Adobe’s only platinum partner in Malaysia: 4 things they do differently for businesses
[This is a sponsored article with Acestar.]
Launched in 2008, Acestar has always strived to be the leading local IT provider. Amongst the services they are known for includes providing a suite of Adobe Creative Cloud products, from Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects to Adobe Sign.
The partnership began in 2014, when Group CEO Natalie Sit envisioned that the Adobe Creative Cloud would become a powerful tool in the coming future, thus making her an early advocate.
As it turns out, she would be right about its growth, and since 2018, Acestar has been recognised as an Adobe Platinum Partner for its long-standing experience in offering the brand’s products.
Not only that, but as of the time of writing in December 2021, Acestar is the only Adobe Platinum Partner in the entirety of Malaysia. This means that it is the only local IT provider that has achieved the requirements set by Adobe, namely, achieving the highest levels of sales performance and customer penetration in its region.
To find out more about what Acestar can provide to companies as the only Adobe Platinum Partner in Malaysia, click here.
With this recognition, the team is able to provide clients with much more value when it comes to purchasing Adobe products, hence its tagline, “Do It Differently”.
In essence, Acestar can furnish clients with more specialised services beyond just selling them the Adobe products.
1. Educational & demonstrative webinars
From the suite of Adobe products that Acestar resells, one of the main ones that is experiencing growing relevance in the new flexi-work culture is Adobe Sign.
Thus, Acestar has been placing more focus on showing the benefits of Adobe Sign to clients through demonstrative webinars.
Through these webinars, the team showcases how businesses can maximise the potential of Adobe Sign, something only possible thanks to the team’s deeper understanding of the product.
2. Digital campaigns to drive the creative industry
Webinars aside, Acestar also organises in-house events where it collaborates with Adobe speakers. Clients who depend on Adobe products to run their day-to-day operations would be the main audience, as this is where they can learn the most up-to-date information.
Acestar is also a trusted partner in Malaysia to spearhead a yearly world-class design competition called Adobe Creative Associates (ACA) Championship Malaysia, after which the top performers will be sent to the global stage.
In fact, 2021’s ACA World Championship winner ended up being a Malaysian named Danny Tse Wei Chun, whom we interviewed here.
A graduate of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) with a degree in Digital Animation, Danny beat 65K global contestants to emerge as champion after a 6-hour final competition in design.
3. Growing the next generation of creatives
Following the above, this points to Acestar’s dedication to being more than just an Adobe reseller, and instead becoming a key player in bridging the gap between the industry and education.
After all, what use are all these digital tools if no one really knows how to use them? This is the crucial role that Acestar has taken on when it comes to building the talent pool for tech businesses.
To find out more about what Acestar can provide to companies as the only Adobe Platinum Partner in Malaysia, click here.
4. Tailored workshops & onboarding training for businesses
Sometimes webinars aren’t enough to help users get the most out of their Adobe products, so this is where Acestar’s tailored workshops and onboarding training come in.
The tailored workshops go into more detail about how to use the products, and at the end of them, participants can receive a certificate of completion to show they’ve upskilled themselves.
Meanwhile, businesses who have just begun using Adobe products may need a little more hand-holding, so Acestar’s team will help onboard them so they can implement the tools in their operations more efficiently.
Adobe has more than just creative tools
While Adobe may be known for creative tools, products like Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and Adobe Sign are meant to promote more efficient digital workflows within companies.
In essence, Adobe Sign is an e-signature tool that allows recipients to electronically sign documents by typing their name or uploading their signature onto a computer. They can even draw their signatures on a mobile device.
Adobe Sign adheres to the industry standard of being legal, tested, secure, auditable, and verifiable. The tech is put through an industry-recognised standard for data security, and optional extra measures can be taken to enhance the process through OTPs and passwords.
According to observations made by the Acestar team, many businesses still struggle with paper-based processes that are slow, error-prone, and fragmented.
Thus, key benefits of Adobe Sign for users include:
- Get signatures in minutes, not days, and track the entire process electronically;
- Sign a document from anywhere, on any device without signing up or downloading software;
- Easily add Adobe Sign to the systems and applications they already use today;
- Sign documents electronically with confidence that they’re protected by Adobe’s security and legal compliance.
Some examples of companies that would then benefit from Adobe Sign include those in construction, manufacturing, automotive, recruitment, architecture, engineering, and medical.
“These are the industries that are heavily dependent on approval processes between stakeholders, where signing or getting blanks filled allow things to move a step further, and they need things fast,” Natalie told Vulcan Post.
“In the long term, they can save the hassle of chasing signatures as well as the cost of printing by turning their workflow into a paperless process.”
As this is growing in importance with the flexible work and remote working culture, Acestar is doubling down on ensuring that clients understand the added value they can provide when it comes to Adobe products.
Rebranding for the next phase of growth
Though Acestar has long been providing its services and products professionally, Natalie and her team felt that it’s now time for a rebrand in order for them to be even more focused in their operations.
To that end, it’s having more than just a logo and look change, but it’s also going to scale its team by hiring more talents with different and specialised skill sets so they can serve clients better.
At the moment, Acestar estimates that they have a 20-30% market share in the segment of the IT industry they operate in, and with this recognition as an Adobe Platinum Partner and its rebranding exercise, Natalie shared that they soon hope to acquire a 50% market share in Malaysia.
- Find out more about Acestar and the Adobe products it carries here.
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Laptop subscription services exist, but this M’sian company added on software and IT support
[This is a sponsored article with Acestar.]
By now, most would have seen the impact that the pandemic has had on businesses nationwide. For starters, around 70% of small medium enterprises (SMEs) experienced a 50% drop in business during the first lockdown.
Natalie Sit, the CEO of Acestar and an entrepreneur with 22 years of experience in the IT industry saw that businesses are struggling financially. One area she thought to target to help reduce upfront costs? IT procurement.
With irregular and unpredictable lockdowns leading to an uncertain cash flow, companies still had to invest in pricey IT equipment such as laptops and software for their staff, especially with remote working on the rise.
The costs of equipping an employee with a capable laptop and software could reach up to RM5,000 per unit. If they were hiring multiple staff at a time, or if there was a need to refresh all the company laptops for an entire team or division, the company would be looking at five-figure payments or more.
Thus, the Acestar team came up with TechCare to provide companies with a more flexible package by turning their capital expenditure (CapEx) into operational expenditure (OpEx).
Keeping the customer’s needs in mind
Since Acestar’s inception in 2008, the company has always strived to be the leading local IT provider.
Alongside Natalie is Jason Chin, Acestar’s Director, who also played a crucial role in Acestar’s transformation over the years to the company it is today.
Under his belt, he has over 20 years of experience in Network and Server Infrastructure, along with credentials such as a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MSCE), Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and more.
As Acestar’s Director, he needed to have a deep understanding of the current tech landscape. Thus, he was able to shift the traditionally expensive IT procurement method into one that is more affordable. He has also lived under Acestar’s motto to put customers first in whatever they do.
The direct result of this customer-centred commitment has led to the company’s crowning achievement of being Malaysia’s only Adobe Platinum Partner. To be classified as a Platinum Partner, the company will need to have an experienced team handling Adobe solutions, while offering top-notch support to their customers.
Acestar is also a partner for brands such as HP (Hewlett Packard) and Microsoft. They can leverage their collaborations to provide competitive pricing for their solutions to the users.
Equipping employees with the right tools for increased productivity
In essence, TechCare’s solution is similar to subscription services that you may be familiar with. But instead of just a laptop or IT services, you’ll be getting both starting from RM235 a month.
Note: The RM235 package requires a minimum of 5 users on a 36-month contract. The package price is also affected by the laptop and the software you choose.
TechCare also comes with a free 3-month Salesfeed subscription,(worth RM1.2k) a lead generation tool with predictive analysis for businesses. It can help you create multiple landing pages with ready-made templates for Facebook Ads, Google Ads and others.
Aside from the laptop and software, you will also be getting IT support from Acestar as well. They have a dedicated team to help you troubleshoot when problems arise, so you will not have to hire an additional IT staff to help your team navigate through computer issues.
Under TechCare, you can get laptops such as the HP Firefly G8 and software such as Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials, Faronics Antivirus Cloud Subscription, and more.
The effectiveness of TechCare’s service has had proven results too. Brian Law, the Managing Partner of LAW Partnership (a multi-disciplinary law firm) shared that it helped them improve company productivity by 15% and reduce their costs of hiring in-house IT personnel. It was how they powered through the first MCO.
Basically, TechCare can be an end-to-end service for their customer’s IT equipment needs, with Acestar acting as the consolidated point of contact. Companies can also move some of their costs of onboarding new employees to an operational charge that can be paid in fixed monthly instalments instead.
- For more info on what TechCare offers, click here.
Also Read: 9 facts about personal loans in M’sia you should know to borrow responsibly in a pandemic
Featured Image Credit: Dyla Fadhilah, Sales Consultant for Acestar; Benjamin Yeoh, Senior Manager, Business Development for Acestar and Jason Chin, the Director of Acestar / Acestar
