Five teams of Students from Asia South Compete in Open Source Technology Challenge

SINGAPORE – July 28, 2009 – Sun Microsystems today raised the curtain on the first Open Jive Regional Challenge 2009 Grand Finals, a competition that showcases the best ideas and applications created by students in Asia South, based on Open Source technologies. The regional championship featured winning teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines.

For the first time, Sun expanded the scope of Java Jive to include a wide variety of Open Source technologies beyond Java to include JavaFX, NetBeans IDE, OpenSolaris, MySQL, GlassFish, Project Wonderland, Zembly and many others.

The challenge, themed “Project: Change Tomorrow”, included applications such as a 3D application to ensure shoppers got the perfect fit when they purchase clothing online and a social networking site that promotes recycling and eco-friendly activities. These creative ideas and applications enhance or change the way people work, play, shop or collaborate over the Internet.

Sun Microsystems received over a hundred project submissions from five participating countries. After a month of local finals, the top team from each country was selected to pitch their projects to a panel of judges and an audience of professional developers. One of these five teams will be crowned the Open Jive Regional Challenge 2009 Champions.

The Open Jive Challenge is held concurrently with Sun Developer Days, where participants attend a series of workshops on Sun technologies ranging from JavaFX -the next generation of Java technology for mobile, desktop and the web, to MySQL – the Open Source database which powers many Web 2.0 portals.

Teams participating in Open Jive would manage an exhibitor’s booth at Sun Developer Days, sharing their application and ideas with participants at the event. They would present their projects to the audience of professional developers, who will vote for their favourite application, the team with the most audience votes would be awarded the “Sun Developers’ Choice Award”.

Regional sponsor Elixir Technology will also be presenting the Elixir Market Potential Prize to the team with the most commercially viable application. Dennis Phua, senior associate from Azione Capital Pte Ltd, would also be on the judging panel, providing feedback to how well the five projects address commercial opportunities.

Mr. Lau Shih Hor, CEO for Elixir Technology commented, “Many of the projects we viewed in the judging process show a lot of commercial potential and value. I encourage these student developers to continue working on their projects after this competition and review if their projects can be commercially viable in the future.”

Growing with Open Source
Sun Microsystems is the largest contributor to open source. With the Open Jive Regional Challenge, Sun hopes to encourage the software developers to tap on resources available from open source technologies whilst demonstrating the high standards of quality and professionalism of their projects.

“The Open Jive Regional Challenge encapsulates the spirit of open source. Sharing and collaboration have tapped on the collective talent from communities worldwide to come up with innovative solutions to various issues big and small,” said Reginald Hutcherson, Director, Technology Outreach & Evangelism, Sun Microsystems. “The adoption of open source technologies helps developers and users from across the world benefit from contributions of the community.”

“Asia is a breeding ground for the next generation of technology leaders and innovators. By providing a platform for student developers to showcase their ingenuity and hard work, Sun aims to offer the young developer talent in Asia South with the opportunities they deserve,” said Celestine Tan, Vice President, Marketing, Global Software, Sun Microsystems “The students will gain exposure to the work of their peers on a regional level and invaluable advice from seasoned industry professionals from this competition.”

The Open Jive Regional Challenge is organised by Sun Microsystems, in collaboration with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). The competition is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and is part of IDA’s 2009 series of the National Infocomm Competition (NIC).

The Open Jive Regional Challenge Grand Finals were held between 2.40pm and 4.10pm on 28 July 2009 at The Stamford Ballroom, Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore.

About Open Jive Regional Challenge 2009
The Open Jive Regional Challenge 2009, organized by Sun Microsystems challenges tertiary students in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines to create innovative open source web 2.0 applications to address world and business issues. In Singapore, Open Jive is open to students from universities, polytechnics and ITE colleges. It is part of IDA’s National Infocomm Competition.

About the National Infocomm Competition
The National Infocomm Competition (NIC) is a year-long infocomm competition held annually that allows students to hone their skills and showcase their talent in infocomm. The NIC is brought to you by IDA and the following academic partners including Ministry of Education, National Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Management, Singapore Management University, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Institute of Technical Education, Information Technology Standards Committee, Singapore Computer Society and Science Centre Singapore. The industry partners include Adobe, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. For more information, please visit www.infocommtalent.sg.

About Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision -- "The Network is the Computer (TM)" -- Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com or at http://sg.sun.com for Asia South.

About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global infocomm hub. IDA uses an integrated approach to developing infocommunications in Singapore. This involves nurturing a competitive telecoms market as well as a conducive business environment with programmes and schemes for both local and international companies. For more information, visit www.ida.gov.sg.

About ITE

The Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore, was established as a postsecondary education institution in 1992 under the Ministry of Education. ITE is a principal provider of career and technical education and key developer of national occupational skills certification and standards to enhance Singapore's workforce competitiveness. Under its “One ITE System, Three Colleges” Model of Education and Governance, ITE has three Colleges, comprising ITE College Central, ITE College East and ITE College West. For more information, please visit www.ite.edu.sg.

About Elixir Technology

Elixir Technology is the provider of Elixir Repertoire, an award-winning Integrated Business Intelligence Suite designed for RESTful Web Services on SOA. Developed in pure Java, Elixir Repertoire is certified for MySQL, and it comes with a free NetBeans Plugin that allows direct creation and integration of BI features within the IDE. Incorporating best-of-breed open source components, Elixir Repertoire offers a breakthrough in price performance to power the new generation Enterprise 2.0 applications with Business Intelligence that is simplified yet powerful, feature-rich yet affordable; it's Business Intelligence that makes sense.
Please visit our website at http://www.elixirtech.com

About Azione Capital Pte Ltd

Azione Capital Pte Ltd is an early stage venture capital investment company and startup business incubator headquartered in Singapore. Since our inception in 2006, our firm has approached mentoring, incubating and investing in digital media, mobile communications (inclusive of the full spectrum of wireless technologies), energy and maritime industry startups that operate primarily within Asia.