Abe Lincoln noted the importance of letting “the angels of our better nature” prevail. Although people are generally honest, some more than others, certain situations can suppress someone’s honesty and allow the angel of their better nature to be defeated. Different sociologists give different numbers, but the general agreed up percentage is that when people are put in a situation in which they believe they can cheat without being caught, 50% will cheat. Add a monetary incentive to that situation and the number can go as high as 70%.
An interesting observation on human nature, but what does it have to do with biometric time clocks? If people know for a fact they are being monitored, the number of potential cheats drops to less than 10%. Biometrics provide that extra incentive to behave honestly. It is insurance for that rare occasion when someone has the thought to duck out early or manipulate your time clocking software to get a few extra hours pay. Biometric employee time clock software ensures these ideas don’t become a reality. Once a bit of cheating becomes the reality, it quickly moves to becoming the norm. Think about examples in your life. Have you ever had a naïve teacher? An overly indulgent nanny? A lax camp counselor? Chances are you remember some people who acted less than honestly when given a choice.
Friday 27 December 2013
Abe Lincoln noted the importance of letting “the angels of our better nature” prevail. Although people are generally honest, some more t...
Concerns about privacy and security have keep biometric systems from being used more widely by government agencies and local municipalities. As people become more comfortable with biometric security, however, that may change.
Israel is already beginning to implement a biometric system by which citizens can opt to give two finger prints and a facial scan. The government hopes to use this biometric information database to make it easier and cost effective to identify citizens for the purposes of voting, taxation and other government functions. The program is slated to last for two years, after which its effectiveness will be rated. Some people wonder how effective such a system will be considering it is opt-in, but thousands have already enrolled.
Although there is more of a culture of personal privacy in America, biometrics is entering the national debate, first through the Supreme Court and now through the immigration debate. Biometrics may play a part in the path to citizenship, even if that part is as simple as providing an easy way to identify and organize the millions of people making their way down the path to citizenship. Some people see biometrics as the best and least fraud-prone way to identify people. Others, however, dismiss the idea as costly and intrusive.
Thursday 26 December 2013
Concerns about privacy and security have keep biometric systems from being used more widely by government agencies and local municipalit...
I have a shorter list of New Year’s resolutions over the years. It’s simple, if you have a long list with high expectations, chances being, you’ll still have that long list of unfulfilled resolutions every yearend.
So, for 2014, I’ll settle with two resolutions. The first one is to read more; from around 50 books this year to 60 (20% growth rate, the same with my COO’s resolution on sales figure). The second one is to contribute bigger donations to charity and community.
I like reading. I hope my organization cultivates reading habit as well. Readers learn through reading, it self-motivates, it is better than training courses arranged by companies. Reading habit ensures life-long learning; keeps ones’ mind fresh to constantly absorb knowledge like a sponge.
That's why I started Academia, to encourage pseudo-academic research and study among the staff that ties up with our served industries. I made them read AND write as well. Many short theses were produced over the one-year through a lot of reading process. With better understanding of the industries and their specific and in-depth concerns, our R&D team has dawned on the direction of software development.
As for charity work, this year, we donated more than 5% of our net profit to support some non-governmental and human rights organizations, cultural activities, and charity bodies like orphanage homes. On our corporate website, we have a statement that goes like this: FingerTec Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a form of self-regulated corporate governance integrated into our business practice. The FingerTec CSR policy functions as a built-in mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of law, ethical standards, and international norms. In short, this is what Google called “Don’t Be Evil” policy.
However, by adhering to these principles in one’s business doesn’t make a saint out of you. Because, apart from achieving your own dream, the main objective in business is also to selfishly make money for yourself in pursuit of wealth. Of course, getting rich is not wrong when the money is legally your own, hard-earned or smart-earned. But it’s also good to peek into the not-so-fortunate life for a lot of other people and making some effort to contribute. As a business owner, or as someone who has more to spend, contributing some to the needy will make one more humanitarian if not a saint and make a better society for everybody to live in.
By Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
I have a shorter list of New Year’s resolutions over the years. It’s simple, if you have a long list with high expectations, chances being...
Schools around the country are making use of fingerprint scanners to increase their security and reign in on truants. These devices, which only cost about $30 per student (though this cost can vary depending on a school’s size), make attendance-taking more accurate and save schools money in administrative costs.
Finger scanning in the classroom is faster than the traditional roll-call of attendance. It is easy for a friend to yell “present” for someone while the teacher blusters through the attendance list. This is a problem not only in terms of kids missing class, it can be a safety issue too. If a child is missing, the school needs to know as soon as possible, and a finger scanner allows for that. Scanners also allow for tighter control the of teachers and staff, ensuring no one is entering the school under false pretense.
Schools are only starting to make use of fingerprint time clocks. The future may see the practice extended to parents entering the school, school buses and more. It is hard to argue with a technology that saves money and allows a safer environment. Some parents have, however, raised concerns about privacy and how fingerprints and other recorded information are stored and shared.
Wednesday 25 December 2013
Schools around the country are making use of fingerprint scanners to increase their security and reign in on truants. These devices, w...
Nothing grinds my gears more than business users who judge a new technology based on their preconceived notions. Living in the Internet age, where information is basically at the tip of your fingers, it's hard to believe that one can't find answers to what they're looking for by simply Googling for it. Alas, I guess that's why some users have created certain cloud computing myths.
Thursday 19 December 2013
Nothing grinds my gears more than business users who judge a new technology based on their preconceived notions. Living in the Internet ...
In the biometrics industry, I was once introduced to this findbiometrics.com website, a portal covering news of the industry. Because its revenue model is based on sponsored ads, it publishes mostly positive business news boasted mainly by the project-based biometrics companies, rather than their journalists’ own coverage. I found the website was not of much use to me. Read more to learn why.
Monday 2 December 2013
In the biometrics industry, I was once introduced to this findbiometrics.com website, a portal covering news of the industry. Because its r...
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| Credit to cubeelite.com |
As I was going through some research materials on cloud computing, I came across this one report published by Frost and Sullivan entitled "Cloud Computing - A Reality Check. Dispelling the Myths of Cloud Computing". There were essentially four main myths that were debunked (ala Mythbusters - I love that show!) which were; cloud computing is less secure than on-premise alternatives, is only suitable for consumers and smaller businesses, is not suitable for mission critical activities, and also private clouds offer the benefits of cloud computing without the drawbacks. Read more for my summary of two of those myths and the report's explanations on them.
Thursday 28 November 2013
Credit to cubeelite.com As I was going through some research materials on cloud computing, I came across this one report published by F...
As more and more companies look to the clouds for their business needs, I've been getting a lot of questions regarding the criterions to look out for when choosing a cloud computing provider. It's actually quite challenging to provide a general answer as each situation is unique, but here are five questions one can ask themselves to make more informed decisions for their organization. Read more to go through the five questions.
Thursday 21 November 2013
As more and more companies look to the clouds for their business needs, I've been getting a lot of questions regarding the criterions...
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| FingerTec Ingressus Controller |
When we planned a step forward by including control panels in our product line two years ago, a string of other considerations followed. This was unlike merely adding a new reader with improved features to our product line, even though on the surface business still runs as usual.
Control panels or controllers in an access control system are not like rain that drops onto a pond, stirs a ripple on its surface and settles thereafter. The controller as a major core component for the advanced access control system just wouldn’t align to fit into our existing business system, it’s like having a different stream of water that runs across the pond, a separate pathway is needed to contain the stream.
Wednesday 30 October 2013
FingerTec Ingressus Controller When we planned a step forward by including control panels in our product line two years ago, a string o...
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| Nobody smiles when they have to queue like this |
Online banking is truly God-sent, imho. The last time I
went to a bank was a year ago (if I could
pay straight up for a house, trust me, I would); the parking and the waiting were just too
cumbersome. It's been ages since I've had to queue in a long line for movie tickets, now they're sent instantly to my mobile after purchasing them online. It's also been 11 years since I've had to meet a travel agent, which was when my husband arranged our humble honeymoon. But now we're sort of our own travel agents; we buy tickets, book hotel rooms and even arrange for tours with mere clicks. Thank you, God!
This has become a lifestyle of sorts, particularly for city-dwellers and urbanites. People shop for garments, gifts, electronics items, all kinds of tickets, and even groceries straight from the Internet. For example, I just ordered a bunch of things from Tesco online during my lunch break, which will be delivered right to my doorstep, saving me valuable time. See, people look for convenience because time is a great factor.
Nobody smiles when they have to queue like this Online banking is truly God-sent, imho. The last time I went to a bank was a year ago...
One of my Economics lecturers used to always say, "Welcome to the real world, babies". This was usually delivered whenever he shared industrial applications of textbook knowledge, followed by the usual sounds of "Oh my god, it makes so much sense now" his students' awe and amazement. It wasn't condescending, not at all. In fact, it was liberating. He was acknowledging that we were still 'infants' in the field, with limited knowledge of its workings, but we're at least welcome to learn.
In remembering his teaching methods, I've decided to talk about the five main approaches of marketing through a small child's eye, and lollipops. Each of the five concepts (Production, Product, Selling, Marketing & Societal Marketing) will roughly explain the main objectives of doing business in a simple manner so the knowledge won't be kept just for the 'smart people'. So, read more to share some understanding with these babies!
Wednesday 16 October 2013
One of my Economics lecturers used to always say, "Welcome to the real world, babies" . This was usually delivered whenever he ...
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| It's 2013, and a lot has changed |
Business is strange, sometimes. We recently received an email from Business Software Alliance (BSA) demanding a complete list of all licensed software that the company uses.
We used to be a BSA member quite some years ago to protect our software copyright, but we cancelled the membership after the arrival of the Internet Age. Honestly, I didn’t realize that the organization is still alive and kicking in enforcing licensed software for every company. Do I think that software copyright is no longer important? In fact, it’s the contrary. But because software has evolved since the Internet era, piracy raids seem so outdated.
Tuesday 8 October 2013
It's 2013, and a lot has changed Business is strange, sometimes. We recently received an email from Business Software Alliance (BSA...
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| Leo Burnett |
Introduction
"Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read."
As quotes go, the above from Leo Burnett may not sound impressive but I've learnt well not to ignore the words of important people. One of the 100 most influential people in the 20th century (as per Time Magazine), the Sultan of Sell changed the advertising landscape in the early 1900s by bringing imagery to the center stage, proclaiming that "visual eloquence is far more persuasive... than labored narratives". This was considered revolutionary in his days, as most copies were wording-heavy at the time. As a marketing executive, even a simple advice like this means a whole lot in what I can do for FingerTec Worldwide, and thus it always pushes me to find more gems from other marketing and advertising Gurus. Read more to find out similarly helpful quotes.
Wednesday 2 October 2013
Leo Burnett Introduction "Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read." As quotes...
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| Over-utilizing the knife too much? |
When I first got married, there was only one meagre set of cutleries in my kitchen cabinet. It had a single butter knife, and I didn't really mind having to use it to both spread butter on my roll AND cut my steak, even though it was only excellent at one thing
and crappy at others. But things have changed now, and I can proudly say that I've upgraded from that set of cutleries to one which had different knives, forks and spoons catered for specific situations.
Food Life is better now, thank God. The situation is comparable to the dilemma of some TCMS V2 users.
TCMS V2 is a comprehensive and powerful time attendance management tool and has been used with FingerTec devices for years, constantly evolving through the years to accumulate newer functions and satisfy more needs. However, TCMS V2 is not a cure-for-all and there are certain situations that may be better suited to Ingress, the integrated access control management application. Read more for the top 5 reasons why you should switch from TCMS V2 to Ingress.
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Over-utilizing the knife too much ? When I first got married, there was only one meagre set of cutleries in my kitchen cabinet. It had ...
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| Big Data |
One of the buzzwords in the IT world apart from cloud computing technology is big data. For a lot of people, (the concept) is hard to comprehend because no matter the size of the data, data has been around us all the time. Why now all of a sudden, big data becomes significant and gathers so much attention? And how big is one’s data to be considered as BIG data?
Big data is claimed to be valuable in improving service and user experience, and sometimes, even to refine prediction. So, as a not-so-big company, what is the size of data we have? If it can be considered as big data, how can we make use of it? I pondered a little and told the cloud surveillance development team on how we can tap on big data to improve our service.
Friday 6 September 2013
Big Data One of the buzzwords in the IT world apart from cloud computing technology is big data. For a lot of people, ( the concept ) is...
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"Mommy, the movie's starting"
"The clouds.. they look like pillows.. zzz" |
As a
mother of a 9-year-old kid, I can’t really get away from animation movies and by
the look of it; Hollywood producers aren’t taking any breaks soon. I can’t even
recall the last time I watched a ‘regular’ live-action movie at the cinema. So
on last Saturday, I bought some tickets to Planes – an entertaining story for
my daughter, and a 90-minute naptime for my husband and I. Though, we did hear
a ‘provocative’ song before resting our eyes.
Tuesday 3 September 2013
"Mommy, the movie's starting" "The clouds.. they look like pillows.. zzz" As a mother of a 9-year-o...
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| Trying to understand the globe |
New Markets
Among the things that piqued my interest when I first got into FingerTec was the fact that, despite its humble beginnings in the early 2000s, the company already has its collective foots firmly planted in the international market. Pretty cool for a vision that started with just a finger. This presented a new (at that time) challenge for me as I mistakably underestimated the complexities of international marketing, and what it requires of me as both a copywriter and a marketing executive. My interest started after reading Ms. Norana Johar's piece in FingerTec's annual magazine last year (it's on page 27).
Thursday 22 August 2013
Trying to understand the globe New Markets Among the things that piqued my interest when I first got into FingerTec was the fact tha...
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| IT has helped revamp industries |
Information
Technology has invaded almost every industry. The invasion is actually welcomed
because once IT pierced through the hull of the industries; it injects juices,
and rejuvenates the industries to move forward with a faster pace. We observed
how IT has helped revamp industries in the eighties and nineties during the
last century. For examples, Microsoft
Office improves office automation, Adobe
perfects graphic design and publishing, CAD/CAM
excels as aided tools for engineering, accounting software increases efficiency
for financial reports preparation and etc., and this is all happening with Moore’s Law working behind the scenes
while doubling computing power in every 18 months.
But those
were the good years when IT companies came in as friends rather than foes. They
knocked on your doors, delivered amazing hardware and software, took your
money, and left you without interrupting your business. At that time, IT
business meant selling IT products, and it never trespassed between
industries to compete with you and grab a piece of your market share.
Tuesday 13 August 2013
IT has helped revamp industries Information Technology has invaded almost every industry. The invasion is actually welcomed b...
'Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling
the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of marketing
as he stumbles along his first year in the company. In Part 5, the writer
discusses the Product component of the tool. You can read the past
installments here: Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3 · Part 4
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| There's more to Google than the search engine, actually |
Product
I came across an interesting question last week: What will happen to Facebook after Facebook? This happened during my daily market research (aka the 30-minutes of random surfing I do before starting work) as I read an article that questioned if Facebook, the company, was prepared for business if Facebook, the social networking site, would one day become obsolete. This is important, because a good company shouldn't simply bank on one product as every product has its market shelf life. That's why Google, the company, is more than just Google, the search engine. So what about FingerTec? Do we stop merely at fingerprint technology? Of course not! Read more to see how we've placed our core, actual and augmented products.
Monday 5 August 2013
'Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of mar...
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| Not sure if FTDP is right for you? Let me help! |
Like most other Muslims, I’ve been thinking about food a lot lately.
It comes with Ramadan, I suppose. So here’s my question: If I had to choose between two plates of free food, one plate containing 5 pieces of chicken worth 5 dollars and the other containing a small piece of caviar worth 20 dollars, which plate would I choose? Would I go for what’s more filling or what’s more rare? Should I choose what I could finish eating only? Could the original financial value be a factor as well?
See, the choice may seem simple at first, but if you think about the pros and cons of both alternatives, you’ll realize that the answer ultimately comes down to your situational needs and wants. This also applies to
FingerTec Data Processor Application, aka
FTDP. The application is definitely not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, as
TCMS V2 or
Ingress would have more comprehensive features, but there are 5 main reasons that may require you to use FTDP instead. Read more to see the top 5 situations that would be best solved with FTDP.
Thursday 25 July 2013
Not sure if FTDP is right for you? Let me help! Like most other Muslims, I’ve been thinking about food a lot lately. It comes with Ram...
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| I didn't mean to scream, honestly! |
Whoever was on the other side of the phone, I truly apologize.
I didn’t mean to scream at you. I just
wanted to scream at your company, and you were in the way.
As you may have guessed, I was furious at this one
telecommunication company for the way they treated me as a paying customer earlier
this week. The brand claims to provide various channels for customers to ‘
so call’ contact them but none of those
channels actually worked. I tried calling their support line and after a few gazillion
minutes of holding on the line, the automated answering machine prompted me to
go back to the website to solve my problem.
Who
does that!? Nevertheless, I kept my cool (it is
Ramadan, after all) and
searched for alternatives.
Thursday 18 July 2013
I didn't mean to scream, honestly! Whoever was on the other side of the phone, I truly apologize. I didn’t mean to screa...
Just like marriage, there are no small details in business. There are, of course, suspicions. As such, I had suspected for quite some time that the Electromagnetic locks that we've been supplied with were well under the claimed holding force in their invoices. The problem was, I have no measuring instrument to prove that the ‘white paper’ is wrong. This requires a special instrument, called precision magnetometer, to pull the two electromagnetic slabs apart when the electricity is turned on. The exact reading that it takes the moment the two slabs are separated indicates the holding force for the EM lock.
Tuesday 9 July 2013
Just like marriage, there are no small details in business. There are, of course, suspicions. As such, I had suspected for quite some tim...
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Have you gotten your
daily dose of knowledge? |
When
your products are deployable across various industries, the tendency to
generalize the usages of their features and functions is fairly high. You realize
this when you keep on writing about the same things over and over again
regardless of whom you are talking to. Though every office needs a time
attendance system, there are very little new
things to talk about. Time attendance is about clocking in, clocking out,
processing data, generating reports and connecting to third party applications for extra purposes. Is that all?
While it might sound good for businesses to possess one solution that fits all, they also
could fall into the ‘comfort’ zone where the products are being marketed
monotonously without any efforts to dig further into the unique needs of applicable
industries. The sales pitch is always “We
have these products and solutions that are suitable for you. Do you want it or
not?” instead of “We know that you
have this list of challenges and issues and our solutions can solve 90% of that
with our list of features and functions, and this is how it goes.” Complacency
in marketing is dangerous as it can lead to stagnant demand which reflects
badly on sales. It’s true that attendance systems consist of the entire process
of data collection and report generation but at the end of the day, there are
so many elements in the middle that vary based on select industries. The only
way to figure it out is to take initiative, study it and find out.
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Have you gotten your daily dose of knowledge? When your products are deployable across various industries, the tendency to ...
'Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling
the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of marketing
as he stumbles along his first year in the company. In Part 3, the writer
discusses the Pricing component of the tool. You can read the past
installments here: Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3
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| Afiq's remix - Time in Business is Priceless! |
Pricing
Upon entering FingerTec HQ last year, I was given a rough picture of FingerTec's marketing strategies including a hand-drawn graph of where the company stood in the market in terms of pricing by my always-on-the-go COO, Ms. Norana Johar. A very high-tech presentation, indeed. Jokes aside, the pricing strategies used revealed a lot about the company just like it would for any other company and I'm not at liberty to discuss them in detail. Therefore, I will instead discuss certain aspects about pricing in general, and try to see if we can relate it back to FingerTec. Wish me luck. Now let's read more!
Wednesday 19 June 2013
'Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of mar...
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| THE advanced access control system for YOU |
In my
continuing effort to talk about Ingress, lets learn 5 more important things to
pay attention to when it comes to Ingress Software implementation. For the less
initiated, Ingress is FingerTec’s latest software; highly recommended for door
access control installation. It’s packed with powerful access control features
which include graphical floor maps, real-time monitoring, centralized
management, data analysis, reporting and much more.
If you
are dealing with door access control products and market, request for the trial version of Ingress to
experience the greatness of its software. The best part, it comes bundled with
FingerTec door access products.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
THE advanced access control system for YOU In my continuing effort to talk about Ingress, lets learn 5 more important things...
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| Typical businessman |
Can you discern the differences between businessmen and
entrepreneurs? In vocabulary, both are synonymously similar. Both have to form a company, start a
business, sell products or solutions to customers and pay their dues. But it does sound better when you’re known as an entrepreneur rather than a
businessman. Nonetheless, a so-called entrepreneur would stay a businessman, if
he lacks substance in being an entrepreneur.
Businessmanship is
not a word, but entrepreneurship is. So,
what is entrepreneurship? Once, I asked a college student majoring in Finance
and Economics; and he just stared blank at me. Of course, anyone can consult
Google and find a bunch of answers, but if I did it that way, then my blogpost
would look placidly plain, wouldn’t it?
Friday 7 June 2013
Typical businessman Can you discern the differences between businessmen and entrepreneurs? In vocabulary, both are synonymously s...
‘Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling
the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of marketing
as he stumbles along his first year in the company. In Part 3, the writer
discusses the Promotion component of the tool. You can read the past
installments here: Part 1 · Part 2.
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| Sales-related promotions are only part of it |
Any self-respecting Malaysian knows what truly unites the population:
Our three (yes, THREE) major shopping seasons in the country.
The nationwide shopping periods have been an excellent promotional tool as it
helps build Malaysia’s profile as a shopping destination in South East Asia.
While FingerTec can only dream of using the country’s abundance of wealth and
resources to promote the company, it is not impossible for us to achieve the
trifecta of promotional objectives; To present information, increase demand
& create product differentiation. On a surface level, most of FingerTec's promotions are done on the Internet while some actually requires our physical presence overseas. As a whole, these efforts can be categorized into sales-related and non-sales promotions. Read more for juicier details.
Wednesday 5 June 2013
‘Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of market...
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Back in the days, 'Security'
often meant 'Inaccessability |
Decades ago, people associated security with heavy metal bars, thick and sturdy latches, and stringent access control. Have you ever watched medieval movies, have you seen their city gates? If that didn’t scream out ‘security’, I don’t know what did. In a way, it reminds me of my childhood home’s door lock. It was a long thick wooden latch that covered the middle of the whole entire door; and it’d probably take an elephant to bang it open. Up until recent times, security providers took pride in projecting the image of ‘security’ together with ‘inaccessibility’. The image of a fierce huge security guard complete with firearms would hinder anybody to initiate something funny. Unless, of course, if you’re Rowan Atkinson.
Wednesday 29 May 2013
Back in the days, 'Security' often meant 'Inaccessability Decades ago, people associated security with heavy metal bars, th...
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| Need help? Just type it out and I'll be there! |
Ingress is FingerTec’s latest software; highly recommended for door
access control installation. It’s packed with powerful access control features
such as graphical floor maps, real-time monitoring, centralized management,
data analysis and reporting etc.
First things first, you need to plan properly before implementing the
software, as most future inconveniences are caused by faulty installations. Don’t
rush into it and get tangled later. Here are 5 things you should look out for
to make your Ingress implementation smooth!
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Need help? Just type it out and I'll be there! Ingress is FingerTec ’s latest software; highly recommended for door access control...
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| Who has the upper hand? |
I
started my career in sales, selling PCs with standard software to home and
corporate users. Later on, I moved on to sell Electronic Publishing Solutions
to newspapers industry on a project basis. From sales of a few thousand dollars
upgraded to over a million dollars in a single order, you may consider this a
great leap forward.
But I
disliked doing sales, especially project-based sales. You bade and pitched and diverted
all your resources and times, writing thick proposals, presenting multiple
presentations, and on top of that, you have to build relationships by becoming
a Cheap Entertainment Officer rather than Chief Executive Officer. Even after all that, you might still fail to
secure the project. It is worse if the industry is so niche that all you have
are only a few potential clients in your region. It’s like your fate is not in your
hands but belongs to a handful few.
Friday 17 May 2013
Who has the upper hand? I started my career in sales, selling PCs with standard software to home and corporate users. Later on, I moved...
‘Afiq’s 5 Ps in
FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling the writer’s observations on
FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps of marketing as he stumbles along his
first year in the company. In Part 2, the writer discusses the Place component
of the tool. You can read Part 1 here.
 |
FingerTec can go
even further than Sun Wukong's vision
|
Place
When Sun Wukong of the literary masterpiece ‘Journey to the West’ was
challenged by Buddha to leave his gigantic palm, the Monkey King didn’t
hesitate to jump from Buddha’s hand – to get out of that place. Little
did he know that even though he can leap 108,000 miles in a leap, everything in
the world was ‘in Buddha’s hands’. In its own way, this is comparable to
FingerTec’s place in the time attendance and access control industry.
You might travel 108,000 miles away from our humble headquarters in Selangor,
Malaysia, but you’ll still see our name almost anywhere locally,
internationally or on the Web. Place, then, is just a concept. Read more
to understand why.
Friday 3 May 2013
‘Afiq’s 5 Ps in FingerTec’ is a 5-part mini-series chronicling the writer’s observations on FingerTec Worldwide through the 5 Ps...
Imagine if your sales strategy is to talk only bad things about your rivals and channel your entire advertisement budget to condemn their products and services; do you think it can help you boost sales? What if you don’t think you have done enough, can you go beyond?
Your next step may be, you soften it a bit by adding cash prize contests to hit the soft spots of potential customers, and later invite an international superstar to sing, dance and gallop your brand out.
Monday 22 April 2013
Imagine if your sales strategy is to talk only bad things about your rivals and channel your entire advertisement budget to condemn their ...
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If only it's as easy as choosing between
rock, paper and scissor |
The whole nation is geared up for
Election Day, which has been set on 5th May 2013, today. Many deemed
GE13 to be the most crucial fight in history between the 55-year ruling party
Barisan Nasional and the strong opposition front, Pakatan Rakyat. In the previous election,
Barisan Nasional won 50.27 percent of the popular vote, while Pakatan took
46.75 percent. Barisan Nasional had lost two of its important states to Pakatan
Rakyat in the last election, making the inroad to victory for this coming GE13 an
uphill battle.
Wednesday 17 April 2013
If only it's as easy as choosing between rock, paper and scissor The whole nation is geared up for Election Day, which...
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| No error messages will ever pop up like this |
Bumping into errors when
you are running a software is irritatingly irritating, particularly when those
errors prevent you from moving forward, delaying your job and making you work
extra hour(s) at the end of the day. How we wish we could have completely
error-free software, but let’s face it; we are living in a world where there
are many Bill Gates-type CEOs around – seems like errors do come packaged with
every product.
For example, last week when
I was having a good time watching a genuine decent DVD, an error message popped up asking me to refer to a website
which apparently has no solution to the audio problem it created. My point is,
who wants errors in their life? There’s no way to escape, even entertainment
gadgets have them.
When operating TCMS V2, you
need to pay attention to NOT do a few things that could cause error messages
and ruin your mood for the entire day. Let’s walk through 5 common things that
could cause errors in the TCMS V2 software.
Wednesday 10 April 2013
No error messages will ever pop up like this Bumping into errors when you are running a software is irritatingly irritating,...
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Lead by example? Talk the walk or walk the talk?
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After I read a column in our local tabloid, The Sun, I decided to write a complaint letter to the CEO that the columnist had mentioned, which he said is also his close friend. This is because, he quoted, both of them praised Amazon’s high quality on customer service.
I half expected I would get any reply from this CEO from a leading online recruitment company in this region, when I know usually one’s high approval on something might not necessarily apply to his own organization, especially when we already have some awful experience dealing with them, which further leaves me with no illusion.
This, is how the corresponding letter looks like:
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Lead by example? Talk the walk or walk the talk? After I read a column in our local tabloid, The Sun, I decided to write a compl...
Two years and ten months.
Time passes really quickly when you have a job. I still remember the day I came in for an interview with my immediate superior, Ms. Norana Johar, scared as hell, not sure about what I should and shouldn’t say. I think I tried on about more or less a gazillion outfits that day, before choosing a combination of a black skirt with a dark blue/black top. Exciting colors, huh? Fresh out of Uni I was in a rush to start working then, and I must say, working at FingerTec was one of the best rash decisions I’ve ever made in my life.
After all, if I didn’t choose this job, I wouldn’t have the two strands of precious white hair now protruding out proudly from my scalp, occasionally waving hello to my parents and relatives, reminding them that my purpose in life should be looking for a husband.
Of course, I am only kidding: Its three strands.
Two years and ten months. Time passes really quickly when you have a job. I still remember the day I came in for an interview with my i...
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| Follow other's footsteps, or make your own? |
“I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that brand,” might sound like it comes
from a conceited person but the truth is, most of us apply this rule in our
lives in some way or other. Every decision made on our choices and purchases
defines who we are and our priorities in life. Eva Mendes or Pamela Anderson would
rather go cloth-less than wearing anything made from animal on their bodies, I
reckon. A CEO of a listed company definitely wants to be seen driving the
latest model of a BMW or an Audi and buy a property in a high-profile
neighborhood. An environmentalist would prefer a Prius than a car that boasts
on horsepowers. Whether you agree or not, we are continuously branding ourselves
every step of our way, building an image for the world to see.
In professional and personal lives,
we constantly project perceptions by the brands we choose and, vice versa,
perceive other people by the brands they choose.
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Follow other's footsteps, or make your own? “I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that brand,” might sound like it comes f...
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| Innovators are betting on new interfaces to drive computing power |
Since the foray of personal computers into our life during the last three decades, monitors, keyboards and mouses have remained as the most essential interface devices for human to interact with computers. Even though we observed some minor improvements like monitors from bulky to flat, to higher resolution; keyboards from big to smaller; and mice from cabled to wireless; the nature of the medium stayed put.
It remained that way until computing power were compressed into tablets and smartphones, where the new human interface started to observe a real change, and the change is obviously welcomed and quickly situated the once dominant PC-era to a post-PC era.
Friday 15 March 2013
Innovators are betting on new interfaces to drive computing power Since the foray of personal computers into our life during the last...
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