinese people. Sun Weijia, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of Counselors’ Office of the State Council (COSC), said in an interview with China.org.cn that the slogan reflects the harmony between Olympic values and the vision for a community with a shared future for mankind. The song is a substantial development on Olympic values by this shared community. It also stands as the best interpretation of the vision for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Yan Jiarong, Spokeswoman of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, previously said that the slogan "Together for a Shared Future" is the Chinese interpretation of the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together". "Together for a Shared Future" is about enabling every sports lover to realize their dreams.

04.

With impressive scientific and technological innovation, the "green Olympics" became a highlight

The high-tech elements of the Beijing Winter Olympics can be seen everywhere. The science and technology along with the green and sustainable concept of environmental protection that made this Olympics possible have received extensive attention and recognition from the international community. The "High-tech Olympics" highlighted the new image of a smart China, with 35.7% of respondents believing that China is a country distinguished by rapid technological development.

Data shows that 54% and 30% of respondents reported positive changes in their impression of China’s scientific and technological innovation and ecological protection efforts. 21% of respondents said the Beijing Winter Olympics eased their concerns that China would struggle to meet its environmental commitments, such as carbon emission reduction.

Among those watching the tech highlights of the Beijing Winter Olympics, 56.3% expressed interest in China’s green power supply and 45.3% in service robots. In addition to these two items, autonomous vehicles, VR guide system, 5G+8K ultra-HD cloud broadcast, natural CO2 refrigeration systems with nearly zero carbon emissions, and hydrogen-powered vehicles accounted for over 30% of respondents.

With impressive scientific and technological innovation, the "green Olympics" became a highlight

05.

Young people are the most willing demographic to come to China and learn more about the country

Respondents from Russia, Italy and the UK have the most favorable opinion of China

Russia (88%), Italy (78%) and the United Kingdom (67%) were the top three countries for respondents with favorable views of China during the Beijing Winter Olympics, followed by the United States and Canada (over 50%). Young people were more likely to have a favorable view of China, with 56% of respondents in their 20s and 61% of those in their 30s.

Respondents from Russia, Italy and the UK have the most favorable opinion of China

In addition, the results of the survey show that Russia, Italy and the UK account for 72%, 71% and 49% of respondents who want to come to China and learn more about it after watching the Beijing Winter Olympics. The younger the respondent, the greater willingness they expressed to visit China and learn more about China, with 53% of respondents aged 20-29 willing to visit China in person. From high-tech facilities, safe epidemic prevention measures, diverse cultural experiences, rich food experiences and friendly volunteer services, the Beijing Winter Olympics visually projected an image of China as a whole. Several international respondents expressed their willingness to learn more about China.

06.

Beijing Winter Olympics has boosted China’s image

The bias against human rights and democracy in China has been reduced to some extent

The Beijing Winter Olympics has been the first global sporting event held as scheduled since the outbreak of COVID-19. Holding such a grand event on schedule is a landmark achievement and plays a positive role in enhancing China’s international image. Among respondents from 10 countries watching the Beijing Winter Olympics, 20% clearly expressed that their impression of China had changed positively.

By watching the Beijing Winter Olympics, respondents were found to have the highest percentage of positive changes in their impression of China’s scientific and technological innovation as well as its cultural industry, at 54% and 52%, respectively. In addition, over 40% of respondents reported a positive change in their opinion of China in the areas of economic and financial development, strength of winter sports, achievement of fighting against COVID-19 and epidemic prevention, transportation and travel, etc.

Beijing Winter Olympics has boosted China’s image

Additionally, the Winter Olympics helped dispel misconceptions about China. Shi Anbin, a professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University, argued that the Beijing Winter Olympics broke the "mudslinging" common to certain Western media outlets by taking advantage of participatory and immersive means of "third party communication". This included individuals, such as Eileen Gu, Su Yiming and Yuzuru Hanyu, the adorable Beijing Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen, the "robot bartender" as well as videos showing players enjoying meals and interactions with grassroots volunteers.

In this survey, when asked, "From your point of view, which misunderstanding about China could be eliminated through Beijing Winter Olympics?", the highest percentage of respondents answered, "worries about the human rights situation in China" and "the lack of democracy in China". In addition, overseas respondents’ misconceptions of "China struggling to meet its environmental commitment to reduce carbon emissions" and the "China threat theory" have decreased to some extent, thanks to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Sports diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy and cultural exchanges have played a positive role in promoting China’s international image. The Beijing Winter Olympics served as a window to understand China and allowed the world to know more about the real and lovely China.

The survey was conducted by China.org.cn and ePanel. Allowing for the number of medals each country won at the last Winter Olympics, as well as the country’s population, economic influence, intercontinental distribution and other factors, overseas citizens aged 20-69 from 10 countries were randomly sampled from the international professional survey sample database. The questionnaire design, sampling, survey and analysis were conducted in accordance with the international market research standards and ethics of the ESOMAR. The survey results reflect objectively overseas respondents’ feelings and views on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

PR Newswire

HGC’s international telecom services transiting to Ukraine remain normal

March 8, 2022 TechENT Syndication Leave a comment

HONG KONG, March 8, 2022 — The international telecommunication services HGC provides to our global wholesalers and customers, including international voice, messaging and internet services, to Ukraine have continued to operate as normal, despite the turmoil the country is currently facing. The traffic is supported via international carrier interconnections that enable telecoms networks to operate as supported by the ITU regulations on international traffic flow.

HGC does not have any domestic operations in Ukraine. It provides international telecom services to global carriers connecting to about 400 carriers, MNOs and ISPs, providing global internet services to both consumers and corporate customers. HGC has been closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine since last month to ensure that international telecommunications service providers can maintain normal operations.

About HGC Global Communications Limited

HGC Global Communications Limited (HGC) is a leading Hong Kong and international telecom operator and ICT solution provider. The company owns an extensive network and infrastructure in Hong Kong and overseas and provides various kinds of services. HGC has 23 overseas offices, with business over 5 continents. It provides telecom infrastructure service to other operators and serves as a service provider to corporate and households. The company provides fully-fledged telecom, data centre services, ICT solutions and broadband services for local, overseas, corporate and mass markets. HGC owns and operates an extensive fibre-optic network, five cross-border telecom routes integrated into tier-one telecom operators in mainland China and connects with hundreds of world-class international telecom operators. HGC is one of Hong Kong’s largest Wi-Fi service providers, running over 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Hong Kong. The company is committed to further investing and enriching its current infrastructure and, in parallel, adding on top the latest technologies and developing its infrastructure services and solutions. HGC is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities and transport in North America, Europe and selected fast-growing economies.

To learn more, please visit HGC’s website at: www.hgc.com.hk

Android, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Android 12L is Here for Pixel Devices! But isn’t it for Tablets?

March 8, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Google introduced their 12^th generation of Android in 2021 and it looked promising. It was not a major change to how Android worked, as we have covered, but more of small improvements that added up to affect the total experience of what the system is and what it can do for you. We’ve updated our smartphones to Android 12, whichever ones that can be updated, and so far, we like them.

Google, not too long after their 2021 I/O announcement and showcase of Android 12, also introduced something they call Android 12L. You can see it as Android 12.1 in the current scheme of things. For smartphones, the improvements on Android 12L are relatively minor. You might not even notice any changes if you have updated your devices to Android 12L, which might come later if you are not on a Pixel device. But as Google puts it back then, Android 12L is not for smartphones.

2. Settings for Wallpaper style.max 1000x1000 1 — Source: Google

The whole point of Google introducing an entirely new minor update for Android in the Android 12L is mostly for the big screens, the Android tablets. It is supposed to improve the interface and make the larger display more natural and more intuitive to use. The settings menu is also supposed to take advantage of the larger display factor for more information and more natural interaction. There is also a more intuitive and better-looking multitasking experience with dual window mode that is more prominent.

Android 12L update should also bring the tablet experience closer to that of a Chrome OS and Windows. There is a consensus out there that if you want to get an Android tablet, you might as well think of getting a Chromebook with Chrome OS instead. Chrome OS, while flawed, is still one of the best ways to even experience the Android experience on a larger display. It is also a much better PC replacement than an Android ever could be. That is what Android 12L is supposed to tackle anyway, to make tablets more relevant.

All these sounds promising. There is a problem, however. The only Android tablet today that supports Android 12 is Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy Tab S8 series. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 series will be getting Android 12, but that also means that Android 12L will have to wait, since its replacement will not be getting Android 12L update this soon.

Google did mention, in their blog post, that 12L will roll out to tablets and foldables later in the year. They listed Samsung, Lenovo and Microsoft, so that is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and Galaxy Z Fold3 covered, at least. We can only assume that from Microsoft’s end, it would be the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 that gets the update.

https://youtu.be/nvXR–VSosE

For Google’s Pixel devices though, the update, while minor, introduces some new useful features. For one, they added Night Sight for Snapchat users. It allows Snapchat to capture more vibrant and detailed snaps even in low-light conditions. There is also Live Caption mode in phone calls now where you can pick up a call, and simply converse by just typing your words out on the phone, or just clicking pre-set responses. You do not even have to listen to the phone call, just treat it like an instant messenger.

Live Translate is also getting an update from the new Android update. In Interpreter mode, you can now converse in Spanish, Italian, and French all through your smartphone. It will also be able to identify and translate Spanish in videos and photos when it is available on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Of course, Google wants to ensure that you do not have to scroll through hoops of apps and screens to find the most basic information from your device. Google have added a few widgets to help you cut down precious time for your battery information for your smartphone and its connected devices. There is also an improved At a Glance widget that will also help you keep track of the battery, if you want an “everything in one” widget.

The new Android 12L or 12.1 update is now available for Google Pixel 3a series, Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a series, Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a. Google’s latest Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will also be getting the update, but at a slightly later date. More information on Android 12L and its smartphone features can be found on Google’s Blog.

PR Newswire

AsiaInfo Announces 2021 Annual Results

March 8, 2022 TechENT Syndication Leave a comment

Three New Business Revenue Growth Doubled Again

Net Profit Achieved Double-digit Growth

HIGHLIGHTS:

Operating revenue amounted to approximately RMB 6,895 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.5%;
Revenue of Three New business¹ amounted to approximately RMB 1,568 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 101.0%;
Gross profit amounted to approximately RMB 2,645 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.8%;
Gross profit margin reached 38.4%, representing an increase of 0.1 percentage point as compared with last year;
Net profit amounted to approximately RMB783 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.2%;
Net profit margin reached 11.3%, representing an increase of 0.3 percentage point as compared with last year;
A final dividend of HK$0.416 per Share was proposed. Annual dividend payout ratio was approximately 40%.

HONG KONG, March 8, 2022 — AsiaInfo Technologies Holdings Limited ("AsiaInfo" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", Stock Code: 01675 HK) is pleased to announce the audited consolidated results of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Revenue Growth Accelerated and Profitability Remained Healthy

The "14th Five-Year" Plan of the PRC put forward the notion of embracing digital era, accelerating the construction of a digital economy, a digital society and a digital government, thus the software industry will gain more opportunities for development. Facing the new stage and new characteristics of the PRC’s social and economic development, the Group actively strove to become a leading provider with full-stack digital and intelligent capabilities. In 2021, adhering to the strategy of "One consolidation, Three developments" and its five-year plan, the Group’s revenue growth accelerated and it registered double-digit growth in both operating revenue and net profit.

In 2021, the Group’s revenue amounted to approximately RMB 6,895 million, increased by 14.5% year-on-year. Among which, Three New business’s revenue amounted to approximately RMB 1,568 million, up by 101.0% year-on-year, while the proportion of Three New business to operating revenue further increased to 22.7%. Gross profit margin amounted to 38.4% and net profit amounted to RMB 783 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.2%, with net profit margin expanded to 11.3%, representing an increase of 0.3 percentage point as compared with last year, maintaining healthy profitability.

The Board, after taking into full consideration of various factors including Shareholders’ returns, profitability, cash flow level and capital needs for future development of the Group, decided to propose the distribution of the 2021 final dividend of HK$0.416 per Share at the AGM with the annual dividend payout ratio of approximately 40%.

Fast Promotion of Three New Business & Doubling Revenue in DSaaS Again

In 2021, the Group seized the development opportunities brought by digital economy and continued its efforts in expanding DSaaS business, explored the value of data and information. It promoted various innovative business models such as results-based charging, sharing settlement and subscription, and successfully achieved multiple replication of such model adoption in customer groups, so as to provide several types of businesses, including user and content operation services, integrated big data construction and operation services for government affairs, and operational solutions for enterprise private domain traffic. Leveraging on the legal and compliant data sources, as well as its powerful AI and middle office technology sharing system, the Company unleashes the digital value and helps customers achieve value-based operations. In 2021, revenue from the DSaaS business achieved approximately RMB730 million, up by 107.5% year-on-year, accounted for 10.6% of operating revenue, becoming the strongest contributor among the Three New business driving the revenue growth of the Group.

In vertical industries and enterprise cloudification, the Group continued its strategic focus on the five key vertical industries, namely government affairs, finance, postal services, transportation and energy. Significant progress was made in the areas of government affairs and energy sectors. In the government affairs segment, the Group developed replicable solutions on digital government and acquired benchmark projects such as Shanghai Big Data Platform, Jieshou Digital City Brain and Zibo Big Data Platform. In the energy sector, the Group actively participated in China National Nuclear Power’s 5G private network-based production project and promoted the implementation of several typical 5G private network-based application scenarios in nuclear power, wind power, thermal power and other sub-sectors, accelerating the digital transformation of the energy sector. In addition, the Group had established strategic partnerships with mainstream cloud vendors such as Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Baidu Cloud, Tencent Cloud, e-Surfing Cloud, Mobile Cloud, Wo Cloud and CECLOUD and deepened the cooperation with strategic partners to expand customers bases. It achieved sizable growth in delivery with Alibaba Cloud and for the first time, entered into RMB10 million-level project with Tencent Cloud. In 2021, the revenue from vertical industries and enterprise cloudification business of the Group amounted to approximately RMB 425 million, up by 135.6% year-on-year.

For OSS business, the Group takes full advantage of a technology middle-office software vendor and actively participates in the construction of operator network intelligentisation and network management systems, providing customers with products featuring "global domain virtualization, global domain intelligentisation and global domain cognition" and assisting operators to achieve business and network support capability integration. Moreover, the Group’s 5G network intelligentisation products commanded leading standard internationally and were enlisted in Gartner’s 2022 Global Network Intelligentisation Mainstream Vendor Matrix, and garnered the highest award for AI in China – Wu Wen Jun AI Science & Technology Progress Award. In 2021, the Group’s OSS business grew rapidly, achieving a revenue of approximately RMB 413 million, up by 66.7% year-on-year.

For BSS traditional business, the Group continues to capture a high market share and maintain a strong market leadership position. Facing changes in the external environment, the Group strived to explore business potential and continued to improve efficiency. It actively met the needs of customers for business support transformation and innovation, assisted customers in digital and intelligent upgrade. In 2021, the Group’s traditional business revenue amounted to approximately RMB 5,327 million, up by 1.7% year-on-year.

In research and development (R&D), the Group stepped up innovation and R&D initiatives in emerging business, including multi-party secure computing, federated learning, edge AI, digital twins, 5G private networks, 5G network intelligentisation, databases and other new technologies and new products. Many of these premium products were successfully commercialised in telecommunications and other vertical industries, supporting the rapid development of Three New business. Moreover, the Group continued to intensively participate in 20 international/ national standards organizations, including 3GPP, ITU, ETSI, IEEE, TMF and O-RAN with leading contributions to 40 international communication standards. In 2021, the Group’s R&D expenses amounted to approximately RMB1,006 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.7% and accounting for 14.6% of revenue.

Committed to "One consolidation, Three developments" Strategy to Fully Activate Growth Momentum

Facing the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the digital economy has become a new engine for high-quality development of the PRC economy. In the market with both opportunities and challenges, the Group will continue to promote "One consolidation, Three developments" strategy, strive to unleash the value and efficiency of traditional business and endeavour to activate the growth momentum of Three New business, and dedicate to achieving the goal of "a business scale of over RMB10 billion, half of which comprises of the new business" in 2025.

For traditional market, the Group will strive to promote the development of new markets for BSS business. In 2022, the Group won the bidding for the construction of 5G business support system for China Broadcasting Network Group Corporation Ltd. Operational demands focusing on value-based operation, privilege operation and integrated operation will continue to prompt the needs of the customers in telecommunication industry for DSaaS. The demand for computing network as well as automatic and intelligent network will drive the needs in upgrading the OSS capability systems of customers. In terms of the enterprise cloudification business, the Group is actively facilitating cooperation with the state-owned cloud system, so as to increase its presence for actively developing the government affair and state-owned enterprise-based markets.

Note¹: Three New business represents Data-driven Operation (DSaaS), vertical industries and enterprise cloudification, Operation Support Systems (OSS) business

About AsiaInfo Technologies Limited

AsiaInfo Technologies Limited (stock code: 01675 HK) was founded in 1993 and successfully listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2018. It is a leading provider of software products, solutions and services, and a leading provider of integrated cloud and network management services, and is committed to becoming an enabler of digital transformation for large enterprises in the 5G era.

The Group actively embraces advanced technology such as 5G, cloud computing, big data, AI and Internet of Things, and adheres to the strategic decision of "One consolidation, Three developments", relying on its products, services, operations and integration capabilities. AsiaInfo takes 5G as an opportunity to fully deploy and enhance its value and efficiency in the traditional business and consolidate its leadership position in the BSS market. In terms of emerging business, the Group will strive for rapid scale development in 5G OSS network intelligence, DSaaS digital operation services, enterprise cloudification and vertical industry. At the same time, the Group will work with industry partners to build an ecological system, continue to promote business model transformation, and contribute to the digital transformation of enterprises and sustainable development of the industry.

AsiaInfo Technologies Limited offers industry-leading R&D capabilities and a wealth of telecom-grade software products, including customer relationship management, billing and accounting, big data, Internet of Things and 5G network intelligence products, serving large corporate clients in telecommunications, finance, energy, postal services, government affairs, transportation and other industries.

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