'Restarting a dream' with
1001 Technologies
BY Aishah Mustapha
t took looi Kien Leong 15 years to build
IT conglomerate SCS Computer Systems
Group from nothing to an outfit with a
turnover of RM200 miflion in 2000.By20O4,
Loot was out of the picture due to what he
calls a conflict of interest when SCS was
bought over by Kompakar Group.
And just like the restart button on yom eve-
ryday PC, Looi says he restarted his dieam in
3004 with 1001 Technologies SdnEhdflOOlTech;
— to build another leading system integration
company, specifically in healthcare.
"I will grow this company as I have done
before.The potential in this [bealthcaie| indus-
try is there.Look at the other sectors, such as
oil and gas or banks, the market is satuiated.
Most of the banks would have been 60% to 70%
iCT-enabled-G ovemment projects, on the other
hand, are a different game to play.
"In the private sector, the best is health-
care because it has not been the focus of a
lot of ICT vendors. But suddenly, you see big
MNCs moving aggressively into this area.
This is where the growth is .As depopulation
matures,especially in Southeast Asia, people
will have enough to sustain then- cost of liv-
ing.They want better healthcare,better living
standards," Looi says.
This time around, Looi, CEO of lOOlTech,
says he is more careful about the cost struc-
ture of his company, if before he ran SCS as
an airline, he is now running lOOlTech like a
budget carrier.
With a core team of about 30 people, Looi
sets up alliances with various partners which
he leverages on for his projects. As president
of the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry
Organization, Looi says he is able to source
strong local partners in foreign markets such
as the Philippines and Indonesia.
"The markethas changed-Peopleno longer
pay big money for their ICT projects. Compa-
nies wantalow-costsolution that can dowhat
they want. First of all, human eluding IPVox, lOOlTech is able
resources is an expensive affair to offer a hospital management
for most ICT companies. system, health record systems,
So we have to shift the high dental management systems and
cost, but without compromis- IP-based customer service solu-
ing on quality. I make alliances tions through a contact centre
and FP telephony systems.
With this, I have the resourc- With a system based on com-
es to complete the job," says munication, Looi believes he can
Looi. build other verticals in other in-
His healthcare solution is dustries , such as financial services.
He foresees the financial industry
he says. He acquired a startup
called IPVox 2W years ago for Looi: I will grow this nancial crisis subsides.
RM750,OOO to change his so- company 351 have "Thebanks are not going to al-
lution from one that is man- done before locate tons of money for IT projects.
agement information system They are not going to pay big n
(MlS)-based to one that is communication- eyformaintenance.whichniighthaveanKOI
based. of fiveyears.Ican come in with low-cost solu-
"An MIS-based solution is focused on cap- tions.The financial solution will sit on top of
turing your data, archiving it, and providing the communication solution-Any application
reports from business intelligence and data I'm going to build will have this communica-
warehousing. These are traditional ways of tion component as the base," says Looi.
approaching it. Today, with the converging The domestic market is still the biggest
world.itis thecommunicationportionxvhich contributor to lOOlTech's bottom line. His
is important. domestic projects include maintaining the
Forexample,whatismedifferencebetween laboratory system inHospital Kuala Lumpur's
a hotel and a hospital? If you are admitted pathology department 24 hours a day and a
into a hospital right now, you have to wait to KM3.59 million dental management system
be allocated a bed or a consultant. But if you for the Kuliyyah of Dentistry at International
check into ahotel,you are told when the bed Islamic University Malaysia,
will be ready and when you ivill get your bill. Last year, the company registered EM4.43
rnahotel,alotoftelephonyisused,unhkem million in revenue, with a profit after tax of
healthcare," says Looi. RMS92,OOO.Its orderbookfor this year stands
Looi says studies have revealed that hos- at RMS million, says Looi. Listing plans are
pital systems do not cater for real-time status still too early as he wants to focus on grow-
updates, such as when the ward is emptied, ing the company.
sanitised or tidied. "They keep track of the Right now, the Indonesian market looks
number of beds they have, but they don't promising as Looi is eyeing a few projects
know when they are available, or if the bed- there.HavingbuUt SCSsuccessfutty,he iskeen
sheets are being changed.This is an example to see a similar growth story for lOOlTech.
of what I mean about hospitals making full But, while Looi aims to be a regional player,
use of communication .The design isn't there it might still be a long way off, especially see-
in the first place," Looi explains. ing that the healthcare industry is always a
Through three subsidiary companies, in- laggard in embracing IT. G