Archive for the ‘Interview’ Category
Thursday, March 2nd, 2017
Ying Shao Wei – Chief Operating Officer, DataSpark – was one of the distinguished speakers in Strata + Hadoop World Singapore to helm a session attended by fellow data scientists and C-suite leaders as he shared his insights into the analysis of “mobility as a vital sign of people and the economy”.

Strata + Hadoop World Singapore 2016 saw the congregation, in Singapore, of thought leaders in the Big Data analytics and insights arena, enabling practitioners to learn through the sharing of experiences and exchange of ideas. It also provided participants the opportunity to network for future collaboration.
To understand more about Big Data and where it is heading, I sat down with Ying to tap his insights into the trends and prospects of Big Data in this fast-paced sector.
Big Data is the buzz word in the world of Enterprise IT. However, to the man in the street, how does Big Data affect them in their daily lives?
Ying Shao Wei: There are significant ways in which Big Data is already benefiting the man in the street.
Ying is a veteran in the Big Data sector with deep expertise in telecommunications and Government sectors in multiple geographies across Asia.
The Imperial College graduate had served as a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore, and was an Associate Principal in McKinsey and Company, before joining Singtel as Head of Strategy and Analytics in the Digital Life Group of the leading telco in Singapore.
Since 2014, Ying has led DataSpark as its COO, transforming the fledgling startup into an innovative Big Data analytics and insights powerhouse which leverages a variety of datasets and technologies to address geo-spatial needs across multiple industries.
Big Data enables the huge amount of customer feedback – through online reviews and social media – to be processed so that companies have a better chance of responding to and acting quickly upon such feedback.
So with Big Data, customers are more likely to have their preferences addressed.
When you visit an e-commerce website, you will be provided more relevant recommended products and services, thanks to recommendation systems enabled by Big Data.
Because of Big Data, I am able to see and sense my surrounding environment with better clarity than ever before.
When I use online maps to navigate or plan for a journey, I am using Big Data to save tremendous time and effort in getting from one place to another.
With Big Data, mobile subscribers are also now getting better network experiences when they use their mobile broadband connections.
(more…)
Tags:analytics, Big Data, data, data science, DataSpark, Government, Hadoop, mobility, Singapore, SingTel, Spark, Strata, telco, Ying Shao Wei
Posted in Big Data, Business IT, DataSpark, Enterprise IT, Events, events, Interview, Interview, Opinion, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, May 26th, 2016
Jimmy Fitzgerald – Vice President of Asia Pacific & Japan at ServiceNow – shares six ways to help your employees work smarter, not harder. This guest blog was contributed by Fitzgerald.

Jimmy Fitzgerald’s team at ServiceNow helps customers to eliminate reliance on email, spreadsheets and other manual processes so their employees can work smarter, not harder.
In recent years, online retail platforms such as Zalora have truly streamlined their processes of browsing, checkout and payment, wooing shoppers with their speed, efficiency and superior user experience.
Consumers in Singapore now hold speedy deliveries and seamless experiences as the standard when they shop online.
(more…)
Tags:byline, guest blog, Jimmy Fitzgerald, opinion, ServiceNow
Posted in Business IT, Enterprise IT, Howtos, Interview, Opinion, Reference, Tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
Shaun Wormald, Senior Director of Unified Communications, InterCall Asia Pacific shares six ways to boost meeting productivity during video conferences. This guest blog was contributed by Wormald.

Shaun Wormald, Senior Director of Unified Communications, InterCall Asia Pacific.
The benefits of using video conferencing solutions from an organisational perspective is very clear – it helps businesses achieve their targets while being cost efficient.
While these bottom lines and costs may not directly concern you as an end user, video conferences can actually work to your advantage and help you accomplish tasks – if you know how to do them right.
Six tips to enhance video conferencing efficiency
- Be prepared
- Be early and test the application
- Join the video conference, then mute your microphone
- Speak clearly but don’t shout
- Make yourself presentable
- Focus
To help you realise how prevalent video conferences are in a business setting, a recent Research and Markets study reports that the global video conferencing market is expected to reach US$ 6.40 billion by 2020.
Asia Pacific also sees a similar trend.
While it’s tempting to join video meetings in a way that’s convenient for you, doing so affects not only your ability to contribute to the discussion, but also those of the other attendees.
This wastes what could have been a great opportunity to collaborate.
To make sure your next video conferences will be productive, may I share some tips with you below.
(more…)
Tags:byline, guest blog, InterCall, opinion, Shaun Wormald, UC, unified communications
Posted in audioVisual, Brief, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Interview, Opinion, Technology, Video | No Comments »
Saturday, May 30th, 2015
Reuben Verghese, Global Head of Multiscreen Solutions & Vice President of Asia at Accedo and BroadcastAsia2015 exhibitor and conference speaker shares his top technology predictions for the broadcasting industry. This guest blog was contributed by Verghese.

Reuben Verghese, Global Head of Multiscreen Solutions & Vice President of Asia at Accedo and BroadcastAsia2015 exhibitor and conference speaker.
Asia Pacific has a unique broadcasting market dynamic that boasts a new generation of the Connected Consumer.
4 key broadcasting trends in 2015
- Audience fragmentation
- Varying degrees of infrastructure
- Content partnership
- Data & Analytics
With fast growing economy and a lack of fixed infrastructure in the developing countries, mobility is crucial to many consumers and businesses in the region.
The broadcasting industry will impact enterprises as it adapts to the changing consumer preferences.
Below I share my views on four key trends set to transform the broadcasting industry in 2015.
1. Audience fragmentation
With the proliferation of smart connected display devices, there is a shift in the way consumers and enterprises consume and deliver video.
(more…)
Tags:BroadcastAsia, BroadcastAsia2015, CommunicAsia, CommunicAsia2015, conferences, exhibitions, MBS, Singapore, trade shows
Posted in audioVisual, Brief, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Entertainment, Interview, Opinion, Shows, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, January 2nd, 2015
Shopping is a favourite past time in Singapore and at the heart of the vendor’s efficiency and the consumer’s experience is the Point Of Sale (POS) being used.
As we step into 2015, Bikash Kumar shares his thoughts on some of the key trends shaping the evolution of POS technology in 2015.

Mobile POS enables greater consumer interaction with the sales staff.
* This article is a guest post written by Bikash Kumar – MD, Integrated Retail Management Consulting Pte. Ltd. The opinions expressed are his own and do not represent that of tech4tea.com.

Bikash Kumar has a Bachelor of Business Studies (1988-91) from the College of Business Studies in the University of Delhi; and an MBA (1991-93) from the Faculty of Management Study from the same university.
The Point of Sale (POS) system is where consumers pay for their purchases in a retail store.
Traditionally, the POS systems have been used to generate information on transactions within a retail outlet.
However, the POS technology has been improving significantly, allowing retail staff to deliver multiple operations, besides just scanning merchandise and generating bills.
According to Integrated Retail, a firm that specialises in designing, deploying and maintaining POS systems across the region, the POS systems are likely to see further enhancements in 2015.
Here are five key changes that we are likely to see.
- Morphing from Point of Sale to a Point of Service
- POS is increasingly mobile and it is lighter
- POS systems are becoming inter-connected
- POS system activities are traceable in real time
- POS is driving up productivity
Below are my thoughts on each of these key changes.
(more…)
Tags:consumers, Integrated Retail, opinion, Point of Sales, POS, shopping, Tech Focus, technology, trends
Posted in Business IT, Enterprise IT, Figures, Gadgets, gadgets, Interview, Interview, Mobile, Opinion, Shopping, Tech Focus, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, July 20th, 2014
Earlier this month, Palo Alto Networks discovered ten critical vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer browsers, underlining the importance for businesses to focus on knowing the risk of running vulnerable software.

Check out five core concepts on how to protect your organisation against vulnerabilities.
Sharat Sinha – Vice President, Asia Pacific for Palo Alto Networks – shares his views on how businesses and organisations can protect themselves against malicious attacks and avoid compromises to their network security.
Below are Sinha’s views.
(more…)
Tags:Adobe, cybersecurity, IE, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Palo Alto, PDPA, security, Singapore, vulnerabilities
Posted in Browser, Business IT, Enterprise IT, Internet Explorer, Interview, Interview, Opinion, Reference, Security, Software, Tips | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2014
The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) comes into force in Singapore tomorrow (Wednesday, July 2). Sharat Sinha – Vice President, Asia Pacific for Palo Alto Networks – shares his views on what this means for businesses in Singapore and how this relates to cybersecurity.

“Following the Singapore Government’s introduction of its five-year National Cybersecurity Masterplan last year, the introduction of PDPA will work to further strengthen Singapore’s position and reputation as a trusted, world-class hub for business,” says Sinha.
The PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act), which comes into force on Wednesday July 2, aims to safeguard individuals’ personal data against misuse by regulating its management by companies.
Palo Alto Network’s recent 2014 AUTR Report, highlights how threats to enterprise networks may be ‘hiding in plain sight’, gaining access to the networks via commonly used enterprise applications like Drop Box, Skype and Microsoft Exchange, to name a few.
The Act is based on the understanding that individuals have the right to be informed of the purposes for which organisations are collecting, using or disclosing their personal data, giving individuals more control over how their personal data is used.
It recognises both the rights of individuals to protect their personal data, including rights of access and correction, and the needs of organisations to collect, use or disclose personal data for legitimate and reasonable purposes.
(more…)
Tags:cybersecurity, Palo Alto, PDPA, security, Singapore
Posted in Business IT, Enterprise IT, Interview, Opinion, Security, Tickers | No Comments »
Thursday, September 12th, 2013
The Formula 1 Grand Prix is again in Singapore for the only night race in the F1 circuit.
I had the opportunity to take a peek at how SAP’s HANA in-memory computing system helps McLaren to harness the Big Data streaming in from their cars’ onboard sensors to fine-tune – in real time – the team’s race strategy.

SAP HANA provides McLaren with a dashboard for comprehensive awareness and real time decision making during a Formula 1 race or practice.
In this digital age of high performance computing, pertinent telemetry data is constantly being captured and transmitted by on-board sensors on the car for modelling and analysis by the team management back in the control room – be it during test practices, qualification runs, or the actual race itself.
(more…)
Tags:analytics, Big Data, cars, dashboard, F1, Formula 1, HANA, McLaren, predictive, racing, SAP, Singapore, telemetry
Posted in Big Data, Cloud, Interview, Seminars, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Saturday, July 20th, 2013
Scott A. Woodward is a SanDisk Extreme Team member, a Nikon Professional Photographer and a Getty Images Global Assignments photographer. He shares his experiences and photography tips in a Q&A below.

Scott A. Woodward at one of four sessions of Nikon’s “I am a Fashionista” photography workshop in Singapore.
Woodward shared three tips for beginners who are starting out: Be inspired, Play with light, Experiment.
1. Be inspired
Do a little research about the who or what you will be shooting ahead of time. The more you know about what or who you will be shooting, the better prepared you can be.
Luerzer’s Archive has honoured Scott as one of the “200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide” and Nikon has named him “One of Asia’s Finest Photographers”.
Try to have some ideas for the types of photographs you want to create beforehand. There is no shame in looking at other photographers’ interpretations of a location or scene.
Use others’ work – there is an endless stream of imagery from photographers across the globe on Instagram and Flickr and Twitter – to be inspired and help get your creative juices flowing so you can create your own unique photography.
2. Play with light
(more…)
Tags:fashionista, Funan, howto, Nikon, photographers, photography, Singapore, tips
Posted in Howtos, Interview, Nikon, Opinion, Photography | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
HP’s new data center network fabric is built on HP FlexNetwork architecture, enabling business agility for clients by delivering two times greater scalability and 75% less complexity over current network fabrics while reducing network provisioning time from months to minutes.
Pricing and availability within.

HP FlexiFabric 11908, FlexiFabric 12916 and FlexiFabric 12910 SDN switches.
As companies move to a cloud environment, legacy network architectures are buckling under the pressure for instant access to applications and services that offer a high-quality user experience.
“For the past 20 years, data center networks have lagged in supporting new enterprise demands for cloud, virtualisation and big data,” Morten Illum, vice president and general manager, HP Networking, Asia Pacific and Japan.
Organisations are struggling with the complexity of current data center network fabric designs, which require manual device-by-device configurations and limit the performance of bandwidth-intensive applications.
HP is addressing these challenges with a series of software-defined network (SDN) data center switches that deliver advanced automation capabilities and industry-leading scalability for bandwidth-intensive applications such as Hadoop.
(more…)
Tags:HP, interviews, networking, SDN, Singapore, switches
Posted in Appliances, Enterprise IT, Events, HP, Interview, Network, Prices, Switches | 1 Comment »