Thursday March 19, 2009
Penang software firms see growth
By DAVID TAN
GEORGETOWN: Software companies in Penang are expected to perform reasonably well this year despite the downturn in the electronics manufacturing sector, said Software Consortium Penang (SCOPE) chairman Jeffrey Lim.
The economic crisis has actually created new business opportunities for SCOPE members, he said. “We are seeing an increase in the volume of outsourcing activities to our members by multinational corporations (MNCs) that want to cut cost,” he told StarBiz.
“The MNCs usually maintain a team of IT staff to develop and manage their own business processing solutions and software systems. But during this downturn period, MNCs prefer to outsource such work to reduce operational costs,” he added.
Jeffrey Lim
In 2008, SCOPE, comprising some 70 members, generated about US$800mil in revenue, compared with US$564mil in 2007. The software industry in Penang employs over 20,000 workers.
Software companies specialising in medical billings, web hosting, business match-making, education, and digital audio and visual content are among those expected to do well this year, according to Lim.
Softphix Technology Sdn Bhd, a newly established company involved in providing medical billing solutions, is expected to generate about RM3mil from the sale of customised medical billing software.
Its chief medical officer Yeap Ban Aik said in addition to the sales, the company also charged clients a fee for each transaction conducted through the use of its software.
“Medical billing software is becoming increasingly popular, as MNCs and other large companies can make payments for medical bills for staff more efficiently. It also reduces their headcount and operational costs,” he said.
Exabytes Network Sdn Bhd, a company specialising in Web hosting services, expects revenue to grow to RM7.6mil this year from RM5.6mil in 2008.
“An increasing number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) want to have websites and email addresses, so they engage web hosting providers like us,” its chief executive officer Chan Kee Siak said, adding that many of these SMEs were previously using free email services.
Business.Com.My, a business match-making service provider, expects business to grow by 15% this year.
Its chief executive officer Celvin Tan said business was growing despite the current economic crisis, due to the increasing popularity of digital media.
“Many companies are transferring their marketing budgets from traditional media to the new media. The results of online advertising campaigns are much more measurable than other forms of advertising,” he said.
Educational software specialist, Smart-Ed Dot Com Asia Sdn Bhd, meanwhile, expects to introduce animated healthcare content for mobile devices this year, raising substantially the company’s revenue, which stood at about RM400,000 in 2008.
“We will be working with telecommunications companies in the region to market the product,” said Smart-Ed chief executive officer Cheryl Phee.
CG Computers Sdn Bhd, which is involved in the marketing and sale of Apple software and hardware solutions, also expects revenue to grow to RM20mil this year from RM18mil a year ago.
“The growth will be due to the increasing popularity of Apple i-Pods and notebooks,” CG general manager Winson Wong said.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/19/business/3477634&sec=business
