ACHILLES FORMULA DRIFT MALAYSIA, PRESENTED BY CANON, 2012 FLAGS OFF  1^ST 36BOL NATIONS CUP 

Region’s top Formula Drift Drivers descend in Kuala Lumpur to kick off new season at new venue Speed City KL

17 May 2012 (Kuala Lumpur): Malaysia’s top drift drivers will aim to fly the national flag high at the Achilles Formula Drift Malaysia 2012, presented by Canon, when the event kicks off the first ever 36BOL Nations Cup this weekend, led by the inaugural Formula Drift Asian champion in 2010, Tengku Djan Ley at Speed City KL.

Unlike traditional Formula Drift tandem battles, the 36BOL Nations Cup focuses on teamwork and coordination where a pair of drivers from each country puts together the two best tandem runs in unison. The team with the most stylish run wins.

Making his comeback from a one-year hiatus, Djan and his compatriots have the perfect platform to give the local fans something to cheer for that will see Malaysia’s best pair of drivers facing off against top Formula Drift teams at the 36BOL Nations Cup, from established countries such as Japan and Thailand, as well as up-and-coming sides Indonesia and Singapore.

Another elite ensemble of top international drivers are expected to compete at the fourth edition of the event on 19-20 May, and Malaysia will have 12 drivers donning the national colours at the first leg of the series this year, such as  Ivan Lau from Tayaria Drift Team and compatriot Tan Tat Wei from team Goodyear Malaysia.

Formula Drift fans can also expect an intriguing battle brewing between the drivers. Fan favourites will look forward to seeing last year’s Achilles Asian Drift Series Champion and Japanese defending champion Daigo Saito from Achilles Drift Team against local hero Djan. The star-studded field will also include drift legend Manabu ‘Max’ Orido, a D1GP driver and Japanese GT Championship winner, a fan favourite for his style and individuality.  Formula Drift USA star Robbie Nishida will also be returning for the 2012 season fresh from the USA series.

“We are delighted to have such a high calibre of world-class drivers at the season’s curtain raiser in Kuala Lumpur at a brand new venue in Speed City, Kuala Lumpur. We are also thrilled to launch a new event in the 36BOL Nations Cup that will add a new dimension to the Series and get local Formula Drift fans behind their best drivers. Nothing brings our patriotism better when nations square off against one another at a competitive level,” said Harvey Davis, Vice President, Event Management Group, ESPN STAR Sports.

Said Djan, “There’s always a rivalry between drivers because we want to do our best against each other. That said, the 36BOL Nations Cup is a wonderful concept and we want to show how great teamwork and solidarity can bring Malaysian drivers and fans together.  It will also give fans an entertaining new spin to the sport, much like an Olympic sport like synchronised diving or swimming.”

Said Daigo, “I’m happy to be back in Kuala Lumpur, and I’ve been very fortunate here having competed against the best and still coming out on top. I’ve had a lot of fans here especially over the last two years and that has only encouraged me to give my best again. I’ve not done a tandem in Asia and I’m eager to partner Robbie to given the fans here a great show.”

Said Pieter Tanuri, the President Director of PT. Multistrada Arah Sarana, Tbk: “Achilles is pleased to continue its association with this thrilling event that continues to push the limits of performance, and the new Nations Cup certainly takes the competitive spirit up a notch. The new venue and track will offer a very technically challenging test for all drivers, and we hope to encourage a high-level of international competition for the drivers and a great show for fans.”

The Achilles Formula Drift Malaysia, presented by Canon has become a highlight on the sporting calendar, attracting regional interest and talent, as well as world-class drivers hailing from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and Australia. Fans in Malaysia can expect a thrilling experience as top-class drivers burn up the course two-at-a-time, often only inches apart, featuring aggressive side-by-side action, nail-biting power slides and spectacular drifting along a series of tight corners as powerful engines roar and tires bellow smoke.

Tickets for the Achilles Formula Drift Malaysia 2012, presented by Canon are available from Ticket Pro (www.ticketpro.com.my or Hotline 03 7880 7999).  For more information, log on to the official Formula DRIFT web site www.formuladriftasia.com. ESPN STAR Sports is the official broadcaster for the event, and the coverage will be aired across its networks, covering 24 countries to a cumulative reach of more than 300 million viewers in Asia.

ACHILLES FORMULA DRIFT MALAYSIA 2012

Dates: 19 – 20 May 2012

Venue: Speedcity, Selangor Turf Club, Kuala Lumpur 

Time: 10.00am to 6.00pm 

Tickets: (Pre-sale) Grandstand: RM $128, Walkabout: RM$28

(Event Day) Grandstand: RM $150, Walkabout: RM$35

Tickets are available from 27^th April 2012 via www.ticketpro.com.my or by calling +603 7880 7999

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. FASHION. FUN.

Ever-popular Saturday Night Fever series goes one up for petrolheads as Ignition.my and Rev-Junkies collaborate through their passion for motorsports

 Petaling Jaya, 10 May 2012 – Since its debut, Ignition.my’s Saturday Night Fever (SNF) race series has brought much value to the local motorsports scene – becoming popular among racers and enthusiast from all levels for the fast paced action and dramatic thrills. But if you for one moment think that the series is all about big engines and boys with even bigger egos, then it is clear that you’ve never been there in the flesh.

The atmosphere surrounding the event has always been feature-packed, and come the 19th of May, it gets even bigger as Saturday Night Fever welcomes motorsport lifestyle and apparel people, Rev-Junkies.

Fairly new and steadily gaining traction among enthusiasts, Rev-Junkies has taken their passion for motorsports and turned it into something that you could wear – beginning with the everyday T-shirt. From the simple ‘Classics’ to the more lively ‘Originals’, Rev-Junkies’ tees are a must have for any car-nut.

Together, Ignition.my and Rev-Junkies aims to make motorsports an everyday affair for the enthusiasts, while at the same time creating awareness and interest in others.

Get the latest news and updates by logging on to Ignition.my or following ‘Saturday Night Fever Challenge Series’ and ‘MegaLAP Time Attack’ on Facebook. Meanwhile, more information on Rev-Junkies can be found at www.rev-junkies.com. 

SAP SME Summit 2012 showcases ICT Solutions for Malaysian Small Businesses

 Helps SMEs improve operational performance, raise productivity and reduce costs, while continuing to drive growth and expansion into new markets

KUALA LUMPUR – May 3, 2012 – SAP, the world market and technology leader in business management software, showcased its 2011 business performance among Malaysian SMEs and outlined its solutions to help SMEs improve operational efficiencies and accelerate growth in today’s increasingly challenging global markets at the SAP SME Summit 2012 held at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur.

More than 80 per cent of SAP’s 176,000 global customers are SMEs, 90 per cent of which are in the lower middle and small enterprise markets. In Malaysia, SAP is committed to supporting the goals of Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) put forth by Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak to help Malaysian businesses use ICT to transform the way they work and for Malaysian SMEs to succeed in growing their GDP contribution to 40 per cent by the year 2020.

Presently, SMEs make up over 98 per cent of businesses in Malaysia and in 2011 SMEs contribute about 31 per cent to GDP, 56 per cent to the workforce and account for 19 per cent of Malaysia’s total national exports.

Delivering the keynote address at the SAP SME Summit 2012 to executives from 150 top Malaysian SMEs, SMECorp CEO Dato’ Hafsah Hashim encouraged Malaysian SMEs of all sizes to seek out best in class ICT solutions to help them drive business success within and beyond Malaysia. “To successfully compete in the global economy it is critical that Malaysian businesses adopt ICT solutions to improve operational performance, raise productivity and reduce costs,” said Dato Hafsah. “SAP has a proven track record of helping Malaysian SMEs become best-run businesses with innovative ICT solutions that are now increasingly available on mobile devices like the iPad and through cost-effective cloud computing.”

SMEs are mostly owner-managed, entrepreneurial companies. And for many entrepreneurs, business information and decision support tools tend to be a combination of static historical reports, analysis spreadsheets and gut feel, which is fine while the SME is small and easily managed on this basis. However, as the business grows it needs to sustain its flexibility and agility in the face of stiffer competition and increasing volumes of information and regulation. Business software solutions are invaluable tools to help SMEs remain lean and efficient companies while supporting business growth with quick and accurate decision making.

Typically the barriers among SMEs to the adoption of business software solutions are cost and complexity. Costs include software and services, as well as people and time. The SME faces additional hurdles, such as tighter budgets, less sophistication and organizational knowledge, technology hurdles and fewer people, meaning less time to spend on planning and analysis. Consequently, the typical SME needs outside help defining critical success factors and the relevant metrics.

“SAP’s strategy to serve the SME market is to approach the market in the way that best addresses our customers’ needs and buying preferences,” said SAP Malaysia Managing Director Serene Sia. “By working with partners and an extended ecosystem, SAP is introducing alternative business software deployment, packaging and licensing options such as software-as-a-service, cloud computing and pre-built applications. These innovations give SMEs with limited in-house IT resources, to get an advanced ICT system up and running more quickly, with minimal cost, fuss and risk.”

Mobility

Among SAP’s goals is to bring mobility to the masses and one of the key objectives for SAP’s mobility strategy was to enable any size company to mobilize. To effectively serve SMEs this means delivering ready-to-use applications that address specific business needs.

In November 2011, SAP is showcased 50 business applications for SMEs at SAPPHIRENOW in Madrid. 20 of these applications were free and 11 came from SAP’s partner ecosystem.

SAP’s broad range of mobile business solutions for SMEs allows the companies to:

•         Access and act on real-time business insights – anytime, anywhere

•         Increase employee productivity and accelerate decision making

•         Boost customer engagement, satisfaction, and responsiveness

•         Develop innovative mobile applications that meet your business needs

Not only is SAP a proponent of mobility for the business, it is also an exponent of this approach. SAP ended 2011 having deployed 14,000 iPads to 53,000 employees scattered all over the world. That includes all of its salespeople, a high proportion of IT staffers and developers, as well as many managers and senior executives. SAP is the second-largest user of iPads in the world.

Rapid Deployment Solutions

SAP has also innovated in the way in which it delivers business software solutions to customers, particularly to SMEs. SAP’s Rapid Deployment Solutions (RDS) are a set of pre-configured, fixed price offerings with a well delineated scope that can be up and running in just 12 weeks. RDS are one of the best ways for SMEs to add analytics or CRM, extend their logistics or planning capabilities or start to automate collaborative processes with partners. Using RDS, SMEs can jump start their use of ICT to transform their business in a manner that is both pragmatic and cost-effective, and that allows them to achieve rapid time to value.

Today there are more than 50 RDS offerings in market, with more being rolled out each quarter. All RDS offerings are rigorously put through and internal SAP qualification process to ensure their stability, reliability and full integration with SAP’s broad portfolio of products before being delivered to customers by experienced partners within the SAP Ecosystem.

As their businesses grow, SMEs can then choose to extend their RDS deployments with comprehensive SAP solutions, thus preserving their investment and minimising the need to retrain personnel to use new tools.

Using SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions, companies can get SAP applications up and running in no time.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 176,000 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of Sybase) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Microsoft Malaysia Wins

Malaysian Venture Capital and Private Equity Awards 2012

Microsoft Bizspark program recognized for accelerating growth of technology start-up companies and stimulating venture capital and private equity in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, 2 May 2012 – Microsoft Malaysia (“Microsoft”) was honored with a Contributors of the Venture Capital Industry award at the Malaysia Venture Capital and Private Equity Associations’s (“MVCA”) Awards 2012 event, for its role in assisting local technology start-up companies accelerate their growth and transformation through its BizSpark program.

“For Microsoft, the award affirms our commitment to not only encourage innovation, creativity and nurture entrepreneurialism amongst today’s most promising start-ups but also provide them access to software, tools and resources to become tomorrow’s most successful businesses,” said Peter Tam, Director of Local Software Innovations, Microsoft Malaysia.

Tam continued that the BizSpark program was designed to be a game-changer for technology enterpreneurs to succeed within a diverse global, interconnected business landscape. “We’re helping local start-ups realize their potential and experience the opportunities made possible through technology. Through this program, start-ups and entrepreneurs have access to world class tools, technologies and market resources to help bring new ideas, new companies and new software innovation to life,” he added.

Microsoft BizSpark is designed to accelerate the success of local Malaysian technopreneurs and early stage start-ups through software support, low up-front cost and a vibrant ecosystem that delivers superior business advantage. Through this program, start-ups will not only be given access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses but will also receive professional support from Microsoft and the BizSpark Network Partners, which include local and international incubators, investors, advisors, and government agencies.

In addition, start-ups receive global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners through a dedicated website known as the BizSparkDB, which highlights promising companies from around the world every day and through their relationship with Microsoft and the BizSpark Network Partners.

“Microsoft has always viewed local technology entrepreneurs and start-ups as a major factor that contributes to the overall transformation of the country into a developed, high-income nation by the year 2020. In fact, according to World Economic Forum reports, the Government’s prioritization of ICT and the importance of ICT to the Governement’s vision of the future were ranked within the top ten, at 10 and 9 respectively. Thus, in our commitment to transform Malaysia together, Microsoft has dedicated its time, effort and resources into the BizSpark program as an investment into the country’s future,” added Tam.

Tam concluded that while Microsoft’s ongoing investments within the Bizspark program will continue in 2012, the company is earmarking  an incremental RM1 miilion investment in cash and kind to assist Malaysian start-ups with technical enablement and go to market initiavites.

Technology start-ups that have benefitted from BizSpark include DappleWorks, which provides small businesses with a unified tool and recource to manage their employee data, leave and resource management, as well as timesheet supervision through Cloud Computing.

DappleWorks founder Reza Ismail said, “BizSpark helped us lay a strong foundation to succeed as a technology business. But Microsoft’s help did not just stop there, they went on to provide the necessary financial grant as well as guidance to participate in DemoAsia 2012, where we pitched our product to peers and potential investors. Since then, we have received enquiries from interested investors and within two weeks of launch, we have signed up 50 customers with about 100 trial users. This has been extremely encouraging and, with the support from Bizspark, we will continuously develop more modules and features to help small companies manage their resources efficiently.”

Gnowledge Sdn. Bhd, another BizSpark beneficiary, provides a public internet portal for educators, students and parents to create, publish and share academic assignments either for consultation, review or approval. The system is built completely on Microsoft technologies provided through BizSpark such as .net, SQL Server and Azure allowing the program to scale “infinitely” through Cloud Computing.

“BizSpark has provided us with a solution by giving us access to free developmental resources such as Microsoft software and Azure services that otherwise we would have had to pay for. Building Gnowledge with the help of BizSpark, we were able save on production cost  and efficiently manage our time which was imperative for us to build the best product possible,” said Choong Chong Yew, Chief Technology Officer, Gnowledge Sdn. Bhd.

The MVCA Awards are held every year to recognise organisations who have acquired significant achievements and milestones which have contributed positively towards the venture capital industry in Malaysia. Organised by the Malaysian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, the Awards aims to inspire venture capital companies to expand and play an active role in the nation’s innovation drive while being position their brands effectively with the ultimate goal of becoming a global brand. 

SAS unveils SAS High-Performance Analytics for Local Businesses

With High-Performance Analytics, enterprises can more quickly extract insights from big data to seize business opportunities

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10, 2012 – SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, today announces the availability of SAS High-Performance Analytics software for Malaysia enterprises and business organizations.

SAS High-Performance Analytics, appliance-ready software for Teradata and Greenplum, performs complex analytics processes on big data, slashing analysis time from days to hours, from minutes to seconds, on billions of rows of data.

SAS High-Performance Analytics, which began shipping last year, will be enhanced in August with the new text-mining support to provide companies with insight gained from unstructured data in emails, social media, call center logs, documents and other information.

SAS Malaysia’s Managing Director, Andrew Tan shares that High-performance analytics is the most significant SAS technology advance in at least 10 years.

“We realized that organizations were accumulating massive amounts of data that could provide answers to questions they could never ask before. The analysis took so long to process, answers were irrelevant by the time the computer spit them out. High-performance analytics provides answers when the information is still useful and leaves time to explore multiple possibilities.”

According to Forrester Research, on average, data doubles every 18 months for critical applications, while for some, such as telecommunication call-data-record applications, it can quadruple in the same period.

In the past, we relied heavily on transactional and electronic commerce data, but today new types of workloads are entering the organizational landscape, ranging from mobile, social media, instrumented data, metering data to documents, audio, and video.

Unstructured data, accounting for more than 80 percent of today’s data, can be difficult to analyze, often swamping traditional computer architectures.

“Enterprise data assets have grown exponentially in recent years, and these massive amounts of structured and unstructured data require two things to be valuable for decision making,” said Surya Mukherjee, Senior Analyst at Ovum. “First, the data volume must be abstracted from users so that they can analyze very large data sets without having to worry about the plumbing. And second, these insights must be delivered quickly to decision makers before a business opportunity is lost or a risky situation develops into a catastrophe.”

Banks, Telcos, Retailers and Manufacturers stand to gain from High Performance Analytics

Tan further shares, “Enterprises are finding real value in faster answers. With high-performance analytics applied to their text data, companies can greatly improve decision making.”

SAS High-Performance Analytics could be highly beneficial in many other scenarios, such as in financial service, manufacturing and telecommunication.

 “For example, a large financial services firm with millions of customer accounts and thousands of products can merge customer call center transcripts with demographic and financial data to improve response rates from marketing campaigns with SAS.”

Using SAS High-Performance Analytics, a major US retailer delivers store-specific pricing involving more than 270 million item prices every week. What once took more than 30 hours to compute now takes two with SAS High-Performance Analytics. The retailer can then optimize its prices more frequently, respond to market conditions and maximize revenue.”

A manufacturer could use SAS to build predictive models from product and parts catalogs, which contain millions of items with full text descriptions. The models could then be used to match new customer service requests with appropriate information, and prioritize ordering needs in near-real time.

Getting insights faster than ever

Tan further shares that every business is facing an overload of information. The challenge is making it actionable in an ever shrinking window of opportunity.

“With in-memory analytics, we are taking complex analytical processes such as credit risk scoring or marketing optimization or value at risk calculations and reducing its processing time from hours to minutes.”

SAS High-Performance Analytics can be used to address “big data,” to reveal hidden relationships within structured and unstructured data –in order to uncover potential opportunities, such as new lines of business, untapped customer segments, client satisfaction issues and profits.

Synology^® Announces Cloud Station^Beta Availability for Mac^®

Taipei, Taiwan—May 17, 2012—Synology^® Inc. today released the Mac^® client of Cloud Station^Beta, providing an easy, yet secure data synchronization solution for Mac users.

“Cloud Station redefines the role of a NAS server, making Synology DiskStation and RackStation a true private cloud which not only pushes your data to all your devices automatically, but also keeps them up-to-date,” said Darren Lin, Product Manager of Synology Inc. “Cloud Station can grow with users’ demands with no recurring fees. It is one of users’ favorite features in DSM 4.0, and we are excited to bring it to Mac users.”

Cloud Station syncs and backs up users’ content seamlessly across their PCs, Macs, and DiskStation or RackStation. On an offline computer users can still view and edit files, and the changes will be synchronized to other computers when Internet connection resumes. Cloud Station provides users with extra peace of mind by saving the previous versions of their files for easy data restoration. In addition, Cloud Station is a convenient way for business to boost office productivity. Account users can own their particular Cloud Station folders, or share a Cloud Station folder to collaborate on a project.

Availability
Synology Cloud Station^Beta package and its Windows^® and Mac clients apply to the following models: DS412+, DS112, DS112j, DS712+, DS212, DS212+, DS212j, RS2212+, RS2212RP+, RS812+, RS812RP+, RS212, RS812, DS1512+, DS1812+, DS3612xs, RS3412xs, RS3412RPxs, DS3611xs, RS3411xs, RS3411RPxs, DS2411+, RS2211+, RS2211RP+, DS1511+, RS411, DS411, DS411+II, DS411+, DS411j, DS411slim, DS211+, DS211, DS211j, DS111, DS1010+, RS810+, RS810RP+, DS410, DS410j, DS710+, DS210+, DS210j, DS110+, DS110j, DS509+, RS409+, RS409RP+, RS409, DS409+, DS409, DS209+II, DS209+, DS209, DS209j, DS109+, DS109, DS109j, DS409slim, DS508, DS408, RS408, RS408RP, DS108j

They are available for free download at http://www.synology.com/support/download.php

VMware Advances VMware View™ and End-User Computing Solutions for the Post-PC Era

Launch of Horizon Application Manager™ 1.5 and VMware Project Octopus Beta Provides an Easy and Secure Way for Employees to Access Applications, Share Data and Collaborate from Any Device

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3, 2012 — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today unveiled VMware View™ 5.1 and an updated portfolio of end-user computing solutions designed to empower a more agile, productive and connected enterprise.

“Customers are looking for solutions that break down current technology barriers and shift the focus to delivering services that can be accessed anywhere, on any device,” said Boaz Chalamish, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “VMware View™ 5.1 and our growing portfolio of personal cloud solutions will address the needs to simplify technology, manage more efficiently and better connect employees.”

The VMware end-user computing portfolio seeks to free employees and IT organizations from more than two decades of complex, device-centric computing, and delivers a more user-centric experience for the connected enterprise. In this new model, organizations leverage hybrid cloud resources – while maintaining a managed, secure environment – to provide new ways for employees to collaborate across applications and data from any device, where and when a user needs it.

“Today’s workforce is increasingly mobile and dispersed while the rise of new application types further diversifies the existing applications mix and ultimately using new and different devices to work,” said Laurence Si, Country General Manager, VMware Malaysia. “Add to this the ongoing pressures of budget, compliance, supporting the business and user satisfaction leaves IT stuck in a vicious cycle of perceived inefficiency, high risk, low value contribution and poor service. To evolve, IT must break the cycle and efficiently innovate and maintain while addressing the needs of the business and workforce. With today’s End User Computing Portfolio announcement, VMware is helping IT break down the current technology barriers and shift the focus to delivering services for business agility and workforce productivity.”

“As the reign of the personal computer as the sole corporate access device comes to a close, a new era is emerging,” said Stephen Kleynhans, research vice president, Gartner. “The personal cloud era provides users with a new level of flexibility with the devices they use for daily activities, while, at the same time, leveraging the strengths of each device. This flexibility will ultimately enable new levels of user satisfaction and productivity. However, it will require enterprises to fundamentally rethink how they deliver applications and services to users.”^[1]

Your Personal Cloud: Enabling a New Way to Work

All built upon the foundation of VMware vSphere®, VMware is bringing to market a comprehensive portfolio of technologies that will help IT organizations empower a more agile, productive and connected enterprise:

• VMware View 5.1: Simplifying the Delivery of a Better Desktop – VMware View 5.1 will continue to enable the industry’s best end-user experience while simplifying IT management for large-scale deployments and reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated with a virtual desktop infrastructure by up to 50 percent. ^[2]

• Reduced TCO – New storage capabilities in VMware View 5.1 enabled by VMware View Storage Accelerator will reduce shared storage costs by optimizing shared storage loads.  A Tech Preview^[3] of VMware View Composer Array Integration (VCAI) will leverage the native cloning abilities in the storage array to offload storage operations to improve provisioning speeds. In addition, VMware View Persona Management will extend to physical desktops, preserving user settings across all Windows devices and streamlining the migration from physical to stateless virtual desktops.

Simplified Management and Increased IT Control – Enhancements to VMware View 5.1 will enable IT organizations to streamline key IT processes such as provisioning, con?guration management, connection brokering, policy enforcement, performance monitoring, and application assignment from a single management console. VMware View also enables IT organizations to increase security and compliance by moving data into the datacenter, centrally enforcing endpoint security and policy con?guration and streamlining antivirus processes.

• Industry’s Best Virtual Desktop Experience – VMware View 5.1 features a new USB stack that will improve device support, while integration of RADIUS two-factor authentication will provide users and organizations greater security choices. VMware View with PCoIP® adapts to the end user’s network connection to provide a high-quality, customized desktop experience over the LAN and WAN. Users can connect to their VMware View desktop from a variety of mobile and fixed endpoints with updated clients for Mac, Windows and Linux desktops, thin or zero clients, and Apple iPad, Android and Amazon Kindle Fire tablets.

Additional information can be found in the VMware View 5.1 media backgrounder.

• VMware vCenter™ Operations for VMware View: Cloud Infrastructure Insight – To be offered as a new add-on to VMware View, VMware vCenter Operations for VMware View will enable administrators to have broad insight into desktop performance, quickly pinpoint and troubleshoot issues, optimize resource utilization, and proactively address potential issues in real time.

• VMware Horizon Application Manager™: Your Personal Cloud Broker – To be offered as an on-premise virtual appliance, VMware Horizon Application Manager™ 1.5 is a centralized policy and entitlement engine that will broker user access to applications, virtual desktops and data resources. Integrating the application virtualization capabilities of VMware ThinApp®, the VMware Horizon Application Catalog will benefit both IT and end users by consolidating diverse application types into a single, unified catalog. In addition, the VMware Horizon Workspace delivers a simple, seamless end-user experience when accessing work resources across private and public clouds on whatever device a user chooses. Additional information can be found in the VMware Horizon Application Manager media backgrounder.

• VMware Project Octopus: Your Personal Data Cloud – Available later this quarter as a beta for qualified customer trials, VMware Project Octopus will enable IT organizations to provide employees with an easy and secure way to share data and collaborate with anyone from any device. Deployed on-premise or accessed via a VMware service provider, VMware Project Octopus will provide the ability for IT administrators to govern usage and set policies for data access and sharing within their organization or with external contributors. Additional information can be found in the VMware Project Octopus media backgrounder.

• VMware Personal Cloud Applications: Share More, Send Less – Composed of VMware Zimbra® and VMware Socialcast®, VMware cloud applications connect employees to the knowledge, ideas, and resources they need to work smarter. As part of today’s announcement, VMware Zimbra 7.2 will support Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) for government deployments requiring encryption. Additional information can be found on the VMware Zimbra 7.2 data sheet.

Empowered IT, Delighted End Users

With approximately 2,100 employees, Foley & Lardner LLP is a global law firm that provides business and legal insight to clients. Looking to support its highly mobile workforce of lawyers and support staff, the company implemented VMware View as part of its Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. VMware View enables the employees of Foley and Lardner to access their virtual desktops and critical applications from their mobile device of choice, including iPads and laptops.

“VMware View™ is a key component of our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program with more than 1,200 virtual desktops in production today and we expect to have 2,000 deployed by the end of the year,” said Linda D. Sanders, chief information officer, Foley and Lardner LLP. “Today, our lawyers and staff can access their virtual desktops at the office on thin clients, in the courtroom on their iPads or anywhere on their personal PCs. As we look beyond desktops, we see an opportunity to offer our employees a secure way to access their applications, share data and collaborate from any device based on the VMware end-user computing portfolio.”

Charting the End-User Journey: Professional Services

Helping customers chart their journey to a new model requires a plan. VMware Professional Services offers on-site, end-to-end consulting services to help customers who are interested in beginning the journey to a user-centric application and data delivery model as well as those who are well on the path. Visit VMware Professional Services for more information.

Availability

VMware View 5.1 together with the updated VMware end-user computing portfolio is expected to be available in Q2 2012.

Partner and Customer Quotes

“The VMware View 5 has elevated the virtual desktop computing to a new and unmatched level in the industry. The newly added features and functionalities allow ZEN to help our clients to deliver full desktop services without the associated complexities and anarchies.. The new VMware View 5 helps to simplify IT management and simultaneously allow the IT department gaining back the control, in the course of delivering desktop services, without sacrifices on functions, features and performance.” – Yap Choon Keong, General Manager, Zen Computer Systems Sdn Bhd

“VMware View offers a rich clinician desktop experience and access to electronic patient data from tablets as from conventional PCs, and from various locations within our facility. UMSC IT administrators can centrally deploy and maintain virtual desktops from a single administrative interface, and deliver a consistently productive user experience with more cost control of infrastructure and client services.”- Leon Jackson, Head of IT, UM Specialist Centre Sdn Bhd

Additional Resources:

•         Read industry comments on the launch of VMware View 5.1 and the VMware End-User Computing Portfolio

•         Learn more about the VMware end-user computing portfolio in the VMware EUC Online Press Kit

•         Read the VMware View 5.1 media backgrounder

•         Read the VMware Horizon Application Manager media backgrounder

•         Read the VMware Project Octopus Beta media backgrounder

•         Learn more about how Foley & Lardner LLP cut mobile device costs with VMware View

•         View screen shots of the VMware end-user computing portfolio

•         Follow the VMware End-User Computing team on Twitter, Facebook and Spiceworks.

VMware End-User Computing Blog Posts:

•         “Shipping Rules!” a blog post by Vittorio Viarengo, vice president, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “What is New in VMware View 5.1,” a blog post by Lebin Cheng, group product manager, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “View Composer Array Integration,” a blog post by Narasimha Krishnakumar, staff product manager, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “Optimizing Storage with View Storage Accelerator,” a blog post by Narasimha Krishnakumar, staff product manager, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “Demystifying VMware View Large Scale Designs,” a blog post by John Dodge, technical marketing, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “VMware vCenter Operations Manager for VMware View,” a blog post by Dave Wooten, Product Management, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “VMware Horizon Application Manager 1.5,” a blog post by Ben Goodman, Horizon lead evangelist, End-User Computing, VMware

•         “What’s New in Zimbra 7.2,” a blog post by Jon Dybik, Product Management, Zimbra

LG MAKES DYNAMIC VIEWING EXPERIENCE MAINSTREAM WITH NEW IPS MONITORS

IPS4 Monitor Delivers Stunning Picture Quality, Lifelike Color

Expression, Original Color Consistency, Enhanced Viewing Comfort

KUALA LUMPUR, May. 4, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) announced the availability of a new line of monitors, the IPS4 series. These monitors feature In-Plane Switching (IPS) rather than conventional Twisted Nematic (TN) panels, allowing for superb color reproduction, exceptional picture quality and unmatched color shift-free wide viewing.

Thanks to an impressively wide viewing-angle (178 degrees), the new IPS monitors enable viewers to enjoy superb picture quality without any color shift whether sitting, standing or lying down. Smooth Color Change also eliminates blur generated from rapid motion in actionscenes, sports or video games so that viewers feel less eye fatigue even during longer viewing sessions. When all of these technologies are combined, the result is a richer, more comfortable viewing experience.

By boosting color consistency and minimizing color changes, the IPS4 series is able to reproduce original colors, virtually eliminating the gap between what is shot and what is shown. As such, the IPS4 monitors are ideal for anyone engaged in photography or video editing.

“Despite strong sales and dominating the professional market, IPS monitors were less popular with the majority of consumers due to the cost of high-quality IPS panels,” said HK Kwon, Managing Director of LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd “With the launch of the affordable IPS4 series, LG is taking a huge step in making IPS monitors ubiquitous in every room.”

A number of easy-to-use functions add to the appeal of the IPS4 series. For instance, the Dual Smart Solution feature uses a simple one-click set-up to run dual monitors, and even creates a dual taskbar and auto-optimized dual web split screen. The Dual Screen feature optimizes the window size to automatically divide the screen to view multiple web pages, making it easier than ever before to multitask online.

Efficiency has also been improved. The monitors are equipped with a cable management design that does away with the messy snarl of wires. The IPS4 series is much more energy-efficient compared to conventional LED monitors without sacrificing picture quality.

LG’s IPS234V will be available in all LG retail outlets in Malaysia on early June onwards at the recommended retail price of RM537.

Coming soon: Sony Xperia™ P, Xperia™ U and Xperia™ sola

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Following the local release of the Xperia™ S in March, Sony Mobile Communications today announced that the Xperia™ P, Xperia™ U and Xperia™ sola will soon be available for sale in the country.

Xperia™ P – In stores starting 23 May 2012   

With a full aluminium unibody design, Xperia™ P debuts Reality Display with WhiteMagic™technology from Sony for the first time on a smartphone. Sony’s WhiteMagic™ technology delivers the brightest viewing experience; whether at the beach or on the ski slopes.

Key features for Xperia™ P:

• 4” ultra bright Reality Display with Sony’s WhiteMagic™ technology
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance with 16GB flash storage
• 8MP camera with unique fast capture, HD recording and Sony technology to capture 2D and 3D panoramic images
• Easy HDMI and DLNA® via the WiFi® network connectivity to share content on any screen
• NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled to access a growing range of NFC applications and services , including Xperia™ SmartTags
• Available in a choice of silver, black and red, all with an aluminium unibody
• RRP: RM1,499; comes bundled for a limited time with accessories worth RM379 which include a Smart Headset, car charger with Micro USB cable and 2 pieces (Black and Red) of Xperia™ SmartTags.

Xperia™ U – In stores starting 15 May 2012

With xLOUD™ and Sony 3D surround sound audio technology integrated into the music player, Xperia™ U offers consumers  a crisp and loud sound experience as well as the capability to stream music from their Xperia™ U to wireless speakers with a touch using DLNA®. Xperia™ U can also be personalised with exchangeable caps and themes to reflect consumers’ personality and mood.

Key features for Xperia™ U:

• 3.5” Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
• 1 GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance
• 5MP camera with unique fast capture, HD video recording and Sony’s Exmor R™ for mobile.
• Crisp and loud listening with xLOUD™and 3D surround sound audio technology
• Available in black with pink exchangeable cap; black with white exchangeable cap; and white with yellow exchangeable cap.
• RRP: RM899; includes a car charger with Micro USB cable worth RM59 while stocks last.

Just like the flagship Xperia™ S, the Xperia™ P and Xperia™ U features an iconic design including the “transparent element” encircling the base of the phone which illuminates when receiving calls, texts and notifications. For Xperia™ U, the transparent element also illuminates to match the colour of photos viewed in the gallery or the album art of music tracks being played. All three models form the Xperia™ NXT series, the next generation smartphones from Sony.

Xperia™ sola – In stores starting 15 May 2012   

(Note: Xperia™ sola is a standalone model and is not part of the Xperia™ NXT series)

Features Sony’s unique, exclusive technology called  floating touch™ which allows consumers to navigate the web by hovering their finger above the screen so it acts like a moving curser, without actually having to touch the screen.  Once the desired link is found it can be highlighted and a simple tap will load the page. 

Sony’s floating touch™ will evolve with new user functionality and applications through software updates and engagement with developers.

Key features for Xperia™ sola:

• Sony floating touch™ navigation for an easy web browsing experience
• NFC (Near Field Communications) enabled to access a growing range of NFC applications and services , including Xperia™ SmartTags
• 3.7” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine gives razor sharp clarity
• Powered by a 1GHz Dual Core Processor for super fast browsing
• xLOUD™ and 3D surround sound audio technology for crisp and loud listening
• Available in a choice of black, red and white
• RRP: RM999; comes bundled for a limited time with accessories worth RM134 which include a car charger with Micro USB cable and 2 additional pieces  (Blue and White) of Xperia™ SmartTags. 

All models are launched on the latest Android Gingerbread platform and will soon be  upgraded  to Android platform 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) during the second quarter of 2012.