FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PIKOM SCORES HAT TRICK WITH HOSTING OF APRICOT 2010
Malaysia the only country to hold APRICOT thrice; 10-day summit promotes exchange of information among the Internet community in Asia Pacific region
Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday (January 13, 2010) – PIKOM, THE NATIONAL ICT ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA, will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) 2010 for the 3rd time since the inaugural conference in 1996.
PIKOM first hosted APRICOT in 2001 and again in 2004, making Malaysia the only country to be given the honour of holding the premier regional Internet summit three times. Slated to be held at the KL Convention Centre from February 23 to March 5, the summit is expected to attract 600 key Internet builders from over 40 economies.
APRICOT is a significant event for the industry and eagerly anticipated by those in the arena because it is a platform that facilitates knowledge sharing among the region’s Internet community. The 10-day summit will feature workshops, tutorials, conference sessions, birds-of-a-feather (BOFs) meetings, social events and other forums, all with the goal of spreading and sharing information required to operate the Internet within the Asia Pacific region.
APRICOT 2010 is supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI), Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture and the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).
The highlight of this year’s summit are keynote addresses by Afzal Abdul Rahim, CEO of Time dotCom Bhd, Brian Carpenter, Professor of Department of Computer Science from the University of Auckland and Ram Mohan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Affilias Limited.
Speaking on behalf of PIKOM, President CJ Ang expressed that the Association is pleased to be accorded the honour of hosting the event again. “We put up a good show during APRICOT 2001 and 2004, and we’re also the secretariat for APIA (Asia & Pacific Internet Association) which explains why we are selected to host the conference again this year,” he explained.
“APRICOT 2010 aligns with the Government’s objective to facilitate and promote the growth of IT in the country. The uniqueness of this annual event lies in its purely technical and non-commercial objective to provide a forum for key Internet builders in the region to learn from their peers and other leaders in the Internet community from around the world,” he said at a presentation to recognize the summit’s 15 sponsors and partners.
Ang further explained that this is especially pertinent for Malaysia. “With the proliferation of broadband services available and close to 50% Internet penetration in the country, APRICOT 2010’s agenda definitely supports the current needs of Malaysia to enhance the knowledge of our ICT engineers.
“In fact, this holds true throughout Asia Pacific where Internet service providers, backbone and regional networks, web hosting facilities, firewalls, and Intranets are being created, deployed, and installed at a staggering pace. Technicians, managers, entrepreneurs and decision makers especially those who are at the frontiers of the industry in their countries, are under tremendous pressure to master the skills necessary to build and operate these increasingly complex systems,” said Ang.
In keeping with the spirit of the summit, APRICOT 2010 in Kuala Lumpur will also be sponsoring nine fellows from seven developing countries, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea -- who are actively involved in Internet development to attend the event. The Fellowship programme incorporated in 2000, is funded by The Internet Society (ISOC) and has since provided opportunities to individuals from lesser-developed countries to participate in APRICOT.
On APRICOT 2010’s 15 sponsors who are from local, regional and international organizations, Ang said, “The event will not only provide many valuable insights for the industry but is also a very valuable opportunity to expose participating organizations, products and services to an international audience of Internet builders.”
The sponsors are: diamond & opening reception sponsors – AIMS Data Centre Sdn Bhd, Global Transit Communications Sdn Bhd and Time dotCom Berhad; platinum sponsors -- Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and Brocade Communications Singapore Pte Ltd; gold sponsors -- Cisco Systems (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Kaspersky Lab (M) Sdn Bhd; lunch sponsor – WANDL Inc: silver & lanyard sponsor -- Equinix Hong Kong Limited; silver sponsor – The Internet Society (ISOC); workshop dinner sponsor -- .my Domain Registry; bronze sponsors -- Teliasonera International Carrier, Internet Association Japan, Japan Internet Exchange (JPIX) and Extreme Broadband Sdn Bhd; with Pico International Sdn Bhd and Instant Exhibition (Sabah) Sdn Bhd as supporter sponsors.
APRICOT 2010 will also include another event, APNIC, the acronym for the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre. APNIC will hold one of their two Annual Open Policy Meetings concurrently with APRICOT. Additionally, many other regional Internet related organisations such as AP*, World IX Forum, DotAsia, APCAUSE and APTLD will also converge and host their meetings in conjunction with APRICOT 2010.
Online registration is opened and potential delegates can register at http://www.apricot2010.net.
The fees are RM1,750 (USD500 ) for workshops and RM1,750 to attend the conference or tutorials. A 25% discount will be offered to PIKOM members and government agencies.
About APRICOT
Founded in 1996, the Asia-Pacific Region Internet Conference of Operational Technologies (APRICOT) has established itself as Asia-Pacific's premier Internet Summit where related organisations converge and host their annual general meetings plus other special events.
Regarded as a highly technical forum, APRICOT is a platform that facilitates knowledge sharing among the region's Internet community.
The 10-day long summit comprises workshops, tutorials, conference sessions, birds-of-a-feather (BOFs) and other forums, all geared towards spreading and sharing the knowledge required to operate the Internet within the Asia Pacific region.
About PIKOM
PIKOM, THE NATIONAL ICT ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA is the association representing the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in Malaysia. Its membership currently stands at over 1,300 comprising companies involved in a whole spectrum of ICT products and services which commands 80% of the total ICT trade in Malaysia. PIKOM works to improve the business climate in the interests of all its member companies and to promote industry growth in line with national aspirations.
PIKOM's membership is open to all Malaysian companies who supply ICT products and services in the computing and telecommunications industries. However, non-ICT companies are also welcome to join the Association as associate members.
Issued by: NexusPR Sdn Bhd
On behalf of: PIKOM
For further information, please contact BG Tay at Tel: (03) 7725 1908 or 012-202 5898;
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