i-City gets top marks for facilities, services

The first batch of three and five-storey MSC-status shop offices sold and completed in i-City in Section 7, Shah Alam, Selangor. Inset is Datuk Lim Kim Hong.

AN international information technology (IT) player has described smart-community developer I-Bhd's RM2bil i-City as the “No 1 technology city in Asia”.

Office Squared Ltd (a subsidiary of Servcorp) said the proposed i-City was not just a technology park but was also a totally plug-and-play environment, offering true high-speed broadband.

Servcorp is the second largest serviced office provider in the world, currently managing over 9,000 clients in 13 countries.

Office Squared business development manager David Cross, who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend the 16th World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT) 2008 from May 18 to 22, said i-City is packed with world-class networking technologies, capacity that surpassed today's business needs.

“Its facilities and services, geared for the second generation Internet development called Web 2.0 out-performs other Asian technology parks built five or more years ago, thus making it the most advanced technology city in Asia,” he said.

He also described i-City as a “one-stop shop” where its advanced business communications were complemented by sophisticated productivity, collaboration and mobility tools that were available online.

“Users save capital costs and reduce the cost and resource demands for business operations, while maintaining high speed and high availability services and on-site support. They will enjoy astoundingly fast service implementation and avoid frustration of slow connections, blackouts and Telco disconnections,” he added.

I-Bhd chief innovation officer Ricky Lim said there were eight reasons for businesses to choose i-City: It has MSC Malaysia cybercentre status, fibre optics with Cisco network, super broadband with redundancy, Cisco Unified Communications with receptionist, Servcorp powered services, Tier 3+ data centre, 100% backup power supply and a shopping mall.

I-Bhd, whose shares are listed on the Bursa Malaysia main board, is showcasing i-City at WCIT 2008. About 2,500 participants from over 80 countries are attending the event billed as the “Olympics of ICT”.

The ICT-based i-City commercial township is master planned by world-renowned and award-winning American architect Jon A. Jerde.

“We are very pleased that i-City was recently awarded the MSC Malaysia Cybercentre status. The development of this 72-acre freehold ICT-based premier commercial development in Section 7, Shah Alam, is a strategic fit in our corporate plans to make i-City an international world class techno-city using the latest in ICT technology,” said I-Bhd chairman Datuk Lim Kim Hong.

Meanwhile, the first batch of 44 units of three and five-storey shop office in i-City have been sold and completed. Another 34 units of similar shop offices will be launched in July or August.

By The Star (by S.C.Cheah)