Page 26 - Sphere No.12 (Aug 2004)

touch of a button, and can initiate a face-to-face video conver-
sation with the factory manager to discuss the issue further.
And all at speeds that would make you think the office was
next door rather than hundreds of kilometres away.
The building blocks for this powerful service can be found
in HGC’s unparalleled international communications net-
work. Since 2000, its local network has been directly connected
to China Telecom’s network in the Mainland through the
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong synchronous digital hierar-
chy ring. This enables data traffic to and from China to be
directly routed through Hong Kong.
“Demand is high in Southern China because of the number
of people operating factories there,” Wong confirms. “We now
have the biggest capacity for connections to that region.”
Meanwhile, the company has also been rapidly expanding its
international presence, through a resilient international sub-
marine cable system. It also has a global business network with
points of presence and offices set up in China, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Los Angeles
in the US.
The driver is simple: to provide customers with the
same high-quality services, regardless of their actual
geographic location.
With these overseas presences and ancillary facilities, the
company is poised to grow into one of the region’s leading
telecoms service providers.
Well Connected
Wong is quietly confident about HGCH’s long-term prospects,
particularly as its infrastructure also offers the crucial flexibili-
ty to be easily upgraded, both in terms of capacity and speed.
“We have the technology and network to provide much
higher speeds as market demand grows,” he says.
The continued march of technological progress also ensures
that HGCH is finding new ways of making its network services
SPHERE 24
C O V E R S T O R Y
W hen large companies or government depart-
ments in Asia need computer solutions, they
generally turn to the Vanda Group.
Founded in 1982, the company specialises in delivering
one-stop-shop information technology (IT) systems infra-
structure and application solutions services.
One of the first entrants to import foreign PCs into
China, Vanda operates across an extensive geographical
range, spanning Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau
through Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. The
company collaborates with global IT partners employing
a wide range of application software, databases, hard-
ware and development tools.
Its cutting-edge technologies and solutions are widely
adopted by diverse industries including major banks,
financial institutions, posts and telecommunications com-
panies, utilities companies and government departments.
Approximately 80% of Vanda’s clients are banks.
Vanda is also the IT solutions provider for the HWL
Group and became a member of the Group when it
merged with Hutchison Global Communications and
PowerCom in March 2004.
Among the company’s numerous awards, it was named
“The Best Solution Provider 2004” by IBM.
DELIVERING COMPUTER P OWER