BuzzCity ( http://www.buzzcity.com/ ) created, well, a buzz at the National Infocomm Awards (NIA) and ANTlabs ( http://www.antlabs.com/ ) showed that hard work in R&D do pay off, when both companies won awards for the Most Innovative Infocomm Product/Service at this year’s NIA.

Mr Ang of ANTlabs (left) receives the NIA trophy from RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew.

Mr Ang Kwang Tat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ANTlabs (Advanced Network Technology Laboratories), said that although his company is “cash flow positive”, it ploughs its profits back into innovation. ANTlabs, founded in 1999, puts a whopping 20 per cent of its annual revenue and 50 per cent of its manpower into R&D.

This commitment led to the development of Securite, a full-featured network security solution that protects computer users from all the wiles cyber crooks use to steal confidential information during online transactions – phishing, spyware, crimeware, keylogging and hacking.

Individual consumers remain the top target for these Internet tricksters, since, unlike corporations, they cannot afford sophisticated security software. Whereas traditional anti-virus solutions use detection to identify known malware, Securite, which is installed in the end user's PC, checks the credentials of websites accessed to ensure that they are legitimate.

“We see a lot of things happening in the financial world. It has a lot to do with confidence,” said Mr Ang, noting that the Internet shares this vulnerability of confidence. “Today, if someone finds a way to compromise computer security, no one will use the computer for their online transactions. We hope our innovation will encourage transactions with the value going to the end user.”

The team from BuzzCity celebrates at the NIA.

BuzzCity got its award for myGamma, a social networking website aimed primarily at mobile users. myGamma is a means to reach the “unwired” Internet audience – who do not have computers, and who access Internet through their mobile phones, which are cheaper than computers.

My Gamma brings people into cyberspace from countries where mobile penetration is far greater than that of computers, like India, South Africa and Indonesia. “Members write to tell us that myGamma has opened a new world to them with new friends, opportunities and possibilities. Many of these users -- from across four continents -- are experiencing the Internet for the first time,” said Dr Lai Kok Fung, BuzzCity’s CEO. myGamma is currently the largest wireless community in the world, and, Dr Lai expects it to catch on in Europe and the US. “Even in the more developed markets, we are seeing users who prefer mobile phones to computers for accessing the Internet.”

Last month, South African media giant Naspers invested US$10 million in BuzzCity to help extend myGamma’s market share.

Besides creating a global network for the unwired, the mobile community of myGamma also offers merchants a unified platform for advertising and marketing, with advertising, merchant and publisher programmes. While the marketing possibilities are exciting, what is important for BuzzCity is the members.

“We started the company in 1999 and saw the dotcom boom and bust. We made spreadsheets and bold predictions. Somewhere along the way, we were swept away by all the talk of making it big and forgot the reasons we started the company in the first place,” recalled Dr Lai.

“Fortunately, we’ve rediscovered the joy and raw excitement of coming face to face with the people who use our services daily. And here is the most mysterious lesson of all: when we stop requiring life to progress according to my spreadsheet, the spreadsheet begins to take care of itself.”