Unity Software Inc., a big player in video game engine software, has hit the reset button and is laying off 25% of their workforce (1,800 jobs). This news comes as part of the new interim CEO Jim Whitehurst, former CEO of Redhat, plans for a company restructuring or “reset”. Whitehurst has taken over the helm of Unity from then CEO John Reiccitiello, who has since retired and left the board in October 2023 after a massive backlash last year because of new “runtime fee” structures.
TLDR for the new pricing structure is that for every new install for a game using Unity, there will be a charge if the game reaches a certain revenue threshold. This angered game developers as this policy came out of nowhere and also worked retroactively. This would be extremely damaging to games that have the free to play model like ‘Pokemon Go’ or ‘Hearthstone’. Eventually Unity had to walk back its changes for damage control, but it may not be enough as developers plan to move on to other platforms.
Unity under Whitehurst seems to have a lot of restructuring planned as they have already terminated an agreement with special effects house Weta Digital, founded by director Peter Jackson. This has already cost 275 jobs on top of the 600 previously trimmed in May 2023. Hopefully, all this trimming, restructuring and refocusing on their core, the Unity Editor and Runtime, and Monetizations Solutions workouts. We will have to wait and see as Whitehurst plans unfold for Unity. So far, shares for Unity have jumped up approximately 40% since the announced reset by Whitehurst.
Building laptops made for businesses is a rather straightforward process. The recipe is simple – build it like a tank for durability, ensure that it’ll last an entire business day on a single charge, ensure that the hardware is protected against any possible cyber-attacks and mishaps, make it powerful enough for all kinds of workload, and make it easy to work with for the IT department. All these things are plenty easy to achieve with modern technology.
That is not to say that laptops and desktops that are made for business use cases are boring. Take the TravelMate and Veriton line-up that Acer just launched in Malaysia today, for example. Instead of using the usual all-metal material that is rather popular these days and is proven to offer durability like no other, they chose to make them differently.
Acer TravelMate Series
The Acer TravelMate series for 2023 is made up of the TravelMate P2, P4, and P6. Of course, with the TravelMate series laptops, you get a selection of display options between 14-inch and 16-inch (TravelMate P2, P4), or a 14-inch 2.8K OLED (P6). You also get to choose a convertible (TravelMate P4 Spin), for extra flexibility. All of them come with a 16:10 aspect ratio displays for added productivity and visibility on your display. If you really need, you can even spec your TravelMate business laptop with a discrete GPU in the form of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2050.
They are all powered by Intel’s latest 13th Generation Intel Core with vPro technology for that extra layer of protection for your data. You get up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of DDR5 RAM. Of course, these can be easily upgraded by your IT department when required. All of them also comes with Windows 11 Pro as standard. Obviously, they need to offer stable, reliable connection everywhere you choose to work from and thanks to WiFi 6, networking will not be an issue. The Travelmate P4 and P6 also comes with Windows Hello biometric security measures to both protect your work and data from prying eyes.
Everything mentioned above is rather expected though, especially for laptops made for businesses. What is less expected is the build material you get with the Acer TravelMate series. While the TravelMate series’ various chassis are made mostly from metal materials, Acer has also managed to make entire laptops with up to 30% of PCR plastic materials into the build. The trackpad found on the laptops are made of 100% OceanGlass material, or ocean bound plastic (OBP) materials.
To keep the devices running as long as possible in between service intervals, Acer has innovated on the cooling system a little bit. The TravelMate series offers something called the Acer Dust Defender. It is a clever fan system that ensures that the laptop can deliver as much performance as possible, as long as possible without any thermal throttling issues. The clever system automatically spins the fans in a counter-clockwise manner to disperse any accumulated dust to an outlet port every 6 hours to keep the fan build-up to a minimum even in extended use cases.
Acer Veriton Series
When you need something more beefy, more permanent, and even more compact for your workspace, you need the Veriton series desktops and All-in-One (AIO) PCs. The Veriton S and Veriton X series are compact performers in their class for all kinds of work and industrial environments. The Veriton Z sereis and Vero Mini are also perfect for any sort of office space requiring a more integrated solution. For more the professionals that needs more processing power, the Veriton K8 series.
For the compact performers, you get to spec your Veriton PC with up to a 13th Generation Intel Core i5-3400 CPU with the vPro platform for added security. You also get up to 512GB in SSD storage and up to 8GB in DDR4 RAM for your compact Veriton desktops and AIO. Of course, all of them comes with Windows 11 Pro as standard.
For the Veriton K8 series, you get to work with up to an Intel Xeon E-2226G processor and pair that to up to an NVIDIA Quadro P620 2GB GPU to boot. You also get up to 256GB of SSD storage with slots for expansion and up to 8GB of DDR4 RAM also with expansion slots. All of the Veriton devices comes with a 3-year on-site warranty.
Price and Availability
The Acer TravelMate P2 series of laptops starts at MYR 3,249, while the TravelMate P4 and P6 series starts at MYR 4,559 and MYR 6,799 respectively. The Veriton S series starts out at MYR 3,309, while the Veriton X series will set you back at least MYR 2,749. The Vero Mini and Vertion Z series AIO starts at MYR 3,499 and MYR 4,699 respectively. For the beefy Veriton K8 series, you want to set aside at least MYR 4,599. All of the Acer products that has been launched are now available from Acer’s authorised dealers across the nation, the Acer eStore, and Acer’s official stores on Shopee and Lazada.
Running a business is difficult. In the current climate, there are plenty of opportunities to be explored. The current business climate also presents more challenges than before.
It is not just businesses that are being challenged though. It is everything from running a team in your organization, the government sector is being challenged to also keep up with the times, the banking industry had to evolve very quickly thanks to new threats. Thanks to the threat of the pandemic businesses, organizations, and governments are being forced to change and evolve.
The pandemic has caught many off-guard. The need to digitalize businesses, services, and even governmental functions was abrupt and very sudden. With nearly zero warning, businesses are forced to close their doors physically, government offices and functions must completely shut down, other forms of organizations must cut back on their on-site and physical services too. It was a nightmare for traditional organizations.
Digitalizing organizations became rather crucial in these few years, exaggerated by the pandemic. Organizations are forced to start digitalizing their workflows and business functions in less than a few months in order to survive. It is not just offices that has to adapt, traditional businesses like restaurants had to quickly adapt to digitalizing in order to survive the pandemic.
Accelerating Your Business
Celcom Business offers productivity tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, digital payment gateways like mPOS and POS. Whether managing task or projects for your business or simply completing your daily work, digital tools can make you more productive, collaborative, and consistent. Celcom Business offers business tools such as M365 and Google Workspace to allow you to collaborate seamlessly from any across any device wherever you are in despite time and location.
Digitalizing Your Processes
Remote working is not a new idea. Tech firms like Google have been championing remote collaboration and productivity outside of the formal work environment. In some ways also, the pandemic has forced companies to adopt remote working strategies and develop tools for it. While the pandemic has become the biggest test bed for remote working, it has also presented organizations a challenge in transforming their workplace and methods.
With Celcom Business, the transformation does not have to be as difficult as it sounds. All the same tools available from Celcom Business are available for corporations at various scales. Organizations can start with cloud services available from Celcom Business’ network, for example. Microsoft 365 that can be accessed through Celcom business also allows businesses to monitor its workforce and allow for more comprehensive collaboration. At the same time, Celcom Business offers comprehensive cyber defense tools and services for businesses.
A Smarter City
Source: Celcom
The idea of a Smart City has never been closer to reality than it has ever been. Celcom Business does not just stop at digitalizing businesses too. It is the beginning of a smarter, more digital city. But what is a smart city?
In this context, a smart city is a connected city. At the heart of a smart city lies a digitalized network that shares information and data across multiple services and systems. One of them could be in the area of securities where strategic partnerships between Celcom and the Malaysian Royal Police force (PDRM) allows the police force in Malaysia to have an integrated communication network that allows them to operate at an elevated efficiency and effectiveness level.
Beyond that, Celcom’s strategic partnership also offers traffic and fleet management capabilities like no other. With Celcom Business’ clever traffic monitoring and management, you can ensure your deliveries are alwayson time. It also allows you to ensure that your deliveries are done in the most economically efficient manner. At the same time, Celcom Business’ fleet management can help you keep track of every vehicle’s condition to ensure that you are always operating at an optimum state. All of this allows Celcom’s partner to develop unique technologies and tools for a more sustainable city.
To find out more about Celcom Business and how it can help you, you can head on to their website.
*DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertorial by Celcom Axiata Berhad. It does not reflect the opinions or views of the techENT editorial board or writers.*
Google is something that we use now nearly on a daily basis. G Suite is one of the largest known services for corporations in the digital space. G Suite is their email, their document system, their storage, and much more. It seems though that Google is not too happy with the name G Suite. G Suite now is called Google Workspace.
Google Workspace is not that much different from G Suite though. It is G Suite rebranded after all. There is still a difference however. In the coming weeks, users will get to see new four color icons for Gmail which including Calendar, Meet, Drive and collaborative content creation tools like Docs, Sheets and Slides. All this in lieu of Google Workspace’s commitment to build immersive communication and collaborations experiences from Google.
There are new features to Google Workspace too. First, you can save time by switching between apps and tabs to still manage to preview the content of a link without leaving the original document. The new features of Smart chips in Docs, Sheets and Slides is that names will automatically popup when you mention someone in a document. The new feature allows you to instantly share documents with whoever you need to share your documents with, when you need to.
Working remotely is difficult enough. You cannot possibly communicate with each other effectively without a meeting face-to-face. Not so with Google Workspace. Google Workspace enables users to work on a single document within a chat room. You can chat with your collaborators while typing things out in the documents. As long as you are not childish, this should go smoothly. In the coming months, you can even get to see the person you collaborate with on the same document with picture-in-picture feature.
The biggest impact of Google Workspace is in the education and non-profit organisation sectors. In the coming months G Suite tools like Classroom, Assignments, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Neet, and Slides for education will be available for free. Of course, there are some limitations to G Suite for Education.
Source: Google
Google’s Google Workspace interface and rebrand is effective immediately. The “new home for work” tool is now available only for business customers. Still, Google is planning to roll out the service to end-users as well. If you have not seen any changes in your G Suite yet, you will see the four colour icon in the coming weeks. More information on Google’s Workspace website.
Celcom recently announced their Business Suite for Retail. What is that? The Business Suite is technically their service plan. You can liken them to the Celcom Mobile or Internet plan; the only difference is that the Business Suite, as the name suggest, is for businesses; Small Medium Enterprises (SME) specifically.
You can find out more on their site, here. Briefly, Celcom’s Business Suite for Retail is a complete business end-to-end telecommunication and data solution. You get phone plans, data plans, payment solutions, and more depending on the plans you select. If you need to, you can even throw in Microsoft Office 365 into the plan. The plans are basically perfect solutions for SMEs.
Alliance Bank is known for their very extensive and generous SME programs. They have the BizSmart program to promote and encourage the growth of the SME segment in Malaysia. Of course, when there is a chance to deliver even more value to SMEs, they would want to be the first to be a part of it. They have plenty of solutions for SME after all; the SME Express Cash for example.
Source: Celcom
The partnership that just happened today marks the combination of two forces in the SME specific services space. Celcom Business Suite for Retail subscribers are now eligible for Alliance Bank’s extensive financing plans for SMEs. Thanks to the collaboration as well the processes and pains of applying for Alliance Bank’s financing programs are expedited and shortened. SMEs might even be able to get preferred rates on Alliance Bank’s business loan programs like Express Cash if they are subscribed to Celcom Business Suite for Retail.
Information regarding Celcom’s Business Suite for Retail is available on their website. You can also sign up for Alliance Bank’s available financing programs via the same website.
*This article is contributed byNicole Tan, Country Director of Facebook Malaysia*
A fisherman who uses WhatsApp and Facebook to change his quality of life and keeps his community safe by alerting each other on weather and tide conditions, a non-profit that empowers the homeless towards financial independence by turning them into tour guides, a delicious sambal recipe made in Malaysia that gained acclaim across borders from Indonesia and the Philippines — these are real examples of business innovation previously unimaginable.
The year 2020 crowns a
decade of change that has upended traditional ways of starting, marketing and
growing businesses across the world. This is even more pronounced in Asia,
where entire countries have leapfrogged to the mobile internet, making the
region home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. According to the
Department of Statistics Malaysia, the nations’ digital economy contributed
18.5% to the national economy in 2018, while e-commerce contributed 8%,
highlighting digital transformation as a catalyst for expansion[1].
Source: Facebook
According to a
McKinsey report, by 2040, Asia could account for more than half of the global
GDP with global cross-order flows shifting towards Asia. The report shows how
these changes could shift globalisation towards regionalisation with 60 percent
of goods traded by Asian economies being within the region. In addition, 71
percent of Asian investment in start-ups is intraregional, and 74 percent of
Asian travelers travel within the region[2].
Malaysia’s exports
accounts for more than 71.5% of GDP[3].
Digital adoption in increasing productivity is crucial for SMEs to expand
further[4]
and digital tools give SMEs a boost in economic growth (revenue and sales 65%)
and go global (82% of exporting SMEs in Malaysia say that at least half of
their exports depend on online tools usage)[5].
Against this backdrop
of macroeconomic change, people’s expectations for the experiences they have
with brands and businesses is evolving fast. As we have seen over the last few
years, people adopt new technologies long before businesses do, and it
influences how they discover, research and finally make purchasing decisions.
We see this every day
on Facebook, where every day 1.62 billion people across the world come to
connect with people, products and services they care about. We stand at the
intersection of community and creativity where brands can identify, take
inspiration from and participate in the communities that people inhabit. At the
start of 2019, we shared three social trends that were on rise across our
platforms: ephemeral sharing, videos and messaging. As we head into 2020, these
trends have only intensified in our region. Simply put, Asia is about more —
more mobile, more video, more stories, more conversation and more commerce.
Malaysia is a truly
mobile-first nation with 88% owning smartphones. According to the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), 77.6% of Malaysians are
spending time streaming or downloading videos online[6].
Last year we saw how
people show preference for sharing photographs or video over typing out a text
update, the comfort of knowing what you post isn’t going to stick around
forever and the need to share everyday moments with smaller audiences.
It’s interesting to note that video on mobile is far from a homogeneous experience. Unlike traditional video, mobile video experiences are not linear and vary based on a number of factors. Through our research and experience over the last few years, we’ve seen two distinct categories of video experiences that have accelerated largely due to mobile: “on-the-go” and “captivated viewing.” As a result of these changing viewing habits, people are most drawn to brands that are easy to discover and use, whether it’s through their strong presence in online communities or their high-quality mobile content across platforms. With the continued growth in streaming services, people will be looking to brands that can clearly communicate their offerings and to those that can create a more personalised viewing experience.
We’re continuing to
see fast adoption of ephemeral sharing as each of our Stories experiences
across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp now have more than half a
billion daily users[7]. As more
and more people use Stories, we’re making it easier for marketers to adopt this
format and reach people where they’re spending their time.
The same goes for
messaging. At the start of 2018, we shared that over 8 billion messages were
sent between people and businesses on Messenger every month. That number has
more than doubled to 20 billion messages this year – which shows that people
expect to communicate with businesses in much the same way as they message with
their friends. As people increasingly use messaging apps, we’re helping
businesses make the shift too. There are now over 40 million monthly active
businesses on Messenger (i.e. sending or receiving a message on Messenger)[8]
and research shows that people in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific are more
likely than the global average to message a business. In fact, 63% of
people surveyed in Asia-Pacific messaged a business last Holiday season[9].
More than 5 million businesses are actively using the WhatsApp Business app
each month[10].
While last year we saw
the ability to message with a business made people feel more confident about
the brand and more connected to it and create a connection that fosters brand
loyalty, this year we see an interesting subset of this preference for
messaging; the growing use of messaging or online chat to buy and sell. A study
by the Boston Consulting Group in partnership with Facebook across nine
countries found that Southeast Asia outpaces other countries surveyed in both
awareness and adoption of conversational commerce. Of the nine countries
surveyed, the percentage of respondents who had undertaken a conversational
commerce transaction was the highest in Thailand and Vietnam, at 40% and 36%
respectively, followed by Indonesia (29%), Malaysia (26%) and the Philippines
(23%). The rate of adoption for other countries is still nascent – US (5%),
Mexico (6%), India (10%), and Brazil (11%), which shows substantial opportunity
for growth[11]. The
study unveiled a remarkable finding that discovery and spending behavior of
digital consumers in between Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities are very similar,
debunking the myth that Tier 1 digital consumers shop more online. Once a Tier
2 shopper adopts online shopping, habits and preferences become very similar to
Tier 1. Except for the discovery journey, where Tier 2 shoppers don’t know what
they want to buy even more, which means they are even more encouraged by
inspiration-shopping.
Source: Tech Crunch
All of these developments mean that the commerce landscape will continue to evolve with people opting to interact with businesses via experiences that are most relevant, personal, and seamless in their daily lives. With increasing affluence and access to the mobile internet, the ways people discover new products is very much about a connected experience. Therefore, ensuring that your business and brands are visible and discoverable is going to be an essential element to winning in the new era of commerce.
Today,
Most Malaysian consumers want everything almost immediately, making every step
or delay a chance for them to abandon their journeys. Awareness, information
gaps and the inability to optimise technology are some causes that contributed
to the friction[12]. So
what can businesses do to prepare for this new era of commerce? Bring
connection back to the equation.
Businesses can enhance connections by designing
mobile-friendly websites, apps, marketing and real-time communication to reduce
friction and establish the best experiences for customers[13].
