viewpoint Samson Tam: Hong Kong needs a tech bureau Page 8
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Hong Kong CIO Awards
2012 Winners
Page 12
Andy Chun,
City University Hong Kong
Tomasz Smaczny,
*H[OH`7HJPÄJ
bizpeople
industryWYVÄSL
feature
techwatch
MTR new CIO
eyes IT excellence
www.cw.com.hk
Page
10
Startup maii brings
free voice services
Page 18
Great expectations
Massive potential from
for upcoming TCB
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July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 1
Page 20
Page 26
2 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
contents
July / August 2012
4 upfront
A new beginning
6 news
8 viewpoint
Hong Kong needs a tech bureau
Legoco Councilor Samson Tam shares
expectations of Technology and
Communication Bureau
20 feature
Great expectations for HK’s TCB
Local IT pros expects Technology
Communication Bureau to bring industry
transformation ASAP
coverstory
Hong Kong CIO
Awards 2012
Page 12
24 feature
HK lags region in IPv6 adoption
Survey shows awareness remain low as
ISPs provide limited IPv6 services
26 techwatch
:VM[^HYL+LÄULK5L[^VYRPUN!
massive potential
Programmable networks could bring
paradigm shift in network management
28 talktech
Securing the information age
Mobility and cloud have pushed CIOs to
refocus their security strategies
31 talktech
)PNKH[H!PUUV]H[PVUVWWVY[\UP[`
Generating insights from machines
beyond structured data
10
bbizpeople
A ride to excellence
MTR Corp’s new CIO Ted Suen
plans to take a talented IT team to
new heights
18
34 HKCIOForum
Seeing the opportunity in crisis
i
industryWYVÄSL
Voice offers opps in the apps market
38 MACAUCIOForum
Former Skype employee starts a
tech venture to offer free voice
services
40 chinawatch
4HJH\*06JOHSSLUNLZ!L]LYJOHUNPUN
China to replace Silicon Valley
subscribe to
CWHK e-newsletter
42 backpage
Check: www.cw.com.hk for daily news and online features.
Why Microsoft should make tablets
(and phones and PCs)?
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 3
UPFRONT
SHEILA LAM
A new beginning
J
uly is a special month for Hong Kong. Summer vacation begins and the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China always a busy day. This year’s
July is particularly special—it’s the 15th anniversary of the handover and a new
JRYHUQPHQWKDVWDNHQRI¿FH
And with a new government comes new possibilities. Hong Kong’s collective IT
industry looks forward to the re-organisation of the goverment secretariat that will
establish the Technology and Communication Bureau (TCB).
7KH HVWDEOLVKPHQW RI WKH 7&% VKRZV WKH JRYHUQPHQW KDV ¿QDOO\ UHFRJQL]HG
the importance of the tech industry to Hong Kong’s economy and plans to form a
governing structure that facilitates that development. Our government formed the
OGCIO in 2004, but only recently understands the need of a tech bureau—eight
years is a very long time in the tech world.
The establishment of the OGCIO was a good opportunity to
transform IT-governance from an operational supporting unit
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in recent years was the recognition of datacenter industry
questexasia.
development.
com
Structure needs to be bolstered by leadership with the right
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step. The process is similar to IT-within-the-enterprise: getting the board’s endorsement and approval are essential for any successful transformation.
Although the TCB has not yet been formed and its contribution is yet to be seen,
many within the industry are hopeful. We talked with some of IT leaders, academics
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top priority (see page 20).
While much of the general public is skeptical about the new government, the IT
industry has hope and expectations. Will the local tech industry get the support it
needs and deserves from the new government? We in the media will be watching...
and reporting.
http://www.cw.com.hk
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Copyright © 2012, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks
of Oracle and/or
July/August
2012its affiliates.
Computerworld
Hong Kong 5
NEWS
HONG KONG
f
29 tech pros win Outstanding IT
Achiever Awards
A total of 29 IT pros walked away with accolades recently at the Outstanding ICT Achiever
Awards 2012 presentation ceremony. Among
the winners, YuetBor Yeung, Adjunct Professor, Department of Information Systems, City
University of Hong Kong as well as ex-Asia
Pacific head of IT at HSBC, was granted ICT
Lifetime Achievement Award, said the award
organizer Hong Kong Computer Society. Pun
Sai Lit, Roy, associate partner, IBM Global
Business Services Hong Kong, was selected
Top ICT Achiever of the Year.
HK datacenter hopes hang on
building conversion measures
HONG KONG
f
/VUN2VUNÄYTZMHJLUL^H[[HJRZ^LLRS`
H
RQJ .RQJ ¿UPV UHSRUW DQ DYHUage of 54 new security attack attempts each week, with successful incidents costing them an estimated
average of US$159,244, according to a
new report from Check Point.
The report titled “The Impact of Cybercrime on Businesses” says that the estimated monetary loss includes variables
such as forensic investigation, investments in technology, and brand recovery
costs.
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executives and IT security administra-
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attacks were estimated to have been driven
by political or ideological agendas.
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security cybercrimes experienced in the
last two years, followed by SQL Injections
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While the majority of companies have
important security building blocks in
SODFH VXFK DV ¿UHZDOO DQG LQWUXVLRQ SUHvention solutions, less than half of Hong
Without offering a long-term datacenter land
supply policy, the Hong Kong SAR Government
puts its ‘hopes’ on two measures announced
in the 2012-13 Budget Speech to give the
datacenter sector a boost. The measures are
related to the exemption of waiver fee for
changing parts of an eligible industrial building
into datacenter use, and premium assessment
for the lease modification on the basis of hightier datacenter use for the datacenter part of a
proposed project.
Microsoft builds cloud tool for
Hong Kong NGOs
Microsoft and the Hong Kong Council of Social
Service jointly launched a tailor-made, cloudbased system to help local NGOs manage their
volunteers online at zero cost. Dubbed Volunteer Management System (VMS), the new tool
is a customized version of Microsoft Dynamics
CRM Online. Using VMS, NGOs in Hong Kong
can manage their social services cases online,
and promptly screen and match volunteers with
the intended service recipients.
:\JJLZZM\SZLJ\YP[`H[[HJRZJVZ[/2ÄYTZHULZ[PTH[LKH]LYHNLVM<: tors in the US, the UK, Germany, Hong
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and across multiple industries, includLQJ ¿QDQFLDO LQGXVWULDO GHIHQVH UHWDLO
healthcare and education, the vendor
added.
The majority of Hong Kong responGHQWV LQGLFDWHG ¿QDQFLDO IUDXG DV
the cybercriminal’s primary motivation,
followed by the intent to disrupt business
6 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
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threats.
When asked to rank employee activities
that pose the greatest risk, all regions surveyed unanimously cited the use of mobile devices—including smartphones and
tablet PCs—as the biggest concern, followed by removable media devices such
as USB sticks, and remote access to the
network.
www.cw.com.hk
GLOBAL
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torage software sales growth is
slower than at anytime in the past
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at a slower rate.
There is still “healthy demand” for
storage software products, but the rate of
growth within the market has slowed to
levels not seen since 2009
Companies with more than 1,000 employees made up the biggest component
of storage software sales with $1.6 bilOLRQ LQ LQYHVWPHQWV GXULQJ WKH TXDUWHU
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year over year.
Storage software investments within
the government and education category
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fewer than 500 employees—
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6KHSSDUG,'&¶VUHVHDUFKGLUHFEMC, IBM, and Symantec were
tor for storage software, in a statement.
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recent product refreshes have run their VRIWZDUH VXSSOLHUV ZLWK course within some functional markets, DQG PDUNHW VKDUHV UHVSHFWLYHO\
such as storage infrastructure software.” &RPP9DXOW ZLWK \HDURYHU
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saging is helping to draw out new in- GXULQJWKHTXDUWHU+3¶VUHFHQWDFTXLVLvestments within other markets, such WLRQ RI $XWRQRP\ KHOSHG GULYH as the data protection and data recovery year-over-year growth for the company
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market.
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Number Crunch
IT departments that tried to
align themselves with the
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butlers to the business
—Peter Hinssen, author of the book
The New Normal, commented at
Forrester IT Forum
www.cw.com.hk
The amount in US dollars that RIM, maker of
BlackBerry devices, wants to shave off from its
costs by the end of 2013. The company announced
in May that it would look to reduce headcount and
spending
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 7
VIEWPOINT
SAMSON TAM
Hong Kong needs a tech bureau
I
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will likely be more open to ideas and suggestion from the
public.
Although I agree that the government should step up its supSRUW,EHOLHYHDQDUURZIRFXVRQVSHFL¿FWHFKQRORJLHV²OLNH
IT, bio-tech or nano-tech—may not be helpful for Hong Kong
to establish a “Knowledge Economy” since the overall economic development will rely on multiple sectors and parties.
Many have also suggested the new government provide new
funding schemes and establish new industrial policies. I agree
the government should step up in these areas. But industryplayers and academics should jointly develop industrial policies with the government—no government body should develop industry-policy in a vacuum.
Gathering various stakeholders to gauge public opinion and
-YLLKVTVMPUMVYTH[PVUÅV^LZZLU[PHS
)UHHGRPRILQIRUPDWLRQÀRZLVWKHIRXQGDWLRQIRULQQRYD- LQÀXHQFH JRYHUQPHQW SROLF\ LV QRWKLQJ QHZ LQ +RQJ .RQJ
WLRQ WKXV LW LV WKH PRVW LPSRUWDQW HOHPHQW WKDW WKH +.6$5 It has been done widely: one recent example is the Kai Tak
Government should protect. The rapid expansion of datacen- 5HGHYHORSPHQW3ODQ7KHHVWDEOLVKPHQWRI0DNH$'LIIHUHQFH
ters in Hong Kong did not happen in a vacuum. Google, NTT- 0D'²DQ LQLWLDWLYH WR HQFRXUDJH FUHDWLYLW\ DPRQJ \RXQJ'RFRPRDQG&KLQD7HOHFRPFRXOGWDNHWKHLUGDWDFHQWHUVDQG sters—was accomplished using the same process. This model
cloud computing capacity to another region if this important FDQ EH PDGH DYDLODEOH WR WKH ,7 LQGXVWU\ EXW LW ZLOO UHTXLUH
government’s sponsorship as local SMEs are unlikely to have
element is compromised.
the needed resources.
’ve been advocating an “Innovation and Technology Bureau” in Hong Kong for years. Last July, I initiated a motion debate based on this idea and it’s been supported by
my peers from various political background—including Emily
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chyou of the Hong Kong Federation Trade Union.
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the new government’s plan to establish a Technology and
Communications Bureau (TCB) is close enough. With direct
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will be in a better position to coordinate with other policy bureaus across the government. My only concern is the “innovation” element might be forgotten in the new TCB.
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MV\UKH[PVUMVYPUUV]H[PVU
Building a transnational region
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and drum up support for Hong Kong is to sponsor a high-level
summit. This should include local, mainland, and international
representatives.
Since the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2011, which raised
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FRQFHUQ WKH FULPLQDOL]DWLRQ RI VDWLUH DQG SDURG\ ZDV QRW *XDQJGRQJ DQG +.6$5 *RYHUQPHQWV WR GLVFXVV PHDVXUHV
passed in the previous LegCo term, I would like the incoming IRU LPSOHPHQWLQJ WKH ³*XDQJ]KRX+RQJ .RQJ .QRZOHGJH
Secretary of the TCB to seek further public consultation on the &RUULGRU´²DFRQFHSWVLPLODUWRWKHgUHVXQG5HJLRQDWUDQVbill before it is brought to LegCo again.
national region connected via a bridge between Copenhagen
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the characteristics of Hong Kong and Guangdong to develop a
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of the TCB: be more visionary and work closer with the in- Note that the views expressed by ViewPoint contributors do not
dustry. Many people within the industry have indicated they QHFHVVDULO\UHÀHFWWKHYLHZVRIComputerworld Hong Kong or its
ZRXOGOLNHWRVHHWKH+.6$5*RYHUQPHQWWDNHPRUHULVNVDQG HGLWRULDOVWDII
shoulder more responsibilities in the industry development.
I believe the government can achieve that by providing of:HTZVU;HT>HPOVPZ[OL3LNPZSH[P]L
fers similar to those granted by the Singapore Government:
*V\UJPS4LTILYMVY[OL0;:LJ[VY
*VU[HJ[OPTH[VMÄJL'ZHTZVU[HTOR
EHWWHUFDSDFLW\SODQQLQJDQGPRUH¿QDQFLDOVXSSRUWWRWKHLQdustry. As we in Hong Kong have a different business and
8 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 9
BIIZPEOPLE
BIZ
B
BIZPEOPLE
A ride to excellence
After more than a decade of experience with different leading IT
service providers, Ted Suen joined the MTR Corporation (MTR Corp) as
Head of IT in February. He talks with Computerworld Hong Kong about
continuing the company’s legacy and taking its IT team to new heights.
When I was approached by headKXQWHU IRU WKH 075 &RUS +HDG RI ,7
position, I was driven by the challenge
of the role, thus decide to give it a try
and applied for this position.
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Computerworld Hong Kong: In the
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CWHK: How did your experience
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TS: It’s been a tremendous help. My
vendor background allows me to be
more approachable by many local IT
service providers. And understanding
how vendors operate allows me to
drive a more optimal deployment—and
be in a better position for negotiation.
When I was on the vendor side, I always had to work out the best technical and cost-effective solution for clients and deliver a long-term strategy
for them. The experiences of managing various government-related projects—the relocation of border control
system to the Chek Lap Kok airport,
the e-passport implementation and the
GHYHORSPHQWRI(6'/LIHSRUWDO±ZHUH
excellent learning experiences for my
current role.
In addition, learning global best
practices and methodologies from the
vendors I worked for also enabled me
to work with my team for further improvement.
Ted Suen: People think I have a strong
vendor background as I’ve worked in
that capacity for the last 12 years. But
I spent the first half of my career in a
corporate IT environment. I started as
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Later, I tried different roles including database administrators and system
analyst in different corporations including Chase Manhattan Bank. I started my career on the vendor side when
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government-related projects to a manDJHPHQW UROH IRU ('6¶ UHJLRQDO DQG
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Greater China region. Before leaving
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a team of 2,000 people.
10 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
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TS: My major goal is to turn this
department into a business partner
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business.
We’ve introduced a new role: the
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with different business units, aiming
to proactively advise them on applying
technologies in their operations.
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for senior executives from different
business units in April. The section
introduced the latest technologies and
provided demonstrations of how they
can be used to enhance customers’
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users. We will also launch another
mobile app called Material Testing
System, for our employees to file reports related to testing and approval
of construction materials. All these
mobile apps aim to improve passengers’ experiences and improve internal efficiency.
We are also looking at cloud computing and have implemented a hyEULG FORXG VHUYLFH IRU 075 &RUS
Property Management business unit
since 2009. The application leverages
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house developed functions to build
a single integrated portal service for
communications with residents of
our managed estates, particularly on
We hope to inspire and educate business executives
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We hope to inspire and educate
business executives with innovative
use of technology to help their roles.
Apart from users’ suggestions, the
IT department has also set up an innovation team to explore the opportunities of adopting the latest technologies
ZLWKLQ075&RUS
the notification of management fee
payment and building maintenance
VFKHGXOH 5HJDUGLQJ SULYDWH FORXG
we are exploring the feasibility to
build a cloud IT infrastructure for
testing and development environment to reduce the cost of hardware
and software.
Early this year, we’ve launched the
CWHK: What emerging technologies %<2' SURJUDP DOORZLQJ VWDII ZLWK
are you exploring, and what are the iOS or Android devices to access
ODWHVWLQLWLDWLYHVDW075&RUS"
corporate emails. Currently there are
no restrictions on application-access
TS: 5HFHQWO\ ZH KDYH ODXQFKHG VHY- ZLWK GHYLFH UHJLVWHUHG XQGHU %<2'
eral mobile apps for our passengers in- program, but users cannot use “jailFOXGLQJ 075 -RXUQH\ 3ODQQHU 075 break” devices. There are about 1,600
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SHRSOH DW WKH 075 &RUS ZKR DUH XVInternally, we have launched the LQJ GHYLFHV UHJLVWHUHG XQGHU %<2'
mobile version of our Enterprise In- program, and we are starting to install
formation Portal, which provides mobile-device management software
information like staff directory and at each client-device to better manage
corporate publications to our internal them.
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CWHK: Your predecessor, Daniel
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does that legacy help or challenge
your role as the new IT leader at the
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has many talented IT professionals
and I’m delighted to have such a great
team to work with.
2QWKHRWKHUKDQGLWLVDOVRTXLWHD
challenge to keep a team of 130 permanent staff motivated at all times. A
sense of achievement is a big part of
motivation, and many employees at
WKH 075 &RUS DUH YHU\ OR\DO DQG HDger to bring significant contributions
to the company.
Being new to the team, I’m in a
good position to generate discussions
that create these opportunities. I’m
NHHQ WR FKDOOHQJH WKH VWDWXV TXR DQG
encourage my team do so by commenting and suggesting new ideas for
each other. Through these discussions,
we are able to evaluate our own work
with new perspectives and generated
new ideas and projects for the team to
improve.
Another challenge for us is the issue
of aging. In the upcoming six to seven
years, a few senior managers in my department will be retiring. I am hoping
to fill these positions through internal
promotion and this is the right time to
start developing the next generation
managers, thus succession planning is
on a high priority.
Part of the plan for talent-cultivation
is also to introduce a job-rotation program for key performers in key positions. It’s important that these nextgeneration leaders are able to expand
their technical knowledge and business skills.
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 11
COVERSTORY
2012 Winner – CIO, Large Enterprise
Tomasz Smaczny
Executive Director and
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2012 Winner – CIO, Medium Enterprise
Andy Chun
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Hong Kong
12 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
CIOs at Cathay and CityU win
2012 Hong Kong CIO Awards
Awards recognize visionary and innovative IT leaders By Chee-Sing Chan
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continued on page 14 July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 13
COVERSTORY
COVERSTORY
Cathay’s CIO strives to give IT its voice
This program is already underway
with the provision of a SOA-based platform and a new Web presence which
will be implemented later this year.
“As the result of full channel integration,” said Smaczny, “the majority of
our current customer-related business
processes are being re-engineered to
deliver a much better integration of our
sales and service offerings.”
IT in the sky
Cathay’s Smaczny: I always saw IT with a different lens
Tomasz Smaczny speaks on the
need to be authentic and
how IT must never be
subservient to business
By Chee-Sing Chan
H
ong Kong’s flagship airline is known for its innovative use of technology.
The drive and leadership of its IT
organization has been noteworthy
for decades, and in recent years, the
man spearheading the effort is CIO
Tomasz Smaczny.
His recent CIO award win is a measure of his unswerving commitment
to driving business value through IT
and also the success and vision of his
team’s key initiatives that are ongoing
at Cathay Pacific Airways.
One major project is the company’s
overhaul and integration of its customer channels. The program requires
a rebuild of all customer-facing channels: call centers, Web, social media,
mobile, travel agents, direct sales, and
corporate sales.
14 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
Another key program currently underway is Cathay’s innovative approach to
HHQDEOLQJLWVDLUFUDIWZKLFKLV¿UVWLQWKH
LQGXVWU\¿UVWDQGEHLQJZDWFKHGFORVHO\E\
its OneWorld Alliance peers and aircraft
manufacturers. This project will help resolve the lack of integration between aircraft while they are in the air and ground
systems. It would provide real-time data
exchange and push-based updating of sysWHP¿UPZDUHDQGQDYLJDWLRQGDWDDVZHOO
as customer loyalty information, aiming to
elevate the airline’s service delivery levels.
0HDQZKLOH WKH ¿QDQFLDO EHQH¿WV RI
Cathay’s e-enabled aircraft program is
expected recoup the program investment by 2015 and generate in excess of
HK$250 million in net savings per annum thereafter.
These schemes are due to the vision
and ability of Smaczny and his team to
drive change and transformation not
just within technology, but across business processes throughout the organization. The sign of quality technology
leadership is the ability to effectively
lead and drive this degree of business
www.cw.com.hk
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Career: IT & management
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His remit when he joined Cathay was
by accident—having studied electronic to help support an extensive business
engineering due to a deep interest in transformation which is ongoing. The
math and science, he later found that en- transformation element of the role was
gineering did not elicit the passion that DNH\DWWUDFWLRQIRU6PDF]Q\DVZHOODV
he had hoped for. When he and his fam- the new challenge of applying his skills
ily emigrated from his homeland of Po- to an Asian context.
land to Australia, he found himself in a
With the foundations laid down by his
software programming job even though predecessor who was instrumental in
computer programming was completely EULQJLQJ6PDF]Q\WRWKHDLUOLQHKHKDV
alien to him at the time.
VLQFH SXW LQ SODFH VLJQL¿FDQW SURJUDPV
The technology side of that job initiated to help streamline business operations.
6PDF]Q\ LQWR D FDUHHU SDWK IRFXVHG RQ
He recalled his arrival at Cathay Pamanagement roles and transformation ini- FL¿FDQGDQLQWHUHVWLQJFRUSRUDWHFXOWXUH
tiatives. Within a few years of the software he views as a combination of Chinese
change and not be solely focused on the
deployment of good technology.
Without a strong voice, IT becomes a slave to the
business
GHYHORSPHQW MRE 6PDF]Q\ PRYHG LQWR
the management side of technology with
a keen eye on the business elements of IT.
“I always saw IT with a different lens,”
VDLG6PDF]Q\³,DOZD\VWULHGWRVHHKRZ
IT can contribute to the business rather
than simply view what IT could produce
in terms of a technology product.”
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6PDF]Q\ ZRXOG EH SXOOHG LQWR GHEDWHV
about technology trends and intense
discussions over whether to use Java or
.Net, which he likened to religious wars.
³,QP\PLQGWKHTXHVWLRQZDVGRHVWKLV
really matter?” he recalled.
6PDF]Q\¶V FDUHHU IURP WKDW ¿UVW SURgramming job led him to take on management roles with software houses
DQG UHWDLO ¿UPV DV ZHOO DV EDQNLQJ DQG
www.cw.com.hk
“IT in my view performs a very important function in business today,” said
6PDF]Q\³,W¶VQHLWKHUDFRVWFHQWHUQRUD
SUR¿WFHQWHU,7LVOHYHUDJHGIRUERWKRXWcomes depending on the situation. But IT
must have an opinion and a voice.”
He insists that IT departments must
EHFOHDULQWHUPVRIKRZWKH\¿WZLWKLQ
the business and how they can contribute and change the business. “Without
DVWURQJYRLFH´VDLG6PDF]Q\´,7EHcomes a slave to the business.”
He added that IT leaders must always
TXHVWLRQ EXVLQHVV OHDGHUV DQG XQGHUstand the business strategy before proposing any IT schemes. “IT must challenge the business and leaders must step
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“Without these conversations, which can
RIWHQ EH GLI¿FXOW DQ\ ,7 LQLWLDWLYH ZLOO
likely fail to deliver.”
Big lessons
thinking with a British mindset. This
culture mix in the past had often led
to consensus-driven decision-making,
ZKLFK 6PDF]Q\ QRWHG GRHV QRW DOZD\V
yield the best overall decision from the
perspective of the company.
Higher standards
He immediately set about building a
more effective IT governance structure,
ZKLFK SULRULWL]HV FRPPHUFLDO PHWULFV
EDVHG RQ WKH ¿UP¶V EXVLQHVV QHHGV DQG
transparency in the eyes of anyone on
the business-side.
“Every decision in IT needs to stand
XSWRWKHVFUXWLQ\RIDQ\TXHU\´KHVDLG
“and will also have metrics to show why
decisions were made and what the results
of each decision will create.” This would
in time help create credibility for IT allowing it to evolve into a superior role.
6PDF]Q\DGGHGWKDWRQHRIWKHELJJHVW
lessons he has learned during his time in
technology is to be authentic and stick to
your principles. “I believe that being authentic is very important in any career and
to achieve that, you need to be congruent
LQZKDW\RXGR´DGYLVHG6PDF]Q\³+RZ
close can you stick to what you think, what
you say and what you do?”
He recalled a past situation where he
was told to be less “black and white” in
certain situations and adopt more EQ
into his thinking. “In reaction I tried to
be softer, but it was unnatural to meto
WKHSRLQWZKHUHLWEHFDPHDUWL¿FLDO´VDLG
6PDF]Q\ ³7KLV LPSDFWHG P\ LQWHJULW\
as I didn’t really believe what I was actually saying. The lesson is to be yourself
and be authentic at all times.”
He added that this philosophy has helped
him to be more sensitive to people’s needs
and by staying authentic allows him to be
better at helping others as his strong sense
of belief creates better mutual trust in the
working relationships he develops.
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 15
COVERSTORY
COVERSTORY
From AI researcher to university CIO
Universities must ask what value they provide when people can learn many things on the Internet, says Hong Kong
CIO Awards 2012 winner Andy Chun, CIO at City University of Hong Kong By Teresa Leung
D
XULQJ WKH ¿UVW KDOI RI KLV
30-year tech career, Andy
Chun—now CIO at CityU—
ZDV LQ WKH 86 IRFXVLQJ RQ DUWL¿FLDO
intelligence (AI) R&D. Fascinated by
Hong Kong’s lifestyle and opportunities for AI pros, Chun decided to return
in 1994 to the city where he was born.
“Back then, only a handful of IT
pros had experiences in designing and
developing sophisticated, real-time,
and fault-tolerant mission critical apps
while the number of AI pros was even
smaller,” said Chun who helped the
MTR, the Immigration Department, the
Hospital Authority and the equestrianevent portion of the Beijing Olympics
build different systems with AI
technologies.
After his rich industry experience,
Chun made a move to become a CityU
professor over a decade ago. “I’m always interested in teaching,” he said.
“Nothing’s more rewarding than seeing
the gleam in students’ eyes when they
learn something new or create things
that work.”
From teaching to CIO
Chun decided to take on the new role
of CIO at CityU in 2009. “The bits and
pieces of my varied experience helped
prepare me for the CIO role that requires
one to understand trends, create visions,
GH¿QH VWUDWHJLHV WUDQVIRUP EXVLQHVV
enable changes, and empower people,”
said Chun who was also awarded the
Computerworld Honors Laureate medal
in Washington DC this year.
CityU’s Chun: Communications and project management are key lessons to me as a CIO
Now he heads a team of 150 people.
Besides the university datacenter, student services, and enterprise systems,
Chun is also responsible for building
standards for IT teams managed by
CityU’s various colleges and departments to follow.
“CityU is different from a lot of universities in Asia,” said Chun. “While
other universities might see IT as a
unit that keeps the computers running,
CityU sees IT as strategic to its operations and education. It’s the only university in greater China that has hired
a CIO.”
Tech transforms learning
experiences
Because of IT’s strategic importance,
Chun and his team are involved in a
huge number of projects. Hong Kong’s
16 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
3-3-4 education reform has made their
OLYHVSDUWLFXODUO\EXV\EXW&KXQ¿QGV
projects related to education the most
exciting.
Now more than 30% of CityU students use mobile phones or tablets to
access the university’s learning management system to download learning materials, submit assignment, and
communicate with classmates, according to Chun, adding that more than half
of the students are expected to do the
same by year-end.
Social learning, said Chun, helps
HQJDJH VWXGHQWV ZKR¶G RWKHUZLVH ¿QG
lectures boring. “Now they can update
their status and post learning-related
materials such as articles and images
using an in-class social network similar to Facebook,” he noted. “The network helps them share things related to
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SDJHVWR¿WYDULRXVPRELOHGHYLFHVDQG
is accessible to the visually impaired—
best illustrates project management’s
importance.
The project involved modifying more
than 500,000 Web pages from more
than 100 Web sites owned by different departments in about six months,
Communications and project
management
he said. “It looked insurmountable, but
Asked if staffers resist the heavy use I had an experienced project manager
of technology in teaching, Chun said: who devised a thoughtful plan with
“CityU is a young university where ZHOOGH¿QHG PDQDJHDEOH DQG LQFUHmost members of the teaching team mental milestones,” he said. “We also
are young and love to engage students provide many workshops, aiming to
with tech. Our teaching staff knows engage and motivate all stakeholders.
that young people aren’t likely to learn The result: all departments were able
anything if forced to listen to someone to share best practices, work in paralOHO DQG ¿QLVK WKH SURMHFW WRJHWKHU DV
passively in a lecture hall.”
Though most teaching staffers wel- scheduled.”
While the tech world changes speedcome the use of technology, Chun said
effective communications with users ily and the local tech talent shortage
remain important and is one of the key continues, Chun said CIOs need to let
lessons during his stint as a CIO. “New young people turn their ideas into new
projects. “For instance, we work with
VWXGHQWV LQ WKHLU ¿QDO \HDU SURMHFWV
while opening our APIs and providing them with mentoring,” said Chun.
CIOs need to let young people turn their ideas
“We don’t stop there—we allow young
into new projects
people a growth opportunity by selecting the better projects for deployment
in the university.
Busy with his CIO role, Chun still
dubbed MITx. About 120,000 people WHFKQRORJLHV FKDQJH DQ RUJDQL]DWLRQ¶V
HQUROOHGIRULWV¿UVWFRXUVHFLUFXLWVDQG culture and people’s ways of doing VTXHH]HV LQ WLPH WR WHDFK DW OHDVW RQH
electronics. There are many more simi- things,” he said. “My team and I have course every semester—except in 2011
ODUFDVHVLQWKH86WKDWSRWHQWLDOO\ÀDW- to let users know how they can make to prepare for the arrival of the new
great use of technologies and the ben- 3-3-4 education scheme this year. “Talten the education landscape.”
HQW FXOWLYDWLRQ RXWVLGH WKH RI¿FH VWLOO
As a result, universities must allow H¿WV´
This is made easier with the help of matters a lot to me,” he said. “I want
students to collaborate and do real problem-solving during class time—this is enthusiastic users, said Chun. “We seek to share my experiences of using techZKDW&KXQFDOOVDµÀLSFODVV¶³3URIHV- enthusiastic users to try new systems nologies to solve real problems with
sors must become mentors and facili- and promote those new tools to other students.”
“As an educator and a CIO in an edutators helping students solve problems users—it’s much more effective than
in-class rather than giving lectures,” he getting an IT pro to do the job,” he said. cational institute, I want users to have
The value of professional project a rewarding experience in using techsaid. “To prepare for problem solving
in classes, students go online to study management is another important nologies and students to be able to use
lesson. According to Chun, CityU’s tech in solving real-world problems,”
course materials.”
Web
site—which he concluded.
At CityU, teaching staffers can award-winning
learning, and they use it because it’s
similar to what they use in their daily
life.”
According to Chun, technology
should help transform education and
learning experiences. “These days you
can learn many things on the Internet,
and educational institutes must ask
what value they can bring to students,”
he said.
“Look at the Khan Academy—started by Salman Khan who initially created and put videos on YouTube for his
cousins to learn algebra,” said Chun.
“Now [the academy] has more than
3,000 videos and become popular.”
He added that more free contents
are available from renowned universities like Stanford whose free online AI
course has attracted about 250,000 people to sign up. “This isn’t a standalone
case but a potential major paradigm
shift,” he said. “MIT also announced
earlier this year an online project
www.cw.com.hk
choose to pre-record lecture videos
for students to view before coming to
classes, according to Chun. “We started this last semester,” he said. “Some
staffers have already tried to pre-record
lecture videos to allow more interaction and discussion during classes.”
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 17
INDUSTRYPROFILE
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Multi-pronged approach key to mobile app’s success, says VP Chris Lewis from
local firm maaii
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&:+. :K\ WKH QDPH PDDLL" :KHQ in January and the Android version in
June. Lately we signed up 15 developers
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in Singapore and more than 20 developChris Lewis: My team and I started ers in Shanghai—these people want to
the company in 2011 after I left Skype enhance their existing apps with a voice
in Hong Kong. The name maaii has no element. An ISP in Singapore will also
meaning—we like it because it’s short deploy our platform in the next few
and easy. maaii—with investment from months.
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Group—has a team of 30 people sta- &:+.:KHUHDUH\RXUXVHUVORFDWHG"
tioned in Hong Kong, Beijing, and SinJDSRUH+DOIRIRXUVWDIIHUVDUHLQ5' CL: Most are from Asia and the Middle
East. Many in these regions seek cheaper
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CWHK: Do you consider WhatsApp and
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CL: While we offer a free consumer app
for the iPhone and Android phones, we CL: On the consumer [app] front, our
also provide enterprises and service pro- rivals include Viber, Skype, WhatsApp,
viders with a white-label hosted offer- and Kakao. But Skype doesn’t provide
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Our customers pay a monthly fee for offers no calling function. Kakao has
the white-label product—this helps them no social integration. At the moment,
shed heavy upfront costs. We target our no one else provides a consumer app, a
product at sectors like social media, ZKLWHODEHOSODWIRUPDQGDQ6'.DWWKH
travel, gaming, and e-commerce. Inte- same time.
gration with the maaii app allows an ecommerce Web site to easily and cost- &:+.:KDWDUHWKHFKDOOHQJHVIDFLQJ
effectively link their customers directly PDDLLDVD+RQJ.RQJWHFK¿UP"
to their call centers.
For individual smartphone users, ma- CL: I’ve been in Hong Kong for over
aii enables more than just free calls to six years, and I think the major chalother registered users—it also synchro- lenges here are similar to those in other
QL]HVLWVHOIZLWKDXVHU¶V)DFHERRNIULHQG locations. Hiring tech talent is an issue
list. We also give out free calling-min- in Hong Kong—especially for a startup
like us. We need a bigger startup comutes to new users.
munity to drive development and attract
CWHK: When did you launch the maaii more talented pros. There is a tech community in Hong Kong, but its scale is
DSS":KDW¶VWKHUHVSRQVH"
unlike startup clusters in other countries
CL: We launched the iPhone version such as Singapore.
18 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
3L^PZ!;OLYL^PSSILTVYLºYHUKVT»
L_WLYPLUJLSPRL+YH^:VTL[OPUNPU[OL
market
CWHK: What new products are you
ZRUNLQJRQ"$Q\VODWHGODXQFKGDWH"
CL: The next release of the consumer
app will allow people to share content
like videos and animation during calls—
this will help further differentiate us
from our rivals. We will also make callIRUZDUGLQJ DYDLODEOH ODWHU WKLV TXDUWHU
In Q4, we’ll launch a feature that allows
your contacts to reach you without incurring international call charges no matter
ZKHUH\RXDUH:H¶OODOVRRSHQDQRI¿FH
in Singapore in the near future.
&:+.:KDW¶V\RXUWDNHRQQHZPRELO
ity and social trends in the coming 12
PRQWKV"
CL: More players will offer technologies to enrich existing apps because
many developers don’t have the skillsets to build the new functions that users
need. Also, expect more ‘random’ experiences in the market. For example, the
'UDZ6RPHWKLQJDSSIURP20*323²
it was discovered by users and become
viral in a short period of time.
www.cw.com.hk
Ricoh-sponsored study: three of four organizations suffer
serious problems from broken document processes
Study finding is first output of Ricoh’s new Document Process Imperative;
Ongoing research to detail best document-related practices for business
I
neffective document-based processes, a “blind spot” for
businesses, have directly triggered serious incidents at three
out of four organizations in the past five years, according to
a new IDC white paper commissioned by Ricoh Company, Ltd.
The white paper is the first product of Ricoh’s new Document
Process Imperative initiative.
approach, we work to understand how information flows
through an organization and how business processes,
especially people-driven ones, affect that flow,” he said.
“Improved processes can not only help drive efficiency and
productivity, but can be engineered to help address risk factors
at every stage.”
Document process failures have caused severe
consequences: 36 % of responding companies failed to meet
compliance requirements, 30 % lost key employees, and 25 %
lost major customers. Other consequences include major IT
security breaches, getting pulled into a major audit, suffering a
PR crisis and being sued.
IT’S WORSE THAN YOU THINK
The good news: addressing failures proactively can head off
substantial financial harm. IDC estimates that the overall cost of
process failure (in terms of staff time and executive oversight
for activities such as required rework and process reviews, as
well as opportunity costs associated with lost customers) is at
least 10 times the direct out-of-pocket costs (such as paying
financial settlements).
“What many [business executives] may not appreciate is
the degree to which document-driven business processes
affect their organization’s risk profile: there is a high risk of
breakdowns in these processes causing severely negative
business outcomes, and the costs of these breakdowns
are worse than many executives think,” states IDC in the
Ricoh-commissioned report, “It’s Worse than You Think: Poor
Document Processes Lead to Significant Business Risk”.
“Although most invest significant resources to reduce lowprobability/high-impact risk events, high-probability/high impact
risks introduced by broken document processes are lurking
dangerously below the corporate radar and merit C-level
attention.”
The Ricoh Document Process Imperative is an ongoing
initiative to help businesses understand the risks, opportunities
and best practices around the documents that drive their
critical business processes.
Proposals for improving document processes sometimes
fail because they don’t make it onto the agenda of C-level
executives, the research found. That’s an important threshold
because document processes span multiple teams,
departments and organizations. Many subordinates don’t
have the scope of responsibility to architect and execute the
broad-based changes required. “Truly effecting change requires
C-level attention,” the report states.
75.9
%
COMPANIES EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS RISK INCIDENTS
AND SUFFERED SEVERE CONSEQUENCES DUE TO BROKEN DOCUMENT
PROCESSES, ACCORDING TO IDC WHITE PAPER, SPONSORED BY RICOH*
POOR DOCUMENT PROCESSES LEAD
TO SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS RISK
36.2%
Failed to meet
compliance
requirements
30.2%
Lost Key
Employees
24.9%
Lost Major
Customers
24.8%
Had a major
IT breach
20.4%
Were pulled
into a major
audit
19.1%
Suffered a
major PR crisis
*IDC White Paper sponsored by Ricoh, “It's Worse than You Think: Poor Document Processes Lead to Significant Business Risk,” doc #6352, June 2012
Ricoh is keenly aware of these risks and, as a leader in
providing Managed Document Services (“MDS”), is uniquely
equipped to assist its customers. Sergio Kato, Deputy General
Manager, Global Marketing Group/Services Business Center
observes: “Through our Managed Document Services (MDS)
www.ricoh.com/mds
Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RicohGlobalMDS
Copyright 2012 Ricoh Company, Ltd. All Rights Reserved
IDC White Paper sponsored by Ricoh, “It’s Worse than You Think: Poor Document
Processes Lead to Significant Business Risk,” doc #6352, June 2012
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE STUDY, please visit http://mds.ricoh.com/thoughtleadership
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 19
)YV\NO[[V`V\I`9PJVO
FEATURE
Great expectations
for HK’s TCB
Local ICT pros expect the Technology
and Communications Bureau to come up
with industry development and transformation
policies ASAP
)`:OLPSH3HTHUK;LYLZH3L\UN
S
LQFH WKH +RQJ .RQJ 6$5 JRYernment’s establishment of the
OGCIO—and its ditching of the
,76',QIRUPDWLRQ7HFKQRORJ\6HUYLFHV
'HSDUWPHQW²LQPDQ\ORFDO,&7
pros and startups have slammed the government’s lukewarm attitude towards the
industry’s development.
While innovation and technology is
among the pillar industries designated
by the government, there isn’t any sign
of its development. According to various
industry players CWHK talked to previRXVO\WKH2*&,2LVMXVWDQRI¿FHUDWKHU
than a policy maker unit, thus lacking the
power to move the industry forward.
On top of this, employers have a hard
time hiring the right tech talent because
those brilliant young people are drawn
WR¿QDQFHDQGRWKHUSURIHVVLRQVLQVWHDG
of technology—where they don’t see a
bright future.
As a result, the ICT industry has demanded a technology bureau for years.
While Hong Kong’s new ruling team
ZDVVZRUQLQWRRI¿FHRQ-XO\²WKRXJK
QRWTXLWHLQLWV¿QDOIRUP²PDQ\LQGXVtry players expect the Technology and
Communications Bureau (TCB) to go
live sooner or later.
Of late, local CIOs and industry gurus
(listed below) shared with CWHK their
expectations of the TCB and suggestions
on how the bureau could give the ICT
sector a boost.
20 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
*HSS`*OHU managing director, Hong
Kong, HP (CC)
:[LWOHU3H\president, Hong Kong
Computer Society
:\UU`3LL executive director, IT,
Hong Kong Jockey Club (SL)
.HIYPLS3L\UN general manager,
Hong Kong and Macau, EMC (GL)
4PJOHLS3L\UNsenior VP and CIO,
China Construction Bank (Asia) (ML)
2HT-HP>VUNassociate dean,
Faculty of Engineering at Chinese
University of Hong Kong (KW)
The government needs to know tech’s potential and
where opportunities lie
—Cally Chan, HP
www.cw.com.hk
in terms of ICT development. To make
the TCB relevant, the bureau chief
must have a tech background and understand the industry’s most pressing
needs. The bureau must help Hong
Kong and its ICT sector to catch up—
the past two GCIOs wasted us lots
RI WLPH ZKLOH WKH 'LJLWDO VWUDWHJ\
helps Hong Kong achieve nothing.
What do you expect the TCB to achieve
ZLWKLQWKH¿UVWPRQWKV"
SL: It must come up with policies and
a master implementation plan for the
tech and innovation sector development. The bureau must also have tech
priorities and allocate funds to projects
according to those priorities. While
The TCB must have tech priorities and allocate funds
to projects according to those priorities
—Sunny Lee, Hong Kong Jockey Club
>VUNMYVT*</2!)V[O[OL;*)HUK
THPUSHUKH\[OVYP[PLZULLK[VYLTV]LIHYYPLYZ
YLZ\S[PUNMYVTYLN\SH[VY`KPMMLYLUJLZ
Why is the TCB important to Hong
.RQJ"
CC: Hong Kong’s economy has undergone substantial transformation in recent years. With too much focus on the
GHYHORSPHQW RI ¿QDQFLDO DQG WUDGLQJ
LQGXVWULHVVLQFHWKHV+RQJ.RQJ
has lost sight of what it could achieve.
ICT has colossal potential in taking
Hong Kong to new heights, but we
need a government that understands
the potential of technologies and idenWL¿HVRSSRUWXQLWLHVLQDWLPHO\PDWWHU
'HVSLWH WKH 'LJLWDO VWUDWHJ\ WKH
government is slow in implementing ICT
changes. While there are different indusWU\RUJDQL]DWLRQVWKH\VHOGRPFRPHXS
with initiatives that drive Hong Kong’s
ICT development. The TCB should be a
critical enabler that facilitates and expedites Hong Kong’s transformation.
ML: Hong Kong won’t survive without a tech bureau that has a clear mission and a strong vision—Singapore
and Malaysia have left us in the dust
www.cw.com.hk
One of the bureau’s priorities should
be tech talent cultivation. Employers
have a hard time hiring tech pros with
IRXU WR ¿YH \HDUV H[SHULHQFH DIWHU WKH
tech bubble burst. In the long term, the
bureau needs to build professional recognition for IT pros—this will encourage more young and brilliant people to
VWHSLQWRWKH¿HOG
KW: The ICT industry unanimously
believes that it needs the TCB because
technology is never the focus of the
&RPPHUFH DQG (FRQRPLF 'HYHORSPHQW %XUHDX &('% XQGHU WKH FXUrent government structure.
To develop Hong Kong’s ICT industry, we need both the TCB and a bureau chief who understands technology
and has a vision on how tech can contribute to the local economy. PreviousO\ VHQLRU RI¿FLDOV LQ WKH JRYHUQPHQW
mainly came from a legal or economics background, without technology
knowledge or insights. As a result, the
implementation of ICT related policies
were always delayed. The government
has wasted so much time and missed
lots of opportunities to create a stronger local tech industry.
some people might argue the government shouldn’t specify tech priorities,
we must focus limited resources on the
most valuable projects.
It takes talent to keep tech and innovation going, thus the bureau must have
a policy to create a healthy supply. Last
but not least, the bureau must work out
a policy to allow the local tech sector
continued on page 22 3L\UNMYVT**)!:PUNHWVYLHUK4HSH`ZPH
OH]LSLM[\ZPU[OLK\Z[PU[LYTZVM0*;
KL]LSVWTLU[
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 21
FEATURE
LQJ IRFXV IURP EDVLF VFLHQWL¿F UHVHDUFK
to engineering and application projto complement the development of its ects—more commercially viable products are likely to come from these.
mainland counterpart.
To drive innovation, the TCB can enML: It should take SMBs—the majority courage more IP rights and patent-relatof Hong Kong’s business community— ed activities. Besides buying and selling,
seriously. For instance, the bureau should IP rights owners can leverage IP rights
speed up the endorsement of the use of to develop partnership and form joint
HELOOV DQG HFKHFNV²WKHVH ZLOO EHQH¿W ventures. These activities can expand
SMBs. We are so behind—we can no the community of developers owning IP
rights and expedite the product commerlonger rest on our Octopus laurels.
The bureau must also work on a city FLDOL]DWLRQSURFHVV
cloud and datacenter land supply. Without a long-term land supply policy, Hong What top issues should the TCB and
Kong can’t become a regional datacenter PDLQODQGDXWKRULWLHVZRUNWRJHWKHU"
hub. I can assure you that factory buildLQJV FDQ¶W VDWLVI\ GDWDFHQWHU UHTXLUH- Stephen Lau: Cloud. While China alments. China Construction Bank needs ready has its own cloud cities, Hong
WR UHQW DQRWKHU ÀRRU IRU LWV GDWDFHQWHU Kong must build its own cloud and work
in a Sha Tin factory building for more with China in expanding cloud-related
power supply. For top-tier datacenters, opportunities. For instance, an overseas
dual-power sources is a must—this we vendor that wants to establish its prescan get from China.
ence in China but isn’t familiar with
continued from page 21
The TCB needs to work with China on mutual
YLJVNUP[PVUVM0;X\HSPÄJH[PVUZ
—Gabriel Leung, EMC
KW: The TCB can create a system to
drive innovation by encouraging tech
entrepreneurship and creating job opportunities.
To develop successful tech entrepreneurs, we need a system that helps priRULWL]H DQG UHYLHZ 5' IXQGLQJ $Othough the government plans to increase
UHVHDUFK IXQGLQJ IURP RI RXU
*'3WRWKHQXPEHULVVWLOOPXFK
smaller than those in countries like China where funding will see a hike from
RI*'3WRE\WKHHQGRIWKH
12th Five-Year plan period.
In addition, we need to shift our fund-
this, the TCB needs to work with mainland authorities on mutual recognition of
FHUWL¿FDWLRQV²RXU WHFK SURV ZLOO WKHQ
have more opportunities in China.
The bureau can also work with China
to take mainland IT standards to the
global stage. For a standard to become
UHFRJQL]HGJOREDOO\LWKDVWREHFRPSUHhensive with a large adopter base. China
has already developed many comprehensive technology standards. If Hong
Kong adopts these standards and adds
value to them with intellectual property
protections—this is what we are good
DW²ZHFDQPXWXDOO\EHQH¿WHDFKRWKHU
KW: To encourage tech-related business activities between Hong Kong and
&KLQD JRYHUQPHQW RI¿FLDOV IURP ERWK
places need to remove some of the barriers resulting from regulatory differences.
Both China and Hong Kong should
also create programs to attract and foster
EXVLQHVV DFWLYLWLHV 'LVFXVVLRQ DQG LPplementation related to this wasn’t possible before because there was no senior
+RQJ.RQJJRYHUQPHQWRI¿FLDOIDPLOLDU
with technology.
Now with the TCB and a bureau chief
supposedly with a tech background,
things can move a lot faster.
mainland laws can have its data processing and storage in Hong Kong.
7R H[SDQG ORFDO WHFK ¿UPV¶ RSSRUWXnities in China, the bureau should explore how it can collaborate with cities
LQ*XDQJGRQJDQGWKH3HDUO5LYHU'HOWD
GL:0XWXDOUHFRJQLWLRQRI,7FHUWL¿FDtions. To work on mainland government
SURMHFWVWHFKSURVDUHUHTXLUHGWRREWDLQ
YDULRXV ,7 FHUWL¿FDWLRQV LQ WKH FRXQWU\
but Hong Kong tech pros have global
FHUWL¿FDWLRQV VXFK DV WKRVH E\ WKH 30,
(Project Management Institute) rather
than those from the mainland. In view of
22 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
3H\MVYT/2*:!/VUN2VUNT\Z[I\PSKP[Z
V^UJSV\KHUK^VYR^P[O*OPUHPUL_WHUKPUN
JSV\KYLSH[LKVWWVY[\UP[PLZ
www.cw.com.hk
ADVERTORIAL
Dell devises next stage
of data evolution
Dell Fluid Data solutions offer
a breakthrough approach
to intelligently manage data
end-to-end
Alvin Khoo and Steve Lam
from Dell Hong Kong
In the past decade, a volatile business climate and a dynamic technology landscape
have combined to raise the pressures on the
enterprise data center, and especially on the
storage infrastructure that underlies it.
right cost,” said Steve Lam, Managing Director
of Dell Hong Kong Limited.
Automating storage processes
Pushing the limits
Kho added that Dell Fluid Data solutions encompass a rich and innovative portfolio of
products, expertise and service which can
help customers transform their storage infrastructure for the virtual era. “Customers will
be able to automate data management, optimize their storage footprint and scale seamlessly to meet demand,” he said. “Enterprises
can now protect their data simply and affordably, and integrate effectively across their whole
environment.”
The need to adapt to such constantly shifting
demands and technology developments have
sorely tested the limits of existing networked
storage solutions. The virtualization mega
trend has dramatically changed the way information is sized, controlled and protected. But
traditional networked storage solutions are
too often rigid, complex and inefficient.
At the core are the Dell Fluid Data architecture,
advanced technologies and the vision to support the company’s development philosophy to
provide open, capable, and affordable storage
infrastructure, bringing sophisticated enterprise computing capabilities within the reach
of every organization.
Business-critical applications demand more
performance as their capacity requirements
grow and are increasingly difficult to predict.
Data is more critical than ever to the business,
while the responsibility of managing it spreads
out to cross traditional IT silos.
“For organizations driving the shift to the virtual era, one thing quickly becomes apparent
is that the status quo is not sustainable,” said
Alvin Kho, Enterprise Technologist, Storage,
Dell Hong Kong Limited. “Old processes of
managing, maintaining and protecting information are proving costly, inefficient and unable
to support new opportunities and challenges.”
The essential truth about storage is that data
isn’t static. It is not something to be merely
stored. Data is something to be actively and
intelligently managed.
“Dell Fluid Data solutions offer a breakthrough
approach to intelligently manage data end-toend – where stored information moves seamlessly through different platforms on different
systems and even from physical to virtual environments as needs change – to put the right
www.cw.com.hk
data in the right place at the right time for the
Rampant growth in the quantity and complexity
of data is straining budgets and hindering IT
productivity. Already immense, storage requirements continue to multiply year after year.
Traditional storage solutions actually add cost
and complexity instead of reducing them, effectively defeating the efficiencies promised
by virtualization. Moreover, scaling traditional
storage from growth includes the pain of datain-place migrations and forklift upgrades.
“What enterprise and organizations need are
dynamic storage solutions that can truly simplify data management through built-in intelligence and advanced automation like Dell
Compellent’s “Data Progression” that automatically places the huge amount of corporate
static data into the most affordable storage
media which all translates to huge cost savings in maintenance while avoiding human error,” said Lam.
In Hong Kong, customers are leveraging Dell’s
Fluid Data to truly enable their virtualized environment (both server virtualization and client
virtualization) while paving the right way into
the private cloud journey. “It is always great
receiving the good news from customers that
after they implemented our Fluid Data storage
solutions, they no longer have to worry about
the constant log-in and log-off storm in their
VDI project which typically creates a lot enduser complaints.” said Kho.
Removing complexity
This growth exacerbates complexity, raising
both the risks and the stakes of data loss and
downtime, and posing a threat to IT organizations trying to control budget and simplify operations.
“Within the Hong Kong and Asian regions we
are seeing a number of manufacturing companies and medium to large size companies
who don’t have large budgets or dedicated IT
teams, adopting Dell managed data solutions
which fit their specific needs, as one of our
“Today’s storage must support global, aroundsolutions like Dell EqualLogic is providing all
the-clock, web-optimized applications and exinclusive licensing and transparent managepanding databases, as well as multimedia and
ment capabilities. These mean that customother file-based operations,” Kho said. “Perers can always have the “perfect’ budgeting
vasive server and client virtualizations infuse
for their storage plan which is extremely difnew requirements, potentially breaking existficult to achieve by traditional storage as they
ing processes and forcing IT managers to realways have a lot of hidden costs and high opconsider the effectiveness of their per-existing
erating costs associated with traditional data
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 23
storage infrastructures.”
management” Lam added.
FEATURE
HK lags region in IPv6 adoption
Survey shows awareness
remains low as ISPs provide
limited IPv6 services
By Sheila Lam and Teresa Leung
P
ublic awareness of IPv6 is limited in Hong Kong and technical
knowledge on the new Internet
protocol is lacking, according to results
of a survey released last month—the day
of World IPv6 Launch.
The online survey—conducted in
WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU RI WKH \HDU E\ WKH &LW\
University of Hong Kong—was commissioned by the Internet Society Hong
.RQJ,62&+.
Although 71% of over 600 respondents have basic knowledge of IPv4,
only 24% of them are familiar with IPv6,
according to Daniel Tse, Department of
,QIRUPDWLRQ6\VWHPV&LW\8QLYHUVLW\RI
Hong Kong, who was in charge of the
survey.
The survey suggests a huge lack of
preparation among individual and business users, he said. Although 63% of
respondents agree that local enterprises
must switch to IPv6 urgently, only 9.7%
are ready to deploy IPv6, said Tse, adding that more than 90% of respondents
have no plans to apply IPv6.
(L-R) Tse from City University, OGCIO’s Lai, Mok from Internet Society Hong Kong
Kong’s adoption rate is relatively low
FRPSDUHGZLWKLQ&KLQDDQG
in France.
He said the higher IPv6 adoption rate
in France is a result of local ISPs pushing
WKHVHUYLFHV&KLQD²ZKHUHUDSLGRQOLQH
development exhausted IPv4 addresses—has also resulted a higher adoption
of IPv6, he added.
customers to access your Web sites via
the new Internet protocol,” said Mok.
He added that there are currently
two Hong Kong providers—Udomain
and Easylink—that support IPv6 web
hosting.
Government support
Unlike Singapore where the government could push IPv6 adoption via reguISPs limit IPv6 to select
lations, the Hong Kong government can
customer
only “encourage” ISPs to start providing
The low IPv6 adoption in Hong Kong IPv6 services by generating demand,
is a result of selective service provision Mok noted.
E\,63VVDLG,62&+.IRXQGLQJFKDLUSome of the local government’s iniPDQ&KDUOHV0RN
tiatives to create IPv6 demand include
“Most local ISPs only provide IPv6 moving 200 government Web sites to the
services to some of the commercial cus- new protocol and providing IPv6 supAPNIC: Hong Kong woefully
tomers,” said Mok. “Usually these cus- port in the next-gen government Wi-Fi
unprepared
WRPHUV DUH ODUJHU ¿UPV WKDW DUH SRZHU- program—to be launched in December,
According to Geoff Huston, the chief IXOHQRXJKWR¿JKWIRUWKHVHUYLFHVWKH\ DFFRUGLQJWR*&,2'DQLHO/DL
VFLHQWLVWRI$VLD3DFL¿F1HWZRUN,QIRU- want. Most local SMBs still have no ac/DL VDLG WKH 2*&,2 KDV DOVR IXQGHG
PDWLRQ &HQWUH $31,& RQO\ RI cess to IPv6 services.”
,62& +. VLQFH 2FWREHU WR ODXQFK WKH
Internet users in Hong Kong are IPv6He said that if local SMBs want to be “IPv6 In Action” project to educate the
enabled as of May 2012.
IPv6-enabled, they must take extra steps public and SMBs to ride on the IPv6
$31,& D QRQSUR¿W RUJDQL]DWLRQ WR UHFRQ¿JXUH WKHLU URXWHUV DQG DGRSW wave. Part of the program is the launch
LV RQH RI ¿YH 5HJLRQDO ,QWHUQHW 5HJ- tunneling technologies. If a company of a user guide last month dubbed “All
LVWULHV 5,5V FKDUJHG ZLWK HQVXULQJ can’t get help from the ISPs, it can still about IPv6.” The guide contains essenthe fair distribution and responsible jump the IPv6 bandwagon by letting tial information about IPv6, as well as
management of IP-addresses and re- an IPv6-enabled service provider host VSHFL¿FVWHSVWRHQDEOHLWDWKRPHDQGRQ
lated resources. Huston added Hong their Web sites. “This allows users or business networks.
24 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
Introducing complete colo data
centre physical infrastructure
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Adaptable infrastructure for every colo tenant
With Schneider Electric™ as your partner throughout your data centre’s life cycle, you can welcome
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July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 25
©2012 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies.
35 rue Joseph Monier, CS 30323, 95506 Rueil Malmaison Cedex (France) ‹ Tel. +33 (0) 1 41 29 70 00 ‹ 998-6238_HK-GB
TECHWATCH
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massive potential
Programmable networks could bring paradigm shift in network management
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t CiscoLive, the company’s annual global user conference in
6DQ'LHJRODVWPRQWKWKHPDjor topic revolved around Cisco’s blueSULQW WRZDUGV 6RIWZDUH'H¿QHG 1HWZRUNLQJ 6'1²D PRGHO WKDW HQDEOHV
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Web companies like Google, Facebook
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attention for its potential to manage and
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with programmatic interfaces, allowing
software programming to control network operations, rather than technicians
ZLWK3K'V´VDLG'DYLG.UR]LHUSULQFLpal analyst, networking infrastructure at
Ovum.
Major networking vendors like Juniper, HP, IBM and NEC all provide capaELOLW\IRU2SHQ)ORZWKDWVXSSRUWV6'1
DFFRUGLQJ WR .UR]LHU &LVFR MXPSHG
on the bandwagon last month and announced the Cisco Open Network Environment (ONE) strategy.
Deep access APIs
Aiming to provide an open platform
and culture in the networking space, Cisco ONE includes the provision of APIs
for deep programmatic access across
Cisco’s operating systems and hardware
platform. Named onePK, the software
GHYHORSPHQW NLW 6'. ZLOO DOORZ GHvelopers to create a tight integration between the applications and the network
to provide visibility and orchestration of
network infrastructure.
7R VXSSRUW WKH 6'1 PRGHO &LVFR
will also provide controller software and
the OpenFlow agent at selected Cisco
switches for academics and research institutions. The strategy also extends support of its virtual switch Nexus 1000V
portfolio—previously only available for
VMware and Microsoft hypervisors—to
open-source hypervisors.
2PYHUMYVT*PZJV!0:7Z[Y`PUN[VKPMMLYLU[PH[L
[OLTZLS]LZ^PSS[\YU[V:+5
Asia (service providers) are likely to lead the way to
push forwards SDN and OpenFlow
– Michael Beesley, Juniper Networks
“Cisco ONE is what you’d expect
from the company with the largest base
RI GHSOR\HG QHWZRUNLQJ HTXLSPHQW´
VDLG .UR]LHU ³7KH VWUDWHJ\ LV GHVLJQHG
to show the continuing value of Cisco
HTXLSPHQWLQDPLJUDWLRQ´
Besides Cisco, Juniper Networks
last October also made available the
6'.IRULWVRSHUDWLQJV\VWHP-8126
“I won’t be surprised to see Huawei
come out with an announcement on its
6'1 GLUHFWLRQ WKLV \HDU RU QH[W´ VDLG
.UR]LHU
26 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
7V[LU[PHSMVY:+5PU(ZPH
Besides the excitement among academics and major Web companies, aggressive competition in the Asia telecom
market is also expected to drive interest
LQ6'1
“By opening this (onePK and OpenFlow agents) up, we expect people who
have more understanding with applications to now relate what a network can
do, so we are bridging these two,” said
Shashi Kiran, senior director of marketing, datacenters, Cisco. “In Asia, such
www.cw.com.hk
bridging is particularly helpful for dealing with the challenge of limited network bandwidth.”
Kiran said ISPs trying to differentiate
WKHPVHOYHVVKRXOG¿QGWKHSURJUDPPDbility of networks enables them to proYLGHPRUHFXVWRPL]HGRIIHULQJV
This view is echoed by Michael Beesley, platform systems division CTO of
Juniper Networks. “Asia (service providers) are likely to lead the way to push
IRUZDUGV6'1DQG2SHQ)ORZ´KHVDLG
Beesley noted service providers, particularly public cloud providers, will appreciate the programmability of the network,
which enables manageability of the WAN
environment and provide higher levels of
SLAs or QoS for its customers.
³,I \RX KDYH 6'1 FRQWURO RU SURYLsioning on both (enterprise and provider) sides, it will bring a more seamless
and practical way to achieve SLAs and
QoS for mission critical applications,”
he said.
(QWHUSULVHV WKDW UHTXLUH H[WUHPH QHWwork performance are also expected to
HPEUDFH 6'1 ³,Q WKH ¿QDQFLDO VHFWRU
their differentiation is to guarantee that
transactions happen at a certain time regardless of the network environment,”
added Beesley.
He noted that the healthcare industry,
ZKLFKKDVVHHQPXFK0$DFWLYLWLHVLQ
UHFHQW \HDUV LV DOVR ORRNLQJ DW 6'1 DV
a reliever. Beesley said this highly regulated industry is pressuring IT leaders to
integrate and manage IT infrastructure
while complying with regulatory reTXLUHPHQWV
.UR]LHUIURP2YXPVDLGWKHWHFKQROogy remains new for Asia enterprises
and they may rely on partners to develop
new features.
“I think Cisco sees enterprises (in
Asia) selecting the network functions
they need from Cisco or third party developers, rather than writing directly to
onePK APIs,” he said. “I’m sure Cisco
will be working to develop an ecosystem
around onePK, as well as developing its
own software applications. When onePK
becomes available it may begin to have
an impact on enterprise networks in
Asia.”
Giving users a choice
of PCs and Apple devices available. Users are allowed to make that choice when
they are due for a device-refresh.
Cisco’s CIO shares experience in managing users experience
She said it’s important to be clear with
among engineers )`:OLPSH3HTPU:HU+PLNV
the users about what support is being offered in order to avoid increasing helpany enterprises are seeing
desk support costs.
rising demand from users
³,Q WKH LQLWLDO GHSOR\PHQW RI %<2'
IRUD%<2'SROLF\&LVFRLV
we made it clear that choosing a Mac
not excluded to that. At CiscoLive—the
means choosing a community-support
company’s annual user conference—
service, versus a traditional call-center
&LVFR &,2 5HEHFFD -DFRE\ VKDUHG KHU
model,” said Jacoby. “We are also clear
H[SHULHQFH LQ PDQDJLQJ %<2' DPRQJ
about what type of roles work better with
tech-savvy users.
PCs and what roles work better with
She says Cisco has been enabling
Apple.”
%<2' DPRQJ LWV HPSOR\HHV IRU IRXU
6LQFH WKH ODXQFK RI %<2' DW &LVFR
years—soon after she took up the posi RI HPSOR\HHV FKRVH 0DF DQG
tion. “We were driven to do so—I was
1HJVI`MYVT*PZJV!0\ZLK[VZWLUK
FKRVH3&V-DFRE\QRWHGWKDWSURnew in the CIO role and spent enormous LUVYTV\ZHTV\U[ZVM[PTLKLMLUKPUN^O`
viding choices to the users was the bigamounts of time defending why we ^LKPKU»[OH]LH)@6+WVSPJ`
GLGQ¶W KDYH D %<2' SROLF\´ VKH VDLG While a majority of people use Android gest and most important decision for her
“It was a waste of my time, so I said or iOS devices, there is a small and de- team.
“I can tell how much it changed our
WR WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQ WKDW ZH QHHG WR VD\ clining population of users going after
UHODWLRQVKLS ZLWK WKH ZKROH RUJDQL]D‘yes’.”
Blackberrys.
5HJDUGLQJ PRELOH VHUYLFHV -DFRE\ tion by doing so,” she said. “It was ex*PZJV»Z)@6+WVSPJ`
said both the devices and mobile ser- tremely important to our future and our
7KHFRPSDQ\¶V%<2'SROLF\DSSOLHV vices are not covered by the company, relationship with the engineering team.
It proved that we are open-minded and
to both mobile devices and laptop de- except for certain business roles.
vices. She noted users are pretty much
Meanwhile choices for laptops are did not adopt the legacy approach as the
open to all choices for mobile devices. more limited and there is a standard list traditional IT.”
M
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 27
Securing the information age
Mobility and cloud have pushed CIOs to refocus strategies from the perimeter and infrastructure
to content and context-aware security measures By Chee-Sing Chan
Roundtable attendees (L to R): Chee-Sing
Chan, Computerworld Hong Kong; Thomas
Yip, AIA Shared Services; Tom Leung,
Hong Kong Exchange; Simon Cheung, Open
University of Hong Kong; Micky Lo, Deutsche
Bank; Michael Chue, Symantec; Victor
Law, Symantec; Andre Greyling, Hospital
Authority; Amelia Yeung, investment bank;
T Rajah, CLSA.
T
echnology and security heads
recently gathered at the Computerworld Hong Kong and Symantec-hosted CIO Roundtable to discuss
the security issues facing businesses today with the rise of mobility, cloud and
consumerization.
According to Michael Chue, managing director, Symantec Hong Kong &
Taiwan and Greater China, the environment today features multiple devices,
multiple platforms and multiple locations and scenarios where company data
is being accessed and moved to.
“Devices will continue to grow in
number and in capability which will
further increase the threat of data loss,”
said Chue. “It will surprise many people
28 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
WRGD\KRZPXFKGDWDLVÀRZLQJWKURXJK
these mobile devices and between cloud
services like Dropbox and WhatsApp.”
He added these mobile devices, the
availability of cloud services and the
way users access information today are
combining to create a huge challenge
LQ VHFXULQJ GDWD ÀRZ ³7RGD\ ZH DUH
clearly in a new age where content and
context-aware security is the capability
we need to enable for businesses,” said
Chue.
Change in inevitable
As workers change the traditional dyQDPLFV RI ZRUNSODFHV WKH ÀRZ RI GDWD
today within organizations and out beyond their own networks means that
www.cw.com.hk
securing users and information has become incredibly complex.
According to Amelia Yeung, VP,
technology risk manager, APAC, for a
global investment bank, the scenario is
likely the same at many other banks and
organizations where users are constantly putting in new requests for access to
company applications and data on their
own devices. Her company has provided
remote desktop access to staff for some
time but the demand of iPhone access or
other non-company devices is becoming
something that cannot be ignored.
E-mail and some applications are now
accessible via iPhone but these are company-owned devices, noted Yeung. “We
have some executives replacing their
Blackberrys with iPhones and we are
exploring the idea of staff bringing their
own device but for now our compliance
and regulatory stance is that corporate
data can only be accessed via companyowned devices,” she said. Yeung added
that there is a keen shift to adopt BYOD
but there are regulatory and compliance
issues that need resolving before internal
risk and compliance groups can accept
introducing staff-owned devices with the
company.
Symantec’s Chue: It will surprise many
WLVWSL[VKH`OV^T\JOKH[HPZÅV^PUN
through these mobile devices and between
cloud services like Dropbox and WhatsApp
www.cw.com.hk
Yeung admits this is probably
unsustainable as the company is unlikely
to be able to provide iPhones or new
Android devices to all users that put
forward requests.
At the Hospital Authority (HA),
BYOD is already in place in certain parts
of the organization, but again, due to
“Users today are so empowered with
technology that the IT departments are
no longer solution providers to the usHUVEXWPRUHOLNHFULPH¿JKWHUVVHHNLQJ
those that break the rules,” he added.
“And that is creating an unhealthy environment and culture clash between IT
and the users.”
Most people are still in the mode of securing the
perimeter
— Micky Lo, Deutsche Bank
compliance and internal regulation, it is
not applied to all staff and instances. Andre Greyling, CIO at HA noted that doctors and executives can use their iPhone
and iPads for some work tasks but must
abide by strict security policies and have
data loss prevention, device management, remote wipe and other security
tools applied to them.
5DMDK LQVLVWV WKDW UDWKHU WKDQ ¿QGLQJ
ways to block users IT must be an enabler of new capability. “We must build
new capabilities and enable access – this
means moving beyond e-mail and providing controlled access to data and applications across all main platforms,” he
said.
Access at all times
Soft approach
$FFRUGLQJ WR 7RP /HXQJ 93 RI ,7
Access to the cloud is also permitted Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, the
with things like Dropbox and other environment will also govern the speed
cloud services being used by HA of adoption and the security approach
staff. But whether on mobile or cloud, to BYOD and other mobile capabilities.
anything that relates or contains patient In his previous roles with investment
data is currently tightly guarded and banks, “they wanted staff to have access
not accessible by personal devices or at all times and in all scenarios as they
allowed to be placed into the cloud, would not accept any situation where
stressed Greyling.
staff could not be contacted or not be
Such practices are understandable in able to do their work – it’s an always-on
industries like the health sector but many FXOWXUH´VDLG/HXQJ
But at Hong Kong Exchange the opFRPSDQLHVZLOO¿QGLWKDUGWRDGRSWVXFK
a hardline with users.
eration is locally focused, not as geo$W EURNHUDJH ¿UP &/6$ WKH EHOLHI graphically distributed and the need for
is that, “if staff are not given access to mobility and the remote access is less
the data they want, the applications they FULWLFDO/HXQJQRWHGWKDWPRELOLW\LVOHVV
want or the devices they want to use – of a priority compared with other comWKH ERWWRP OLQH LV WKDW WKH\ ZLOO ¿QG D panies but he expected that to change as
way around the rules regardless,” said
continued on page 30 75DMDK&,2DW&/6$
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 29
RID'HXWVFKH%DQNDSSURYHG26RQWKH
device, which features the necessary security tools.
HKEx evolves its business.
Lo observed that tests so far show that
$W 'HXWVFKH %DQN FXVWRPHUV ZHUH
found to be driving staff to push for use applications and usability are no differRIL3DGVDQGL3KRQHV³)URQWRI¿FHVWDII ent to having the regular iOS installed.
were passing feedback from consumers “The only difference noticed so far is the
around why the bank’s staff were not us- GLJLWSDVVZRUGLQVWHDGRIWKHVWDQing these devices to present and provide dard 4 digit passcode on Apple devices,”
information in meetings,” said Mickey KHDGGHG³6RWKHSROLF\LV%<2'EXW
XQGHU'HXWVFKH%DQNFRQWURO´
Users must accept data encryption
on the devices, restricted access to certain applications and data types as well
as the option for IT to do remote data
wipes in case of device loss or compromised security.
continued from page 29
9HQHOMYVT*3:(!>LT\Z[TV]LH^H`MYVT
[OPZMHsHKLVMWYV[LJ[PUN[OLI\ZPULZZI`
ISVJRPUN[OPUNZ
Lo, head of IT Security and IT OperaWLRQV'HXWVFKH%DQN
“We saw other banks and companies
starting to leverage these devices and
because of overall market penetration
and senior management’s preference for
iPhone, we decided to focus our initial
efforts on the Apple iOS platform,” said
Lo. “We see the rise of Android and other platforms but we felt it was important
WRZDON¿UVWEHIRUHZHUXQ´
The current plan is to run certain applications on iOS devices in a secure
sandbox environment as well as provide VPN access for iPad users. Anyone wishing to use their Apple device
to access company applications and data
must accept corporate guidelines and security policies and accept the installation
environment, greater user choice and
%<2'DUHVLPSO\LQHYLWDEOH´DGPLWWHG
5DMDK
Chue also added that whether comSDQLHV VWDQGDUGL]H RQ VRPH SODWIRUPV
or go with the approach of going all
%<2'DQGDOORZXVHUVWRMXVWEULQJWKHLU
display, there will always be new and
emerging threats regardless of the strategy. “It’s clear today that this is a neverending problem and will not be solved
by any single point solution,” he said.
+H[HJLU[YPJZLJ\YP[`
5DMDKREVHUYHGWKDWWKHSUREOHPWRGD\
is that many companies are merely dealing with the symptoms and not addressing the root problem. “When you get
down to the heart of the matter, the chal7\SSPUNIHJRKH[H
'HXWVFKH %DQN LV DOVR PRYLQJ WR D lenge is the data itself,” he said. Users
virtual desktop environment for staff in today will demand access to their data
WKHRI¿FHDQGWKRVHRQWKHURDGRUZRUN- from all locations and on a variety of deing remotely. Staff can simply access vices and expectations will continue to
their desktop from any desktop display rise regarding this.
“We have to address the concept of
or machine while all the data resides
centrally in the data center and allows protecting data and focusing on this age
for tighter security as the devices hold RI EHLQJ FRQWHQWZDUH ZKLFK UHTXLUHV
no actual data and also can be centrally a different set of tools and methods for
VHFXULW\´ 5DMDK DGGHG ³:H PXVW SUHmanaged.
At CLSA there are policies in place to pare for a time where we are no longer
control and monitor what people are put- in control of the devices that people use
ting on their devices, the company can or the content that users work with. We
control to an extent the applications and must move away from this façade of prothe data that resides on users’ devices tecting the business by blocking things.”
/RDW'HXWVFKH%DQNDJUHHGWKDWPRVW
today.
“Our intended policy and strategy in people are still in the mode of securing
the coming period will be to move the the perimeter.
He added that given the focus has
data back into the data center and away
IURP WKH GHYLFHV LWVHOI´ VDLG 5DMDK DW now shifted to data, there should be
CLSA. “We also will use virtual desk- ways for data to be dynamically and
top technology to allow people to apply automatically secured. “Is there a way
their desktop to any device which in a IRUGDWDWREHWDJJHGSUR¿OHGGH¿QHGE\
sense creates a ‘bring your own display’ certain properties and then secured in the
appropriate manner?” asked Lo. “I think
scenario.”
7KLV ZD\ WKH ,7 RUJDQL]DWLRQ FDQ VH- technologies should be smart enough to
cure the data at source and secure the do that but for now, vendors have yet
access. “If you don’t do these things to address this from a truly data-centric
you won’t be attracting people into your perspective.”
30 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
Big data:
PUUV]H[PVUVWWVY[\UP[`
Generating insights from machines beyond structured data
)`(P3LP;HV
technology. “We are not known for
following the latest trend or technology,”
he said. “We have good reasons to
be conservative and be followers—to
ensure that systems work well before we
consider adoption.”
)PNKH[HIPN]HS\L
While some focus on structured data,
others see unstructured data as a source
of valuable insights—whether into customer data and preferences, or for forecasting purposes. For them, big data is
more likely to encompass a wide variety
RI GDWD W\SHV RWKHU WKHQ 5'%06 5Hcontinued on page 32 3LLMYVT.,!0[PZNL[[PUNTVYLKPMÄJ\S[[VÄUK[OL[Y\[OHUKYLTV]L[OLUVPZL
B
ig data is big, fast, and en route
to becoming more valuable for
enterprises as better approaches
HPHUJHWRPDQDJHDQGDQDO\]HWKHGDWD
said participants at a recent roundtable
discussion. Twelve senior IT executives
gathered at the Hong Kong Convention
and Exhibition Centre to discuss big
GDWDDQGLWVLPSDFWRQ,7RUJDQL]DWLRQV
%LJGDWDKDVEHFRPHWKH,7EX]]ZRUG
IRU VDLG 5REHUW /DX DUHD 93 IRU
APJ, Splunk—a provider of operational
intelligence software that monitors, reSRUWV DQG DQDO\]HV UHDOWLPH FXVWRPHU
and transaction data. “Almost every conversation we have with CIOs is about
www.cw.com.hk
big data, which is now high on their
agenda,” said Lau.
%LJ GDWD WHQGV WR SRODUL]H RUJDQL]Dtions. For some, the world of structured
data and traditional relational databases
is still the priority.
“We can do much more in the area of
structured data,” said Henk ten Bos, CIO
IRU LQVXUDQFH ¿UP $JHDV +RQJ .RQJ
“For us, big data still revolves around
business intelligence on our internal
data.”
Tom Leung, VP for IT, Hong Kong
Exchange and Clearing, said that
FHUWDLQRUJDQL]DWLRQVSUHIHUDZDLWDQG
see approach when it comes to new
2^HUMYVT3=4/7*!>L\ZLKPMMLYLU[)0
J\ILZ[VHUHS`aL[YLUKZPUKPMMLYLU[THYRL[Z
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 31
continued from page 31
trends in different markets. Customers,
culture and trends are totally different in
Korea and Japan compared to China and
Southeast Asia.”
$QDO\]LQJ WKH FRQYHUJHQFH RI LQWHUQDO DQG H[WHUQDO GDWD LQÀXHQFHV D VOHZ
of activities for LVMH: the invitee-list
for VIP events, the style of advertisLQJ LQ PDJD]LQHV FKRRVLQJ ZKLFK 9,3
card will increase the chances of repeatbusiness for a particular customer—all
WDLORUHG WR WKH WDVWHV RI WKH VSHFL¿F ORcal market. LVMH also uses big data
to improve the development of its next
generation of products and services, leveraging data from both internal and external sources to suit local cultures and
preferences.
ODWLRQDO'DWDEDVH0DQDJHPHQW6\VWHP
GDWD DQG WR XWLOL]H QHZ LQIRUPDWLRQ
sources.
2UJDQL]DWLRQV FDQ FDSWXUH GLIIHUent data sources to unlock their informational value, said Splunk’s Lau. He
recounted a meeting with Singapore’s
,'$ ,QIRFRPP 'HYHORSPHQW $XWKRUity), which plans to leverage big data including social, systems, applications and
machine data to derive deeper insights.
For instance, a shopping mall may use
real-time transactional data and correlate it with weather and concurrent so3H\MYVT:WS\UR!0+(PU:PUNHWVYLWSHUZ
cial activities. If it’s raining, customers [VSL]LYHNLTHJOPULKH[H[VKLYP]LKLLWLY
may stay longer in the mall, or the Euro PUZPNO[Z
Cup’s on, customers may be buying
PRUHVSRUWVHTXLSPHQW²ELJGDWDTXDQWL¿HVWKLVLQVLJKW
Almost every conversation we have with CIOs is about
One advantage of big data analytics
big data, which is now top on their agenda
is the rapid and agile analysis of data,
– Robert Lau, Splunk
allowing management to make faster
and more accurate decisions, said Sundi
Balu, CIO, Telstra International Hong
Kong. “Big data has turned the problem gence] cube, hire 100 people, then give
On obtaining useful customer
on its head,” he said. “We used to pull the business side answers they wanted
data, Kwan said it’s a challenge, as
all available data into a structured form, six months previously.”
But while the technology has evolved, unhappy customers may not voice
ZULWH DQG TXHU\ WKH >%XVLQHVV ,QWHOOLBalu said legacy thinking still dominates their dissatisfaction and simply stop
LQVRPHRUJDQL]DWLRQV²WKRVHZLWKWHFK- further interaction with the company
nical architects still mired in traditional and its products. LVMH encourages
its customers to provide feedback
structured approaches to data-analysis.
through electronic forms or free gifts.
An effective form of informal feedback
Customizing the customer
Customer-facing applications and is gathered at their events, where the
business processes gain most from un- management can glean useful data from
structured data, said Peter Kwan, CTO, casual conversations with customers.
When the customer is not forthcomLVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics, APJ.
While LVMH focuses on both internal ing with feedback, one approach is to
and external data, there is a greater focus triangulate the relationship using differon customer data from different chan- ent data sources, such as predicting what
nels—whether it’s the Web, agencies, or may happen in three to six months based
on what happened in past history, said
different locales.
“Finding our target-customer for re- .LQJ /HH &,2 *URZWK 2SHUDWLRQV
peat-purchases is vital to us,” said Kwan. GE. Machine-data generated by its ma2^HUMYVT7\ISPJ)HUR!<UZ[Y\J[\YLKKH[H
³:H XVH GLIIHUHQW %, FXEHV WR DQDO\]H chines at customer sites offers customer
JHUIL\ZLK[VJVUULJ[^P[OJ\Z[VTLYZ
32 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
www.cw.com.hk
insights in addition to proactive maintenance, he added.
)UDQFLV )XQJ &72 0LGODQG 5HDOW\
said Web intelligence based on data derived from Midland’s Web sites provides
invaluable insight into their customers’
SUR¿OHV DQG WKH W\SHV RI SURSHUW\ WKDW
interests them. Franky Tse, head of IT,
Public Bank (Hong Kong), said unstructured data like the Internet and social
media can be used to connect with customers, and digital marketing has been
found to be attractive to the younger
generation.
Big data challenges
While big data offers advantages,
sticking-points remain. One such challenge is managing the sheer volume of
GDWD DV RUJDQL]DWLRQV ¿QG WKHPVHOYHV
inundated with ever-growing data from
myriad sources.
Handling massive amounts of e-mail
data is their challenge, said Midland
5HDOW\¶V )XQJ ³6RPH SURSHUW\ DJHQWV
complain they get too much internal email that is not relevant,” he said. “We
need to provide training to show them
how to manage this by building rules in
Microsoft Exchange.”
;LSZ[YH»Z)HS\!)PNKH[HOHZ[\YULK[OLWYVISLTVUP[ZOLHK
with the value derived from that data,
said Herridge. “Our big concern with
unstructured data is that we’ll chase
something that won’t yield much,” he
said. “We have a lot of data—some
will convert to growth and sales, some
won’t. We can spend another 10 years
creating another BI beast and not leveraging it much.”
Another challenge is that regulators
and auditors may be uncomfortable if
the company makes decisions based on
unstructured data, said Michael Leung,
693&,2&KLQD&RQVWUXFWLRQ%DQN
Finally, when it comes to the choice
of big data technology, buying systems
may be less risky than building it, said
Our big concern with unstructured data is that we’ll
Kwan of LVMH. “If one vendor’s soluchase something that won’t yield much
– David Herridge, Adidas Global Sourcing tion does not work, we can switch to another vendor.”
The challenge he faces is managing
the mindset of the technical people who
The challenge is to control and consoli- sheer volume of data. “It’s getting more EHOLHYHWKH\KDYHWKHUHTXLVLWHWHFKQLFDO
date data in different formats from multi- GLI¿FXOW WR ¿QG WKH WUXWK DQG UHPRYH expertise and hence should build instead
ple sources to be meaningful and coherent the noise,” he said. “There are so many of buy. “They need to transfer from beIRULWVPDQDJHPHQWWHDPVDLG5D\PRQG sources of information and sometimes ing a technical or project manager to beLee, head of IT, Hsin Chong Construc- WKH\ FRQWUDGLFW 7KH FKDOOHQJH LV WR ¿O- ing a service manager, and work with the
tion Group. Kelvin Har, CIO, Securities ter through all that unstructured data and service provider to maintain the system
and achieve an SLA level that ensures
)XWXUHV&RPPLVVLRQDJUHHGWKDWPDQ- make sense of it.”
aging the massive volume and velocity of
A prime concern is balancing the cost business can use the system without any
data poses multiple challenges, including RI PDQDJLQJ DQG DQDO\]LQJ ELJ GDWD issues—and to generate revenue.”
www.cw.com.hk
technical ones, on the best approach to
H[WUDFWVWRUHRUDQDO\]HGDWD
Legacy technology can also pose a
FKDOOHQJHVDLG'DYLG+HUULGJHKHDGRI
IT, Adidas Global Sourcing. “We have a
legacy BI nightmare, with hundreds and
thousands of cubes generated over the
last 10 years. We are also dealing with
PLOOLRQ HPDLOV DQG SURFHVVLQJ million purchasing orders a month. The
data doubles year-on-year.”
For GE’s Lee, the challenge is to seek
valuable insights amidst the noise and
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 33
HKCIOFORUM
:LLPUN[OLVWWVY[\UP[`PUJYPZPZ
CIOs are being tasked to achieve the new definition of normality in business
W
ith the fourth anniversary of
the global economic crisis
RQWKHKRUL]RQDQGWKH(XURpean sovereign debt crisis in full swing,
CIOs are currently facing some of the
biggest challenges in IT history.
to give them a sustainable competitive
advantage.
Asia holds the center
The core of the opportunity according
WR=DUUHOODLV$VLDDUHJLRQWKDWE\YLUtue of its distance from Western markets,
HVFDSHG WKH JOREDO ¿QDQFLDO FULVLV UHODtively unscathed.
“The Asian market is cashed up but
wary, and IT leaders need to adapt to
the rules of the new normal if they
want to tap those resources and fuel
WKHJURZWKRIWKHLURUJDQL]DWLRQV´VDLG
=DUUHOOD
$ODUJHSDUWRIWKLVZDVUHDOL]LQJWKDW
IT is a partner in helping cut costs, and
that technology leaders who fought this
ZHUH OLNHO\ WR ¿QG WKHPVHOYHV TXLFNO\
out of job. Instead IT needs to offer solutions to the business that allows it reduce
)`1HZVU2Y\WW
Watching the watchers
The second challenges were regulatory burdens.
=DUUHOOD QRWHG WKDW ZDWFKGRJV DFURVV
the globe were becoming more active
after being asleep at the wheel for years
EHIRUH DQG WKH FRPSDQLHV WKDW
adapted to these new pressures with the
PRVW HI¿FLHQF\ KDG D KXJH DGYDQWDJH
over their peers.
“If you look at mounting pressure, the
one that hasn’t changed at all in the past
VL[WRHLJKWPRQWKVLVUHJXODWRU\UHTXLUHments,” he said.
*\Z[VTLYPZRPUN
/DVWO\ =DUUHOOD VDLG EXVLQHVVHV QHHG
to get their customers better.
KPMG observed that Asian customers are at the very forefront of digital
change, and are adopting new mobile
AHYYLSSHMYVT274.!@V\ZOV\SKILZWLUK
PUNTVYL[PTLVU[OLJ\Z[VTLYZPKLVM`V\Y
I\ZPULZZ
7KLVLVFKDUDFWHUL]HGE\WKH³QHZQRUmal”—an environment where business
DUH LQFUHDVLQJO\ ¿QGLQJ WKHLU FRVW EDVHV
too high and their revenue levels too low,
and IT is being tasked with the job of reducing the former and boosting the latter.
But in this adversity there is also
opportunity.
7KDW¶V WKH YLHZ RI (GJH =DUUHOOD
a partner at KPMG, who shared his
XQLTXHLQVLJKWVIURPDFURVVKXQGUHGVRI
boardrooms with some of Hong Kong’s
leading IT professionals at last month’s
+RQJ .RQJ &,2 )RUXP RUJDQL]HG E\
Computerworld Hong Kong.
He sketched out a broad outline of the
changes he was seeing among big businesses that are grasping the volatility by
the horns and making use of technology
ROI, ROE, Net present value—learn these terms, they
are coming back with a vengeance
— Edge Zarrella, KPMG
its cost base on a divisional and organi]DWLRQDOOHYHO
He said it is about partnering with
chief executives to help them execute
their plans, though sometimes this needed to be phrased along the lines of ‘you
needs to spend some now to save later’.
³52,52(1HWSUHVHQWYDOXH²OHDUQ
these terms, they are coming back with
a vengeance,” he said. “What is really
LPSRUWDQW LV FDVK 5HYHQXH LV JUHDW EXW
if you don’t have cash coming back it is
worth nothing.”
34 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
applications and payment mechanisms
on a whole scale which are just in their
infancy in Western markets.
Those businesses that failed to give
customers these channels would suffer
the greatest backlash, whether they are
retailers, e-tailers, banks or insurance
companies.
“You should be spending more time
on the customer side of your business,
which is changing more and more in
continued on page 36 www.cw.com.hk
:THY[LYZ[VYHNLLUHISLK
:6-;)(52.YV\W[V
OLSWSPM[HUH[PVU
;VZLLOV^:6-;)(52.YV\WYHWPKS`
KLWSV`LK>OP[L*SV\KZLY]PJLZ[V[OLW\ISPJ
^P[OPU[OYLLKH`ZVM[OL1HWHULHY[OX\HRL
HUK[Z\UHTP]PZP[5L[(WWJVT)\PS[6U
5L[(WW(SSYPNO[ZYLZLY]LK:WLJPÄJH[PVUZHYLZ\IQLJ[[VJOHUNL^P[OV\[UV[PJL5L[(WW[OL5L[(WWSVNVHUK.VM\Y[OLYMHZ[LYHYL[YHKLTHYRZVYYLNPZ[LYLK[YHKLTHYRZVM5L[(WW0UJPU[OL<UP[LK:[H[LZ
HUKVYV[OLYJV\U[YPLZ(SSV[OLYIYHUKZVYWYVK\J[ZHYL[YHKLTHYRZVYYLNPZ[LYLK[YHKLTHYRZVM[OLPYYLZWLJ[P]LOVSKLYZHUKZOV\SKIL[YLH[LKHZZ\JO
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 35
HKCIOFORUM
the business become more effective
DQG HI¿FLHQW EH WKH\ KXPDQ UHVRXUF$VLD´=DUUHOODVDLG³,QIUDVWUXFWXUHLVD HVSURGXFWLRQGLVWULEXWLRQ¿QDQFHRU
given, yes it is important, but customers marketing.
are even more important.”
It was with that in mind that allowed
KPMG observed that the need to get KLPWRZRUNZLWK3HUQRG5LFDUG¶VVXSto know the customer better was driving ply chain management team to drive efdemand for business information and ¿FLHQFLHVWKURXJKWKHRSHUDWLRQV
analytics systems in the region, and IT
By deep diving into the division’s
leaders who weren’t investing in these GDWD .ORVH UHDOL]HG WKDW WKHUH ZHUH VL[
systems should seriously consider do- key performance indicators that applied
ing so.
to all clients, namely service, cost, peo“This is what it’s all about, it’s more ple, volume, compliance, and value.
and more about adapting to change,”
Then, by thinking outside of the box
=DUUHOOD VDLG ³:H VHH FOLHQWV PDNLQJ DQG WDNLQJ D OHDI RXW RI +5¶V ERRN
real cash in this uncertain time but Klose then ranked each customer by
it’s about getting the focus back to the these KPIs and built an automatic
customer.”
processing system over it, allowing
continued from page 34
allowed the company to dynamically
switch on promotional events at any
number of bars simultaneously, all the
while gathering vital data on how customers engaged with their products.
“The consumer for IT is an end user,
and IT wants to know who we are connecting to,” Klose said. “We want to
transit the untrusted user to become
trusted customer.”
The strongest division within an organization will be
the one that can handle change the best
·9`HU2SVZL7LYUVK9PJHYK(ZPH7HJPÄJ
7LYUVK9PJHYK»Z2SVZL!@V\OH]L[VI\PSKHU
VYNHUPaH[PVU[OH[JVUULJ[Z0;^P[O[OL]PZPVU
VM[OL*,6
;OL]PL^MYVTHJVSSLHN\L
RUGHUV WR EH SURFHVVHG DQG SULRULWL]HG
At the conference, former CIO of DXWRPDWLFDOO\ ZKLFK VLJQL¿FDQWO\
3HUQRG5LFDUG$VLD3DFL¿F5\DQ.ORVH sped up operations and shed costs in
who now works within the spirit and the process.
wine company’s management team, also
“IT has power of data, don’t be afraid
shared his experience in transforming to use it to change the rules,” Klose said.
RSHUDWLRQV RI WKH ¿UP¶V $VLD 3DFL¿F
wines division.
Winning the customers heart
2QH RI WKH ¿UVW VWHSV IRU .ORVH ZDV and mind
looking at which positions in a C-level
$QRWKHU 3HUQRG 5LFDUG H[DPSOH ZDV
executive structure had the widest reach in helping the marketing team to win the
DFURVVDQRUJDQL]DWLRQDQGWKDWOD\ZLWK hearts and minds of customers.
the Chief Executive and Chief Informa0DQ\RUJDQL]DWLRQVDOUHDG\XVH)DFHWLRQ2I¿FHU7KDWOHGKLPWRWKHUHDOL]D- book to engage with customers, but the
WLRQWKDW³\RXKDYHWREXLOGDQRUJDQL]D- challenge for Klose was to take their
tion that connects IT with the vision of ¿YH PLOOLRQ IROORZHUV DQG WUDQVIRUP
the CEO”.
them into a crowd of customers, with
Once he reached that insight, the deep detailed information that marketfollow up was that by supporting the ing could use.
CEO’s vision, IT was effectively be3HUQRG5LFDUGGLGWKLVE\EXLOGLQJD
ing tasked with helping every area of master data management system that
36 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
Those were just two examples that
showed how by adopting a central vision, technology executives can become
more valuable to the businesses they
work in, Klose said.
A key learning for him was to reach
out for help, and getting people within
his department and outside of it to collaborate on the projects. “You don’t
have to do everything yourself,” he said.
Additionally it was about embracing
and promoting change, and using the experience IT has in this arena to guide the
RUJDQL]DWLRQ
“The strongest division within an
RUJDQL]DWLRQ ZLOO EH WKH RQH WKDW FDQ
handle change the best,” said Klose. “IT
has been managing change for 20 years,
ZLWK (53 &50 %, :H NQRZ KRZ WR
balance change probably better than any
RWKHUGLYLVLRQLQWKHRUJDQL]DWLRQ´ www.cw.com.hk
www.cw.com.hk
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 37
MACAUCIOFORUM
4HJH\*06JOHSSLUNLZ!L]LYJOHUNPUN
Rapid growth, infrastructure issues and labor shortages
)`:[LMHU/HTTVUKPU4HJH\
M
acau’s tech-elite gathered
last month for the Macau
CIO Leadership Forum: a
IXOOGD\ HYHQW RUJDQL]HG E\ &RPSXWHUworld Hong Kong and the Macao Computer Society.
5RJHU 6HVKDGUL &,2 0HOFR &URZQ
Entertainment (MCE), spoke on IT as an
integral part of the business—evolving
from a support-function to become pervasive in every department. He credited
this to “an executive team led by techsavvy CEO Lawrence Ho—as CIO, I report directly to the CEO, which is critical
in the 21st century.”
“The global economic crisis pose challenges to every global economy, including China and Macau,” said Seshadri.
³0DFDXKDVEHHQJURZLQJDWDQQXDOO\²SUHGLFWHGDWWKLV\HDU&KLQD
is slowing down which impacts our core
business: gaming.”
4*:»Z*OHU3LM[HUK*OHUMYVT(KPKHZ
9PNO[[HSRZHIV\[0;»ZLUHISPUNHUK
LUMVYJPUNYVSLZPUI\ZPULZZLZ
VWDI¿QJ ³, KDYH WR FRQVWDQWO\ VHDUFK
for talent from 12 different neighborLQJFRXQWULHVWR¿QGWHFKQLFDOH[SHUWLVH
Other challenges remain: we still have
only one service-provider for communications: CTM, which has been great but
'5UHPDLQVDFKDOOHQJHVLQFHWKHUHDUH
no redundant lines,” he said.
We’ve seen more property-app downloads from
Macau than from Hong Kong
— Francis Fung, CTO, Midland Realty
4HJH\IPaZJHWL
Seshadri said that while the business
dynamics of Las Vegas include entertainment, Macau is more a pure gamingplay. “A typical US customer spends
on leisure and fun,” he said, “while our
EXVLQHVVLVJDPLQJ´
“In the USA, there was only Las Vegas and Atlantic City, two states with
OHJDOL]HG JDPLQJ²QRZ WKHUH DUH 40 states,” said Seshadri. “That kind of
growth is happening in Asia: Singapore
now outgrosses Las Vegas. Cambodia,
Vietnam, you name it—regions are developing gaming-industries, and the products
are similar so marketing must provide difIHUHQWLDWRUV(YHU\WKLQJUHTXLUHVWHFKEHcause promotions must happen rapidly.”
Seshadri said that working in Macau
EULQJV XQLTXH FKDOOHQJHV LQFOXGLQJ
ded Web-browsers.”
As for voice-communication: “our
VoIP voice network runs on cloud,
which saves money on local and international calls.” He added that as “MPLS is
expensive in Macau and China, we use
VPN to communicate with Hong Kong.”
Fung says that Midland has four mobile apps for customers, and six for
agents: the latter include enterprise-class
IM, photo-uploads, and cloud storage
RQ 'URS%R[ ³0RVW DSSV DUH GHYHOoped in-house,” he said. “We have an
app-store for customers and we’ve seen
more downloads in Macau than in Hong
Kong, I don’t know why!”
A tech-differentiator for Midland is a
45FRGHRQHDFKDJHQW¶VEXVLQHVVFDUG
which directs customers to that agent’s
personal Web site. “If their site only lists
3L]LYHNLHWWZHUKJSV\K
“We’ve built a private cloud and developed mobile apps,” said Francis
)XQJ&720LGODQG5HDOW\)XQJVDLG
KLV¿UPKDV³DIHZKXQGUHGDJHQWVDQG
15-20 branches in Macau, the number
changes every day.”
Fung said he sees increased electronic communication with customers and
PRUH%<2'DPRQJVWDII³:HQRZSURvide Wi-Fi in every branch for agents to
access the network,” he said, adding that
Midland has upgraded their Citrix thinclients—“the new models have embed-
38 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
one property, this isn’t ideal,” said Fung.
³7KHSHUVRQDO45FRGHGULYHVDJHQWVWR
list more properties on their site and has
LQFUHDVHGSKRWRXSORDGVE\´
0;!N\HYKPHUZVM[OLI\ZPULZZ
The morning’s panel-discussion—
“Enabler or enforcer? IT’s role as guardians of the business”—began with a presentation from Jenny Fong, managing
director, SingTel Hong Kong, who was
then joined by Virgil Chan, vice-director
general, Macao Computer Society(MCS)
and Ken Chan, senior manager, GIT CC
www.cw.com.hk
Sourcing, Adidas Group Hong Kong.
“Macau is challenging as the [telco]
market is not deregulated,” said Fong.
³,W¶V GLI¿FXOW WR SURYLGH VXFFHVVIXO DQG
competitive infrastructure services for
the local market. But recently we see
demand from the retail sector, where
premium brands are building their shops
and also their presence in Macau—these
EUDQGVQHHGFRQWDFWFHQWHUVDQG&50WR
serve the customers.”
³2XU &50 LV DERXW KDYLQJ WKH ULJKW
product for the right customer available
at the shops,” said Chan from Adidas.
“What we’re looking at now is integrating our POS data with our supply-chain
data, and bring that into our BI model so
we can do more customer-analytics.”
“We started a training school with
international accreditation in Macau,
DQGWKHLQGXVWU\LVVWDUWLQJWRUHFRJQL]H
that better-trained employees will give
better service,” said Chan from the MCS.
“We’re working with high-school kids:
we go to the school and try to convince
the students and parents to invest two to
six months in training for a career. But
it’s still an uphill battle...for now.”
“It would help if the government established a category for vocational trainers, because right now there isn’t any,”
he added.
“We have regulation constraints in
Macau and I think competition needs to
be there—that’s a key component,” said
Fong. “Competition will bring extra investment in the infrastructure, bandwidth
will be more available and the price will
be more attractive. We talk about costs
and scalability, but if you have a high
¿[HGFRVW LQ \RXU LQIUDVWUXFWXUH WKDW
OLPLWV\RXUÀH[LELOLW\´
*HSJ\SH[PUNOVZWP[HSP[`]HS\L
Toa Charm from the Hong Kong Computer Society BI SIG (Business Intelligence Special Interest Group) spoke on
the topic of BI for Hospitality. “What’s
www.cw.com.hk
driving BI interest?” he asked. “CEOs are
pushing it as business schools and competitors are competing on analytics—the
TXHVWLRQLVQRWKRZPXFKEXWKRZVRRQ´
Charm said that BI’s ultimate goal in
hospitality is determining the Customer
Life Time Value (CLTV). He said BI can
fail because of a lack of understanding
how to use analytics to improve the business, lack of management ‘bandwidth’
due to competing priorities, and lack of
skills internally in the line of business.
But Charm said that BI purchase drivHUV LQFOXGH RSHUDWLRQDO HI¿FLHQF\ VWUDtegic business transformation, and the
desire to achieve maturity in businessanalytics. “BI is a journey,” he said,
“and lately, one that’s heading towards
big data.”
HQWLUHZRUOGRQO\\HDUVDIWHULWZDV¿UVW
introduced.
“There are three major characteristics
UHTXLUHG RI ,7 OHDGHUV WRGD\´ DGGHG
5D\PRQG :RQJ IRUPHU ,7 H[HFXWLYH
at Hong Kong Immigration, “M.V.P.—
mission, vision and passion.”
Wong, currently adjunct professor at
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said
his work in implementing the e-Channel
DQG6PDUW,'LQ+RQJ.RQJFRQWULEXWHG
to this concept. “Having a long term vision and treat the project as a mission, is
critical for success,” he said, adding that
passion is also important as challenges
DUH KLJK ZKLOH ¿QDQFLDO LQFHQWLYHV DUH
often low.
Sam said the role of IT leaders is
transforming as users become increas-
-YVT3LM[[V9PNO[:HTMYVT4*:4PKSHUK9LHS[`»Z-\UN>VUNMYVT/VUN2VUN
7VS`[LJOUPJ<UP]LYZP[`HUK9P]LYILK»Z;PUN
Innovation panel
ingly tech-savvy. “Previously we were
In a Cantonese-language panel discus- mainly in a support role,” said he. “Now
sion, experts from Hong Kong and Ma- that users better understand the potential
cau spoke on innovation. “Innovation is of technology, we can partner with them
critical for survival in today’s business,” and push innovative initiatives.”
“Innovative ideas often come from
said Samuel Sam, executive deputy director general, MCS, citing Apple’s suc- brainstorming activities,” said Francis
cess in innovation. Sam noted that IT or- )XQJIURP0LGODQG5HDOW\³EXWWKLVUHJDQL]DWLRQVQHHGWRLQQRYDWHHYHQZKHQ TXLUHV FURVVGHSDUWPHQWDO GLVFXVVLRQV´
innovative use of technology may not He said that the most innovative ideas
often come from people outside the debring immediate returns.
“Innovation often starts with partment. “I try to get the infrastructure
small steps,” said Bill Ting, product guys to make suggestions for the appliPDUNHWLQJ DW 5LYHUEHG +LV H[DPSOH cation team and vice versa—interesting
FORXG FRPSXWLQJ ZKLFK EHQH¿WV WKH ideas often emerge.”
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 39
CHINAWATCH
(WWSLWH`Z<:4MVYP7HK[YHKLTHYR
The legal battle had once threatened to ban sales of the iPad in China
ment early this month, and stated that
the legal dispute had been put to rest.
Following the payment to Proview, ChiQHVHDXWKRULWLHVWUDQVIHUUHGWKH³,3$'´
trademark to Apple.
The two companies have been locked
in a legal dispute to determine ownership of the iPad trademark, with Apple
claiming to have bought the iPad trademarks for China from Proview in 2009.
The Guangdong court was originally
;OLSH[LZ[]LYZPVUVM
expected to rule on the case. But Apple
[OLP7HKOHZ`L[[V
and Proview were in recent months in
ILZVSKPU*OPUH
talks to settle the dispute, at the initiapple has agreed to pay US$60 tive of the court.
Apple did not respond immediately
million for ownership of the
iPad trademark in China, as WR D UHTXHVW IRU FRPPHQW 7KH FRPpart of a settlement with a little-known pany’s latest version of the iPad has
&KLQHVH ¿UP FDOOHG 3URYLHZ WKDW KDG yet to be sold in the country, despite
tried to ban sales of the tablet in the clearing regulatory checks. Analysts
have said the legal dispute over the
country, according to a local court.
The Guangdong Province Higher iPad trademark could be delaying the
People’s Court announced the settle- product’s sale.
A
)`4PJOHLS2HU
Proview had wanted as much as $400
million in settlement from Apple in order to help clear its debts. Eight banks
have taken over Proview’s assets.
Li Su, the head of the consultancy
representing the eight banks, said Apple initially wanted to pay only a few
million dollars for the iPad trademark.
But over time, Apple negotiated in good
IDLWKUHDOL]LQJWKHGLVSXWHZRXOGOLQJHU
in Chinese courts unless a settlement
was reached, he added.
“Some may feel that Apple had help
from Chinese leaders by spending a lot
of effort on public relations,” he said,
noting how Apple’s CEO Tim Cook
visited China in March and met with
JRYHUQPHQWRI¿FLDOV
“But I think Apple was acting in good
faith,” Su added. “Apple only needed
to pay a small amount to resolve what
could have been a major inconvenience,” he said.
Protests, not criticism, the target for China’s Internet censors
A new study from Harvard University investigates how China’s online censorship operates
C
hina’s Internet censors freely
allow users in the country to
FULWLFL]H WKH JRYHUQPHQW EXW
DUH TXLFN WR GHOHWH VRFLDO PHGLD SRVWV
with the potential to start protests, suggested a new Harvard University study
released last month.
“With respect to speech, the Chinese
people are individually free but collectively in chains,” said the study, which
was conducted by Harvard professor
*DU\.LQJDQGWZRXQLYHUVLW\3K'FDQGLGDWHV-HQQLIHU3DQDQG0DUJDUHW5REHUWV
To monitor all the information, authorities deploy 20,000 to 50,000 Internet police to censor unwanted content,
the study estimates, while also employing 250,000 to 300,000 Internet commentators to post positive information
about the government. Outside of website and keyword blocking, authorities
will manually read and then remove
FRQWHQW WKH\ ¿QG REMHFWLRQDEOH WKH
study added.
To better understand which topics
authorities were prone to censoring and
40 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
)`4PJOHLS2HU
ZK\ WKH VWXG\ DQDO\]HG PLOOLRQV RI
VRFLDOPHGLDSRVWVIURP&KLQHVH
ZHEVLWHV PDGH GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW KDOI RI
2011.
Through its analysis, the study
found that China’s Internet censors
will heavily suppress topics that involve the possibility of inciting protest. This was evidenced by how two
of the most censored topics were the
protests in China’s Inner Mongolia
UHJLRQ DQG LQ =HQJFKHQJ D FLW\ LQ
the country’s Guangdong province.
www.cw.com.hk
*OPUH[VYLWSHJL:PSPJVU=HSSL`
Survey finds the world’s main tech innovation center to move towards China
)`;LYLZH3L\UN
hina is seen as the next global
technology innovation center
replacing Silicon Valley, according to results of KPMG Global
Technology Innovation Survey released
last month.
.30* VXUYH\HG EXVLQHVV H[HFXWLYHVLQWKH$PHULFDV$VLD3DFL¿F
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa,
according to the company, adding that
respondents come from tech startups,
PLGWRODUJHVL]HHQWHUSULVHV9&¿UPV
and angel investors.
7KH VXUYH\ UHVXOWV LQGLFDWH WKDW of respondents expect the world’s main
tech innovation center to move from the
Silicon Valley to another location outVLGHWKH86³RIWKRVHUHVSRQGHQWV
who believe the center will move to ChiQD´VDLG(JLGLR=DUUHOOD&OLHQWVDQG,Qnovation Consulting, KPMG China.
%RWK&KLQDDQGWKH86
are also perceived as countries that
C
are likely to produce the most disruptive tech breakthroughs, leaving India
DV D GLVWDQW WKLUG DFFRUGLQJ WR
WKHFRQVXOWLQJ¿UP
“The broader high tech environment
in China is emerging at speed and scale,
and is seen as one of the game change
enablers for the country’s economic
WUDQVIRUPDWLRQ´ VDLG =DUUHOOD ³7KH
VXUYH\ ¿QGLQJV GHPRQVWUDWH WKDW &KLna’s innovation investment has fostered ;OLIYVHKLYOPNO[LJOLU]PYVUTLU[PU
*OPUHPZLTLYNPUNH[ZWLLKHUKZJHSL
an environment for the development of
disruptive technologies that’s growing
China is moving in the right direction
by leaps and bounds.”
as cloud is set to drive both tech and
enterprise tech development. “Cloud
The emerging cloud in China
ZLOO KDYH D PDMRU LPSDFW² RI
China also keeps up with the latest respondents say that cloud software
tech trends, having designated Beijing, as a service will enable the next
6KDQJKDL6KHQ]KHQ:X[LDQG+DQJ- indispensable consumer tech by 2015
]KRX DV FORXG FRPSXWLQJ VHUYLFH LQ- while cloud infrastructure as a service
novation pilot cities, in addition to its DQGVRIWZDUHDVDVHUYLFH
plan to invest US$154 billion to boost will drive business transformation,”
the cloud sector over the next few years. =DUUHOODQRWHG
In both cases, local Chinese clashed
with authorities, resulting in fights
and demonstrations.
Other topics that were heavily censored were the arrest of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, outrage over children
suffering lead poisoning in China’s
Jiangsu province, and the bombing of
government buildings by a disgruntled
&KLQHVHIDUPHUZKRVHODQGZDVVHL]HG
by authorities.
But the study also found thousands
of social media posts that harshly
FULWLFL]HG WKH JRYHUQPHQW EXW VWLOO UHmained online for users free to read. In
one example, a user had written: “This
is a city government that treats life with
contempt ... A city government that is
shameless with greed, a government
that trades dignity for power, a government without humanity...” The post,
however, remained online, because it
ZDV ZULWWHQ ZLWKRXW D FDOO WR RUJDQL]H
action.
“Indeed, despite widespread censorVKLSRIVRFLDOPHGLDZH¿QGWKDWZKHQ
the Chinese people write scathing
criticisms of their government and its
leaders, the probability that their post
will be censored does not increase,”
the study wrote, speculating that this
approach allowed the government to
OHDUQ WKH YLHZV RI LWV FLWL]HQV DQG VDWisfy their concerns.
China’s Internet police will act fast
when deleting unwanted posts, accord-
www.cw.com.hk
ing to the study, censoring content
within 24 hours of the original posting. But in scrubbing the Internet of
information that can lead to protests,
authorities will target posts regardless
of whether they oppose or support the
government.
The study also found that abrupt increases or decreases in Internet censorship can also signal imminent action
by the government. For instance, in the
days before Chinese artist Ai Weiwei
was arrested by authorities, the study
found an uptick in censored social media posts about him. A similar trend
occurred with former Chinese police
chief Wang Lijun in the days before he
was demoted.
July/August 2012 Computerworld Hong Kong 41
BACKPAGE
MIKE ELGAN
>O`4PJYVZVM[ZOV\SKTHRL[HISL[Z
(and phones and PCs)?
M
icrosoft last month announced its entry into the
tablet hardware business. While the company does
PDNHKDUGZDUH±PLFHNH\ERDUGV;ER[.LQHFW
=XQH6XUIDFHDQGRWKHUSURGXFWV±,WKDVQRW\HWPDGHGHVNtop PCs, laptops or tablets, opting instead to embrace a partner
strategy of third-party OEM manufacturing.
Microsoft’s announcement seems to in line with the “Google
PRGHO´±PDNLQJKDUGZDUHEXWDOVROLFHQVLQJ\RXU26WRKDUGware partners who make products of their own. Google partners
with OEMs for smartphone handset and tablet hardware. But it
DOVRDFTXLUHG0RWRURODZKLFKPDNHV$QGURLGKDUGZDUH
Traditionally, the assumption has been that you must either
partner with hardware companies to manufacture systems for
your operating system (the Microsoft model) or not allow other companies to make hardware for your platform (the Apple
model).
A hybrid approach has been considered suicidal because
competing with your partners puts you in a gray area, where
you have hardware competition and fragmentation, but you
also have a smaller number of partners, who are also less committed and more distrusting.
But times are changing
Microsoft’s application of the Microsoft model to mobile
hasn’t worked out. A big partnership with Nokia has been a
ÀRS7KHVRIWZDUHYHQGRUKDVIDUHGEDGO\LQWKHPRELOHPDUket, far outpaced by Apple, and Google.
:KHQ *RRJOH DQQRXQFHG LWV ELG WR DFTXLUH 0RWRUROD²HIfectively declaring its intention to compete with its hardware
partners —many pundits predicted disaster for the company.
But the disaster never happened. Google is getting away with
it. Android OEMs are continuing to churn out more innovative
and exciting hardware, and they don’t seem vexed by the prospect of competing with the company that makes the operating
system they use.
Instead of the worst of both worlds, Google appears to be
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hardware company (control and patents), while also gaining
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hardware OEMs (a thriving ecosystem, broad innovation and
market choice).
Apparently, Microsoft wants the same thing. And why not?
42 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
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There are two reasons why Microsoft needs to move to the
Google model for all of its product lines.
First, the world is becoming increasingly mobile. The socalled PC market is simultaneously becoming more mobile
and increasingly obsolete. Apple’s post-PC world is clearly
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The Microsoft model worked great for the old-and-busted
desktop PC world, but it doesn’t work so well for the newhotness mobile and touch-tablet world.
The world has changed, and the model that works is also
changing.
Second, Microsoft can’t rely on its OEM partners anymore.
If you go to shop for a low-cost laptop, it’s clear that Microsoft Windows systems on the low end are garbage. These
devices are bloated with crapware (cheap software loaded on
the systems by OEMs), covered with ugly, sloppily applied
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They look like junk.
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desktops, laptops, tablets and phones for the same reason that
automakers like to have high-end car models in their lineups.
The upscale models create a “halo effect” for the brand.
,W¶VDQHZZRUOG5DWKHUWKDQYLHZLQJ0LFURVRIWDVDFRPpetitor, Microsoft’s OEM partners should and, I believe, will
welcome Microsoft’s participation in the hardware end of the
business, because the company can create a halo effect that
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The Microsoft model is yesterday’s news. That leaves the
Google model as Microsoft’s one hope for success in the postPC world.
Noted that the views expressed by BackPage contributors
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44 Computerworld Hong Kong July/August 2012
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