On the 4th of June 2009, Frost & Sullivan hosted the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Awards at the chic St Regis Hotel, Singapore. The sixth annual edition of the banquet was a glitzy affair attended by the who’s who as well as the up-and-coming of the Asia Pacific ICT industry.
Over the past few years, Japanese, Korean, South Asian as well as Greater China players dominated the coveted titles. This year stood out in particular because many of the big names were joined by notable rising stars who claimed prestigious titles, making the slogan of the event ‘Gems of Asia’ even more apt.
First timers included Vietnam’s incumbent telecom operator VietTel as the 2009 emerging market service provider of the year; Thailand’s Total Access Communications, for the most innovative application ‘ATMSIM’ that enables customers to use ATM services via their mobile phones. Hong Kong based Tandberg Television was honoured as the consumer video vendor of the year for its exemplary growth across the region despite the growing competition and economic slowdown while Sun Cellular from the Philippines clinched the most promising service provider of the year.
According to Nithin Bhat, Frost & Sullivan's senior vice president, ICT practice, Asia Pacific, all the winners stood out for their focus on the relentless pursuit of a new vision, pushing the boundaries of excellence, rising about their competition, their focus on customers and their satisfaction and finally, their determination to identify new market opportunities.
Bhat, elaborates, "Factors ranging from market saturation, increased customer acquisition costs, fluctuating exchange rates and commoditisation of offerings were the characteristics of the market for ICT companies in 2008. Delivery of value rather than a plain product and service offering was the ultimate goal for the award recipients in the past year. This value creation was driven by a combination of product and service innovation, business model flexibility and unwavering focus on the customer."
A total of 33 coveted titles were conferred to 27 companies in the ICT industry, representing the entire spectrum of enterprise solution vendors, telecom equipment vendors and service providers in Asia Pacific. The award recipients were selected from a short list of 85 key ICT players, telecommunications companies and regulatory bodies operating across Asia Pacific.
The selection process included a rigorous procedure whereby a team of 30 leading Frost & Sullivan analysts short listed, researched and evaluated the contenders in each category, applying the same thorough approach that has been the hallmark of Frost & Sullivan globally.
The findings of the detailed evaluation were then presented to an independent panel of judges comprising influential personalities, decision makers and thought leaders in the Asia Pacific ICT industry. By the selection that they have made they have themselves pushed the boundaries of innovation and corporate excellence.
All contenders were evaluated based on a variety of actual market performance indicators which include revenue growth, market share and growth in market share, leadership in product innovation, breadth of products and solutions, major customer acquisitions, and business and market strategy, amongst other category-specific criteria.
Asian Channels was proud to be a media partner of Frost & Sullivan’s illustrious ICT Awards 2009.
By Shanti Anne Morais
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