Basis Bay launches technology equipment portal
Jaring Internet Magazine - August 2003
L. Nin
KUALA LUMPUR - Basis Bay Group, the technology services and hardware solutions vendor, recently announced the launch of eBasis Bay, the Internet portal for the trading of pre- owned, refurbished and new hardware equipment. Targeting businesses across the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and the retail industries, the portal is also positioned for the small and medium industries (SMI), where total cost of ownership is a critical factor.
Speaking to reporters and industry analysts, at the launch, the chief executive officer, Basis Bay Group, Praba Thiagarajah, said, "We anticipate that the portal is going to create a stir in the regional market. The idea is innovative and by utilizing the Internet we are empowering our customers to make the choices that best suit their business needs."
He also noted that in the current challenging business environment, investing in technology equipment including servers has become a rather complex and critical business issue. He said, "Such equipment requires not only specialized maintenance, but also due to rapid development of technology, frequent upgrading in capabilities and functionality."
He added that the option of procuring refurbished or pre-owned equipment, therefore becomes a very compelling and viable alternative to business and technology managers.
According to Basis Bay, this new portal allows customers to source, procure, trade and sell new, pre-owned and refurbished hardware ranging from mid to high-end computer mainframes, through to desktop computers and other associated equipment.
Other value-added services, said Basis Bay, include after-sales support such as installation, configuration, customization, testing and maintenance, which are carried out by a strong in- house team of engineers. Furthermore, the company said that many of the pre-owned hardware items actually come with a limited warranty that is unusual for such a venture and offers a significant incentive for the customer.
With this in mind, Thiagarajah said, "Our strong track record and experience in supplying pre-owned technology equipment, combined with our in-house professional resources, provides us with the capability to offer this unique warranty programme to our customers."
Other value-added facilities that are available through the eBasis Bay include access to in-country logistics services. In addition, Basis Bay currently in negotiation to have relationships with third party leasing and financial services organizations.
eBasis Bay's mandate is to deliver better support to its customers through eliminating other third party costs and long delivery time, according to the company. The portal (www.ebasisbay.com), today offers over 1,000 products and category types aimed at businesses, as well as individuals, looking to change complete or individual hardware components.
According to Thiagarajah, "This is one of the most comprehensive listings of products and components available on the Internet in the region. We are confident the portal will meet the immediate needs of not only our customers but, as an information and trading portal, provide technology professionals with the ideal platform to procure, explore and exchange information and equipment".
The company said that currently there are limited or fragmented sources where a customer can go to find information about enterprise mainframes. In line with this, the portal supports, via its listings, most of the major enterprise hardware vendors. "The portal provides accurate information to help customers identify the best equipment to fit their needs," said Basis Bay.
Also, as a result of long term partnerships that eBasis Bay has forged with these vendors, much of the equipment on offer in the portal would be competitively priced compared to the market rate. In addition, according to Basis Bay, the portal provides a convenient facility for those customers wanting to dispose of excess equipment reducing redundancy and minimizing costs.
"New equipment is expensive to buy on a continuous basis especially for an organization's ICT hardware needs. Through the eBasis Bay portal, organizations have the option to compare the prices of new, pre-owned and refurbished equipment and select the most suitable option to fit their budget", concluded Thiagarajah.
The portal is a MSC Trustgate.com Sdn. Bhd (www.msctrustgate.com) secure site. It uses Verisign secure site facility that said all information sent to this site, if in an SSL session, is encrypted, protecting against disclosure to third parties. MSC Trustgate.com is the certification authority that invested another RM9 million last year to provide digital time stamping services to clients. It has invested in total of RM14 million since it was set up three years ago
Basis Bay (www.basisbay.com)'s other services include procurement, customization, complete installation, technical support, training and maintenance of midrange to mainframe computer hardware. The company also provides consulting expertise in network computing, networked storage, business continuity planning and data center facilities management. Other business applications also developed by the company include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Internet-based human resources.
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