Cyberjaya, 29 Aug 2022 – AwanBiru Technology Berhad (Awantec or the Group), a leading Technology and Talent Digitalization Enabler, today reported its fourth quarter (Q4) results for the financial year ended 30 June 2022 (FY2022) to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, recording higher revenue from both Software & Services and Talent segments. The Group Q4FY2022 revenue increased RM9.4 million, to RM12.2 million from RM2.8 million recorded in Q4FY2021. A healthy Profit Before Taxation of RM266,000 was also recorded for Q4FY2022 against a loss before taxation of RM1.8 million in Q4 FY2021. For the 12 months period under review, the Group managed to significantly strengthen its financial performance by recording a Gross Profit of RM27.6 million in FY2022, a huge jump from RM19.8 million recorded in FY2021. This was underpinned by improved margins from higher value-added products and service offerings. While revenue shrunk from RM104.9 million in FY2021 to RM90.4 million in FY2022, mainly attributable to the rebuilding stage of its pivot to the cloud following the expiry of the MLA for Software & Services segment, the Group recorded a turnaround in its core business from a loss before tax of RM6.5 million in FY2021 to a profit before tax of RM5.2 million in FY2022. Good Growth Seeding New Opportunities The two significant contracts from Ministry of Education (“MOE”) and Pernec Integrated Network Systems Sdn. Bhd. (“Pernec”) announced in 1H FY2022 have accelerated the Group’s working capital requirements for FY2022. Nevertheless, the ensuing revenue stream over the term of these contracts will replenish cashflow and see less reliance on cash reserves to fund operations. “We remain confident that our year-on-year revenue and core operating profits since our pivot to the cloud will continue to show improvements. We will leverage our recent success and inroads with clients to build on our deal pipeline and focus on its conversion into our orderbook. ” Dato’ Syed Naqiz Shahabuddin, Chairman of Awantec. “Recently, with Malaysia being included as 12th Google Cloud Region in APAC (i.e 3rd in SEA), we are confident that Google Cloud expansion will strengthen our proposition as a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to the Government of Malaysia, as well as a Google Cloud Authorised Training Partner (ATP) in Malaysia. This buildout will enhance Awantec’s capabilities in terms of delivering better customer experiences, in a quick and secure manner. We are cautiously optimistic as our contribution from new business including but not limited to our partnership with Google and existing opportunities in the Talent segment have demonstrated good growth from FY2021 to this FY2022 while we continue to seed new opportunities.”, added Dato’ Syed Naqiz.

AwanBiru Technology Berhad (“Awantec” or the “Group”) held its 12th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) today. The Annual General Meeting was conducted virtually and streamed live from the Doubletree by Hilton, Putrajaya. Going live at 10.00 a.m, the meeting saw discussions between shareholders and Awantec's Board of Directors. Awantec’s Chairman, Dato’ Syed Naqiz Shahabuddin bin Syed Abdul Jabbar, in his presentation, shared the investment and acceleration phase of the Group, efforts taken to expand the market segmentations by offering a range of solutions and the continued investment into the 3 Ps - People, Partners and Products & Services to build a sustainable business for the long term. “Over the 12 months, we have scaled our capabilities to boost national digitalisation using collaborations through new partnerships, human capital development as well as exploration of new offerings. True to the strategic focus, we have also digitalised various key functions and processes within our operations by pivoting to the cloud ourselves. This is part of our effort to deliver more efficient services to our customers, as well as to manage our risks and carbon footprints better”, shared the Group’s Chairman. Dato’ Syed Naqiz added, “Armed with the right people, the right partners with the right products, we brought the value proposition of Catalysing Digital Readiness across both Malaysia’s public and private sectors, towards delivering our commitment to Progressing with Purpose.” Awantec's business expansion will be fueled by the Group's ability to capitalise on the challenge of satisfying market demand for our Technology and Talent services given the encouraging outcomes as we continue to plant new opportunities. The Group is dedicated to both conducting business responsibly and promoting sustainability as a core value. This is done to uphold our fiduciary duty as a company and fulfil our vocation as a technology and talent digitalization enabler that creates a positive impact on our employees, environment, customers, economy, and ultimately society as a whole leading a new digital Malaysia. Most recently, Awantec climbed to the 38th spot out of 100 companies ranked in the Corporate Governance Disclosure in MSWG-ASEAN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AWARD 2021.

However you serve your community, it’s important to understand how you can strategically use technology to evolve the way you work, improve service delivery, and better prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. Zoom’s secure communications solution is easy to deploy, manage, and scale. With consistent and reliable high-quality video, even in low-bandwidth environments, government departments and agencies can reduce costs, improve efficiency, enhance internal collaboration, and extend citizen services. Zoom is for your mission It's more than just meetings! The Zoom platform extends beyond Zoom Meetings and Chat to Zoom Video Webinars and Zoom Rooms to: Boost productivity Maximise resources Extend citizen services Read on to understand how! How the Zoom platform modernises communications through: Zoom Meetings Make town halls interactive and engaging with HD video and in-meeting chat Attract and retain better talent by encouraging a hybrid workplace and flexible collaboration Make your virtual engagements more accessible with auto-generated captions Zoom Rooms Introducing smart, touch-enabled in-office devices that enhance the overall work experience Connect employees from the office, their residences, or while they are on the road. Deploy digital signage in buildings to display important announcements and information Zoom Team Chat Communicate efficiently with co-workers around the country or region through instant messaging Zoom Events Celebrate local events and holidays in an engaging virtual setting Zoom Webinars Scale internal learning courses or compliance training to a broad audience Contact us today to find out how your government agency can implement solutions to streamline and secure your mission-critical functions and communications.

Automation is a rapidly expanding and critical component of contemporary business. In order to stay competitive, organisations must be inventive and capitalise on market opportunities before competitors whilst remaining adaptable towards changes like hybrid work models and digitalisation in their practices. In tandem, constructing sets of repeatable and proven processes optimised for efficiency is vital for organisations to boost positive customer experiences and attain profitable operations, highlighting the importance of automation which can be seen and discussed throughout this article. The worldwide pandemic has influenced practically all organisational processes, bringing additional demands and requiring businesses to reconsider their business practices. On the other hand, process automation may greatly assist a company deal with this significant shift. This is evident in Camunda’s 2022 State of Process Automation report, which surveyed 600 IT professionals within North America and Europe, where about 92% underline process automation as a vital element of digital transformation and its cruciality to attaining corporate streamlining and efficiency, as well as freeing up personnel to concentrate on more complicated, strategic tasks. On top of that, 82% marked automation as a higher priority for their organisation compared to the previous year, mainly seen through the obvious value that it brings. 89% of respondents report significant business growth as a result of process automation, while 33% claim to have earned at least 100% ROI in the previous year alone. This might be one of the reasons why 88% of organisations aim to raise their expenditure in automation over the next 2 years, with 46% planning to substantially increase it. Implicatively, process automation will undoubtedly enable Malaysia’s technology industry to spearhead the modern digital economy, which is exactly where Planally, a SaaS business under the Axceligent umbrella, comes in, as they are able to offer their services at a competitively low price to promote local digital adoption. As the leading brand in Digital Workspace Software, Planally offers a highly dynamic and adaptable Work Management Platform that assists organisations and groups from any sector in quickly transforming manual procedures into digital applications. Being the only Work Management Platform that features the Phase Gate Methodology, Planally allows for complete control over every aspect of the organisation by constructing a well-organised workflow from beginning to end. Its low-cost software also enables users to digitalise, automate, and regulate any business operation with a just few clicks of the mouse. Some of the incredible solutions and benefits that Planally offers are best described down below:- Digital Initiatives Through clear-cut and editable workflow charts of digital initiatives, users are able to immediately visualise to make faster and better decisions, leading to focus on the most critical initiatives that bridge the gap between the user’s digital and business strategies Business Improvement By leveraging reliable, real-time data, users are able to respond quickly to market shifts by realigning initiatives to support business goals Throughout the planning and ex ecution phase, increase the communication and involvement between stakeholders and teams Capital Investment Management Make decisive and confident decisions by utilising dependably accurate real-time data to guarantee a project’s progress Enables collaboration across teams, allowing for faster and more efficient operations that keep stakeholders and teams in the loop at all times Ensuring each investment of time, mo ney and resources goes towards the most viable initiatives to provide results New Product Development Streamline the delivery and introduction of brand-new goods to optimise revenue and market share Integrate and link your innovation ideas with corporate objectives and strategically drive new product development Process and Project Management Enabling confidence to plan, execute, and track the team’s projects in order to achieve quicker and better outcomes Keeping track of every timeline from start to completion and being in charge of a project at all times allows for a holistic view of the fullness of a project Product Life Cycle Management Transparency, accountability, visibility, and alignment are created to work towards the same objective by utilising correct data and clearly stated duties Obtain real-time status updates, track progress, and collaborate with anyone, anywhere Portfolio Management By weeding out poorly matched activities, always prioritise the best prospects for the company Managing portfolio with complete transparency, seeing red flags as soon as possible and making decisive decisions based on real-time data Team Collaboration Seamless connection allows for teams and stakeholders to communicate quickly in order to make quicker, smarter choices Simplified cross-functional deliverables with dynamic workflows, endorsements, and certifications enable improvements in cooperation and responsibility In conclusion, what Planally offers is confidence, regardless of the work area or the size of the undertaking, ensuring the direction is transparent, the goals are established, the procedures have been tried, evaluated, and conclusively demonstrated to be best practice, information is shared accurately and in real-time, and stakeholders are consistently on the same page.

The booming rise of our technological advancement gave prominence to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) concepts. While we ponder upon the wonders and possibilities of future technology, workspace, business and society as a whole, it cannot be denied that the concepts above are integral to the discussions amongst business and technology executives, as they’re seeking to understand more about the possibility of their implications, advantages and hazards. Given the buzz surrounding AI and ML, their core technology can be traced back to more than a century ago when linear regression models were present in the nineteenth century, while neural networks were formulated in the twentieth. Consequently, in the twenty-first century, the application of complex algorithms on concrete business issues became more prevalent, due to the ubiquitous access towards massive quantities of information and an increase in faster processors and processing capacity. In an article from Exploding Topics, statistics show that user-generated data increased at an exponential rate. The exponential jump of 4.4 zettabytes (ZB) of data in the digital universe during the year 2019, grew tenfold, to a whopping 44 ZB in the following year. Today, approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day, with over 70 per cent of the world’s data being created by humans. However, the terms AI and ML are used as they are related but carry different meanings. The general public and media may be uncertain about what AI and ML are and the differences between them. In some other circumstances, these terms are employed as distinct, parallel improvements, while others may leverage the trend to generate anticipation and hype to enhance sales and earnings. A research article by The Verge in 2019 addressed the misappropriation of organisations alleging to apply AI in their services and goods, as far as up to 40% of European startups, whereby the claim can potentially obtain anywhere from 15-50% more funding compared to other startups. In a 2018 TechTalks article as part of their Demystifying AI series, it is even found that some companies will go about claiming to use sophisticated AI and ML to gather and analyse touch points in mobile apps to improve user experience and forecasting user behaviour.

The rate of AI adoption has accelerated with the shift into the Industrial Revolution 4.0, but this enhanced rate is projected to generate substantial demand for computing resources and associated infrastructure. In Appen’s 2022 State of AI survey, 54% of organisations in the US claim to be ahead of their counterparts in adopting AI in their industry, while 42% of them claim to be even. Within the region of the UK and Europe, 44% claim to be ahead while 51% claim to be even. The statistical proof from this survey shows the undeniable growth of AI adoption and will only grow to intensify further. The Economic Times reported on the global revenues for the AI market in 2021, which includes hardware, software and services for both AI-centric and AI-non-centric applications, reaching a whopping (USD) $383.3 billion, totalling an increase of 20.7% over the year prior, based on the International Data Corporation (IDC). It is also forecasted that the AI market value is expected to peak at $450 billion in 2022 while maintaining a year-over-year growth rate over the next five years. Businesses must be versatile when it pertains to infrastructure as the demand for large volumes of data grows further, making hybrid cloud computing the backbone of AI. By utilising a hybrid cloud, companies may fulfil the technical needs of AI at the optimal pricing range for their company and operations. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) enables businesses to utilise, produce, and integrate AI without jeopardizing performance. 5 Points to Consider Computing Power - To capitalise on the potential offered by AI, businesses must have access to high-performance computing resources including CPUs and GPUs. To complete a large number of computations, ML algorithms must be rapid and efficient. Although a CPU-based environment may manage basic AI tasks, deep learning necessitates the capacity to run scalable neural network algorithms across several big data sets. CPU-based computing may not be capable of achieving these goals, and GPUs may be a superior solution. When compared to CPUs, the higher performance offered by GPUs may hasten deep learning. Networking Infrastructure - Another critical component of AI infrastructure is networking. To maximise the delivery of results, efficient, quick, and dependable networks are required. Because deep learning algorithms rely on communication, networks must keep up with demand as AI initiatives develop. Scalability is key, and AI necessitates a high-bandwidth, low-latency network. The service wrap and technology stack must be uniform across all locations. Storage Capacity - Many organisations rely on the capacity to increase storage as data volumes grow. Organisations must choose what kind of storage they need, and there are several things to consider, including the level of AI they want to deploy and if they require real-time judgements. For instance, a FinTech business that uses AI algorithms for real-time trading decisions may need fast all-flash storage technology, but other organisations may enjoy higher capacity but slower storage. Subsequently, businesses must estimate how much data their AI applications will produce since AI applications perform better when presented with more data. Security Because AI might include managing sensitive information such as health records, financial details, and private details, the infrastructure must be secured end-to-end using cutting-edge technology. A security breach would be disastrous for any firm, but with AI, any injection of faulty data might cause the algorithm to draw wrong conclusions, resulting in poor choices. Cost-effectiveness While AI models become more complicated, they become increasingly more costly to run, therefore grinding out extra efficiency from the infrastructure is crucial to keeping costs in check. As businesses grow their use of AI, the server, network and storage infrastructures will experience more strain. Businesses must make cautious decisions and choose IaaS suppliers that can supply cost-effective dedicated servers to improve performance and continue making investments in AI without raising their expenditures. Google Cloud as the Leader in AI Infrastructure Google Cloud has been rated a Leader in Forrester Research's “The Forrester Wave: AI Infrastructure”, Q4 2021 report, produced by Mike Gualtieri and Tracy Woo. Forrester examined AI architecture, training, inference, and management against a set of pre-defined criteria in the report. In 16 different Forrester Wave evaluation criteria, Google Cloud achieved the best possible score. Forrester’s assessment and acknowledgement provide clients with the absolute confidence they require to make key platform choices that will have enduring strategic value. Google Cloud provides consumers with a diverse collection of key components, including Deep Learning VMs and containers, the most recent GPUs/TPUs, and a marketplace of vetted ISV products to assist in the design of your unique software stack on VMs and/or Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Google Cloud offers GPU and TPU accelerators for a variety of applications, namely high-performance training, low-cost inference, and large-scale accelerated data processing. Google is the sole public cloud provider that offers up to 16 NVIDIA A100 GPUs in a single VM, allowing incredibly large AI models to be trained on a single node. Users may begin with a single NVIDIA A100 GPU and expand up to 16 GPUs without the need to configure numerous VMs for single-node ML training. TPU pods are also available from Google for large-scale AI research using PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX. The updated fourth-generation TPU pods achieve exaflop-scale peak performance, outperforming previous MLPerf benchmarks with a 480 billion parameter language model. Google Kubernetes Engine offers the most sophisticated Kubernetes features, including Autopilot, highly automated cluster version upgrades, and cluster backup/restore. Given its capability for 15,000 nodes per cluster, auto-provisioning, auto-scaling, and a variety of machine types, GKE is an excellent choice for a scalable multi-node bespoke platform for training, inference, and Kubeflow pipelines. GKE additionally supports dynamic scheduling, coordinated maintenance, high availability, job API, customisability, fault tolerance, and ML frameworks, which help ML workloads. When a company's footprint expands to include a fleet of GKE clusters, its data teams may use Anthos Config Management to ensure uniform settings and compliance with security policies. Security is built into the Google Cloud stack through progressive levels that provide defence in depth. Measures such as boot-level signature and chain-of-trust validation are employed to achieve data security, authentication, authorisation, and non-repudiation. With consumers in control, ubiquitous data encryption provides unified control over data at rest, in use, and in transit. Choices are provided for running in fully encrypted confidential settings utilising managed Hadoop or Spark with Confidential Dataproc or Confidential VMs. Google Cloud collaborates with qualified partners throughout the world to assist clients in designing, implementing, and managing sophisticated AI systems. The increasing list of Google Cloud collaborators with ML specialisations that have exhibited customer success across sectors, including strong ties with the leading Global System Integrators, continuously grows longer. The Google Cloud Marketplace also includes a list of technology partners that enable businesses to deploy ML applications on Google Cloud's AI infrastructure. Typically, even for highly trained data scientists with complex systems, developing well-tuned and effectively maintained ML systems has been problematic. Organisations can now create, deploy, and scale ML models quicker using pre-trained and custom tools inside a unified AI platform thanks to the major pillars of Google's contributions listed above. Google Cloud hopes to keep innovating and assisting customers on their digital transformation adventure.

What is AI? Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the studies of computer and robot development that may both emulate and exceed human intelligence. While there have been many definitions of AI coined throughout the previous few decades, computer and cognitive scientist John McCarthy, whom many consider a towering figure in the relative field over his time at Stanford, expressed that AI is the engineering and science behind the creation of intelligent machines, particularly intelligent computer programmes. It is akin to the same challenge of utilising computers to comprehend human intellect, but AI does not have to limit itself to biologically observable ways, as mentioned in his 2007 work titled “What is Artificial Intelligence”. In its most basic form, AI integrates large datasets and computer science to solve problems. It includes the subfields of machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), which are referenced in the context of AI. Algorithms are used in these areas to develop expert systems that make classifications or predictions based on input data. AI-enabled applications may contextualise and evaluate data to trigger activities or offer information without the need for human intervention. The classification of AI has 4 distinct types, which are roughly based on Maslov's hierarchy of needs, with the simplest level requiring only basic functioning versus the highest level requiring all-seeing and all-knowing awareness, in which two of these have been achieved and the other remain theoretical. The four types are reactive machines, limited memory, theory of mind and self-awareness. 4 Types of AI Reactive machines, being the simplest level of AI, can conduct simple operations like producing output in response to some type of input given. This is the first stage of any AI system, a basic reactive machine that takes a human face as input and produces a box around the face to recognise it as a face. At this level, there is no ‘learning’ occurring as the system is trained to execute a certain job or task and will not deviates from that goal. They are reactive machines that cannot retain inputs, function outside of a certain context, or grow over time. IBM’s chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue and Google’s AlphaGo are some examples of reactive machines present. Limited memory is the most often utilised type of AI nowadays, which through monitoring behaviours or data, learns from the past and gains experiential knowledge. This type of AI makes predictions and performs sophisticated categorisation of tasks by combining historical, observational data with pre-programmed knowledge. Autonomous vehicles, for example, employ limited memory AI to observe the speed and direction of other cars, allowing them to “read the road” and modify as needed. This knowledge and interpretation of incoming data keep them safer on the road. However, as the name implies, is still restricted in the sense that the data that autonomous vehicles use is transient. The concept that individuals, creatures, and things in the environment can possess emotions and thoughts that impact their behaviour is known as the "theory of mind". Machines will be able to obtain full decision-making abilities comparable to humans with this sort of AI. Machines with the theory of mind AI will be able to perceive and retain emotions, and then modify their behaviour in response to those feelings when they interact with humans. However, due to the process of adjusting behaviour based on fast fluctuating emotions being so dynamic in human interaction, there are still a lot of obstacles to developing the theory of mind AI. The last stage of AI development is self-awareness, which is to create systems capable of forming depictions of themselves. In certain ways, this is an extension of the third level's theory of mind AI. Having the capability to differentiate between wanting and needing an item is an ability of self-awareness that constitutes consciousness. Conscious beings are mindful of themselves, aware of their thoughts and feelings, and can foresee the reactions of others. While the development of a fully self-aware AI is still a long journey away, developers are concentrating their efforts on comprehending memory, learning, and the capacity to make judgments based on prior encounters. What is ML? Machine learning is a subset of AI and computer science that utilises data and algorithms to mimic how people learn, progressively enhancing its accuracy. Over the previous several decades, breakthroughs in processing and storage capacity have supported several creative machine learning-based technologies that include algorithms that learn by using their historical data. ML is currently utilised in various everyday applications such as in online recommender systems for Google search algorithms, Netflix recommendations, email spam filters, Facebook’s auto friend-tagging and even autonomous vehicles. ML is a major element of the expanding discipline in data science. Using statistical approaches, algorithms are trained to produce categorisation or projections, and also to find critical insights in data mining operations. These insights then influence decision-making within software and enterprises, ideally influencing key growth indicators. As big data expands and grows, so will the market growth for data scientists. Here, we will be looking at the three primary types of ML algorithms, supervised learning, unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning. 3 different types of ML algorithms These many forms of ML, like the various types of AI, encompass a variety of intricacies. While there are various types of ML algorithms, the majority are a mix of — or built on — these three basic categories. The most basic of these is supervised learning, which occurs when an AI is monitored during the learning process. Data scientists or researchers will feed the machine a large amount of data to analyse and learn from, in addition to some sample results of what that data should create, often known as “inputs” and “desired outputs”. Supervised learning produces an entity that can anticipate outcomes based on fresh input data. The machine's learning may be refined further by storing and constantly re-analysing these estimations, boosting its accuracy throughout time. Image identification, media recommendation engines, predictive modelling, and spam filtering are examples of supervised ML applications. Subsequently, neural networks, naïve Bayes classifiers, logistic regression, random forest, linear regression and support vector machine (SVM) are some of the approaches used in supervised learning. Unsupervised learning, also known as unsupervised ML, analyses and clusters unstructured datasets using ML techniques. Without the use of human interaction, these algorithms uncover hidden trends or data classifications. Because of its capacity to detect similarities and contrasts in data, this approach is perfect for consumer segmentation, exploratory data analysis, cross-selling tactics, and picture and pattern recognition. It is also used to decrease the number of elements in a model via the dimensionality reduction process. Two popular methodologies are principal component analysis (PCA) and singular value decomposition (SVD). Other unsupervised learning algorithms include k-means clustering and probabilistic clustering approaches. Unsupervised ML, like supervised ML, may develop and evolve. Reinforcement learning is the most complicated of all three algorithms because no data set is given to help the machine train. Alternatively, the algorithm learns through interaction with the setting in which it is situated. The AI is put in a game-like environment in reinforcement learning where it uses trial and error to find a solution to the issue. To ensure that the computer accomplishes what the programmer intends, the AI is rewarded or punished for the choices it takes, as its purpose is to increase overall return. Even though the developer establishes a reward policy in the sense of it being the game rule, there are no tips or recommendations provided to the model on how to complete the game. It is up to the model to discover ways to accomplish the job to maximise the reward, beginning with completely random trials and progressing to complex tactics and superhuman abilities. Reinforcement learning is presently the most effective technique to hint at machine creativity by utilising the potential of search and repeated trials. Unlike humans, they can benefit and learn from thousands of simultaneous gameplays if a reinforcement learning algorithm is performed on sufficiently adequate computer infrastructure.

The pandemic has taught us many things, including work can be done remotely without the need to be confined in a physical place. This applies to job interviews as well. As many companies have started to adopt a hybrid working culture, having virtual interviews can save money and time for both parties. If you’ve not been in an online interview before, the experience can be a bit nerve-wrecking and totally different than the physical meeting. Worry not, here are 7 brilliant tips for you to ace that virtual interview with flying colours! 1) Eliminate distractions (including your pets and kids) The first tip warrants you a peace of mind and full attention on the interview. Eliminating all distractions including noises from your neighbour’s barking dog or your own 2-year-old’s loud tantrum can help you tremendously in giving 100%. Close the door and all windows in your room. Turn off the TV, silence your phone and make sure the people who stay in the same house know that you have an important meeting to attend so they will not cook, vacuum the house or do anything that can ruin your interview. 2) Find a neutral background Giving attention to your background is crucial. It does not help to have colourful, bright and chaotic wallpaper unless you’re interviewing as an interior designer. Minimise the number of items that can be seen from your camera. The best is to have a plain blank background that doesn’t clash with your shirt. Allow for at least 3 feet minimum between the back of your head and the wall so you will not blend into the background and look flat. 3) Pay attention to lighting! Lighting can be a real problem when setting up the space for an interview. Of course, natural lighting from the sun is the best option but if your interview happens at night time, you should consider these options: Get plenty of light overall so the interviewer can have a clear view of your face and attire. Position two lights, one to your right and one to your left. There are many options of portable LED light kits for photography or video that can be used for this purpose. Avoid fluorescent bulbs or other “cool” tone light that can jeopardise the quality of your video. Eliminate direct backlighting (close the curtain to avoid this), and avoid direct shine over your head. Ensure the lighting is evenly spread across your face and background. 4) Choose the small chair The gaming chair is comfortable, yes but it’s not suitable for an interview. Do not use a big chair (bigger than your body) or a sagging couch that will make your posture look weird and slouching. Body gesture is as important as the conversation that you’re going to have, so it's important to find a comfortable, low-backed chair that is able to make you sit upright and doesn’t creak when you move. 5) Look at the camera! It can be awkward and uncomfortable, having to talk in front of the camera and smiling like you actually talk to someone IRL when in fact, you’re just facing the screen. But do not let these feelings get to you. It takes some practice to feel natural but you’ll get there eventually. During the interview, make sure to position the camera at your eye-level because you need to look at the camera as much as possible to appear as if you’re making eye-contact with the interviewer. Looking at the screen will make you look as if you’re staring into a blank space. To do this, stack books or boxes before you place your laptop on top so you can adjust the positioning of the camera accordingly. 6) Test your gadgets This tip goes without saying. Before starting the interview, please make sure to download or sign-up for the same application that your interviewer is using, ie: Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Team. Install a copy in your smartphone and in a back up laptop just in case your main device fails on the day of the interview. Get familiar with the app and its functions. Run a test with your earbuds, camera, lighting (wear the interview attire) and the voice function prior, to ensure everything is working smoothly. On the day of the interview itself, run the test again so you will feel more confident and relaxed, knowing that everything is in place. 7) Practise makes perfect As mentioned previously, a virtual interview can feel like a one-man’s show. It’s not easy to have a back-to-back conversation and everyone must wait for their turn to speak with buffer, unlike in a physical setting where this happens smoothly with no hiccups. To avoid feeling nervous & awkward, practice your speech, answers and facial expressions by recording yourself talking in front of the laptop. Additionally, apps like Zoom allow you to record your meeting, so use this feature to polish your interview skills. By studying how you did in an interview, you will be able to identify areas for improvements and nail the next one.

Google Workspace (formerly known as Google Apps and later G Suite) is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. There are multiple types of applications and tools that you can fully utilise to your advantage when using Google Workspace (GWS). But since there’s so many of them, you might not know all the features, productivity tricks, shortcuts and others unless your peers told you that they existed. In this guide, learn the best tips & tricks to save time and be more productive to get your work done quickly & effectively with GWS. 1) Maximize your email attachments It’s such a bummer when you want to send an email with big file attachments as Gmail only allows a maximum of 25MBs. But that old practise is about to change. Here are the steps to attach up to 10GB files in one email. · Upload your intended files to Google Drive · Open Gmail. Click on “Compose”. · Write your email message. · At the bottom, find a triangle symbol that says “Insert files using Drive” · Attach the files that you uploaded into Google Drive earlier and click “Send”. 2) Customised your Google Chrome search screen Turn your boring white Google Chrome search screen to a colourful one! It’s so easy to personalise your search screen in Google Chrome by picking your favourite background and adding your go-to shortcuts. Simply open a new tab and hover your mouse over to the pencil icon at the right bottom corner that says “Customize this page”. Click on the icon and you can either choose from existing Chrome suggestions or upload new images as your background. You can also play around with the “Colour & theme” choices available. If you like to add new shortcuts, just click “Add shortcut” and insert the name as well as the URL of the website. 3) Spell checks? No, they’re correct! It can be quite annoying when Google wants to fix the terms that you’ve written correctly. This happens because Google tends to flag some of the industry-specific words in nearly every document as if they’re misspelled. To put an end to your misery of having to click on every unwanted suggestion, just add the words or terms that you frequently use into your personal dictionary. In the new Google Doc page, select Tools > Spelling and grammar > Personal dictionary and enter as many jargons as you normally use. Make sure no spelling mistakes! 4) Don’t type, just talk. Sometimes you can’t keep up with the on-going discussion and tend to miss out a few important points as you’re typing away at the keyboard. Solve this petty problem by using the voice to text feature. In a new Google doc page, select Tools > Voice typing and start talking. The speech processor might not be able to catch all words that it hears correctly, so make sure you have another recording device to recheck the spelling. But this feature helps to take notes easily or even to transcribe an audio file for free. 5) Keep track of the collaborators One of the best features of GWS is the fact that it encourages and allows for collaboration between multiple users where everyone has the ability to edit a document or spreadsheet in real time. While working on the same file, you can also keep track of the collaborators and see what other files they have opened or are currently doing. Just click on their avatar in the top-right corner and you’ll immediately see the list of other files. 6) Communicate while collaborating Apart from knowing what the other collaborators are working on, you are also able to chat them up and communicate instantly while collaborating on the same document. Look at their avatars again and you’ll notice a keyboard right next to it. Click on the keyboard to automatically open up an instant messaging tool within GWS. But bear in mind that the conversations happening in this messenger can be seen by anyone who is also working on the document concurrently and will not be saved once you close the app. 7) Inform your collaborators! As the chat messenger in GWS will not keep your conversation receipt, there’s a tendency that your info or request might be overlooked by other collaborators. To ensure your request is responded or acknowledged, use this simple trick. Anywhere in the document, simply double click and a plus sign will pop up. Enter your colleagues’ Gmail addresses and include your message/comment. Let them know if you’re waiting for a response or an edit, or just conveying your thoughts. This will appear in their inbox so they won’t miss anything out! 8) Keyboard shortcuts save your time! Be a keyboard warrior by knowing all the keyboard shortcuts to save your time when working! You’re probably familiar with the basic formatting shortcuts such as Ctrl+B for bold font or Ctrl+U for underlining. But there are hundreds of other keyboard shortcuts available throughout Google Workspace! Simply hit Ctrl/ and you’ll get all the listed below: 9) Restart your tabs. It is a common practise for almost everyone to open a dozen tabs in Google Chrome while working. Problem is, when it gets too much, your browser might start to slow down or freeze suddenly. Yikes! What solution do you have other than restarting the whole thing? Fret not. You don’t have to lose all the important tabs. Instead, open a new tab, type chrome://restart in the navigation bar and hit enter. This will automatically close down your current Chrome window, reset the programme and it will reopen, with all your tabs right exactly like how you left them. 10) Launch apps from the navigation bar Instead of searching for “google doc”, “google sheet”, or “google slides” every time you want to open the application, just type doc.new, slides.new or sheets.new in the navigation bar and hit enter. Even better, just bookmark these addresses for quick access! 11) Find your files quickly If you have been using Google Drive for work purposes, surely there’s tonnes of documents, files, pictures, videos and all sorts of things uploaded. Trying to find one file from ages ago might take a while but you don’t have to painfully search them one by one. Use the advanced search feature! Open your Google Drive, and in the search bar, click on the arrow on the right. An advanced tool will pop up and you can search just by inserting the file’s name, or go in details and sort by the file’s type, keywords and collaborators you’ve shared with. Easy match! 12) Sharing files before a meeting Whenever you set up a meeting or create an event in the Google Calendar, it is a courtesy to at least write a short intro and description about the meeting/event to give everyone a heads up on what’s happening. Even better, attach a document to it from your Google Drive or from your computer. The attendees will automatically get access to the attached document, and when the time comes, everyone will be on the same page so no one gets left behind. Talk about being inclusive!

Cloud adoption is inevitable with the ongoing Industrial Revolution 4.0. Organisations which successfully moved their workloads to the cloud managed to meet their business objectives, found new solutions to get the work done, and accelerated their capabilities to grow further. Migrating to cloud-based solutions and services requires a proficient workforce to operate the systems and groundwork, which explains the importance of investing in cloud training. As many IT operations have shifted to the cloud, organisations are required to include cloud skill training & development strategies as part of their growth plan. Improving digital literacy amongst employees is proven to effectively increase digital adoption for organisations who want to expand and explore the cloud by leveraging their talents’ expertise. With well-trained employees, organisations can bridge the cloud skills gap, increase productivity and enjoy market advantages as they continue to innovate to stay ahead of competitors. What are Google certifications? Google certifications are courses that grant professionals and talents from various industries such as marketing, IT, design, education and others, the opportunity to upskilling and reskilling their cloud proficiencies. 30% of Google Cloud certified individuals have applied for a new role after becoming a Google Certified Professional and 70% of those applicants received at least 1 job offer. If you’re aiming to develop new skills or earn a higher salary, getting Google certifications will mostly be beneficial in your future endeavors. Benefits of getting Google certifications 1) Learning new abilities & advance skills Upskilling through Google cloud platform opens up new doors of opportunities for all levels of professionals as they get to learn new abilities required to climb the ladder in their career journey or enhance their existing skills that will surely be beneficial when pursuing new responsibilities or looking for a better job. 2) Fully utilise Google tools 87% of Google Cloud Certified individuals are more confident about their cloud skills. This is because reskilling helps talents to become experts. Even if you are already well-versed in a lot of Google tools, chances are you still have areas for improvement and gaps to fulfill. By pursuing this path, you’ll build more confidence, enhance your foundation and achieve your career goals. 3) Prove of expertise Being a Google Certified Professional gives talents the chance to prove to their current and future employees that they are certified with the right skills and knowledge required to perform tasks efficiently and effectively. It is estimated that 81% talents can prove their cloud skill competency to recruiters. 4) Boost your earning capacity 77% of those who received the training as Google Certified Professional feel more confident in their professional future as the skills gained help them to boost their earning capacity. Talents can surely secure a new job or pursue career advancement opportunities that can give higher and competitive salaries as they have the certified Google skills. 5) Minimal entry requirement A majority of the courses available do not require previous experience or formal education which makes them perfect for both beginners and advanced learners. While each programme differs, some courses are suitable for entry-level professionals and there are also a few that require a higher level of experience or prior knowledge of the subject. Awantec appointed as Google Cloud Authorised Training Partner (ATP) Awantec was recently appointed as the Authorised Training Partner (ATP) for Google Cloud to upskill talents with comprehensive cloud training and courses in preparing them to become certified Google Cloud professionals. As an ATP, Awantec is committed to providing extensive coaching under professional guidance and with industry experts where talents will gain an in-depth understanding of how to develop, deploy and operate infrastructure and applications on Google Cloud Platform. Talent development is core to Awantec’s DNA. This appointment allows Awantec to provide the right knowledge and skills needed by employees and organisations to future-proof themselves and their businesses. Being both Managed Service Provider (MSP) and ATP, Awantec can now provide end-to-end service, implement solutions and provide official training curriculums, servicing both the public and private sectors. This is an awakening journey for Awantec towards empowering individuals and organisations through upskilling and reskilling pathways. Courses available The courses available are a direct training cycle produced by Google Cloud, encompassing various fields; Cloud infrastructure, API management, Machine Learning, and AI, networking and security, cloud business leadership, application development, Kubernetes, hybrid and multi-cloud, data engineering and analytics, and also Google Workspace. With over 100 different courses and numerous learning paths for talents, receiving formal training from ATP on all Google Cloud Platform products helps them to develop the required skills for the job market and career as a whole. For more info, visit https://www.awantec.my/atp

Cyberjaya, 1 July 2022 – AwanBiru Technology Berhad (Awantec or the Group), a leading Technology and Talent Digitalisation Enabler targets to train 5,000 employees in the public sector for FY2023. Officially appointed as a Google Cloud Authorised Training Partner (ATP), Awantec is now able to deliver certified curriculum courses from the Google Cloud Platform to users in both the public and private sectors, including the general public. Awantec, as Google Cloud's exclusive Managed Service Provider (MSP) to the Government of Malaysia under the Cloud Framework Agreement (CFA), looks to drive not just the adoption of Google Cloud technology and solutions but also provide the necessary upskilling opportunities for the transformation agenda outlined under the MyDIGITAL blueprint. Awantec is currently a Premier Partner of Google Cloud serving the public sector of Malaysia. The Group seeks to offer official training to public sector employees whilst empowering them to adopt Google Cloud technologies in light of the recent adoption and shift towards digitalisation. “Awantec can support the Government of Malaysia in its efforts to execute the MyDIGITAL Blueprint and in achieving its digital transformation goals, with a specific focus on upskilling talent. To start, we target to conduct instructor-led training for 5,000 learners in FY2023. The training and upskilling are delivered in various modes which include online, on-demand, and in-classroom training as well as customised labs and workshops.”, said Awantec CEO, Rezal Rahman. The Group was also recently awarded the 2021 Google Cloud Public Sector Partner of the Year in Asia Pacific. It was recognised for its achievements in the Google Cloud ecosystem, helping various government agencies in Malaysia improve efficiency and productivity through greater collaboration and digital transformation. “The Awantec advantage is in our ATP team working in tandem with our MSP team to provide end-to-end solutions, from implementation through migration and training. This aligns with the Group’s strategy to broaden products and services offerings as well as widen our customer base moving forward.”, added Rezal Rahman. Awantec signed a Cloud Framework Agreement (CFA) with the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) together with Google Cloud Malaysia Sdn Bhd in March 2022. As an MSP provider, Awantec looks to support the government agencies with Google Cloud Platform services like data analytics, cloud migration, and cloud-based systems integration, as well as products and training related to artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Maps, Compute, Storage, and Workspace. News Coverage https://www.nst.com.my/amp/business/2022/07/809859/awanbiru-technology-aims-train-5000%C2%A0-public-sector-employees-fy23 https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2022/07/01/awantec-aims-to-provide-google-cloud-training-to-5000-public-sector-employees https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2022/07/01/awantec-appointed-as-authorised-training-partner-targets-to-train-5000-public-employees/ https://technicalcypher.com/awantec-goals-to-offer-google-cloud-coaching-to-five000-public-sector-workers/ https://anewsgroup.com/awantec-aims-to-provide-google-cloud-training-to-5000-public-sector-employees/ https://klse.i3investor.com/web/blog/detail/mqmarketupdates/2022-07-01-story-h1625300696-MQ_Market_Updates_01_July_2022 https://sharesinfo4u.com/news/corporate_moves/蓝云科技准备为-5000-名公务员工提供-google-cloud-培训/ https://www.dagangnews.com/awantec-sasar-latih-5000-pekerja-dalam-sektor-awam-pada-fy23-16851

Cyberjaya, June 28, 2022 – Awantec Systems Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of AwanBiru Technology Berhad has entered into a new agreement with Planally Sdn Bhd (Planally) through the Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) to work exclusively with each other in pooling their capabilities and establishing a mutually beneficial collaboration for the provision of the Planally software. Awantec, synonymous with the synergistic integration of talent and technology, views this partnership as an opportunity to strengthen and enhance its business ecosystem while acting as the Digital Transformer driving the technology industry in Malaysia towards and beyond the new digital economy. With Awantec’s capacity and proven competencies in accelerating digitalisation, both parties hope to benefit from each other’s expertise and experience to strive toward growth and success. “As a digital enabler, we aim to provide sustainable digital products and services at a minimal cost to encourage digital adoption. Planally is the latest add-on to our change management offerings. It reduces the need to rely on labour and long processes; instead, users can autonomously maximise their full capacity to their advantage. We are thrilled to have Planally onboard, a product of a local company whose software is equally powerful and robust as other globally recognised Work Management Platforms”, said Rezal Rahman, the CEO of Awantec. Javed Akhtar, the Co-founder and CEO of Planally commented, “In our opinion, when combined with what we each have to bring to the table in terms of high-quality technology services, the product, market knowledge and calibre are the much-needed keys to unlocking that next level of sustainable digital transformation that our country needs and is so ready for. In the near future, we are confident that this collaboration with Awantec will also successfully take larger strides in that global direction”. Planally is the next leading name in the Digital Workspace Software, providing a highly dynamic and configurable Work Management Platform that helps organisations and teams from any industry transform their manual processes into digital applications within minutes. It is the only Work Management Platform that offers the Phase Gate Methodology enabling absolute control over every possible area of the business by establishing a well-ordered workflow from start to finish. This low-cost software also empowers its users to digitalise, automate and standardise any work process with just a few clicks. Its intuitive features offer unparalleled levels of transparency, visibility and control over work on an easily accessible and user-friendly platform resulting in greater efficiency, minimal risk of error, standardised execution and consistent results every time.