Technology is nothing but science with human attributes. It can do nothing less than magic. The advanced tech is not only revolutionizing each and every element of our lives, but is making the society a better place to live. The latest technological achievements have triggered unexpected trends with broader impact on very business and human aspect. And in 2019, we expect drastic exponential changes in every possible direction. Advanced tech like AI will transform the entire industries, making way for infinite business opportunities.
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30 best tech companies in asia
1. Catering to ‘The Business of Tomorrows’
With Innovative Mobility Solutions:
Comviva Technologies Takes a Giant Leap Under
Chief Executive Officer Manoranjan’s Leadership
Asia Special April 2019
Technology CEOs News Business FeaturesLeadership CIOs
www.thesiliconreview.com
Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO
3 BEST TECH
Companies in Asia
SR 2019
2. DATA-DRIVEN SOFTWARE FOR THE
MODERN CAREER CENTER
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5. Best
VISHNU VARDHAN KULKARNI,
Managing Editor,
The Silicon Review
editor@thesiliconreview.com
EDITOR’S
NOTE . ...
Success recognized to the fullest!
T
echnology is nothing but science with human attributes. It can do nothing
less than magic. The advanced tech is not only revolutionizing each and every
element of our lives, but is making the society a better place to live. The latest
technological achievements have triggered unexpected trends with broader impact
on very business and human aspect. And in 2019, we expect drastic exponential
changes in every possible direction. Advanced tech like AI will transform the entire
industries, making way for infinite business opportunities.
In this latest edition, we will focus on such tech companies and their revolutionizing
services that are changing the face of business sector.
The Silicon Review “30 Best Tech Companies in Asia 2019.” These companies are
not only distinctly ahead among the peers, but are helping other companies
to gain momentum along with them. The companies that are enlisted provide
mostinnovative solutions to solve IT industry’s toughest challenges and distinguish
themselves by their ability to forecast future technology trends. In simple words,
these companies are helping the people better understand the world.
Here’s to the better future!
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Creating the Best Energy Storage and Power
Delivery Solutions: Maxwell Technologies
Dr. Franz J. Fink, President & CEO
Empowering Businesses to Serve Customers
Better: InterSystems
Kerry Stratton, Managing Director
CONTENTS
ASIA SPECIAL | APRIL 2019
Enriching Industries and Lives: Atotech
Geoff Wild, CEO
An innovative developer of cloud-based
software solutions for the international and
domestic logistics industries: WiseTech Global
Richard White, Executive Director & CEO
Developing Technology to Propel
Tourism: Sabre
Sean Menke, President & CEO
Consistently Serving the Changing Needs of
Customers for Their Convenience: 7-eleven
Colin Harvey, CEO
Reinventing the Global Event Technology
Landscape with Disruptive Solutions:
GlobalSign.in Pte Ltd
Veemal Gungadin, CEO
GOGOCHART: ONLY THE BEST APPS
Daniel Lo, Founder
Focusing on your current challenges while
monitoring emerging trends: Diebold Nixdorf
Gerrard Schmid, President & CEO
The world leader in Virtual and Augmented
Reality based knowledge transfer for industry
and education: Eon reality
Dan Lejerskar, Founder
Helping you Bring your Products to the
Market Faster while Reducing Overall System
Development Costs: Insyde
Jeremy Wang, Chairman & CEO
Catering to ‘The Business of
Tomorrows’ With Innovative Mobility
Solutions: Comviva Technologies Takes
a Giant Leap Under Chief Executive
Officer Manoranjan’s Leadership
Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO
Bringing a Radical Reinvention in the
Cloud and Blockchain Ecosystem:
Xunlei Seeks To Empower Individuals
with Its Revolutionary Technologies
Lei Chen, CEO
A Leading Provider of Trading
Solutions: m-FINANCE Limited, a Hong
Kong Based Firm, Commits To Cater To
the Needs of the Financial Markets of
Southeast Asia
DickTam, CEO
Fast, Reliable and Secure Private
Global Network: Limelight Networks
Robert A. Lento
President, CEO, & Director
Ardentec Singapore Pte Ltd: ‘The
Enabler of Key Test Technologies to
Keep the IC Industry Progressing as
Moore’s Law Predicted’
David Hsiao, General Manager
Leveraging IT’s Potential to Change
Future for the Global Good: CTC
(Challenging Tomorrow’s Changes)
Satoshi Kikuchi, President & CEO
Giving Birth to IVF Success: Carmel
Diagnostics
Tzali Cnaani, CEO
Industrial robots for everyone: MUJIN
IsseiTakino, CEO & Co-founder
Tailoring Technology Needs for
Tomorrow’s Market: Incture
SachinVerma, Founder & CEO
Driving growth through continuous
innovation: Profile Software
Babis Stasinopoulos, President & CEO
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COVER STORY
Comviva Technologies
Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO
Pioneers in Building Information and
Communication Technologies Companies:
DeClout
Vesmond Wong, Chairman & Group CEO
Ace Gapuz, CEO
The Best Influencer Marketing Partner of
Brands: Blogapalooza Inc.
Driving Real Behavior Change: Gnowbe
Brings In a New Approach to Train the
Workforce with Its Complete Microlearning
Solutions for Modern Enterprises
So-Young Kang, Chief Energizer
Connecting Banks, Brands and Consumers
on a Single Platform: CASHOFF
Billy Leung, Director
Laying the Foundation for Success:
Creative Infrastructure Solutions
Matt Roberts, Founder
Using Genomic Analysis to Improve
Lives: Govita Technologies Limited
Dr.Vince Gao, Founder
Froogal: Building the Bridge between
Brands and Customers at Every Stage of
the Customer Lifecycle
Jeevan Chowdary M, Founder & CEO
Breaking the Traditional Banking
Paradigms:
Crowd Genie Financial Services Is
Making Borrowing Faster, Cheaper and
Simpler
Akshay Mehra, CEO
Making a Giant Leap in the Banking and
Financial Services Industry with AI and
Machine Learning
FINBOTS AI Solution Pte Ltd
Bala Iyer, CEO
PG - 32
8. Creating the Best Energy Storage and Power Delivery
Solutions: Maxwell Technologies
Enabling Energy’s Future
F
or over 50 years, the
company’s world-class
research and product
development teams have established
Maxwell Technologies as a global
leader in developing, manufacturing
and marketing energy storage
and power delivery solutions for
automotive, heavy transportation,
renewable energy, backup power,
wireless communications and
industrial and consumer electronics
applications. Maxwell products
are designed and built to provide
performance for the life of the most
demanding applications.
As a market leader and innovator,
Maxwell Technologies is committed
to providing cost-effective, energy-
efficient, environmentally-conscious
energy storage and power delivery
solutions that extend the limits of
current conventions. The firm’s
success is built on providing
unmatched total solutions to its
customers – solutions that deliver
superior performance, reliability
and value, backed by extraordinary
application engineering and field
support.
Maxwell’s global organization,
deep experience and a proven track
record spanning over five decades
give customers the confidence
that comes with dealing with an
acknowledged leader in each of the
markets it serves with the following
lines of high-reliability products:
The Products Furnished
by the Company
Ultracapacitors
Maxwell’s primary focus is on
ultracapacitors, energy storage
devices that are characterized
by high power density, long
operational life, the ability to charge
and discharge very rapidly, and
reliable performance at a wide
range of temperatures. Maxwell
ultracapacitor products provide
energy storage and power delivery
solutions for applications in many
industries, including automotive,
heavy transportation, renewable
energy, backup power, wireless
communications and consumer and
industrial electronics.
Dry Battery Electrode
Technology
Maxwell’s dry electrode technology
has the potential to be a
revolutionary technology within the
battery industry with a substantial
market opportunity, particularly for
use in electric vehicles. By applying
proprietary and fundamental dry
electrode manufacturing technology
to batteries of varying chemistries,
Maxwell can create significant
performance and cost benefits when
compared with today’s state-of-the-
art wet electrode technology.
“Our goal is
to build long-term
customer relationships
by listening, understanding
customer-specific requirements
and exceeding expectations for
value and performance.”
Dr. Franz J. Fink | President & CEO
9. Technology Leadership
Maxwell Technologies is a
pioneering global leader in
developing, manufacturing
and marketing ultracapacitors,
with millions of units now
performing reliably around the
clock worldwide. Ultracapacitors
are energy storage and power
delivery devices that enable design
engineers to create systems which
optimize energy efficiency. Maxwell
ultracapacitors are known for
their superior power performance,
their extraordinary reliability and
remarkably long cycle and calendar
lives. The company has developed
and produced power products since
1965 and has continually invested a
significant portion of its spending in
research and product development,
which today translates into
solutions that meet the stringent
requirements of a broad range
of electrical energy applications.
Maxwell’s investments in research
and development are protected by
issued U.S. patents. The company’s
main focus is to continue to invent
and protect proprietary technology
enables its continued market
leadership.
A critical element of Maxwell
ultracapacitors’ industry-leading
cost position and unparalleled
longevity and performance lies
in its proprietary energy storage
electrode technology. A combination
of materials science and electrode
formulation, along with a simple
industrialized fabrication process,
makes the Maxwell ultracapacitor
electrode one of a kind in the
energy storage world. Through
the unique, environmentally
compatible, solvent-free process, a
high-purity activated carbon custom
formulation is formed into carbon
film and laminated onto aluminium
foil substrate to produce super-
capacitive, double-layer electrode
material. Wound or folded electrode
and separator material are then
sealed in a robust, hermetically
sealed package and impregnated
with a high-performance electrolyte.
The resulting ultracapacitors are
extremely durable, low maintenance
products which are in a variety of
form factors and capacitance ratings
to meet the needs of applications
ranging from small commercial
devices to heavy industrial
examples such as hybrid transit
buses, wind turbines and more.
Meet the Leader of the Firm
DR. Franz J. Fink | President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr Franz joined Maxwell as president and chief executive officer in May 2014.
Immediately prior to joining Maxwell, Dr Fink was an independent business
consultant, assisting companies in the industrial and automotive markets with
business optimization and growth initiatives. From 2006 to 2012, he was president
and chief executive officer of Gennum Corp., a leading supplier of high-speed analog
and mixed-signal semiconductors for the optical communications, networking and
video broadcast markets that was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange before
being acquired by Semtech Corp. in March 2012. From 2003 to 2006, he was senior
vice president and general manager of the Wireless and Mobile Systems Group
of Austin, Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. From 1991 through 2003,
he held a series of senior management positions in the Semiconductor Products
Sector of Motorola Corp. in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
From 2012 to 2014 he served as a director and was a member of the Governance
Committee of Pason Systems Corp. He holds a doctorate in natural sciences from the
Department of Computer-aided Design and a master’s degree in computer science
and electrical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.
April 2019 9
SR
10. April 201910
A
ll industries and markets run
on one single commodity,
data. Data is arguably the
most important resource that most
businesses strive to get. Business
analysts from several industries
concur that accurate data about the
markets, customers, industry trends,
etc. is invaluable and could spell
the difference between success and
failure. One of the world’s leading
providers of software systems is
named InterSystems.
In Asia, InterSystems is known for
our healthcare medical record
and interoperability software
solutions. However, we develop
software that caters to a number
of industries that deal with
millions of customers on a regular
basis. Some of the world’s most
successful software companies,
like DHC in China, develop and
deploy on our data platforms.
In conversation
with Kerry Stratton,
Managing Director,
Asia Pacific of
InterSystems
Can you give an overview of
the company?
For over 40 years InterSystems
has been the information engine
that powers some of the world’s
most important applications. In
healthcare, finance, government,
and other sectors where lives
and livelihoods are at stake,
InterSystems has been a strategic
technology provider since 1978.
InterSystems is a privately held
company headquartered in
Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA),
with offices worldwide, and its
software products are used daily
by millions of people in more than
80 countries.
For application developers,
we provide a powerful unified
data platform spanning data
management, interoperability,
transaction processing, and
analytics. In healthcare, we provide
a unified healthcare information
system and a suite of connected
health solutions to create a unified
care record.
How do you keep up with the
rapidly evolving needs of a
dynamic industry?
Healthcare is undergoing
fundamental changes. In healthcare,
data is growing exponentially,
faster than any other industry. The
amount of data available to make
the best decisions for patients
already greatly exceeds human
cognition. Healthcare organizations
that embrace digital transformation
and learn to unlock the value of
one of their greatest assets – data
– will be the ones that survive and
thrive in the future. We work with
leading healthcare organizations to
help them stay ahead in this time of
change and to develop and execute
digital transformation strategies
that drive value – for their patients,
their organization, and their
clinicians.
What do you think is the next
big thing in technology?
Artificial Intelligence and machine
learning will drive great innovation,
but they will succeed or fail on
the availability and quality of the
underlying data. It’s critical that
organizations capture, share, and
prepare data in ways that will
enable them to embrace AI.
Since every company needs
to be on the forefront
of innovation, how does
InterSystems manage to
differentiate and continue
being innovative?
Our healthcare solutions embed
global best practice gained from
working with customers in
more than 35 countries, but the
solutions come pre-configured
to meet local market needs so
we can help customers get live
with our software quickly and
with less risk. Our solutions lead
to transformative change in our
customer organizations, so we also
differentiate through our long-term
partnership approach and our
passion for customer success.
Empowering Businesses to Serve Customers Better
InterSystems
Kerry Stratton, Managing Director
11. April 2019 11
Can you give a brief
overview of your company’s
products and services?
InterSystems IRIS™ - powerful
unified data platform for developers,
spanning data management,
interoperability, transaction
processing, and analytics
Intersystems IRIS for Health™
- data platform specifically
engineered to extract value from
healthcare data
InterSystems TrakCare® - a
unified healthcare information
system
InterSystems HealthShare® -
unified care record and suite of
connected health solutions
If you had to list five factors
for your company’s success,
what would they be?
InterSystems is a company of
problem-solvers. Our global
presence enables us to harness the
best practices and expertise from
around the world to help customers
solve their most challenging
problems.
We are data management experts
with 40 years of proven experience.
Our technology and our services
are second to none. For example,
we are proud of our Gartner
Peer Insights Customers’ Choice
award announced in January,
which is based on direct customer
experience where we score 4.7
out of 5.0. As a privately-held, very
successful company we put our
customers, instead of shareholders,
first and take a long-term view to
partnership.
What do you feel are
the reasons behind your
company’s reputation?
Our business philosophy is simple;
if our customers are successful,
we are successful. And we partner
with some of the most successful
organizations in the world. In
Thailand, for example, our software
is enabling digital transformation
at Bumrungrad International
Hospital, one of the best and most
digitally-advanced hospitals in the
world. China’s pioneering and most
successful private hospital group,
United Family Healthcare, relies
on our healthcare information
system to support rapid expansion.
In Australia, our data platform is
critical to the operations of Sonic
Healthcare, one of the world’s most
successful healthcare diagnostic
companies.
About the Founder and
CEO of InterSystems,
Phillip T. (Terry) Ragon
Since founding InterSystems
in 1978, Mr. Ragon has led the
company to worldwide prominence
in the database, interoperability, and
healthcare application markets.
Prior to starting InterSystems, Mr.
Ragon co-founded a healthcare
software company that became a
leader in the U.S. and is now part
of GE Healthcare. He has served
as a healthcare IT consultant
to academic and government
institutions and received a
prestigious Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year award in
healthcare information technology.
Mr. Ragon is a Trustee of the
Massachusetts General Hospital
(MGH), where he also served as
Honorary Co-Chair of the MGH
Campaign. He is on the Harvard
Medical School Board of Fellows.
He is also a member of the MIT
Corporation, the governing
body of MIT, chairs the Visiting
Committee that reviews the Physics
Department, and is Co-Chair of the
MIT Campaign.
In 2008, Mr. Ragon helped create
the Ragon Institute, a joint research
center of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.
The vision of the Ragon Institute
is to “harness the immune system
through science to prevent and cure
disease,” and its immediate objective
is the creation of a vaccine for HIV.
Mr. Ragon is a signatory to The
Giving Pledge.
The son of a U.S. Air Force fighter
pilot, Mr. Ragon was born in Arizona.
He grew up in a variety of states
and graduated from high school in
Bogota, Colombia. He obtained an
S.B. (B.S) in physics from MIT.
We are the engine behind the world’s most
important applications.”“
SR
12. April 201912
T
he chemical industry is
one of the largest and most
important ones in the world.
It provides a source of chemicals
that support industries which are
crucial for a nation’s economy.
Electronics, mining, ore processing,
pharmaceuticals, metallurgy are all
just some of the industries that are
dependent on chemicals for their
operations.
Atotech is one of the world’s leading
chemical companies with a focus
on specialty chemicals and surface
finishing solutions.
Being a leading surface-finishing
solutions provider, Atotech has
enormous experience delivering
chemistry, equipment, and service
to support diverse end-
markets such as mobile
devices, computers
and other consumer
electronics, the global
automotive industries,
and many others. The
company continuously
invests in R&D that
enables it to deliver the
most innovative and
sustainable products.
Atotech’s relentless R&D
efforts, combined with
its global TechCenter
presence, allow it to offer
pioneering products
and unparalleled on-
site customer support
– making Atotech a
valuable partner for
the many industries it
serves.
Regardless of the market
or manufacturing
sector, chances are good that
the finished product contains an
Atotech product. Although the
company does not have a vast global
presence, its products and solutions
can be found in a wide variety of
crucial end markets. This includes
surface finishing and electronics
for the automotive industry,
communication applications for
smartphones, next-generation
connectivity and cloud computing,
big data processing infrastructure,
medical equipment, household
appliances and much more.
Atotech’s comprehensive systems-
and-solutions approach combining
chemistry, equipment, and service
makes it all possible and helps
the company provide customers
with a vast selection of innovative
chemistry and world-class
equipment across a wide variety of
applications and end markets.
Here Are Some of
Atotech’s Products
Electronics
Atotech develops produces and sells
plating chemicals and equipment
for manufacturing printed circuit
boards, package substrates,
semiconductors, lead frames and
connectors and is recognized as
the leading innovator within the
electronics plating industry.
The trends towards better
connectivity, greater device
functionality, performance, and
miniaturization, are leading to
higher complexity in Atotech’s
customers’ products, which require
advanced technology solutions more
than ever before.
Electrolytic plating
High volume conformal plating
production in Uniplate® InPulse
2 equipment: Inpulse® 2HFU
is masking drilling defects and
provides reliable coverage of
wedge voids thanks to its superior
throwing power in BMVs. The
process is the ideal solution for
reliable mSAP flash plating. Inpulse®
2HT assures best plating uniformity
in through holes with significantly
improved surface plated copper
distribution, comparing high and
low hole density areas.
The latest version of Atotech’s
Cupracid® TP series: Cupracid®
TP3. This is an electrolytic copper
Enriching Industries and Lives: Atotech
“Our goal is simple:
to make a positive
difference in all the lives
that we touch.”
Geoff Wild, CEO
13. April 2019 13
plating process for conventional
hoist type DC equipment using
soluble anodes. It provides
outstanding throwing power at high
current densities and low surface
tension for the comprehensive
wetting of BMVs and through holes.
Cupracid® TP3 offers excellent
reliability results. It is a very
robust process with stable plating
performance after idle time.
Cupracid® AC is for conformal
copper plating with soluble anodes.
It provides excellent throwing
power in both BMVs and Through
Holes at high current densities.
Cupracid® AC is compatible with a
wide range of vertical conveyorized
systems with sparger electrolyte
agitation as well as hoist type
equipment with air agitation.
Final Finishing
Aurotech® Plus: An Atotech
optimized ENIG process that is
designed specifically with high-
end HDI manufacturing in mind.
Dramatically reduced in nickel
corrosion, minimized extraneous
nickel plating and outstanding
soldermask mask and base material
compatibility, are all primary
benefits. Whilst technically assured;
Aurotech® Plus offers cost saving
through extended lifetimes,
excellent distribution and process
control.
Aurotech® HP: An ENIG process
developed especially for the high
corrosion resistance requirements
of mobile handset manufacturers.
Its nickel layer with high
phosphorous content provides
significantly better protection
versus an aggressive environment
than conventional nickel layers with
mid or low P-content. The process is
qualified and in mass production for
the world’s leading cellular phone
fabricators.
AuNic®: A drop-in process for
existing standard ENIG lines. It
consists of five main steps: cleaning,
micro-etch, activation, electroless
nickel, and immersion Gold. The
most distinguishable feature of
AuNic® is the introduction of the
additive AuNic® EN C, which is
added for bath make-up and after
idle times instead of performing
dummy plating.
Desmear and Metallization
Atotech’s advanced desmear
process series Securiganth® MV
enables outstanding cleaning and
roughening performance, and
provides the industry standard
desmear process for bare laminates
utilized in high-end IC Substrates
based on Semi-Additive Process
(SAP) technologies.
Securiganth® E is perfectly suited
for horizontal and vertical desmear
for HDI, MLB and Flex-Rigid
production and positions Atotech
as the leading supplier of horizontal
desmear-systems (chemistry and
equipment) for state of the art HDI
production.
Oxamat: Atotech’s production-
proven regeneration system
Oxamat significantly reduces
the sludge of manganate dioxide
(MnO2) that is formed during the
desmear process. The Oxamat
system regenerates manganate to
permanganate, thereby preventing
the accumulation of sludge and
related additional chemical dosing.
Additionally, the Oxamat cuts
maintenance time in half as less
extensive cleaning cycles and make-
ups are needed.
About the CEO of Atotech, Geoff Wild
Geoff Wild has headed Atotech’s worldwide operations as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since
2017. He is a seasoned global chemicals industry executive with extensive experience in specialty
chemicals and materials for the semiconductor and high technology industries, including PCBs,
flat-panel displays, and electronic components. He also draws from his global experience with
high-performance teams involved in lithography, semiconductor equipment, strategic marketing,
growth management, product development, and mergers & acquisitions.
SR
14. T
he banking and financial
industries are cornerstones
of modern economies. They
have existed in one form or the
other for centuries and continue
to influence global economies to
this day. Modern technology has
resulted in a highly connected
world, with more and more people
being able to avail of financial
services from the comfort of their
houses. In the new digital era,
banks and financial institutions are
looking to evolve their operations
adopt digital transformation and AI
tools to deliver more personalised
and efficient set of new services
in a competitive landscape. They
require a well-rounded approach
in dealing with evolving market
needs and customer requirements
that are in sync with organisational
goals. Profile Software is one of
the world’s foremost companies to
provide market winning solutions
for the banking and financial
services industries.
Founded in 1990, Profile Software
has established itself as a leading
international solutions provider
for the Banking and Investment
Management industries. With a
global presence in Europe, the
Middle East, America, Asia, and
Africa and vast experience in
delivering innovative solutions
to both start-ups and established
banking & finance institutions,
Profile Software has expanded its
presence across 38 countries.
The evolution
Profile Software has faced its fair
share of risks and hurdles while
expanding business operations.
From acquiring funding to
finding clients and building up a
reputation, the company braved
tough times through the sheer
power of its innovative platform,
which offers one-of-a-kind
flexibility and functionality. In a
constantly evolving market, the
company realised early on that
a one fits all kind of approach
to providing solutions won’t be
feasible and moreover, won’t help
its clients. The company was driven
to investigate, scan and understand
the market changes, future trends
as well as clients’ needs so as
to evaluate and incorporate the
respective functionality into its
products. This was apparent when
Profile was the first to introduce
the P2P Lending software to meet
the evolving market needs in 2013,
uniquely combining banking,
investment and risk management
capabilities. This was followed by
a mobile application for the wealth
management industry. And recently
with the Robo Advisory solution
for complete automation or hybrid
approach to investment advice.
One of the earliest and best
decisions that the company’s
management made was to establish
an agile model of business that
could adapt to the changing
market scenarios. Additionally, it
was evident from the beginning
that in order to stay ahead of
the competition, Profile would
have to focus on innovation and
skillful personnel. Its solutions
offer agility, advanced technology
and rich functionality to financial
institutions. Innovation is inherent
in Profile Software’s platforms,
ranging from its robo-advisory
solution that offers market leading
features, to the P2P lending and
Risk Management that offer cloud-
enabled deployment.
Acumennet, the Treasury
Management platform consists of
a unique STP mechanism, allowing
it to be used for automation of
Driving growth through continuous
innovation
Profile software
15. key processes and to optimise
operations. Consolidation is one
of the most growing methods of
implementing a business model
and it is more so in the banking
industry. In light of this, Profile
Software launched the FMS.
next, the core banking platform
which, apart from supporting all
operations needed for Lending and
Loans, Deposits, Payments, etc.
gives the freedom to launch new
products fast through the use of a
product factory engine that allows
for easy creation and workflow
setting while significantly enriching
its front-office capabilities. It
also supports Digital banking
operations with successful
implementations.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a
cutting-edge technology that will
define the future. Corporations
small and large from numerous
industries continue to invest in
it and gain the desired edge over
their competition. Staying true
to consolidation, optimisation,
adaption and evolution, Profile
Software enhanced Axia, it’s
omnichannel investment
management platform to
incorporate AI tools that further
support all wealth/asset and fund
management operations, custody
and robo-advisory, thus enabling
organisations and professionals to
automate their processes, service
offerings, customise reports and
deliver personalised services.
Profile Software understands
that banking and investment
management, just like every other
sector are highly affected by the
regulatory environment. To better
address Compliance concerns,
Profile launched RiskAvert,
the updated Risk Management
platform that performs end-to-
end Basel III Risk Assessment for
Credit, Market, Operational risk in
a cloud environment with advanced
scalability using Kubernetes or
cloud native API.
Key to continued
success
Profile Software credits its culture
of constant innovation and market
analysis to its continued success in
a highly regulated and cut-throat
industry. The company invests
between fifteen and twenty percent
of its turnover into research &
development. Over the three
decades of its existence, it has been
investing in its own technology
and its people to fuel its growth. Its
winning streak was a combination
of careful management, wise
decision making, and systematic
market research. The company’s
success factors lie in its people and
products. Profile’s solutions are
characterised by flexibility, ability
to personalise for the end customer
and deliver to client needs.
The company’s success is no
small feat, and its customers are
a testament to its dedication.
Profile prides itself of a customer
retention rate that is at a staggering
99%. This kind of loyalty from
the clientele goes on to show the
company’s efforts in going the
extra mile for its customers by
carefully addressing key market
needs through innovative solutions.
Profile Software’s customer-first
approach combined with an
acute awareness of the market
has molded it into a force to be
reckoned with.
“Profile Software has grown with the support, expertise
and professionalism of its staff, the management team
and its partners”
SR
16. April 201916
An innovative developer of cloud-based software
solutions for the international and domestic logistics
industries: WiseTech Global
S
ince 1994, WiseTech has helped
logistics companies efficiently
manage the movement of
goods and information. With over
12,000 logistics organizations using
its software across 130 countries,
WiseTech’s breakthrough solutions
are designed to deliver powerful
productivity, extensive functionality,
comprehensive integration, and
deep compliance capabilities.
The firm’s flagship product,
CargoWise One, provides a
comprehensive end-to-end logistics
solution and forms an integral link
in the global supply chain. From
single-office businesses to large
multinational companies worldwide,
its clients are able to improve
their visibility, efficiency, quality of
service, and profitability by utilizing
its next-generation technology.
The company builds products
using the latest software tools and
advanced hardware platforms, and
it takes pride in delivering solutions
that make a significant difference
to its customers, partners, staff,
shareholders, and the logistics
industry at large.
WiseTech Global’s people are the
core of who it is. The accumulation
of its collective experience shared
values, and individual skills have
allowed the firm’s business to
deliver industry-leading solutions
that exceed expectations. WiseTech
Global is a mature, profitable,
rapidly expanding business focused
on great products, the intellectual
property that drives them, the
brands they create, and the markets
and customers they serve.
ASX listed, WiseTech Global
was founded in 1994 in Sydney,
Australia, with a mission to lead
the international logistics
industry in technology innovation.
The company now operates
worldwide from over 40
offices across Australasia,
Europe, and the Americas.
Why WiseTech Global
WiseTech Global has a wealth
of experience assisting logistics
companies around the globe in
identifying, creating, and leveraging
competitive advantages through
utilization of scalable technology
solutions. Its purpose is to improve
their visibility, efficiency, and quality
of service while simultaneously
reducing operating costs and
increasing profitability.
CargoWise One is a highly flexible,
deeply integrated, enterprise-
class system that streamlines
the operations, accounts, and
management of freight forwarders,
NVOCCs, customs brokers,
depots, container freight stations,
warehouses, trucking companies,
and ships agencies, automating
and integrating the vital operations
of supply chain service providers
across the world.
Powerful Productivity
CargoWise One puts productivity
at the center of everything you do.
Its single-platform system gives
you high levels of automation and
visibility to streamline processes
throughout your business. Because
of its cloud-based capability, key in
your data just once and it becomes
instantly accessible across your
worldwide operations, reducing
your margin of error and the
need for labor-intense workflows.
For performance-driven
businesses in need of enhancing
productivity, CargoWise One
presents an efficient solution for
simplifying the supply chain.
“As an innovator,
we use software and
hardware to solve
problems and create
new ways of working
and living.”
Richard White
Executive Director & CEO
17. April 2019 17
Industry-Wide Functionality
CargoWise One’s next-generation
technology gives you broad
functional capabilities and
industry-wide applications that
allow you to maximize your
operations on the global stage. With
a complete suite of integrated ERP
applications, it meets the horizontal
and vertical demands of the
logistics industry. Its functions scale
to individual business demands,
providing the breadth and depth
of major multinationals as well as
the simplicity of small business
operations. CargoWise One’s
highly modular system allows
you to choose the specific
applications your business
needs while giving you access
to facilitate future developments.
Deep-Seated Integration
CargoWise One provides you
with comprehensive vertical and
horizontal integration, both inside
and outside of the application.
It allows you to integrate your
business with the supply chain’s
key vertical markets as well as
integrating your own processes
across your global operations.
You also benefit from CargoWise
One’s tightly integrated
horizontal modules - everything
from accounting, to document
management, and more - and
an eCommerce solution that
seamlessly manages your sales and
CRM services.
Cross-Border Compliance
CargoWise One offers compliance
capabilities that let you focus on
business, not borders. It provides
the tools to achieve quicker, simpler,
more efficient customs clearance as
well as greater visibility between
you, your partners, customers,
and customs authorities. With
access to integrated online tariff
classification tools and to the
network of WiseTech Global
Partners who can help you
navigate the increasing number of
regional regulations, CargoWise
One ensures full compliance with
customs requirements across the
world’s leading markets.
True Global Reach
CargoWise One forms an integral
link in the global supply chain
and executes over 54 billion data
transactions annually. WiseTech
Global’s customers include over
12,000 of the world’s logistics
execution companies across
130 countries, including 38 of
the top 50 global third-party
logistics providers and all top 25
largest global freight forwarders
worldwide, CargoWise One
customers are able to facilitate
business through an ever-growing
community of logistics providers.
With interfaces to external parties,
customers, and other industry
providers, CargoWise One puts
your global connections within easy
reach.
Meet the leader
Richard White, Executive Director and CEO: Richard founded WiseTech Global in 1994 and
has been CEO and the Executive Director since then. He has over 30 years of experience in software
development, embedded systems and business management, and over 20 years of freight/logistics
industry experience.
Prior to founding WiseTech Global, Richard was the founder and managing director of Real Tech Systems
Integration (provider of computer consulting and systems integrations services) and founder and CEO of
Clear Group (distributor of computer-related equipment).
Richard holds a Master of Business in Information Technology from UTS (University of Technology,
Sydney). He is a UTS Luminaire and a Fellow of UTS.
SR
18. April 201918
T
ourism is one of the largest
industries that span the
globe, consisting of hotels,
airlines, resorts, and so on. Millions
of people from dozens of countries
travel to numerous places each
year. Whether it is for a vacation or
for an official visit, one company
has made numerous strides into
the development of the underlying
technology that powers global
tourism.
Sabre is a leading technology
solutions provider to the nearly
US$8 trillion travel industry. The
company’s technology and data-
driven solutions help its airline;
hotel and travel agency customers
grow their businesses and
transform the traveler experience.
The scale, breadth, and depth of
technology are unmatched and
sustain a complex industry. Sabre
is a technology solutions provider
to the global travel and tourism
industry offering a broad range
of technology solutions including
data-driven business intelligence,
mobile, distribution and Software as
a Service (SaaS) solutions that are
used by travel suppliers (airlines,
hotels, car rental outlets, railways,
cruise lines and tour operators)
and travel buyers (travel agencies,
travel management companies and
corporate travel departments) to
plan, market, sell, serve and operate
their businesses.
Here’s a look at Sabre’s
suite of business
solutions
Airline Solutions
Sabre’s consistent innovations
provide the airline industry with
future-focused IT solutions —
from powerful applications and
SaaS delivery to high-performance
environments that support airlines
around the world. The company
continually strives to develop and
bring to market new, cutting-edge
innovations and was the first to
introduce passenger-reservations
and revenue-management systems,
consumer travel, a corporate
booking tool, low-fare search
capabilities.
Sabre continually invests in its
technology to see its clients’
business well into the future. Its
unique solutions are open, flexible,
intelligent and scalable, ensuring
that they adapt as business needs
change and operations grow.
Sabre’s technology is designed to
help airline thrive. Its solutions
portfolio is extensive, covering
clients’ end-to-end operation, and it
spans every area of aviation across
the globe with:
• More than 225 airline partners
around the world
• Nearly 790 million passengers
boarded each year
• More than 1,500 airports using
Sabre’s departure-control
technology
• More than 35 million flights
tracked per year
The company’s data-rich software
helps its clients make smarter
operational decisions, personalize
and retail their products and
services to travelers and distribute
product offerings through direct and
indirect channels and fulfill them
to ensure that customers receive a
superior experience.
Hospitality Solutions
Sabre Hospitality Solutions
provides distribution, operations
and marketing solutions to the
hotel industry. Delivered primarily
through a Software as a Service
(SaaS) model, the Hospitality
Solutions suite is used by more than
32,000 properties around the world.
Its integrated reservations systems,
property management system,
distribution, and marketing services
help hotels increase revenues,
identify savings, and improve
customer service.
Sabre offers distribution to various
channels using the SynXis Central
Reservation System and the
Sabre global distribution system.
Additionally, its solutions include
hotel operations management
through the Sabre Property
Management System, a Web-
Developing Technology to
Propel Tourism: Sabre
Sean Menke
President & CEO
19. April 2019 19
based system for hotels to manage
inventory and reservations, guest
profiles, staffing, back office, and
payment system integration.
The company also offers
consulting services and marketing
strategies for online and offline
merchandising, including solutions
for mobile and social media
marketing, website design and
software hosting services.
Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network is a global
business-to-business travel
marketplace and consists primarily
of the company’s own global
distribution system (GDS) and a
broad set of solutions that integrate
with the GDS.
This marketplace is used by travel
suppliers including approximately
400 airlines, 175,000 hotel
properties, 200 tour operators, 50
rail carriers, 40 car rental outlets
and 17 cruise lines to promote,
personalize and sell their products
to travel management companies,
corporate travel departments,
and approximately 425,000 travel
agents, around the world. The
marketplace includes a mobile-
enabled platform for travel buyers
to shop, price, book and pays for
travel. In addition, Sabre provides
data-rich solutions that give travel
buyers and suppliers unique
insights into their operations as well
as customer shopping and booking
trends.
Let’s have a look at the
technologies developed
by Sabre
Data Solutions
Sabre operates at the intersection
of travel and digital technology.
Its experts use a wealth of data
to help customers deliver more
personalized experiences to
travelers. This is a time when
everyone lives and breathes data,
which can be disruptive, drive
innovation and enhance business
success. Sabre unlocks the value
of data to help its customers gain
actionable insights that enhance
their success. Sabre has long been
a pioneer in data and business
intelligence.
The Sabre travel marketplace
transacts more than $120 billion of
travel spend per year.
The company’s technology
processes more than 1.1 trillion
system messages each year,
including 100,000 messages per
second during peak times and 1.5
billion daily API requests.
More than 12 billion shopping
requests are processed through
Sabre annually. The company’s
system can quickly cull through
billions of possibilities to return
the most appropriate itineraries to
travel shoppers.
More than one billion people use
Sabre technology every year to plan,
book and experience travel.
Meet the driving force behind Sabre’s meteoric rise
Sean Menke is President, CEO and a member of the board of directors of Sabre Corporation,
the premier technology solutions provider to the global travel industry. He leads more than 10,000 colleagues
across a global network of development, sales, operations and corporate teams working in 65 countries.
Sean was promoted to president and CEO in December 2016, bringing his wealth of travel industry knowledge
and experience using technology to drive business success to the Sabre C-suite. As both a former customer of
Sabre and now its chief executive, Sean is well-equipped to help Sabre’s travel industry customers leverage
technology solutions to operate more efficiently, deliver better customer service, and drive more revenue and
personalized customer experiences using enhanced data and analytics.
Outside of work, Sean enjoys participating in marathons, ultra-marathons, cycling and snow skiing and
spending time with his wife and three boys. He earned his MBA from the University of Denver and a dual
Bachelor of Science degree in economics and aviation from Ohio State University.
“Our technology processes over US$120B of estimated travel spend
across more than 1.1 trillion system messages.”
SR
20. April 201920
T
he retail industry has never
seen a storm like 7-Eleven.
It was initially incorporated
on 4 June 1984, and soon the firm
has made its mark in the retailing
scene and been a prominent icon for
over 28 years. 7-Eleven Malaysia is
the single largest convenience store
chain with more than 2,240 stores
nationwide, serving over 900,000
customers daily.
The company was founded by
J. C. Thompson in 1927 as The
Southland Ice Company in Dallas,
Texas. Started as an ice vendor, the
company eventually began offering
milk, bread and eggs on Sundays
and evenings when grocery stores
were closed. This new business
idea produced satisfied customers
and increased sales, spawning
the precursor of the modern
convenience retail concept.
The company’s first convenience
outlets were known as Tote’m
stores since customers “toted” away
their purchases, and some even
sported genuine Alaskan totem
poles in front. In 1946, Tote’m
became 7-Eleven to reflect the
stores’ new, extended hours - 7 a.m.
until 11 p.m., seven days a week.
The company’s corporate name
was changed from The Southland
Corporation to 7-Eleven, Inc. in
1999.
The Strong Suit of the
Company
The company is the pioneer and
the largest 24-hours convenience
store operator in Malaysia. Upon
achieving its 1,000 mark in stores
network, 7-Eleven Malaysia opened
its door to local entrepreneurs
through its unique franchising
program in 2009. It is the first
franchisor in the local market to
offer existing profit-making stores
to franchisees.
7-Eleven stores can be found across
bustling commercial districts
to serene suburban residential
compounds throughout Malaysia,
from petrol stations and LRT
stations to shopping malls and
medical institutions.
Each 7-Eleven store carries
over 2,200 SKUs, including its
proprietary brands such as Slurpee
frozen beverages and Big Gulp
fountain soft drinks. The variety
of services available at 7-Eleven
include the bill payment service,
sale of mobile phone reload cards,
IDD/STD, Touch N Go reload,
internet games’ starter packs,
reloads via MOL Point top-up,
ink cartridge refill, photocopying,
fax, automated teller machine
(ATM), and bulletin board for
neighbourhood community notices.
In 2009, 7-Eleven introduced
freshly brewed coffee and other
hot beverages together with
packaged fresh food and bakery
for the convenience of customers
looking for ready-to-eat hot food.
All food items sold in 7-Eleven
are certified HALAL and undergo
stringent quality control to ensure
tastefulness and freshness.
Being the premier neighbourhood
convenience store, community
building is in the heart of 7-Eleven’s
corporate social responsibility
framework. 7-Eleven Community
Care is a non-profit entity set up
to implement 7-Eleven Malaysia’s
corporate social responsibility
and philanthropic initiatives.
The firmbelieves in giving back
to the society it operates in, with
a commitment to support the
underprivileged groups and to
sustain environmental conservation
Consistently Serving the
Changing Needs of Customers
for Their Convenience
7-eleven
Always There for you
21. April 2019 21
effort at the local community level
across all regions.
What Makes It Different?
Overall the company has been
growing rapidly due to its amazing
line of products, services and
special services mentioned above.
The stores offer the best customer
services and are known to provide
fresh products and are certainly
a favorite to all in their targeted
region.
The Two Major Decision
Makers
LENA TAN | Chairperson
She was appointed as Director and
Chairman of 7-Eleven Malaysia
SdnBhd on 1 July 2013 and Non-
independent Non-executive director
of 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings
Bhd on 21 August 2013. Lena has
close to 30 years of experience in
portfolio management and business
management in various roles. She
holds an MBA in Finance from the
University of San Francisco and a
Bachelor of Arts from the University
of Manitoba.
COLIN HARVEY | Chief
Executive Officer
Colin was appointed as the Chief
Executive Officer of 7-Eleven
Malaysia on 13 of August 2018.
Prior to his appointment as CEO of
7-Eleven, he held the position of
independent director of Pharmacy
JSC., a Retail Pharmacy leader in
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Colin
has considerable retail experience
in Malaysia and Indonesia where
he has spent the last 13 years in
various senior roles. Colin holds a
Bachelor of Commerce Degree from
the University of South Africa and
an MBA from Stirling University in
the UK.
“We seek to understand the needs of
stakeholders & the company to make the
best (balanced) decisions, we also work
towards making things convenient for
people to increase the effectiveness of our
solutions by finding ways to resolve issues
that prevent us from delivering value to
those we serve and we communicate to
manage people’s expectations in the most
effective manner.”
SR
22. “
Reinventing the Global Event Technology
Landscape with Disruptive Solutions
GlobalSign.in Pte Ltd
F
ounded in 2006, GlobalSign.in
Pte Ltd is a leader in the event
technology provider domain
which provides solutions to power
the entire event cycle to create
experiential events. Backed by a
strong team of innovators, it tailors
solutions for the M.I.C.E industry in
the governmental and the corporate
sector. It is headquartered in
Singapore and has offices in the
United States, Myanmar, India and
Ukraine. With an unmatched history
of delivering quality solutions, the
company has been awarded the
globally recognized ISO 27001
certification.
An eternally optimistic leader,
Veemal strongly advocates that
the seemingly impossible can be
achieved with the right passion
and dedication and his journey
as a founder has traversed this
trail. In its inception, with no
external funding, he bootstrapped
the company. A big challenge
for him in the initial years was
the absence of a proven track
record especially in a competitor
dominated industry. Public
companies offering enterprise
solutions were the strongest barrier
to penetrate through especially
for a young company. Building the
right team is most strategic for any
start-up and Veemal had a very
clear understanding of this fact.
Attracting the right tech talent in
an environment of talent war was
another big challenge that he faced
during his initial years.
In conversation with the
thought leader, Veemal
Gungadin, Founder and
CEO
What do you think is the next
big thing in technology?
The next big thing in technology
is definitely AI. That takes me
back to the memory lane of the
thrilling experience while watching
Terminator, Star Wars etc. Today we
know that is going to be a part of
our lifestyle soon. Self-driving cars,
smart homes with inbuilt security,
human augmenting themselves with
robots, home robots doing for your
everyday chores, hazardous jobs
taken over by robots; all of this is
going to happen in the next 10-15
years. Alexa, Siri, Cortana and so
many voice and visual assistances
are making our lives easier. Though
coined in the year 1956 as “Artificial
intelligence”, it has a long way to
go to completely revolutionize our
lives.
A tech company needs to
be very agile with product
and service innovation
in order to withstand
the competition, what is
your approach towards
innovation?
The thing is how willing you are
to reinvent yourself and reinvent
your company. And as a tech
company, we focus on reinvention,
innovation and transformation of
one of our most important company
value. To facilitate this we have a
dedicated team of innovators that
acts as a catalyst in the growth
of the company by introducing
Staying ahead in the development of SMART event
management online is the core value that GSI cultivates.
We aim to build shared expertise to connect people
through the advanced event planning online tools.”
Veemal Gungadin, CEO
23. breakthrough products based on
emerging technologies. We have
been recognized to be pioneers in
the application of AI and ML in our
products.
Our in house customer experience
centre is committed to continuously
innovate and launch new Proofs-of-
concepts. Here we invite industry
players and our customers to visit
and give us feedback. To further our
culture of innovation, we participate
in numerous industry and grass root
events as speakers and audience to
learn about the course of industry
transformation and the challenges
associated with it.
What are your products and
service offerings?
GEVME and Judgify are two
flagship products of the company
that deliver emerging technology
solutions to the industry. GEVME is
a fully integrated event management
software providing solutions that
power the entire event cycle.
Some of the emerging technology
solutions include:
• RFID enabled attendee tracking
with event analytics
• Electronic gantries for
convenient QR code/barcode
scanning
• Automated guest sign-in system
that functions similarly to a
guest book
• eBrochures downloading
system based on QR code
scanning
• Judgify, an online award
management solution
Globally recognized for delivering
SMART technologies, GEVME was
ranked #3 as the most affordable
event software by Capterra and was
shortlisted for the Event Technology.
It has also received awards for Best
Ticketing Technology, Best Visitor
Registration Technology, and Best
Conference Technology categories.
What do you feel are
the reasons behind your
company’s reputation?
Valuing personal touch over
traditional B2B culture is an
important metric that has helped
us create a reputation as a human
brand. We believe in consultancy
than cold sales. We believe in going
that extra mile in personalizing
our solutions to cater to specific
needs of the client, and we believe
in the success of our customers
than internal policy execution.
In a typical SaaS-based business,
bureaucracy can form a layer of
sediment that covers up the soul of
the brand. But with our customer-
centric approach and relationship
building strategies, we have been
successful in the industry and this is
the most important growth metric
for GlobalSign.in.
Do you have any new
products getting ready to be
launched?
We understand the significance of
experiential marketing over digital
marketing, and hence, our next
innovation is focused at augmenting
physical engagement during events.
Meet The Man Behind Globalsign.In’s Success
Veemal Gungadin, CEO
Being a tech-obsessed change leader, Founder and CEO of
GlobalSign.in, Veemal Gungadin graduated in BSc. computer
science from NUS, Singapore. He architected and coded the first
software platform of GlobalSign.in in 2006 at an age when his
peers were settling for college placements. Backed by a team
of three, the company emerged as a leader in Asia and secured
strong clientele including Global Banks and Government accounts
in a very short span of time. Building on the momentum, against
the whirlwind of diverse challenges, he took the company global
and acquired clientele in Asia, US and the Middle East. Currently
driving the product direction of the company, positioned at
the spectrum of digital transformation, Veemal is a renowned
industry speaker in Singapore.
With multiple recognitions under his belt, Veemal plays a
strategic role in driving and nurturing tech talent in Singapore
for showcasing globally. He also acquires advisory position in
a couple of technology companies like Severalnines, a leading
database management company headquartered in Sweden, where
he advises on the product and scaling strategy and built their
flagship product- cluster control. Being an accomplished expert
as a cloud architect, he acquires the role of a strategic advisor at
Synchestra, a revolutionary cloud based insurtech platform.
April 2019 23
SR
24. April 201924
A
dvertising is perhaps the
most important aspect of
running a business. However
good or effective a product or
service might be, it would be of
little value if people are not aware
of it. With the current globalization
and the explosion in internet
usage, smartphones have grown to
become the largest platform which
advertisers can use to expand their
outreach and increase viewership
for their advertisements. Internet-
based services have been able to
maximize the size of their audience
using strategic and well-placed
commercials on people’s cellphones.
GoGoChart is one of the world’s
leading advertisers for the mobile
platform. Founded in Hong Kong,
GoGoChart is an award-winning
performance driven mobile
technology company that empowers
businesses and their apps to
gain additional users, maximum
exposure and increased revenues.
Since 2015, it has helped more
than 2000 mobile apps worldwide
with amazing results. Key services
include AppStore Optimisation
(ASO), Campaign Management
Platform (CMP) for Apple Search
Ads, Google ads and Facebook ads.
In January 2019 GoGoChart was
certified by Apple for Apple Search
Ads, and launched the all new
Campaign Management Platform,
allowing SMEs to manage ads
quickly, effectively and drive up
performance results.
In conversation with
the visionary behind
GoGoChart, Daniel Lo
What were the initial
challenges in launching your
company?
As the founder of a startup in
Hong Kong, costs are very high and
support is limited, back then when I
first started, we had zero support or
funding. So I had to learn it the hard
way, by failing!
Starting a business faces many
obstacles, some of which include
proof of concept, fundraising,
scale, business development, tech
development, client expectations,
team building and the founder’s
own state of mind. Not to mention
personal issues like family and
peer pressure. The key is learning
to embrace failure, it’s when you
experience failure and learn from
your mistakes.
Can you please give a brief
explanation about your
offerings?
a.) Apple Search Ads
Management/Google UAC
Management/Facebook Ads
Management:
It is a premium full-service ad
management solution for Apple,
Google, and Facebook ads; a fully
customized and localized solution
for each geographic location.
b.) Playable Ads:
GoGoChart offers fun, interactive,
and 3D playable ads with original
UI and animation for game
publishers to promote their games.
c.) App Store Optimization (ASO):
ASO is the process of optimizing
mobile apps to rank higher in an
app store’s search results, including
GOGOCHART
ONLY THE BEST APPS
25. April 2019 25
app name & description, icon,
screenshots, and video. We also
cover best practices in image/
video creative A/B testing to make
sure our client gets the highest-
performing assets.
d.) Location Wifi Traffic:
We offer free WiFi service locally to
the public without asking for any
personal authentication. Anyone
with a smartphone can simply select
the free wifi hotspot and enjoy
internet serving without any costs.
Our clients place their ads on-screen
after successful registration and
this creates exposure to our client’s
product. We have over 4000+ wifi
hotspot locations all over Hong
Kong, i.e. Link shopping mall, Hong
Kong Jockey Club branches, etc.
e.) Influencers Marketing:
This is an effective marketing
model for the South East Asia
market, which is suitable for both
building awareness and gaining
more users at the same time. We
tailor match our client’s product
with locally popular influencers
to promote their product, by live
streaming videos. We have received
significant feedback from both
increased product installs and brand
awareness.
If you had to list five factors
for your success, what would
they be?
Focus: Because you cannot afford to
waste time to do everything, do one
or two things you’re really good at,
and try your hardest to capitalize on
the market!
Learn about cash flow: Even if you
have a great CFO, as CEO you should
always learn about the importance
of cash flow since all businesses
really depend on cash flow to grow.
Team: Learn to cultivate your team,
learn to work with your people,
learn to love them, create a purpose
for the company that makes them
feel they belong to it.
Network: I regret not doing as
much, the right networking helps
to grow new opportunities and
potential investors. Especially for
those who are actively looking for
funding.
Look after yourself: This is
especially for those single founder
CEOs, you’re lonely, like many other
CEOs, but you’re working all the
hours day and night, so look after
yourself, eat well, sleep plenty and
exercise regularly.
What do you think is the next
big thing in technology?
AI-powered and data-centric
platforms are areas that I feel will
grow massively; this is because
technology is getting more mature
and users are now more acceptable
to allow AI to power their daily
search activities. This, in turn,
enables millions of users to improve
their daily activities that range from
online shopping, health insurance
to investment. Another area with
huge potential is cybersecurity,
with the growing number of search
platforms, personal data protection
will be crucial in gaining users’
confidence.
Do you have any products
ready to be launched?
We have launched a Campaign
Management Platform named
Project X. It is an AI-driven
advertising campaign management
platform for all small-medium
businesses that wish to acquire
users/clients online. Businesses
can place an ad in the App Store
within 3 easy steps and less than
60 seconds – 1, select your app. 2,
set your budget and target cost per
install. 3 select your target country.
Our advanced bidding system will
help you do the rest. This is a first
of its kind in the industry that truly
innovates and drives performance
for SMEs. Any business can take
advantage of Project X with little or
no cost and enjoy the full benefit
of comprehensive advertising
technology. Project X would
definitely help SMEs to save time,
money and resources.
About The Founder of
GoGochart, Daniel Lo
Daniel has over 7 years of
digital marketing experience in
e-commerce, web, and mobile app
marketing, Daniel consulted for
Fortune 500 clients and helped over
2000+ products globally.
Prior to founding GoGoChart,
Daniel has spent 15 years in the
UK where he grew up and received
a degree in Marketing. He is also
active in the startup entrepreneur
community and regularly speaks
at various university MBA & EMBA
programmes including UNSW,
CUMBA, HK PolyU, HKUSpace, CityU.
“We empower our
partners and their apps
to achieve maximum
exposure within the App
Stores.”
Daniel Lo
Founder
SR
26. April 201926
C
onsumer expectations have
evolved. In today’s digital era,
choosing the right partner
is more critical than ever, Diebold
Nixdorf is a strategic collaborative
end-to-end provider of services,
software and hardware for the
financial and retail industry. The
company is driving connected
commerce; helps clients around
the world meet the needs of
the consumer-centric global
ecosystems.
Business Drivers
Globally, the financial and retail
industries are incredibly diverse,
with regional challenges that
look very different from country
to country. Yet at a micro level,
consumers want the same thing:
convenient, secure, seamless
experiences. As the financial and
retail markets converge, and
synergies expand in the areas of
mobile, contactless technology,
smart data and more, it will become
even more vital that companies
recognize and react proactively to
emerging trends.
Branch & Store
Transformation
Branch and store transformation
is a journey of improvement and
discovery. Its portfolio of leading
technologies paired with its
distinctive approach to combining
and integrating those solutions
across platforms enables more
efficient networks and enhanced
consumer experiences.
Consumer-Centric
Experience
Integrate traditional and new,
physical and digital channels –
without replacing legacy systems –
to enable a consistent, omnichannel
experience that emotionally
connects consumers with your
organization by becoming a more
integral part of their lives. Diebold
Nixdorf’s solutions are designed
to help you manage the consumer
journey intelligently, to maximize
sales success while harmonizing
your IT infrastructure.
Globally, the financial and retail
industries are incredibly diverse,
with regional challenges that
look very different from country
to country. Yet at a micro level,
consumers want the same thing:
convenient, secure, seamless
experiences. To meet these
expectations retailers must work to
build an open digital ecosystem to
enable truly connected commerce.
Services for a Connected
World
The financial world is in a state
of disruption. New players and
revolutionary changes—from open
APIs to the Internet of Things (IoT)
and cloud-based services—are
enabling new opportunities and
increased competition around
every corner. To succeed, physical
channels must keep pace with
these market changes. Financial
institutions need to reimagine all
aspects of their underlying business
model to maximize opportunities
and unlock new sources of
value that drive growth. Diebold
Nixdorf AllConnect ServicesSM
provides the capabilities and
technology needed to make physical
distribution channels agile, efficient
and integrated with the digital
experience.
Diebold Nixdorf AllConnect
ServicesSM
In the highly competitive retail
landscape, providing seamless,
positive consumer experiences is
priority number one. Ensuring an
ideal experience can be challenging
when you’re also attempting to
operate a wide variety of channels
as efficiently as possible. To succeed,
physical channels must keep pace
with their digital counterparts.
Retailers need to reimagine all
aspects of their underlying business
model to maximize opportunities
and unlock new sources of value
that drive growth. Diebold Nixdorf
AllConnect ServicesSM
provides
the capabilities and technology
needed to make physical
distribution channels agile,
efficient and fully integrated
with the digital experience.
Focusing on your current
challenges while monitoring emerging trends
Diebold Nixdorf
Breadth. Brilliance. Scale.
27. April 2019 27
The Thought Leader
Gerrard Schmid | President
& CEO
Gerrard is responsible for driving
the organization’s global strategies
and performance to enable secure,
software-defined connected
commerce and related services
across the financial and retail
industries.
He has more than 20 years of
leadership experience in banking,
payments, and financial technology.
Most recently, he was a senior
advisor with The Boston Consulting
Group. From 2012 to 2017 he
served as chief executive officer
of D+H Corporation, a $1.7 billion
global fintech company that was
publicly traded on the Toronto
Stock Exchange (TSX: DH) prior to
being merged with Misys. Under his
leadership, the company evolved
from a Canadian leader in payments
to a global leader in real-time
payments and lending software. He
joined D+H in 2007 as president
and CEO of the company’s Filogix
business unit.
Prior to D+H, he managed a $3
billion retail banking business at
Lloyds TSB in the United Kingdom.
From 2001 to 2005, he was
executive vice president and chief
operating officer for retail banking
at CIBC, one of the “Big Five”
Canadian banks. In 1997 he joined
McKinsey and Company, Inc., where
he advanced through positions
of increasing responsibility,
working across financial services,
e-commerce and technology before
joining CIBC. He began his career
in finance at Citibank in 1995 as a
developer in derivatives supporting
trade reconciliations.
Originally from South Africa, Schmid
earned a bachelor’s degree in
Aerospace Engineering from the
University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg and started his career
as an aerospace engineer. He also
holds a Master of Applied Science
in Aerospace Engineering from the
University of Toronto.
We design and
implement innovative
solutions that are tailored
to meet our customers’
unique business needs.”
“
SR
Gerrard Schmid, President & CEO
28. The world leader in
knowledge transfer
The Founding Father
Dan Lejerskar, Founder
Lejerskar began his career at Volvo Aerospace as program
manager for the Arianne 5 rocket program for the main
engine rocket, where he was responsible for the coordination
and development between Volvo, MBB, Fiat and SEP.
He then founded PFAB (Projektledning Portugal AB),
a subsidiary in Portugal with Escandinavas Ltd., which
developed construction and real estate. As CEO, Lejerskar
built the company from a two-person operation to over
300 people. He also founded and ran PKAB, a company that
focused on numerical simulation for virtual reality and
interactive 3D.
In 1999, he co-founded EON Reality and also headed
RealityBUY.com, a company which developed interactive
3D focusing on development, content and application. The
company grew organically to a peak of US$240 million.
In 2009, he co-founded Greenwave Systems, a company
which accelerates Internet of Things with a software and
services platform that enables managed services simply,
affordable and at scale. He helped grow that company
organically to a US$190 million value.
His awards include Most Accomplished Businessman for
Fastest Growing Company in Sweden, Co-winner with the
CEO of Volvo AB of Chalmers University of Technology
Daleen Prize, and Entrepreneur of the Year. He has been
selected to speak in the capacity of a VR expert to the Asian
Leadership Conference in 2015 and 2016.
Lejerskar holds dual Masters of Science degrees in
Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science from the
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Dan Lejerskar, Founder
AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY
SOFTWARE AND SOLUTIONS
E
on reality sees a future where the
forces of AI, IoT, AR, and VR come
together to propel human-computer
interaction to new levels. It imagines a
world where man and machine intelligence
work together for mutual benefit and
technology empowers people, rather than
pacifying them.
The Human 2.0 Consortium
Announcing the Human 2.0 Consortium
– to empower people around the world
to combat the growing job displacement
and joblessness created by technology
disruption. This is achieved by
empowering students and workers with an
advanced Augmented and Virtual Reality
platform that improves knowledge transfer
and creates a symbiosis between man and
machine. Traditional knowledge transfer
methods cannot keep up with the rapid
pace of change leaving those displaced by
technological change unable to find new
employment.
Technology Disruption
Technology disruption is resulting in
a massive shift in the job market with
millions of jobs rendered obsolete while,
at the same time, new positions and
industries are being created. The pace of
change is only accelerating and most jobs
that exist today will disappear within the
next few decades. Along with this change
in the job market, there is also a rapid
expansion of the knowledge needed to be
competitive in the labour force. At the end
29. Virtual and Augmented Reality based
for industry and education
of World War Two, knowledge
was doubling every twenty-
five years allowing one’s initial
education to last a whole
career. Today, knowledge is
doubling every year which
requires continual learning
and ongoing knowledge
transfer to remain competitive.
The challenge is on two fronts:
how to help the 2.5 Billion
workers lacking ICT support
who risk becoming victims
of AI and automation, and
1.3 Billion students who are
coming of age in a world where
they need to learn more with
less time and less money.
The Workplace
Work-force productivity
growth has slowed to a snail’s
pace. The productivity growth
rate in the US from 2005-2014
was half that of the preceding
decade. Slow productivity
growth leads to poor economic
growth and stagnant wages
which can have serious social
and political repercussions.
A key to maintaining high
productivity growth rates
is educational attainment
and development of human
capital. A growing shortage
of skilled technology workers
is resulting in an increasing
gap between job openings and
hires. For example, 2 of the 3.5
million new US manufacturing
jobs will go unfilled over the
next decade.
EON Reality
Education
EON Reality founded EON
Reality Education, a non-
profit, to focus on advancing
the cause of Augmented
and Virtual Reality (AVR)
education and research.
Innovation in
Education
EON Reality Education is
a non-profit focused on
advancing the cause of
Augmented and Virtual Reality
(AVR) education and research.
It will do this by assisting EON
Reality in executing its Human
2.0 vision by identifying and
proposing areas of research
to elevate man and machine
interaction via AR and VR.
We believe that
knowledge is a
Human Right, and
it’s our goal to
make knowledge
available,
affordable, and
accessible for
every human
on the planet.
To do this, we’re
creating the
next generation
of Virtual and
Augmented
Reality tools
to increase the
world’s knowledge
transfer
capabilities.
“
Eon reality
SR
30. April 201930
I
nsyde Software is a leading
global provider of system
firmware and software
engineering services for
companies in the mobile,
desktop, server, and embedded
systems industries. The firm is
proud to have the world’s top
computing companies as its
customers. Naturally, it claims
industry leaders including
AMD, Intel, Microsoft, nVidia,
and many others are close
working partners. With hard
work, Insyde has become
a recognized leader in the
market.
Insyde is a group of engineers
and businessmen and
women who think and
act as an extension to the
firm’s customers’ product
development teams. A team
of people that aren’t afraid
to get creative when it comes
to finding a flexible business
model or roll up the sleeves
when it comes to debugging
that important new product
being readied for the
production line.
The company has built its
reputation by providing
superior firmware technology,
innovative software solutions
and second-to-none
engineering and project
management support services.
If you haven’t already had
an opportunity to work with
Insyde Software, the company
encourages you to ask
someone who has.
Why Insyde?
Insyde customers choose
it because it provides
leading technology, delivers
unmatched services and
training, and offer some of the
best value in the industry. Over
the last decade, the company’s
approach to business has
helped transform it from a
small engineering upstart to
a leading global provider of
UEFI firmware. This didn’t
happen overnight, and it
didn’t happen without a total
commitment to its mission—
helping its customers bring
their products to market
faster while reducing their
development costs.
Regardless of the project size
and complexity, Insyde strives
to provide its customers
with great technology,
differentiated products and
unmatched engineering
Helping you
Bring your
Products to
the Market
Faster while
Reducing
Overall
System
Development
Costs: Insyde
“Insyde Software is a leading
global provider of system firmware
and software engineering services.”
Jeremy Wang | Chairman & CEO
31. April 2019 31
services delivered within a flexible
and cost-effective business model
that meets its customer’s needs.
Experience & Expertise
As the first BIOS vendor to make
the switch from legacy BIOS
to UEFI technology, Insyde’s
engineering teams have the most
experience helping customers put
UEFI into production.
Insyde is the first to offer
comprehensive UEFI training
programs, its customers rely on
it to keep them current with new
enabling technology and industry
standards.
As the only BIOS vendor to
maintain a strong alignment
to the Intel “Tiano” UEFI
Framework, Insyde’s customers
have relied on InsydeH2O to be
the most modular cross-platform
firmware solution available. As
the worldwide leader in UEFI
firmware base shipments, its
customers can rest assured have
the most trusted and respected
BIOS partner on their side.
Unparalleled Services
Insyde Software offers an array of
services and training that many
of the world’s most successful
computing companies have taken
advantage of. Insyde’s services
become a valuable supplement to
your engineering teams, freeing
up your own internal resources
to focus on producing your new
product. For whatever area you
choose to utilize Insyde, you will
find its professional engineering
services to be an invaluable
resource for your projects, and
provide you with the advantages
you need to stay ahead of the
competition.
You simply won’t find another
vendor that can match Insyde’s
value proposition. The firm’s
customers often tell it the same
thing. It makes every effort to
provide the customers with great
products and services, and it
works just as hard to make sure
they are getting the right business
model that fits their needs. It
promises the same to you.
The Company’s Services
As a recognized leader and
trusted solution for firmware,
software, and services to the
notebook, desktop, server, and
embedded systems, Insyde
Software is committed to helping
its customers bring their products
to market faster while reducing
overall system development costs.
Products
• EFI Framework Kit
• UEFI/EFI Framework
• UEFI Applications
• Systems Management
Solutions
• Optimized & Customized
Android Distributions
Services
Insyde Software provides skilled
engineer-to-engineer services to
support customers throughout
project development, greatly
speeding deployments.
• Platform Design Review
• Hardware “bring-up” support
• Custom Windows and Linux
Device Drivers
• Operating System integration
• Custom Application
development
• Android integration,
customization & more
• Mobile Apps development
Introducing the Two Founders
Jeremy Wang | Chairman & CEO
Jeremy is responsible for establishing corporate goals, defining key strategies and for overseeing management
to ensure the success of the company’s worldwide business.
Jonathan Joseph | COO
Jonathan oversees the setting of company goals, implements strategic business directions, and manages major
company functions. He is also the GM of the company’s server and embedded business group and President of
Insyde Software’s U.S. subsidiary.
SR
32. Catering to ‘The
Business of Tomorrows’
With Innovative
Mobility Solutions:
Comviva Technologies
Takes a Giant Leap Under
Chief Executive Officer
Manoranjan’s Leadership
COVER Story
Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO
33. April 2019 33
A
company’s degree of
being “technology-
ready” has surpassed
its physical assets as a
criteria for success. A keen focus
on mobility can simplify the
execution of business, which is
why having the appropriate kind
of consultants is vital. This is
where Comviva takes centre stage.
Started as an incubation within
Bharti Enterprises, Comviva
changed tracks to develop
products and solutions for the
telecom space within two years.
The company made its debut 20
years ago and has, since then,
transitioned from a mobile value
added services (VAS) company
to one focusing on mobile money
and payments, analytics and data
monetization, digital lifestyle,
messaging and managed services.
Pushing the Limits
The company has always focused
on delivering innovative and
cutting-edge products and
solutions. In fact, it has filed over
60 patents, of which, 10 have been
granted.
Comviva has been transforming
digital payments, enabling digital
entities, and facilitating intelligent
communications.
The company’s solutions and
services are aligned with strategic
technology trends to enable
telecom operators to provide
value added services to their
customers due to which it has
received several prestigious
awards for innovation. The main
pivots are centered on the twin
aspects of consumer-centric
innovations and simplification of
user interface for ease of content
discovery, and delivering local and
regional content in rich formats.
Its mobile financial business
contributes 30%, Mobile Lifestyle
business 26%, Messaging and
Broadband solution 14% and
Customer value Solution
business contributes around
10% to the overall company’s
revenue. Its current R&D
spend is 7% of the overall
company revenues and is expected
to reach 15% in next 3 years.
Manoranjan‘Mao’
Mohapatra, Chief
Executive Officer,
Comviva spoke
exclusively to
The Silicon Review.
Below is an excerpt.
Why was the company set
up and how did you expand
your company and its
offerings over the years?
The company was established in
1999 as a subsidiary of the Bharti
Group. At the time, the software
and IT sectors were booming,
which is why, the company’s
founders thought it viable to
jump onto the bandwagon.
Initially, we planned to focus
on telecommunications and
technology, keeping in mind
the support we had from the
bharti group. A year and a half
later into the business, we faced
multiple challenges, in terms of
establishing an entity.
To address this situation, a few
individuals in management
took charge and turned the
situation around. The idea then
was to switch from offering IT
outsourcing services to developing
telecom and software products.
The gamble paid off and the
company received funding from
the likes of Sequoia Capital and
Westbridge Capital, along with
support from Cisco.
How has company grown
over the years? Which
vertical do you see the most
traction in?
The company transitioned from a
mobile VAS player to one focusing
on mobile money and payments,
analytics and data monetization,
digital lifestyle, messaging and
managed services.
That apart, we expanded our
global footprint from Africa and
India into the Middle East, Europe,
Latin America and Asia. Today, we
work with global group operators
such as Vodafone, Airtel, Orange,
MTN, America Movil etc.
In terms of performance in each
geography, 40 percent of our
revenue comes from Africa. Asia
and MENA contribute around 23
percent each, whereas Europe
and Americas account for around
14 percent. Comviva has been
witnessing year-on-year growth
rates of 15 percent over the past
seven years. We have acquired
ATS in Latin America and Emagine
International in Australia as well.
Please elaborate on the
company’s innovative
offerings that you offer to
the market.
If I were to caption this journey,
the highlight of the journey was
staying relevant, and we have
stayed relevant by constantly
innovating and changing our call
to the market.
When we started out, we were
primarily a VAS company also
known as value added services
company, but that particular
34. vertical is almost dead
now. So if you take a look at
those offerings that we had
at that point of time are no
more relevant today. After
that we have constantly
invested a significant part
of our revenues into R&D
for innovation and have
delivered incremental value
to our customers. Today, we
offer innovative solutions
pertaining to digital
payments which is a very
popular domain globally.
We also function in the
content services domain.
Interestingly, this space
has changed multiple
times over the years-
from text messages, it
has transitioned to video-
based content. There was
a time when people used
to send text messages
and jokes which has now
been replaced by video
content. Now more and
more content is consumed
on smart devices, so we
offer these services in a
very innovative way to our
customers. That’s a section
where we have transformed
from our conventional
services to digital streaming
services.
We are also helping global
operators to monetize their
assets. This simply refers to
the monetization of the vast
amounts of subscriber data
by these players. We thus
offer services such as micro
credit and microlending,
that leverage an operator’s
subscriber base. We
also have an enterprise
omnichannel marketing
solution which allows
enterprises to leverage an
operator’s subscriber data
to target subscribers in a
segmented manner.
In addition, we also have
analytics-driven solutions
that are being powered
by machine learning and
artificial intelligence.
What challenges
did you face whilst
building the business?
There were multiple
challenges in the beginning.
For example, India is
predominantly a prepaid
market and, naturally, we
focused on developing
products to cater to these
subscribers. This led us
to the prepaid markets in
Africa, the Middle East and
Southeast Asia.
In addition, we were,
as you may recall, very
closely associated with the
Bharti group, at least in
the beginning. This made
it more challenging to sell
products to other operators,
such as Vodafone, Idea, etc.
we thus began focusing on
the Africa, Middle East and
Southeast Asia markets.
This, needless to say, proved
to be very lucrative for us.
How does the
company set itself
apart from the
competition?
In a nutshell-our focus on
cutting-edge technologies
and the “blue ocean”
markets of Asia, Middle
East and North Africa,
Southeast Asia, Africa and
Latin America.
We are betting heavily
on the growth levers of
The Thought Leadership
Manoranjan Mohapatra,
Chief Executive Officer
Manoranjan’s career has been
dedicated to the development
and deployment of innovative
software communications
solutions in rapidly growing
markets, transforming high
potential businesses into true
world-beating organizations.
His track record for enabling
innovation, his deep knowledge
of telecom related technology
and his wealth of experience
in a range of operational and
marketing roles provide a strong
leadership base from which to
enhance Mahindra Comviva’s
position as the leading provider
of integrated VAS solutions in
emerging markets globally.
Prior to joining Mahindra Comviva,
Manoranjan was President
and COO at Aricent, where he
enjoyed a 15 year career and
was instrumental in building
the company from a relative
start up to a globally recognized
brand, with over US$300 million
in revenues. Before moving to
Aricent, he was a core member
of the Center for Development
of Telematics (CDOT), where he
made a significant contribution
to research and development in
telecom switching, and where he
began his career. Manoranjan has
been recognized with prestigious
‘Distinguished Fellow’ award by
The Institute of Directors (IOD)
in the year 2012 and in 2013 he
was named “India’s Top 20 CEO
2013” by Haryana IT, Telecom, and
Enabled industries Confederation
(HITEC) India for spearheading the
company’s growth as an industry
leader and for setting benchmarks
in the mobile VAS industry.
35. data analytics, digital payments and
enterprise messaging. All in all, as a
company, we’re focused on staying
relevant, understanding our customers
and mold our offerings to suit their
requirements.
Please define a future
roadmap?
Comviva has fine-tuned its focus on
multiple geographies and is in the
process of consolidating its markets
in Asia and Africa and growing its
markets in Latin America and Western
Europe. This is to be implemented
through a combination of organic
and inorganic initiatives, such as
mergers and acquisitions in the digital
payments, data analytics and enterprise
messaging spaces.
It is expected that the sum total
of Comviva’s growth strategy will
lead to growth of 14% CAGR in the
next 4 years with industry leading
profitability metrics and its R&D
spend will reach 15% in next 3 years.
In the product space, we want to
continue to focus on data monetization,
with the aim of permitting operators
to leverage enterprises better. We
have also expanded our presence
significantly-from India to Africa,
Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Over the next three to five years,
we will emphasize on expanding
to Europe and North America.
Please elaborate on a few of the
company’s accomplishments.
All in all, we have achieved great
success in the communications and
innovation domain On an average,
we receive 10 to 12 recognitions
and awards every year. I think we
are the only Indian company, or
may be the only company, that has
received three GSMA GLOMO awards
in the last five years, and this year
we have been nominated in two
categories. Clearly, the market
recognizes us as an innovative player,
which is, indeed, a great achievement.
COVER Story
“We are
among
the leaders
of mobility
solutions. With
an expansive suite
of productized
solutions, we cater
to over two billion
mobile users
globally. We are
the business of
tomorrows.”
April 2019 35
SR
36. T
he blockchain technology
is well known as
the foundational
infrastructure that supports
transactions in the
cryptocurrency. But the benefits
that the technology can provide
are not dependent on bitcoin.
Speaking of its functionalities,
blockchain sets the foundation
for decentralised, secure
and trusted data exchange.
Moreover, blockchain
technologies have brought
forward many capabilities
that allow many mission-
critical applications to function
efficiently, and it definitely has
the potential to introduce many
more trends in the future of
enterprise applications.
In the light of the above
mentioned, it is indeed an
honour to present Xunlei
Limited (Nasdaq: XNET),
a blockchain technology
innovator that is leading the
market with its cloud computing
and blockchain technology in
China.
Operating as a powerful
Internet platform based on
cloud computing in China,
Xunlei provides users with
quick and easy access to digital
media content through its
core products and services,
Xunlei Accelerator and the
cloud acceleration subscription
services. Xunlei’s subsidiary,
Onething Technologies, is a
leading innovator in shared
computing and blockchain
in China. Notably, Onething
Technologies launched
ThunderChain Open Platform,
a high-performance blockchain
operating system that can
concurrently process over one
million transaction per second
(TPS) and realize confirmation
in seconds. ThunderChain
is aimed to create one of the
largest blockchain business
ecosystems and can be applied
in a spectrum of scenarios to
empower the real economy.
Blockchain Powered
Value Building
Bitcoin has witnessed a steep
decline in its value from a peak
of $20,000 per coin last year to
hardly $4,000 today. However,
that doesn’t indicate things
won’t go good for blockchain,
the technology that made virtual
currencies like bitcoin and ether
a reality. Put in the words of Mr.
Lei Chen, CEO of Xunlei Limited,
a blockchain company with an
above $30 billion market cap
is not an unrealistic future. It
was under his leadership that
Xunlei, a company that started
off as a digital services provider,
transformed into a blockchain
pioneer over the past few years.
Chen says that achieving the
$30 billion mark isn’t going
to be easy. There are a few
prerequisites that must occur
first. He believes that the first
and foremost requirement is a
blockchain architecture with the
capability of sustaining one-
million transactions per second
and a response time within
seconds. Chen claims that
Xunlei’s blockchain processing
Bringing a Radical Reinvention in the Cloud
and Blockchain Ecosystem: Xunlei Seeks To
Empower Individuals with Its Revolutionary
Technologies
Lei Chen, CEO
Lei Chen, CEO of Xunlei Limited
and Onething Technologies
Mr. Lei Chen has been Xunlei Limited chief
executive officer since July 2017. Prior to
that, Mr. Chen served as Xunlei’s co-chief
executive officer and chief technology
officer at Xunlei. In 2015, Mr. Chen created
OneThing Technologies, Xunlei’s cloud
computing division. Prior to joining Xunlei
in 2014, Mr. Chen was the President of
Tencent Cloud, where he spearheaded
Tencent’s cloud computing, open platform
and social advertisement efforts. Mr. Chen
also worked at Google and Microsoft in
the US focusing on cloud computing and
big data research and development, before
returning to China to join Tencent.
Mr. Chen holds a bachelor degree of science
in computer science and technology
from Tsinghua University in China, and a
master’s degree in computer science from
the University of Texas at Austin in the US.
37. platform, ThunderChain, already
fulfills this requirement.
One more thing that the blockchain
revolution will impact is data
ownership. “Blockchain will
challenge the data ownership models
of today, because data should be
of the people for the people and
by the people”, says Chen. He is
of the opinion that user data will
be treated in the same way as
intellectual property in a period of
ten years thus demanding the need
for creating regulations under which
individuals can truly own their
own data. Here comes the need for
the second prerequisite of Chen’s
notion, i.e. there needs to be one,
somewhat unified, well thought-out
regulation framework.
Next on the list of prerequisites
is the need for an application
of blockchain technology that
surpasses ten-million users. “If there
is a ten-million user application of
blockchain today, we would be seeing
the entire technology in a completely
different light”, Chen added.
Revolutionizing Business
Model
Xunlei is one of the few companies
with dedicated resources and
a strategic focus on blockchain
technology, especially around
its fundamental capabilities and
practical use cases.
The industry generally categorises
bitcoin as Blockchain 1.0 based
on its investment value and
the adoption of ethereum as a
decentralised platform for a limited
set of applications as Blockchain
2.0. But ThunderChain is seen as
a representative of Blockchain 3.0
because it is designed to create
decentralised applications that
empower corporations and end
users across various industries
as well as focus on applications
related to healthcare, financial
services, copyrights and food safety
areas regarding traceability and
transparency.
The ThunderChain is capable of
concurrently conducting millions
of transactions per second. It
also supports smart contracts
written in solidity language and is
compatible with Ethereum Virtual
Machine making it easy to migrate
applications from other blockchain
platforms.
ThunderChain plays a fundamental
role in Xunlei’s shared cloud
computing model. Users contribute
idle bandwidth, storage and other
computing resources to the shared
computing network, a process
made transparent and traceable via
blockchain technology. In order to
incentivize users to join the shared
platform, users will receive a digital
asset which they can use to redeem
relevant products and services such
as video site memberships, internet
acceleration services, cloud storage,
shared content services and gaming
content services.
Furthermore, there have been
a number of practical use cases
launched or in the progress of
deployment on Thunder Chain Open
Platform. Xunlei has entered into
cooperation with business partners
from different industries such as
media publishing, healthcare, food
industry, financial services and IP
protection.
The Roadmap Ahead
Xunlei began as a peer-to-peer
downloading tool targeted at
speeding the delivery of files on
the young and speed-challenged
Internet of China. With its unique
shared computing and blockchain
technologies, Xunlei is bringing
innovations in cloud computing
at a much lower price than the
traditional cloud providers in
the market. Chen mentioned,
“We crowdsource our computing
resources from consumers, then offer
a cloud solution similar to AWS. But
we can do it really cheap, and we’re
currently serving the largest Internet
companies in China.”
In the recent earnings report,
Xunlei recorded the historical high
in annual revenue in 2018. Total
revenues were US$232.1 million,
representing an increase of 15.0%
from 2017. Cloud computing
business – as the main driver of the
total revenue – achieved around
30% year-over-year increase. Xunlei
also disclosed multiple exciting
developments in the announcement,
including a strategic partnership
with China Mobile, which is one of
main telecom operators in China,
and expanded client coverage for its
cloud computing business.
In terms of future strategy, Chen
highlighted, “The incoming era of
5G technology presents a critical
trend for the IoT industry, leading to
more demand for edge computing
solutions. After years of investment,
we have built a nationwide network
of shared cloud computing nodes and
provided edge computing solutions
for commercial uses. We believe
our head start and technological
advantages position us well in
capturing this great opportunity. We
expect continued growth in shared
cloud computing business in 2019.”
“At Xunlei, we strive
to become a driving
force for technical
innovation and build a
shared computing and
blockchain ecosystem
via sharing economy.”
SR
