Last year WhatsApp tested and later launched their new Communities feature for all WhatsApp users. If you have not found out or familiar with Communities, it is a powerful management tool sitting within WhatsApp to manage all your groups in one place. You can, as admin of multiple groups create a Community, a group of groups for you to manage and access in a single place. You can, as an admin, make a community wide broadcast message, create targeted messages for select groups, and even moderate chats within the group. Of course, WhatsApp will not just stop there.
WhatsApp has added an important privacy control for group admins. Group admins can now decide if a person is worthy of joining the group or not. For Communities users, the admin can choose if a particular individual can join any of the groups within the community or not. Of course, the feature is not just limited to Communities users. They can also still send invite links to people they want in the group. If they do not want a particular person in the group for any longer, they still can kick relevant members out of the groups.
That is not to say that plain members within a community has no added features or benefits for themselves. WhatsApp has added a way to find other members that is in the same groups as you are. It works both ways too, you can find out which members are in the same groups as you are. You can also use the function to find groups through these common contacts, in case you forgot which groups are which. It is important, since the dependency on WhatsApp and Groups within Communities are much bigger than before now.
You might not be seeing the function rolling out to your app today. WhatsApp says that they are rolling the update to users in the coming weeks in stages. If you are interested in getting the best out of your Groups, you want to keep checking your app updates regularly. To know more about the new functions WhatsApp is adding to the app, you can always head out to their blog.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated graphics is not a new thing. You have things like OpenArt and Hotpot these days where you can just type in the keywords to the image you want, and let the engine generate art for your use. Even before AI generated graphics though, the implementation of AI within the creative industry is nothing new. NVIDIA has used their own AI engine to write an entire symphony, and even to create 3D environments using their Ray Tracing engines. Adobe too have something they call the Sensei. They the AI tool is implemented across their creative suite to understand and recognise objects better, fill details where needed more naturally, and even edit videos, images, or even texts quickly and efficiently. Now, they have Firefly.
Firefly is not a new separate AI system from Adobe’s Sensei. Firefly is a part of a larger Adobe Sensei generative AI together with technologies like Neural Filters, Content Aware Fill, Attribution AI, and Liquid mode implemented across several Adobe platforms. Unlike those platform specific implementations though, Adobe is looking to put Firefly to work on a number of various platforms across their Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, Experience Cloud, and even their Adobe Express platforms.
So, what is Adobe Firefly? We hear you ask. It is technically Adobe’s take on what a creative generative AI should be. They are not limiting Firefly to just image generation, modification, and correction. It is designed to allow any sort of content creators create even more without needing to spend hundreds of hours to learn a new skill. All they need to do is to adapt Firefly in their workflow and they will get contents that they have never been able to create before, be it images, audio, vectors, texts, videos, and even 3D materials. You can have different contents every time too with Adobe Firefly; the possibilities, according to Adobe, are endless.
What makes Adobe’s Firefly so powerful is the power of the entirety of Adobe’s experience and database behind it. Obviously Adobe’s Stock images and assets is a huge enough library for the AI implementation to dive into. The implementation can also look into using openly licensed assets and public domain contents in generating its contents. The tool, in this case, will prevent any IP infringements and help you avoid plenty of future litigations.
Source: Adobe
As Firefly is launched in its beta state, it will only be available as an image and text generator tool for Adobe Express, Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. Adobe plans to bring Firefly into the rest of their platforms where relevant in the coming future. They are also pushing for more open standards in asset verification which will eventually include proper categorization and tagging of AI generated contents. Adobe is also planning to make the Firefly ecosystem a more open one with APIs for its users and customers to integrate the tool with their existing workflows. For more information on Adobe’s latest generative AI, you can visit their website.
Google Glass made its debut in 2013. Back then, Google Glass made headlines everywhere and the idea that everyone in the world will eventually own one or some type of augmented reality (A.R.) headgear was not in any way ridiculous. That conversation died soon after though. The reality (no pun intended) was that an A.R. glasses from Google at the time will set you back US$ 1,500, or if you convert that to local currency at the time, about MYR 5,000 there or thereabouts. That kind of money for a pair of clunky glasses you need to keep charging every few hours is the kind of luxury most in the world cannot afford or does not need. Added to the fact that Google Assistant and A.R. functionalities at the time was in its infancy, crude at best; why would you pay that much money for a pair of glasses?
The original Google Glass stayed on sale for about two years though, until 2015. No sales numbers were quoted within that time frame. In that time, Google also produced a new type of Google Glass. This time, they realized that the A.R. smart glasses market was not something they wanted to sell to end-users. Instead, they saw more potential use cases in the enterprise market. Hence, Google developed, supported, and sold Google Glass Enterprise edition from 2015 onward. Then in 2023, well today, they stopped selling the kit entirely and announce that they will stop supporting them in September 2023.
Through its life, the A.R. project by Google was adopted mostly in the construction and medical field. They updated the Google Glass Enterprise Edition once in 2019. From then on, Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 replaced the first iteration.
Google has not announced any replacement for Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2. It does not look like Google will be announcing any replacement for the A.R. goggles anytime soon though. That does not mean that Google has given up on the idea of A.R. completely.
In 2020 Google made an acquisition that still confirms Google’s commitment to their A.R. project. They acquired North, a smart glasses maker. Since then the Mountain View giant has been reported to be working on some kind of smart A.R. wearable that resembles ski goggles. The project was code named Project Iris. There has been little update on the project’s progress since then though.
It is also unlikely for Google to scrap the project since their competitors are also working on the same thing. Apple and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) have been working on their own versions of A.R. and Virtual Reality (V.R.) headsets for some time now. Reportedly, they are looking to bring their own versions of the headsets some time in the future. Microsoft is also known to have a mixed reality department of their own and has produced working prototypes for mixed reality, but those hardware has not been sold to end-consumers for good reason.
A.R. is still pretty much something you can look forward to as a normal in the future. For now though, with Google shelving their most promising mixed reality project temporarily, that future looks a little further than we might like to think. You can find out more about Google’s Glass project from their website.
Touch ‘n Go should not be an unfamiliar name to Malaysians or residents of Malaysia. They are technically the first company in Malaysia to introduce cashless transactions via their Touch ‘n Go prepaid cards for tolls and later for public transportations. They were not the first to introduce an eWallet app for Malaysia, probably one of the latest. At their current state though, they are one of the most widely used eWallet apps in Malaysia.
As one of the most widely adopted eWallet in Malaysia, security and safety in transactions and storing money is a bigger concern than ever before. Even with various digital banking systems in place, scams and fraud activities still can happen. In that regards, Touch ‘n Go has introduced five measures in accordance to Bank Negara of Malaysia’s latest mandatory guidelines for banks to combat fraud and scams on their own platform.
Venturing Beyond Passwords
The first of the five measures implemented by Touch ‘n Go is to move beyond one-time password (OTP) systems to more secure systems. For Touch ‘n Go, that more secure system is through face verification. Facial recognition, as a security measure, is nothing new. It has been a security system that has been introduced on Android smartphones for a long time now and has been made better with each iteration and new technologies. In leveraging a modern smartphone’s camera system, the Touch ‘n Go eWallet app now requires a particular user’s face for app logins, PIN changes, and even perform transactions. They also require users to blink when using the feature just to make sure that offenders are not just using a photo of the user to access the app.
Tighter Fraud Detection and Blocking
Fraud detection has been a large part of operating digital payment systems. Even banks have their own ways and guidelines in handling fraudulent transactions. To ensure they can prevent fraudulent transactions, they have placed a few guidelines and rules to transactions. In some cases, transaction limits are set to prevent certain transactions from happening.
In accordance with the latest guidelines from Bank Negara Malaysia, Touch ‘n Go have implemented new rule sets for transactions. According to Touch ‘n Go, the new rule sets are tighter than before. There is also a new set of thresholds for transactions that will trigger alerts from the app. If any abnormal activities are tracked, an email alert will be sent out to users. Users still can set transaction limits too, in case of transactions where the set limit is breached, users will need to verify the transactions further.
One Device, One Account
While it is not a unique feature at this point, you can only attach your Touch ‘n go eWallet account to a single device. That means that even if you have two smartphones, you can only use your Touch ‘n Go eWallet on one of your devices. You cannot have both devices logged into the eWallet too.
They also introduced a feature called TapSecure on the app. The feature requires users to authenticate and verify transactions via the app. The feature can only be attached to one users’s linked device for transaction approvals within the user’s account.
Still Getting Through Toll Gates
All the new measures point to ensuring that users verify themselves before making any sort of transactions. There is a problem, however. Touch ‘n Go eWallet has been adopted to work with toll gate payments in Malaysia. If the measures are also implemented for toll payments, toll gates could be backed up.
In that sense, Touch ‘n Go is only implementing the security and verification measures based on their risk assessment. For low-risk transactions like toll gate payments, verification will not be required. There are also other low risk transactions implemented within Touch ‘n Go that will not trigger the security measures.
If you are logging into your eWallet for the first time on a new device, there will be a number of limitations to the app usage and transaction limit too within the first 48 hours. That limit also includes topping up the eWallet. Any transactions and top ups that is not within the limit will be rejected outrightly.
Easier to Reach
To bolster the effort in fraud prevention, Touch ‘n Go has also set up their own dedicated channel for fraud and scam reports. The call center will be based out of the National Scam Response Centre, Malaysia’s own fraud and scam response unit and center. The dedicated channel links you directly to a specialized team that will attend to any fraud or scam cases or queries. You can reach them at +603-5022 3888 and select “4” to make any fraud or scam reports.
For more information on Touch ‘n Go’s latest safety measures, you can check out their website.
Did you know that Ransomware attacks started in 1989? At least that was the first known ransomware attack known to the modern world. It happened towards the end of the year in 1989 and it targeted the healthcare industry. No, not just a single healthcare institution that was attacked.
The First Ransomware
It was an industry wide attack initiated by a Dr. Joseph Popp, a PhD holder and AIDS researcher. He distributed 20,000 floppy disks (diskettes) to AIDS researchers around the world spanning 90 countries. He claimed that the disks contain a risk analysis program for AIDS via a questionnaire. The program does exist. Alongside the program though is also a malware that remains dormant in a PC making its source difficult to pinpoint back then. After the PC is powered on 90 time, the malware locks the PC and displays a message demanding a payment of US$ 189 and another US$ 379 for a software lease. This, the first ransomware in the world, was called the AIDS Trojan.
The Evolution of Ransomware
In 2020, Ransomware 2.0 became a thing and Kaspersky saw it. Attacks become even more targeted. Attackers employ threatening tactics that could increase the impact of the attack. They even pressure targets by threatening their public reputations. In that case, attackers can even demand for higher ransom.
In 2022, the world of Ransomware evolved again, and you now have Ransomware 3.0 or Lockbit. Instead of just locking the target’s data, they now control the target’s data. They have the liberty to sell these data to the highest bidders. They can even conduct DDoS or phishing attacks that targets their target’s clients or staff members of their target. Of course, the ransom goes up again. Lockbit has been identified as the most popular ransomware used in at least 115 known attacks in Southeast Asia.
Lockbit is not just used by a single group of attackers though. Lockbit is a group that also sells their services and ransomware program to other attacking groups. The latest known version of the program is Lockbit 3.0, and it is updated regularly to foil early detection, and even more targeted than ever before.
We Are NOT Safe
As it is, while Ransomware has been a term that has been thrown around for the past couple of years, it is a more serious problem than plenty thinks, especially with Lockbit 3.0. More ransomware attacks have occurred than we know. Most of them are reported too late too, meaning they have been attacked and would have to pay the ransom. While the healthcare industry is still one of the most targeted industry for ransomware attacks, the attacks also affects the education sector, manufacturing sector, and even motorsports. It is a serious problem, not just after you have been targeted, but even before; every one of us are vulnerable.
So how do you prevent an attack, or even foil one? There are a few methods that larger corporations employ that you can work with as well. One of them is to create data backups regularly. You can either get a cloud provider to do that for you or store your backup data in a physical server location within your premises. The physical option can cost a lot of money though, you have been warned.
Kaspersky’s Solution
Source: Kaspersky
If not, why not just prevent it altogether with an early detection program for your entire digital infrastructure? That is what Kaspersky’s Extended Detection and Response (XDR) program aims to do.
Kaspersky’s XDR program is not just another anti-virus or cyber security program for the masses. It is a highly sophisticated program that should cover all your bases in terms of a system-wide cybersecurity measure. It is a sort of early detection and prevention platform that should offers multi-layered safety nets in your vast digital network.
While it is not a one-stop-shop solution for cyber security, Kaspersky’s XDR aims to cover most of your cybersecurity concerns from a single place. The platform aims to offer more visibility in the user’s cybersecurity network, simplify the processes and programs into a single space, and even foil new threats that are yet to be known to the wider industry. The question is ‘how’?
Kaspersky’s XDR is not just tailored to specific users. It is also a part of a bigger network that they call Kaspersky Security Network (KSN). While most of the data within the network cannot be specifically shared with Kaspersky’s clientele, data collected from each user is used within Kaspersky to form better understanding of upcoming and occurring threats. That also allows the program to understand threats better across industries and react accordingly based on the data it collected from previous known attacks.
It also simplifies the investigation processes by consolidating large volumes of alerts and incident reports into smaller clusters with differing priorities. On top of that, each incident report now comes with context that also ensures that the information provided is not just relevant, but also important to the investigation. It quickens the investigation process by streamlining the process and in turn also makes it more precise. Beyond that, Kaspersky’s XDR offers response options to attacks for better protection in the future. All of these should be accessible from a single interface by Kaspersky as well.
Doing More, Not Less
Again, the Kaspersky XDR platform is not a one-stop-shop or the only cybersecurity solution out there that could prevent the next big ransomware attack in your organization. As of 2023 though, Kaspersky’s platform has prevented the most ransomware attacks in the Southeast Asia region. In 2022 alone, Kaspersky has detected and prevented more than 130,000 ransomware attacks in Indonesia alone.
There are other things, in our opinion that you should also do to prevent an organization-wide ransomware attack. First, you must be aware; quite obviously. You also want to make sure that you do not respond to suspicious emails, or pick up any random drives and insert them to your work PC. We also recommend that you keep backups of your important data in a few locations, including cloud, and keep them separate and safe. But you can never be too safe, therefore having extra layers of security with Kaspersky’s XDR could also be that differentiating factor between paying a large ransom, or getting through your Monday like any other Mondays.
If you are interested in Kaspersky’s XDR program and even other services by Kaspersky, you can visit their website for more information. You can also email them directly for all your inquiries. Or, if you are more concerned with personal protection, you can still go to their website for your own end-point protection plan.
Malaysia’s national postal and courier service is going full monty with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to achieve its digitization goals. The drive for digitization and agility comes as a multi-year plan that was initiated back in 2019. Plans were put into high gear with the sudden onset of the pandemic later that year. However, the pandemic also saw an increase in parcel deliveries driven by increased transaction volumes on e-commerce platforms.
Source: Pos Malaysia
With that in mind, Pos Malaysia has already rolled out a number of customer-facing and internal digital initiatives to provide better service for their customers. Having already experienced the effects of an estimated 24% growth in the e-commerce sector during the COVID lockdown, the company is looking to further improve their service further. To date, the company has already migrated 60 critical applications which include parcel tracking, point-of-sale retail, SAP, supply chain, mail tracking, and human resources to the cloud with Amazon Web Services. They are now in the process of migrating the remaining workloads and applications to AWS by 2023.
Pos Malaysia’s digitization efforts will utilise Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (ECC) which provides secure, resizable compute capacity. Most importantly, it will allow Pos Malaysia to dynamically scale to meet customer needs during periods of increased demand. It will also allow them to more efficiently manage resources for day-to-day operations. The scalability will be a cornerstone of Pos Malaysia’s ability to provide frictionless deliveries during peak periods.
Source: AWS
“Pos Malaysia’s digital transformation with AWS is a great example of how a traditional last-mile logistics business can simplify, modernize, innovate, and scale. Using AWS, Pos Malaysia can capture growth opportunities in e-commerce as demand for online shopping accelerated across Southeast Asia during the pandemic. Pos Malaysia is delivering goods into the hands of customers in a cost- effective, efficient, and agile manner, especially during peak periods with high parcel volumes.”
AWS is will become the home of Pos Malaysia’s central data repository for an integrated data platform. This data will be able to provide insights which will enable them to better understand customer demands, find delivery efficiencies and improve operations across the country. They will be able to do this using AWS services like SageMaker which will allow the company to build, train and deploy machine learning models for virtually any use case. This will allow Pos Malaysia to build data-driven models that will be able to predict peak periods. This will allow the company to proactively deploy more staff and vehicles to ensure smooth delivery.
Last year, Red Hat shared our plan to evolve our global Telecommunications, Media and Entertainment (TME) organization to better suit the needs of our partners and customers. Since then, we’ve been connecting and building within our ecosystem to deliver solutions that answer our customer’s biggest needs, one of which is helping navigate the global shift in the way services are delivered across both the TME industry and society as a whole.
Industry-leading partners and connected organizations are working together with the telco ecosystem to build on each other’s innovations in new ways, working together to accelerate the pace of industry change, with a focus on building frictionless customer journeys. For example, service providers are helping banks meet the demands of customers for real-time digital services like hyper-personalization, real-time fraud detection and next-gen connectivity – while also giving the unbanked access to financial services. From mobile banking and payments, connected vehicles, public safety monitors, private 5G and more, service providers are fundamental in providing the many technologies that are driving a completely new landscape for improved societies and global transformation.
How Cloud Independence Can Drive Change
However, this does not happen overnight. Service providers are rethinking their cloud approach by transitioning to a hybrid and multi-cloud environment to help them become more flexible, agile, scalable and competitive in a constantly evolving market. In a TM Forum Themes Report, sponsored by Red Hat, we found that this pivot can lead a service provider to decide which hyper-scale cloud provider meets their needs best.
Which cloud-native solutions have the flexibility and functionality at the scale my organization requires?
Can I balance these benefits against customer choice, disparate cloud silos, increased costs and limited flexibility?
To help mitigate this risk, we found that service providers are working to maintain cloud and container independence – especially if they want to remain competitive as these new technologies begin rapidly rolling out. This TM Forum Themes Report explains this need for independence, highlighting how service providers are increasingly taking a hybrid multi-cloud approach to maintain supplier diversity while expanding their own telco cloud (operator-as-a-platform) skills and technologies.
Customers at Transformation’s Epicentre
Underpinning these efforts are 5G networks that provide innovative ways for service providers to monetize their investments. We see this in areas like enterprise multi-access edge computing (MEC), open and virtualized RAN, 5G core and more, with real-world successes from our customers including Bharti Airtel, Verizon and VodafoneZiggo.
Red Hat can help service providers successfully compete with new services and business models, boost revenues and meet rising customer expectations by providing strategic expertise and a rich portfolio of products and services for their hybrid cloud deployments. We provide the flexibility for their projects across this vast landscape, from proofs-of-concept to production environments, helping providers select what works best for their own specific needs.
In addition to this shift, we’re excited to see service providers taking advantage of cloud services managed by third-party experts like Red Hat including Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) and Microsoft Azure on Red Hat OpenShift (ARO). This helps organizations offload the underlying infrastructure work and focus on their core business, providing additional flexibility and driving tangible business benefits.
We are also seeing Red Hat customers increase artificial intelligence (AI) deployments, or providing AI-as-a-Service, over the past year, from Turkcell AI to NTT East (in Japanese). It is clear that the practical deployments of AI – from new consumer apps and social engagements, to enterprise B2B apps and AI at the edge, are making a significant impact by enhancing customer experiences, driving greater business efficiencies and creating new revenue streams.
The Partner Ecosystem is Expanding
In order to deliver these customer-centric solutions, Red Hat is working with Ericsson, a leading provider of 5G software and hardware to lower the barriers to 5G adoption and build an open platform for 5G connectivity and innovation. We are doing this through active collaboration across Ericsson’s portfolio, including packet core, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and operations support system (OSS), as well as Cloud RAN in Ericsson’s Open Lab – a space for fast and interactive co-creation of innovative solutions with communications service providers and ecosystem partners.
Things do not stop there – other software providers such as Baicells, Casa Systems, MATRIXX Software, Mavenir, Nokia, Rakuten Symphony and Samsung work closely with Red Hat to modernize 5G and RAN workloads across the open hybrid cloud. Additionally, with Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel and Lenovo, we are able to build full-stack hardware and software solutions on top of a reliable infrastructure to support customer deployments from the data center to the edge.
It’s not every day that we hear a tech company is celebrating its 10th Anniversary; what’s more, one that isn’t a start-up or consumer-facing. While that may be true for EDOTCO, the company’s decade-long existence has entrenched the company with consumers and connectivity. The company has been actively involved in the rollout of cellular towers and related technologies in Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and more across the ASEAN and South Asian regions.
What exactly does a TowerCo (telecommunications tower company) do? Well, it’s pretty simple. You know that symbol on your mobile phone which shows you your signal strength? They work to ensure that there is a connection at all times. This comes in the form of building and maintaining cell towers for mobile network operators (MNOs) and even leasing or co-locating towers with other companies. EDOTCO has its beginnings in Malaysia as Axiata group’s TowerCo before it spun off into its own business.
The company now boasts a portfolio of over 54,000 towers across the ASEAN and South Asian regions. They currently operate in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Pakistan, Philippines, Laos and most recently, Indonesia. This has made them the 6th ranking TowerCo in the world with ambitions to be in the top 5 by 2024. They have also been recognized as one of three unicorn status companies in Malaysia by Credit Suisse last year.
We spoke with CEO, Mohamed Adlan Ahmad Tajudin, about the company’s focus on equitable connectivity, innovation and sustainability. This interview comes in the wake of the company celebrating their 10th Anniversary and launching a companywide rebrand.
A Heritage of Innovation & A Culture of Sustainability
EDOTCO hasn’t been resting on its laurels for the past decade. They’ve been at the forefront of innovating in the TowerCo space. The company has also been busy inculcating a philosophy of innovation and sustainable thinking from the ground up. CEO, Mohamed Adlan informs us, “we inculcate the culture of a sustainable world for the future and the next generation within the minds of our people. We hire passionate individuals who fit within EDOTCO’s culture and core values to ensure our staff are in tune with EDOTCO’s heart.”
(Source: EDOTCO) Cell tower in the Uttara Region in Bangladesh made of Bamboo.
Their genuine passion and dedication to innovation and sustainability have been driving EDOTCO’s ingenuity when it comes to tower technology. One of the hallmarks of the company’s past decade is their collaboration with the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). They looked to create a greener, more sustainable solution to building steel towers atop buildings in Bangladesh. If you remember, there have been cases where buildings in South Asia were collapsing due to the weight being borne. In their collaboration, BUET and EDOTCO created a very sustainable solution of creating the towers with specially treated bamboo which is more resilient and lightweight. This innovation resulted in a solution that is not only greener with 70% less carbon emissions; the resulting tower is 88% lighter. EDOTCO erected its first bamboo tower in the Uttara region of Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2017.
Source: EDOTCO
“Innovation will always remain a key cornerstone in our operations. However, we have also shifted our focus to sustainability as a key indicator of growth as a group.”
While it may seem trivial, the innovative approach could very well be the first step in a new way to set up towers and empower connectivity in rural areas. With better, more natural materials, we’re looking at the possibility of minimally affecting ecosystems while society moves towards being more connected. The lower cost and carbon emissions are also a testament to the company’s commitment to creating and innovating sustainably.
Refocusing to Empower Equitable Connectivity with Innovative Solutions
The company isn’t resting on their laurels with their 10th anniversary either. Instead, they’ve turned their focus to sustainability and equitable connectivity. EDOTCO is committed to adapting to the rapid changes that come with the surge forward in digitization. To further drive the point home, the company is undergoing a revamp and rebranding to embody their continued commitment and further refocusing their efforts on sustainable innovation.
The rebranding also comes with a commitment to empower and advance the Asian region when it comes to the region’s communications and connectivity ambitions. They will continue to innovate and address the needs of both developing and developed countries with solutions that drive connectivity with 5G and beyond; making next-generation connectivity universally accessible. Together with that, EDOTCO will also be working with their partners and customers to enable and drive positive transformation in the communities they are engaged.
(Source: EDOTCO) Redesigned Logo focusing on Sustainability and Equitable Connectivity
Together with this EDOTCO is also looking to drive their goals sustainably. They will be enhancing their internal sustainability strategy moving forward through their one-way and two-way engagements internally and in person. The vision to be sustainable isn’t just a bunch of fluff or a hot topic. It’s a vision and policy being driven in all departments from HR to Engineering. It provides an added impetus to their innovation and empowers their vision for equitable connectivity.
When it comes to equitable connectivity, EDOTCO isn’t just talking about sustainability either. They’re taking tangible steps to make erecting towers and providing connectivity as a service more affordable to its customers and, in turn, to consumers. Even before they embark on their next decade, the company has already helped MNOs save between 16% to 35% in their Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operations Expenditure (OPEX) through infrastructure sharing, tower leasing and co-location. This has also resulted in faster, more sustainable network rollouts and fostered competition between MNOs which is beneficial for consumers.
Working to Spearhead Equitable Connectivity & Sustainability
As much as they are driving innovation and helping with cost reduction for MNOs and, in turn, consumers, EDOTCO can only continue to do so with the correct policies in place. These policies and frameworks allow them to address more targeted issues. In Malaysia alone, EDOTCO continues to support the JENDELA framework put in motion by the Malaysian Government. It comes as no surprise that the company has already focused on equitable connectivity when JENDELA was first announced. They have since been supporting this framework by being a forerunner in connecting the unconnected.
(Source: EDOTCO) The Human Touch behind their innovative Bamboo Tower
Their innovations have allowed initiatives like Malaysia’s JENDELA to progress at a faster pace. With solutions like EDOTCO’s Network and Planning Analytics (NaPA), the company continues to allow MNOs to reduce costs and be more targeted and strategic in rolling out infrastructure. NaPA allows MNOs to reduce build times for towers by providing geocoding and analytic insights. To date, this technology has been used in the setup of over 200 towers in the JENDELA initiative.
Bringing a Human Touch to Digitization
(Source: EDOTCO) Mohamed Adlan Tajuddin, CEO Of EDOTCO
Being a company entrenched in the digitalization process, it gets easy to lose sight of the human aspect of technology. However, EDOTCO isn’t just a technology company – it’s a “Bionic Organization”. The company is creating “the workforce of the future” by integrating technology and digital tools into human interactions. While others look to leverage AI to replace humans, they are using AI and other technologies to better their workforce and provide value for their partners. They look to drive human interactions with the highest levels of efficiency.
EDOTCO’s “Bionic Organization” approach looks to harness in-house talent to bring heart and feeling to an industry that can be very cold. In the words of Adlan, EDOTCO is looking to become “Fitter, Faster and Far Better, without compromising on the human soul”. This entails leveraging digital solutions to make work more intuitive and human experience more effective. In addition, it will also, inevitably require their workforce to harness their inherent diversity of experience and backgrounds to drive innovation inclusively and with a sense of equity.
It’s getting rarer to see a tech CEO whose focus is on creating warmth and heart when driving their company. However, Mohamed Adlan’s approach to a “Bionic Organization” is looking to unite the two dichotomies in digitization and embeds them throughout the organization. This aims to create an environment and work culture that is collaborative, efficient and driven by insights and a sense of purpose. This is how he plans to drive both the sustainability and equitability pillars at EDOTCO.
Looking to Expansion, Diversifying & Further Empowering Equitable Connectivity
With the first 10 years in the bag, EDOTCO is looking to the future. Not only is it focused on bringing heart to digitalization, but it’s also constantly looking for opportunities to innovate and expand. Having already built a portfolio of 50,000 towers in nine markets from the initial 10,000 in its four home markets, the company is looking into new areas such as Network as a Service (NaaS) and Site as a Service (SaaS) to expand their portfolio.
Their current focus is on expanding within Thailand and Vietnam where they believe that the potential for growth is the greatest. The company is also eyeing going public in the coming decade while they focus on pushing boundaries and accelerating equitable access to digital connectivity.
Working on-the-go is pretty much the name of the game in the modern corporate world. Thanks to the advances in technology too, the concept of working from anywhere in the world is made a reality. With laptops that offers battery life beyond a full workday, you can technically open your laptop from anywhere and get work done at any time.
To be fair, battery technology has not progressed all that much. The Lithium battery that we are used to today has been the same battery technology that we have seen over the past 10 years. What has progressed though is our understanding of silicon technology and how to make transistors smaller, more powerful, and even more efficient. With Intel’s modern Core processors at least, it finally happened, we have laptops that can run on battery longer than 10 hours on a single charge.
That leads us to this Acer TravelMate P6 made for the corporate world. It is also made for corporate employees who travel. In that sense, it is made to last for an entire day on a single charge. It is meant to be whipped out and get you productive anytime, anywhere.
At MYR 6,680, it is not exactly the most affordable laptop for corporate use. In fact, there are many thin-and-light laptops that cost less. The Acer Swift 5 for example, offers the same Intel Core i7, more RAM at 16GB, and better touch screen display while costing about MYR 600 less.
So, what makes this TravelMate P614P special? Why does it cost more than the Acer Swift 5? Is it worth its asking price? Should you get it? We dive right in.
Design
It looks just like any other laptops out there. It is rather unassuming. There is not much in terms of angles and tapers. It is just a rectangular piece of kit that is made mostly out of aluminium. You also get an Acer logo on the top right corner behind the display.
Even the colour is rather plain in its Navy Blue guise. The only other colour you can find on the device is the chrome strips that are also the hinges that holds the bottom and top half of the laptop together.
Then you open it up and the simplistic approach continues with the aluminium bezels surrounding a 14-inch Full HD display. The keyboard and trackpad are pretty much standard designs with the power button integrated into the layout instead of it being a separate button placed elsewhere. That way, you save same spaces on top for a slightly roomier keyboard and larger trackpad.
Because most of the laptop is made from aluminium, it feels solid with minimal flex all around. There is a little bit of play in the aluminium bezels, though not at alarming levels. We suspect that it was because the bezel also houses the webcam.
Hardware
The Acer TravelMate P6 we have here is not an entry-level device. You get a powerful 11th generation Intel Core processor that powers Windows 11 Pro. There is no discrete GPU here though, just Intel’s Iris Xe graphics.
Specifications
ACER TravelMate P614-52
As tested
Processor (clock)
Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 processor 2.80 GHz quad-core with Turbo Boost (up to 4.70GHz) and 12MB cache
GPU
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
Display
14” IPS Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) 16:10 aspect ratio
Memory
8GB LPDDR4X 1TB PCIe® NVMe™ 3.0 M.2 SSD
Networking and Connections
Intel WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0 2x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB-C® 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 1x Type-A 1x HDMI 2.0 1x MicroSD card reader 1x 3.5mm AUX Jack
Battery
Lithium Ion battery with up to 20 hours of battery life (quoted) 65W Type-C power adapter
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
Miscellaneous
HD camera Backlit Keyboard Stereo Speakers Far Field Microphone DisplayPort over USB-C Thunderbolt 4 MIL-STD 810H Windows Hello with Facial Recognition
Features
Of course, at over MYR 6,000 you need some selling points. This one is a business specific laptop, which also means security is everything. Leaks at your work is not an option.
Windows 11 Pro
The Pro variants of Windows has always been the just a little bit better than the Home variants. There is no difference in terms of the user interface. Everything should be familiar to a Windows 11 home user, or even Windows 10 users.
Windows 11 Pro is designed with security in mind. On the Pro edition, you can set passwords on your drives with BitLocker. BitLocker also allows you to lock your PC remotely until you can recover it or forever, jus to make sure that your data is safe even when your device is not.
Windows Hello Security
Yes, all Windows PC comes with Windows Hello function. But that does not mean that every PC does what the TravelMate P6 does with Windows Hello.
Most Windows PC must settle with Window Hello Pin. The TravelMate P6 boasts facial recognition with IR blaster that allows you to use it in lower light condition too. You can use the fingerprint sensor if you want to, or if you choose to cover you webcam with the physical webcam cover.
There is also an added advantage to having an IR blaster right next to your webcam. Your PC knows if you are in front of the laptop or not. That way, the PC locks the moment you move away from the laptop to keep prying eyes from all your important documents. Once you come back, the TravelMate P6 unlocks in no time and you are back at it.
Simple Keys
Backlit keyboard is sort of expected. While it is a normal thing for modern laptops, it is still something highly appreciated, especially indoors and in low-light conditions. On the Travelmate P6, the backlighting is a soft backlight glow that does not attack your eyes.
In certain situations, we find the keyboard backlighting dim. The good thing is that we would have to turn the display’s brightness down a notch to match the backlit keyboard. That way you strain your eyes less.
There is an issue though. You cannot adjust the brightness of your keyboard backlight; it is either on, or off. The backlight also turns off on its own after about 30 seconds. We would appreciate some adjustments on the backlighting.
Acer has been really stepping up in their keyboard game, especially ones on their productivity laptops. The chiclet style backlit keyboard should be quite a familiar one if you have worked with Acer laptops before. You get pretty much the same layout with the power button still integrated into the layout on the Function rows. The power button now doubles as the fingerprint sensor but is not backlit. You can hardly mistake its position though.
While we have been complaining about this sort of layout, Acer sort of solved it by offering a power button that feels completely different than other keys. To hit your power button and get your Travelmate P6 going, it must be a deliberate press. It also prevents accidental turn offs.
The keyboard itself feels good, despite its limited travel. The bottom out feels rather solid but not harsh. They are not mushy either, just the right amount of tactility, bounce, and feedback. You can type long emails without getting too fatigued. The size of the keyboard is quite perfect for various hand sizes to get comfortable with.
Full I/O Ports
The slim form factor means that the Travelmate P6 is lighter and more portable than regular laptops. Its 14-inch display is just the right size that it is easily pocket able while remaining productive use cases. Its thickness is also perfect to work with when it comes to a full-sized USB Type-A and HDMI port.
Of course, the Travelmate P6 comes with two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 capabilities. That means you can connect with more than one monitor. This time, the Acer Travelmate P6 charges via either USB Type-C ports by default. There are no proprietary ports here, which also means that your bundled charger can also be used to charge all your USB Type-C devices.
On the other side is a MicroSD slot and a 3.5mm combo jack. While we appreciate a form of memory card reader, we think that a fully sized SD card slot would have been a better deal. Still, MicroSD cards are more accessible now, so it may not be such a bad thing.
WiFi 6 Connectivity
WiFi 6 is not technically an exclusive feature on the Acer TravelMate P6. It is technically a standard feature of all modern computing devices you see today. But it is worth talking about.
The current WiFi standard is still relevant. Many homes are still working with regular WiFi technology. Once you go on WiFi 6 though, you might not be able to downgrade.
We have a 500Mbps internet connection at home with our service provider’s default WiFi 6 router. In all our tests, we could constantly hit speeds well above 300Mbps. While the quality of the router does play a big role in the internet speed the signal can carry, the graph from Speedtest tells us that connection is rather stable, even at lower signal strengths, and that is important in work from home situations.
Performance – Intel’s 11th Generation Core + Iris Xe Power
No, it does not have Intel’s Arc GPU to work with. It has Intel Iris Xe, one of Intel’s newer GPU implementations for mobile computing. This came before Intel’s new Arc GPUs, and there are currently not Arc GPU for the mobile platform just yet, be patient.
Multitasking & Productivity
While the Iris Xe is an integrated GPU, it is a proven platform for most productivity situations. It is even capable of light video editing work. Intel quotes 4K video editing capabilities, it is possible, but you need some patience. You are better off rendering your videos with older gaming laptops once you are done with your edits on the TravelMate P6.
If you are not hard pressed on working with videos with the Travelmate P6, it works well. The one we have here is Intel’s 11th generation Core i7 processor. It is not the same one you will find in gaming or the latest laptops, but it is still potent. The only thing we think that might be holding back the Travelmate P6’s potential is its limited RAM at 8GB.
While 8GB of RAM is enough for Windows 11 Pro to work with, we think that it is at the edge of what is acceptable in terms of multitasking. The laptop does tend to struggle a little when we try to have too many tabs open at once on Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox. We think that at its selling price, the Acer Travelmate P6 deserves a larger RAM as well with the option to expand.
In that sense though, you should not be left wanting too much more from the laptop. The Travelmate P6 is made for mostly Word processing, PowerPoints, emails, and viewing Excel sheets. In those functions, the device will cope well with no struggles.
Entertainment
It does most of the entertainment stuff well enough too. The display only does 1080p Full HD. Netflix and Prime Video app should work smoothly and have no trouble making use of the full 1080p resolution of the display with the provided hardware. If you have a 4K display, you can easily take advantage of that via the USB Type-C or HDMI ports and Netflix and app projecting at 4K resolution.
Battery Life
One of the biggest plus points of this Acer Travelmate P6 is its long battery life. In our typical use, with about 10 tabs open across Microsoft Edge and Firefox, three Microsoft Word documents open, and music streaming, the Travelmate P6 manages more than 12 hours of combined continuous use without charging. We did not wait for the battery to completely drain, but if we leave the laptop charged throughout the evening, we did not have to be break out our charger the next day.
Display and Audio
Like we mentioned that you get a 14-inch Full HD display. It is a 16:10 aspect ratio display, which is an aspect ratio we can fully get on board with. The aspect ratio is also why you can get a 14-inch display in a body that is no larger than a traditional 13-inch laptop.
We think that Full HD is adequate on a 14-inch laptop made for work. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel will not look any better on a higher resolution display. At the same time, a higher resolution display might mean that everything from your desktop icons to quick launch menu be even smaller than they are necessary, making navigation a pain.
For entertainment, the IPS display is not the most colour accurate display you can find on a laptop. It does not need to be though. Colours are vibrant enough for movies and videos to look good and immersive. You will not be wanting to do full colour grading work with the monitor, but at least you get a good and enjoyable colour range to entertain yourself with.
In terms of Audio, the Travelmate P6 comes packing DTS audio tuning. You still don’t want to expect big sounds from the tiny speakers from the laptop though. It is acceptable, the audio. The quality may not be the best. This laptop does not feature a subwoofer too, which means you get a rather tiny bass response from it.
For video calls, it works rather well. If you are not sitting in a crowded environment, the speakers are rather excellent. There are far-field mics as well on the laptop to ensure that it picks up your voice just as it sounds. While you are not getting the best video quality from the webcam, your audio, probably the most important thing in a video call, is clear.
The Acer Travelmate P6 – Not Perfect, But Quite Fitting
At MYR 6,680, the Acer Travelmate P6 is not what you would call budget friendly; it is an expensive laptop. For the same money, you can set yourself up with a mid-range gaming laptop. For less money, you can get yourself a high-end thin-and-light PC, albeit without Windows 11 Pro.
The extra money you pay to get this over other thin-and-light laptops buys you more security. It buys you a well thought fingerprint sensor and power button combo. It also buys you a webcam and IR blaster that does Windows Hello and cleverly locks your PC when you move away for a quick toilet break. You get convenience with a microSD slot, fully sized USB Type-A, and HDMI ports. That money also gets you a long-lasting battery life like no other. You can get to the office, work without charging your laptop, go home, and work some more before getting your charger out to ready the laptop for the next day.
You want to remember that this laptop is made to do work, to be worked on. It fulfils those duties reliably and more. In those regards, your MYR 6,680 is not necessarily spent on things you can measure. Your hard-earned money, or company’s money is spent on a reliable hardware that you can count on when it comes to getting your work done.
Sustainability is all the rage in the tech industry, with more companies committing to long-term sustainability plans. Razer is no different when it comes to that with lofty goals to become a nett zero carbon company by 2030. However, in working towards that, the company has also realised that it is currently difficult for businesses to be sustainable and transparent. This is further complicated by a system which values and measures carbon offsets and credits by the metric ton.
With that realisation, Razer Fintech is working with partners such as GoNetZero, ESGpedia and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bring Restorify. Restorify is Razer’s answer to creating a more sustainable e-commerce platform which is also transparent. Restorify also removes the barrier of needing to purchase metric tonnes of carbon credit with a more fractionalised approach, allowing every purchase to have a quantified carbon offset. This approach allows customers and e-commerce partners to be part of the equation contrasting vastly with the current state of relying solely on companies.
Restorify is looking to foster a more proactive mindset in consumers when it comes to purchasing. With the smaller denominations of carbon offset, it allows users and consumers to make carbon offsets a part of their daily lives. In an age where e-commerce has become the go-to platform for shopping, it makes sense as one of the main touchpoints to drive greener habits.
That said, carbon credits and offsets haven’t had the best reputation with Greenwashing and companies artificially inflating their carbon offsets. To combat this, Razer Fintech is partnering with agencies like GoNetZero and ESGPedia to ensure the quality and traceability of the carbon offsets offered on Restorify. It is hoped that the traceable carbon neutral shopping carts will help users and consumers be more aware of their carbon footprint as we shop.
They will receive a certificate detailing the total amount of carbon emissions that have been offset by their purchase, the kinds of projects the credits have suppported as well as the certification standard. These individualised fractionalized transactions are digitally recorded into ESGpedia’s registry where you’ll be able to check your own individualised carbon offset.
Encouraging Businesses to Adopt More Accountable Sustainability
It’s not all about sharing the responsibility with consumers with Razer’s Restorify. It also aims to empower businesses with a more tangible pathway to evaluate and put into action plans in their commitment to become more sustainable. Restorify itself will provide businesses a pathway to evaluate the environmental impact of their products and business. They will be able to leverage ECOLOGO Certification, Environmental Product Declaration Certification, or Product Carbon Footprint Verification using UL Solutions.
Razer is also working to bring Restorify and its features will be made available for businesses to integrate into existing platforms. In addition, Razer will be working with its supply chain partners and more than 50,000 merchants in Razer Fintech’s network to support their transition to nett zero carbon emissions at no additional cost. Restorify will also be available in over 150 countries through AWS.
