Symantec targets Sarawak market

Symantec Corp, a provider of security, storage and systems management solutions, is eyeing Sarawak as one of its targeted markets due to growing opportunities.

Its Malaysia country manager, Alex Ong, said Sarawak, currently ranked among the top three states in terms of market share outside Kuala Lumpur, had seen strong growth.

"This year we are eyeing government-linked companies besides the small and mid-sized business sector. They are increasingly leveraging on the internet to strengthen their brand and boost growth," he told a media briefing on
"Protecting Critical Information of Businesses and Government in Sarawak" in Kuching today.

Currently, Symantec has a 28 per cent market share in security software and 41 per cent in storage software in the country, he said.

Ong said with the rapid increase in cyber threats, local usinesses needed to prioritise the protection of critical business information and intellectual property.

"Information protection is critical for businesses in Sarawak as the state continues to invest to develop its infrastructure and high-technology industry and build a knowledge economy.

"They also need to be ready to protect against human errors and information technology system failures due to floods, fires and power failures," he said.

Meanwhile, Symantec South Asia region principal consultant, Nigel Tan, said the company was expected to launch its new version of the Endpoint Protection 12 product by year-end.

"The product is designed to detect and block sophiscated new threats earlier and more accurately," he said.

He said Symantec's latest Internet Security Treat Report (Volume 16) showed an over 286 million new threats globally last year.

"Last year, Malaysia was ranked 38th among countries globally on Internet malicious activities," he said. -- Bernama
by:Business Times

Pacts with Kazakhstan a sign of flourishing ties

2011/06/10

FOUR commercial agreements between Malaysian and Kazakh companies were signed during the 7th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) which ended yesterday.

The signing of the agreements during the official visit here by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was an encouraging sign of further collaborations between companies in the two countries.

The first agreement was signed between MyEG Services Berhad (Malaysia) and JSC National Information Technology (Kazakhstan) to undertake the deployment of skilled expertise in the area of information technology by the Kazakhstan government.

Also signed was an agreement between MIMOS Berhad (Malaysia) and ZERDE (Kazakhstan) to cooperate as strategic business and technology partners in the ICT field in Kazakhstan.

The other two agreements were a strategic partnership between Amanahraya Capital Group (Malaysia) and JSC Fattah Finance to establish a haj pilgrimage saving fund in Kazakhstan and a collaboration between Halagel (M) Sdn Bhd (Malaysia) and Fattah Shop Company (Kazakhstan) to undertake the marketing of halal products in Kazakhstan.

WIEF chairman Tun Musa Hitam said the signing of the agreements was testimony of their success in bringing together businessmen in the Muslim world to collaborate.

"We have helped facilitate the partnerships between these four Malaysian companies and their Kazakhstan partners which is an endorsement of our objective to build bridges through business," Musa said

In a separate development, the WIEF Foundation has appointed four new members to its International Advisory Panel (IAP).

The appointees are CIMB group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and Speedway Investments Ltd Kenya executive chairman Evelyn Mungai.

The others are Development Credit Bank Ltd and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India chairman Nasser Munjee and John Sandwick, a specialist in Islamic Wealth and Asset Management from Switzerland.

Musa said with the four new appointees, who are citizens of countries in three different continents with expertise in different areas, the WIEF had truly become a world forum.

Meanwhile, Najib returned home yesterday. The prime minister, who was accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, arrived at the Bunga Raya Complex, KL International Airport here at 4.40pm on board a special aircraft.

Among those present to greet him was Deputy Information Minister Senator Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz.

It was Najib's first official visit to Kazakhstan, at the invitation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, since becoming prime minister.

During the visit, the prime minister also attended the 7th WIEF and delivered a special speech at its opening.

by:New Straits Times