Latest news with #MPSS
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysia Pahang Sports School claim maiden MCKK Premier Sevens title
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Pahang Sports School (MPSS) clinched their maiden Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) Premier Sevens title after downing defending champions Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (TMISS) in the final today (July 6). MPSS made it count when it mattered, clinching a hard-fought 17-12 win over TMISS at the MCKK field in Kuala Kangsar. MPSS' Ammar Zidan Mohd Zaid also claimed the Zaharuddin Alias Best Player award. The final was essentially a clash between Malaysia's two premier rugby sports schools. TMISS, who have dominated age-group rugby tournaments in Malaysia over the past two decades, have produced numerous players for the national sevens and 15s squads over the years. The third-place decider saw SMK Tun Hussein Onn edging SMK King Edward VII 10-7. Meanwhile, hosts MCKK gave the home crowd something to cheer about after downing Japan's Shizuoka Seiko Academy 14-7 in the plate final. The bowl final saw Kolej Vokasional Arau beating SMK Hosba 24-21 in what was a finely balanced encounter. MRSM Balik Pulau claimed the shield after beating Royal Military College 19-0.
The Star
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Buying local to stretch the ringgit
Consumers more cautious with their spending PETALING JAYA: As Malaysians witness the implementation of the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) from yesterday, consumers are switching to buying more local products rather than imported goods and cutting back on luxuries like dining out. Nor'ain Othman, 66, has adopted a more cautious approach to her family's spending habits. 'We are also keeping a closer eye on monthly expenses and may cut back on non-essential spending like eating out or online shopping,' she said. The Shah Alam resident said that with the expansion of SST, she had a stronger preference for purchasing local products, particularly fresh produce. 'We are definitely more inclined to support local products, especially fresh produce and groceries. Local goods are usually more affordable and fresher anyway,' she said. She also urged the government, through the relevant ministries, to monitor prices and take action if businesses took advantage of the SST expansion. Ravi Chandhiran Rajagopal, 62, agreed for stricter enforcement to ensure price control among the businesses. He added that he would also reduce reliance on imported products amid the new expanded SST regime. In Perak, Zunaidi Zubir has made early preparations by stocking up needful items before the expanded SST kicked in yesterday. 'I expect prices, especially for imported goods, to rise. Purchasing locally made goods can help me cut down on expenses with the newly imposed SST,' he said when met. Meanwhile, auxiliary policeman M. Moganadass, 48, said he did not make any preparations but would also choose local products to manage his budget. 'I don't see much difference in switching to local products, but this tax hike will definitely burden the lower-income group. 'If taxes and prices go up, salaries should go up too. It's going to be difficult for people to cope if their income stays the same,' he said. CLICK TO ENLARGE In Negri Sembilan, lawyer Andrew Raju said the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry would have to constantly monitor the prices of essential goods to ensure there were no increases as these were not affected by the expanded SST. Andrew, who is also Malaysian Public Service Society (MPSS) president, said this was because there was a possibility that businesses might increase the prices of these goods to offset the increase in prices of non-essential items and other costs. 'The authorities have given assurances to the public that there will be no SST imposed on basic essentials such as chicken, fish, vegetables and rice, and many more items but this has to be followed up with full scale enforcement. 'I know many families from low income households who cheered when the minimum wage was increased from RM1,500 to RM1,700 not too long ago but if prices of essential items were not effectively monitored, the increase would be meaningless,' he said. Andrew added that to ensure the people really benefited, stern punishment must be meted out to businesses that also increased prices of toiletries like sanitary pads and soaps which were now SST-exempt. A small time contractor who only wished to be known as Lee said although he would not be directly affected by the expanded SST, an impending increase in prices of raw materials would surely make it costlier for him to do business. 'From what I understand, I won't be affected by the SST as I carry out minor renovations of residential properties but talk in the industry is that we can expect an increase in the prices of raw materials. 'I am only a small-time contractor with six workers and I hope the prices of raw materials will not increase,' he said. In Johor, personal assistant R. Chitra, 46, said the SST would change how she managed her income and spending as she would have to cut back on buying imported goods, including food. 'I do not mind local rice since I already buy it sometimes. But I do hope local products can be of better quality so it is easier for consumers to make the switch. 'Because at the end of the day, I will go with products and services which offer the best quality,' she said. While she believes that the SST is part of the government's plan to increase national revenue, she hopes that it will not burden the public too much. Chitra also suggested the government take advantage of the Central Database Hub (PADU) to provide targeted support to low-income groups, especially the B40 community. Contractor Zippo A. Aziz, 51, who prefers buying imported shoes for the quality, said he might have to stick to more affordable alternatives such as thrift shops after this. 'I love imported shoes and used to buy them often, however now I find thrifted goods to be more pocket-friendly. 'I try to view the new policy in a positive light to encourage us to support local products and avoid wasteful spending. It might also help strengthen the Malaysian ringgit, though many see it as a burden,' he said. Living alone, Zippo said he also preferred to eat at local food stalls rather than dine in high-end restaurants, especially now that SST would be applied on certain products and services. 'The food is way cheaper and just as good, plus you won't get hit with extra charges. 'People go to restaurants and order steak, but not realising that the beef is imported and that is why the prices shoot up,' he said. He added that consumers needed to be smart and responsible in how they spend their money.
Techday NZ
30-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
A managed protection service suite empowers MSPs to scale their businesses effectively
In the world of continually expanding cyber threats, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly a target. Many SMBs depend on managed service providers (MSPs) not just for their security needs, but for all their IT needs across their business. As a result, MSPs are crucial. The catch? Most MSPs are small businesses themselves. As an MSP, it's always important to balance scaling your business with providing the customer service that defines your reputation and keeps your customers loyal to you. But how do you do that in an economical way? A Managed Protection Service Suite, or MPSS, can help you scale your business and provide better security, all while keeping you free to focus on building relationships with your customers. MPSS is a security service that provides for firewall monitoring, management and reporting, performed by a dedicated team. These team send notifications when a firewall in your environment is changed locally or goes offline, and then handle firmware upgrades and patches along with other configuration changes. Furthermore, the team will always notify when updates need to be applied and will apply the updates at a time that's convenient. MPSS also provides for enhanced reporting and analytics as well as monthly health checks. Helping MSPs scale smarter and serve stronger Here are just a few ways MPSS empowers MSPs to drive customer value and grow their businesses, MPSS: Backstops your existing operations If you're actively deploying firewalls for your customers, you may already have staff members who monitor and manage them. But it can be challenging for your team to stay on top of all the alerts and updates from the many firewalls across your customer base. MPSS gives you peace of mind that licensing, offline and update alerts are never missed, and that your customers always have the best firewall configuration with the latest firmware available. Allows your team to focus on customer service The vast majority of MSPs do so much more than security. They deploy new laptops, help issue software licenses, provide troubleshooting and more. Your team has enough to do without analyzing firewall reports and other administrative tasks. MPSS can help you free your team to focus on delivering the personal, dedicated service your customers expect, increasing your customer loyalty. Every proactive touch a customer receives from an MSP helps build the relationship and demonstrates value. As an MSP, you don't want to wait for problems to crop up before talking to your customers. With MPSS, monthly firewall health checks are provided, allowing you to stay a step ahead of potential issues. Even better, you can drive business value for your customers with the productivity reports in MPSS. These reports show the top apps and websites being used across a customer's network, allowing you to flag sites that may be harming network speeds or overall productivity. By blocking these sites at the network level, you can help your customers optimize their productivity. Scale your business more effectively Growing your business means adding more customers and thus more endpoints and firewalls, and that means you need more staff to support them in the normal course. But MPSS lets you take advantage of the MPSS deployed team for the monitoring and management of your firewalls, allowing you to take on more clients and firewalls with fewer in-house engineers. Provides your customers with a warranty Firewalls with MPSS have an embedded $200,000 cyber warranty, backed by Cysurance. In the event of a qualifying cyber incident, this warranty can help your customers cover their cyber insurance deductibles and other necessary business expenses.
The Star
02-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Mothers with special children touched by treat in S'ban hotel
Andrew (right) and Anita (left) celebrating the mothers with special children. SINGLE mother S. Gayithiri was lost for words when she was honoured at a belated Mothers Day celebration for her role in raising her six-year-old twin girls born with special needs. The 46-year-old veterinary assistant and nine other women who raised special needs children were treated to a sumptuous meal and celebrated at a hotel in Seremban, Negri Sembilan. The event was organised by the Malaysian Public Service Society (MPSS). Gayithiri said it was the first time she had celebrated Mothers Day. 'I felt truly humbled. It goes to show that there are people out there who care and appreciate mothers who raise their special needs children despite the hardships and daily challenges,' she said. Gayithiri's twins both have autism. The older twin, Sri Theva Sena, also suffers from hemiplegia, which refers to paralysis that affects one side of the body. Both girls were born premature at 33 weeks. 'I'm happy to have met other mothers with special needs children. 'We are able to exchange notes on so many things,' she said, adding that she also got invaluable information on schools for children with special needs. Aznah Mohd Jani, 61, who attended the event with her 35-year-old daughter Nurul Atiqah Md Fauzi, also thanked MPSS for holding the event. 'Nurul Atiqah, the second of my three children, has Down Syndrome with hearing, vision and heart-related ailments since birth. 'Although the hospital is like a second home as she has many appointments, we are happy to be able to be here to celebrate this very special day,' said Aznah, a former teacher at a school for children with special needs. MPSS chairman Andrew Raju said the event themed 'Mothers' Loving Touch' was to celebrate mothers for their sacrifices in raising their special children. 'Raising a child with special needs can be emotionally challenging, not to mention the other challenges such as managing the financial costs and getting the proper schools or centres for them to learn basic things. 'We are here today not only to celebrate Mothers Day, but also to recognise and appreciate the great contributions of such mothers in raising special children with love,' he said. Andrew said these mothers were not only the primary caregivers but also teachers, nurses, protectors and true friends to their special children. Since parents are always concerned how their special children would cope after their passing, he said the authorities should consider building a special home that could be both a safehouse and development centre for these children. 'The home can be a collaboration between NGOs, therapists, psychologists and the community to create a sustainable ecosystem of support. 'With fundings from the state and collaborations between the local authorities and community organisations, this initiative, I believe, can be realised,' said Andrew, while thanking donors for making the project a success. MPSS women's wing bureau chief Anita Timothy urged the medical authorities to help parents with special needs children by providing them with more frequent follow-up appointments compared to between four and six months currently. 'This is important to ensure their development is not hampered. 'It is also hoped that private medical centres can help such parents by reducing the treatment cost, as insurance companies do not generally cover these children,' she said. She added that teachers should also be given extensive training to cope with the children's emotional dispositions.
Channel Post MEA
08-05-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
SonicWall Introduces New Network Security Solutions for MSPs
SonicWall has unveiled a full suite of products and services purpose-built to empower and meet the evolving needs of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and their customers with end-to-end cyber protection and profitable service expansion. At the core of this unveiling are new next-generation mid-range and high-end firewalls (NGFW) built for medium-sized businesses with embedded advanced threat protection. These new offerings include Managed Protection Service Suite (MPSS) Firewall Management with 24/7 monitoring that allows MSPs of any size to offer managed firewall services backed by SonicWall's SonicSentry Network Operations Center (NOC) team. Purpose-built for MSPs is the cloud-native SonicPlatform, which dramatically reduces cyber exposure, simplifies operations, and maximizes visibility, all backed by expert, always-on security teams and reinforced by a groundbreaking cyber warranty. 'SonicWall's new standard for cybersecurity marks a pivotal moment in our evolution as an innovator expanding into a platform-based cybersecurity leader,' said SonicWall President and CEO Bob VanKirk. 'As we continue to listen to our partners and evolve with their changing needs, we are consolidating fragmented tools into one secure, scalable, and smart platform. With this launch, we are bringing together industry-leading firewall threat performance, cloud-based ZTNA to replace legacy VPNs, co-managed NOC and SOC services and an industry-first cybersecurity warranty so MSPs have every tool they need to ensure the businesses they serve are safe, in a scalable and cost-effective way.' Solutions for Simplified, Scalable Cybersecurity SonicWall is bringing together the tools MSPs need to deliver layered, AI-driven security, from next-generation firewalls and endpoint protection to secure remote access and advanced policy control, managed in one intuitive interface. Designed to eliminate fragmented tools and reduce operational complexity, SonicWall is making it easier than ever for MSPs to offer secure, scalable and smart solutions: Secure: Next-Generation Firewalls (NSa 2800/3800) : Mid-enterprise, high-performance NGFW built for more demanding SMB environments with advanced threat protection. : Mid-enterprise, high-performance NGFW built for more demanding SMB environments with advanced threat protection. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) : Raising the bar relative to implementation and ease of use, with one-click ZTNA connector for secure, simple, policy-based access with dramatically improved network performance and security versus legacy VPN. : Raising the bar relative to implementation and ease of use, with one-click ZTNA connector for secure, simple, policy-based access with dramatically improved network performance and security versus legacy VPN. Managed Protection Service Suite (MPSS): Backed by SonicSentry NOC team the new MPSS bundle extends our partner's bench with a team of network security professionals to ensure firewalls are configured, deployed and updated correctly to provide the best threat protection possible. MPSS is a must have service from SonicWall that will fast become the industry standard for firewall management. Scalable: NSM 3.0: SaaS and on-premises platform offering unparalleled visibility and efficiency with harmonized cloud/on-box management. Smart: SonicPlatform: A unified, cloud-native platform for centralizing management of all SonicWall appliances, services, and third-party integrations. SonicWall AI for Monitoring & Insight (SAMI): Embedded AI/automation to streamline management, speed resolution, and reduce alert fatigue. 'Over the past two years, we've focused on listening to our partners and addressing their challenges as cyberattacks accelerate, response times lag, and cybersecurity solutions grow increasingly complex,' said SonicWall Chief Product Officer Peter Burke. 'As a result, we have made dramatic improvements to the features and scalability of our firewall management platform and integrated them into a unified platform for account, security and network management that should simplify use and make partners more efficient. By consolidating end-to-end management and delivering key capabilities for scale and security, we're empowering partners to focus on growth, expanding their services, increasing profitability, and delivering greater value to their customers.' Peace of Mind with 24/7 Support and Industry-First Cyber Warranty The launch includes enhanced support through SonicSentry, SonicWall's global Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) team, and MPSS. Built for MSPs, these co-managed services allow them to profitably deepen their bench and extend their service capabilities with 24×7 monitoring, health checks, patch management, and optimized firewall deployment. Security is no longer just about protection; it's about trust and resilience. When combined with SonicWall's partnership with Cysurance, SonicWall deployments can qualify for a tiered cyber warranty of up to $1 million, the industry's first offering of its kind. Managed deployments through MPSS double the coverage for participating customers. 'SonicWall's MPSS, will allow MSPs to deliver top-tier security to customers without the burden of constant firewall management,' said Meriplex Channel Manager Greg Starr. 'By offloading the complexities of firewall management, SonicWall partners will be able to deliver premium security services backed by 24/7 expert support and enhanced cyber warranty protection. This not only strengthens client trust but also opens new revenue opportunities for us as a partner, allowing us to scale and grow more efficiently.' MSPs and SMBs Scale and Succeed SonicWall's next-generation solutions are designed with the unique needs of MSPs in mind: Multi-Tenant Architecture : Manage multiple clients efficiently through one platform. : Manage multiple clients efficiently through one platform. Flexible Subscription Licensing : Monthly/annual options support the MSSP model. : Monthly/annual options support the MSSP model. Ecosystem Integration : Seamless third-party integrations for operational efficiency. : Seamless third-party integrations for operational efficiency. End-to-End Coverage: From endpoint to edge, SonicWall delivers centralized protection and compliance. 0 0
