Hong Kong Companies Recognized for Excellence in Business Adoption of Linux

Fourteen Hong Kong companies were recognized today (6 July 2005) at the presentation ceremony of the Linux Business Award 2005 jointly organized by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), HKSAR Government, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), and the Hong Kong Linux Industry Association (HKLIA).

The ceremony was officiated by Mr Edmund Sung, Acting Executive Director of HKPC; Mr Alan Kan, Acting Chairman of HKLIA; Dr Lam Wai Kin, Advisor of HKLIA, and Mr Cheung Woon Hang, Chief Systems Manager of OGCIO.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Edmund Sung said, "Linux is the fastest growing operating system in the market with applications spanning both public and private sectors. Offering an easy access to the adoption of information technology (IT) by business or community users alike, Linux has facilitated the development of IT products and services."

He said, “To study the adoption of Linux in Hong Kong, a survey was conducted from December 2004 to March 2005 whereby 188 local SMEs who have either adopted Linux or have plans to adopt Linux were interviewed. The survey found that local SMEs are only in the initial phase of Linux adoption. For those who have adopted Linux, 50% said that Linux only accounted for less than 10% of their application software, while more than half said that their Linux-related IT investments were less than 5% of the total. The lack of technical know-how and professional support to solve operation problems, as well as software and hardware compatibility are the difficulties cited by SMEs in Linux adoption.”

“Through this Award, we hope to raise the awareness of the business sectors on the possibility of Linux, and promote successful applications on the Linux platform to encourage a wider adoption of Linux,” Mr Sung said.

Mr Alan Kan said, “According to both application users and solution providers who participated in the Award Scheme, Linux is more cost effective for product development. Under this open source platform, the sustainability of product development is assured with the production costs being reduced, thus allowing a higher profit margin.”

The Linux Business Award 2005 included two categories of awards, namely Business Adoption Award and Product Development Award. The total number of entries for this year has increased by 50% over 2003.

Entries came from different industry sectors, including plastics injection moulding, electronics, sea transport logistics management, hotel management, restaurants and catering service, retail, education, community services, and IT services.

The Grand Award winners of the Linux Business Award 2005 are:
– Business Adoption Award – Industry Based Application: Fleet Management Limited
– Product Development Award – Enterprise Business Application: Infrasys (HK) Ltd
– Product Development Award – Infrastructure Building and Communication Application: Center for E-Commerce Infrastructure Development, The University of Hong Kong
– Product Development Award – Linux Appliance: Chen Hsong Holdings Ltd

Other winners of the Merit Awards included Campion International Development Limited, Hong Kong St. John Ambulance, Caritas Bianchi Lodge, ADP Pentagon Pets Ltd. ("Red Carrot"), Hectrix Ltd, BroadLearning Education (Asia) Ltd, Outblaze Limited, Global e-Business Services Limited, Pixel Magic Systems Ltd, and AvantWave Limited.

The Award presentation ceremony was a highlight of the Linux business promotion programme organized by the OGCIO, HKPC and HKLIA from April to July 2005. The programme also included the Linux Solution Seminar and Linux Application Awardee Seminar.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Betty Lee
General Manager
Corporate Communications and Events
Tel: (852) 2788 5895
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
E-mail: justina@hkpc.org

HKPC
6 July 2005