Fujitsu confident of hitting growth target

• Japanese IT multinational expects to achieve 2012 target due to pick up in government projects
• Projects include those with Mampu, Pemandu; involves public education sector and data center consolidation

FUJITSU Malaysia is on track to achieve its 2012 revenue growth targets aided by the resumption of spending by the Malaysian government in the education and public sector space.
 
Charles Lew, Fujitsu Malaysia’s president, said the company is even hoping to exceed its target, as a number of projects it is involved in have begun in the last couple of months.
 
“There is a heightened sense of urgency to move projects [forward],” he said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the Fujitsu Open Day on Thursday (Oct 11). “We are in our third [fiscal] quarter and we expect to have a very busy third and fourth quarter.”
 
In July, Digital News Asia reported that the Japanese IT multinational was set to achieve between 26% and 30% in revenue growth for its 2012 financial year (FY), and hitting 250% growth in its operating profits in 2012. Fujitsu’s fiscal reporting year spans from April 2012 to Mac 2013 and it had grown 31% in its FY11 year.
 
Lew who then said that based on its sales bookings, backlog orders as well as what was already in its sales pipeline, Fujitsu was confident of achieving such growth despite the challenging times globally.
 
However, he added that there were quite a few public sector large IT infrastructure projects that were held up earlier.
 
The reasons for these hold ups were not immediately clear but Lew had said that it could be due to uncertainties over Malaysia’s impending general election. Malaysia’s general election must take place by April 2013.
 
Asked why he was so confident that Fujitsu’s could still meet its targets, Lew said it was very difficult to speculate as to why this was so, only noting that somehow, “things just came together like a perfect storm.”
 
“Our projects come from various government agencies,” he explained. “It could be because there are budgets available, or because of some other factors. But we’re [just] relieved that the projects are moving and that’s my main concern.”
 
Lew (pic, left) said the sectors Fujitsu was involved in include education, which included both public tertiary as well as primary and secondary levels. Other projects relate to the consolidation of government data centers aimed at deriving better operational efficiencies and cost saving from existing infrastructure.
 
Craig Baty (pic, right), chief technology and innovation officer (CTIO) of Fujitsu ANZ (Australia/ New Zealand), noted that since the global economic crisis in 2007/2008, investment had basically stopped in the region and this not only affected ICT but infrastructure in general.
 
“We’re getting to the stage where people are starting to spend again and technology has to be refreshed again or else Asean, as a region, is going to lose its competitiveness.”
 
Baty also said today’s technologies and trends have emerged very rapidly and these include cloud computing, big data, mobility, bring your own device (BYOD), sustainability, and social media.
 
“CIOs are seeing their roles change. They need to change from one that is focused on being a technology operator/enforcer – who mainly develops, operates and monitors the technology – to one that is a business enabler, who will orchestrate the realization of business goals via technology.”
 
“CIOs must transform their understanding of their job by looking at different perspectives as well as coming up with new ideas,” he said. “CIOs need to deal with issues about boundaries in relation to people, processes and technology.”