Author: admin

CSR
February 3, 2014 No Comments

Students of Sekolah Kebangsaan (P) Methodist Klang, or fondly known as Methodist Girls School (MGS) have something to look forward to in 2014. The school is now equipped with a fully functioning computer lab, thanks to the kind donation of refurbished desktop computers by Rentwise Malaysia.

On 3 December 2013, a team of 5 Rentwise engineers arrived at MGS to deliver and setup 43 units of refurbished HP workstations as part of its continuous commitment in ensuring Information Technology accessibility to all. This community outreach project is our recent CSR effort in working with a national school, after the ground breaking successful implementation of a similar project with

How did this project come about? It was truly a fortuitous event. “I was browsing St. Mary’s school’s website when I read about their recently setup computer lab,” says Alex, the President of MGS’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA). “I then found myself at Rentwise’s CSR web page and it appears that Rentwise is actively supporting and expanding its CSR program. That was it!” Alex enthuses, as he has run into many obstacles previously trying to secure sponsorship for the school’s computer lab.

“I wrote to Rentwise about MGS’s plight. The rest were history,” says a smiling Alex. “The school has been without a computer lab for more than 10 years. This facility was first setup in 2002. Unfortunately, the contract with Ministry of Education (MOE) was terminated a year later,” says Alex.

The Methodist Girls’ School is a Missionary government-aided primary school (Sekolah Kebangsaan Perempuan Methodist (MGS Klang)) in Jalan Raya Barat within the district of Klang. The school was established by Ruth Eklund on May 24, 1924 after she discovered that there were 12 female pupils in the Anglo Chinese School, Klang during that academic year.

The school’s motto is Cum Deo Laboramus, which is Latin for “We Work With God”. MGS is one of the 5 premier schools in the district of Klang. MGS is reckoned to be one of the top all girls school for many years in the district of Klang. At present there are 920 students in MGS Klang.

The refurbished desktop computers donated by Rentwise Malaysia are HP Workstation XW 4400 Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor featuring 4GB of Memory and 160GB of Storage with DVD Drive and Integrated Video & Audio. The desktops also comes with Built in Network Interface. To top it off, Rentwise also included a HP 17” inch LCD with each unit. The processing power of these computers meets the requirements of MGS students, who will basically be using them as presentation tools, for word and spreadsheet processing works and Internet browsing. MGS PTA also provided some printers for the computer lab.

As a sensitive and forward thinking organisation, we believe in giving back to the community through various ground events, programs and projects. We would like to keep a close touch with society by making our presence felt at every level of the community, especially the younger generation.

Thus, when and where budget permits, we try to support one needy school every year, mainly missionary schools. These are mostly schools among the last to receive any kind of allocation for computers required by students to carry out their computer studies as part of the national school curriculum’s (KSSR) Science & Technology subjects.

“Since my child enrolled into MGS in 2009, I have written to many organisations for sponsorship as the PTA funds were not sufficient to setup a computer lab,” says Alex. The school has only a small sum of RM 12,000 yearly for basic improvement and maintenance of its infrastructure. PTA subsequently sought the support of the Methodist Board but failed most of the time.

However, it was not all that bleak an outcome though. Eventually, MGS got some funds from a general allocation of RM 200,000 given to some missionary schools, a much welcome breakthrough from the school’s writing to MOE through the Methodist Board. Some of the funds were mainly used to repair the school’s roof that was affected by termites.

“Being an engineer by profession, I did some value engineering on the works and managed to reduce the cost of repair and used the remainder of funds for the establishment of the computer lab. This was after we got confirmation from Rentwise in supplying the refurbished desktop computers,” says Alex. A sum of about RM 25,000 was spent in setting up the infrastructure (e.g. air conditioned units, AC power outlets, networking and electrical wiring works) of the computer lab before Rentwise deployed the refurbished desktop computers.

MGS Klang Primary School was chosen particularly as they are located near to Rentwise headquarters. We anticipate some of our staff would send or are already sending their children to this school. This contribution would then help greatly in enriching these children’s education process.

To ensure the smooth running of the computer lab, the school is considering collecting RM 50 per year for each student from 2014 onwards. These funds collected will be used for general upkeep of the lab’s infrastructure; e.g. small upgrades, repair and support works. “Rentwise is kind enough to provide us a 3-months warranty for all equipment sponsored,” says Alex. The school has also designated 4 teachers to conduct computer classes and is drawing up the syllabus and framework for students to follow.

Rentwise Malaysia is indeed glad to extend the much-needed assistance to MGS. It is truly a priceless feeling witnessing the beaming smiles of children having an opportunity to be exposed to computer studies at such a young age. 2014 is indeed a refreshing start to look forward to after more than 10 years without a computer lab.

However, we would like to do more. The school still needs 15 laptops for their teachers. One possible means to fulfil this pressing need will be through corporate sponsorship. We are urgently seeking companies who are considering refreshing their existing laptops. We invite these companies to contact us so we can carry out the refurbishment activities on these laptops before deploying them to the school.

“Words could not express how thankful we are to Rentwise in heeding our call for help. We’ve tried long and hard and finally, someone listened. I am eternally grateful to Rentwise’s dedication to their CSR program. This small act of kindness is certainly a game changer in the lives and experiences of the school’s 920 students!” Alex concludes.

Events
December 4, 2013 No Comments

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, as claimed by a proverbial saying. Staying true to this age-old adage, Rentwise recognizes the importance of the play element in “resetting” our many hardworking employees! Rentwisers recently came together for a team building session of paintball at the Shah Alam Extreme Park; the most exciting and adrenalin-packed Sports Club activity of the year.

We had a total of 40 participants divided into 8 groups of 5 Rentwisers each. Creative but quirky-sounding names from “Dead Eaters” to “Ops Cantas” were given to  each group. Everyone was present at 8.30am for a safety and rules briefing by qualified official marshals. A large majority of Rentwisers had not played paintball before, so it came as no surprise to see the many looks of excitement and anticipation. Many questions were asked and doubts cleared by 9.00 am before everyone proceeded into the nearby shaded woods for the games to begin.

There was a mix of staff from across all organizational functions and even fellow Rentwisers from Rentwise Singapore were also flown in specially to join us in this event. It wasn’t just all male participants in this action-packed game; 7 ladies took up the fun-filled opportunity to prove their combat skills on the field too. You would have been surprised that 2 of the winning teams had ladies in them! In fact, the ladies treaded the field gingerly and maneuvered themselves with their small but flexible frames which proved to be a lethal combination against their largely male opponents.

The games started at about 9.30am after everyone got comfortable with putting on their face masks and protective vests.  Markers were loaded with vegetable oil-infused paintball pellets and pressurized before being distributed to players who were strictly warned not to remove their face masks upon stepping into the playing area. A team was disqualified for having one of its members remove this face mask while on the field even after a game concluded.  Safety regulations were extremely strict as a precaution to prevent anyone from being accidentally hit by stray pellets, which could cause serious bodily damage.

It was such a fun session. All work stress melted away the moment Rentwisers stepped onto the field. The playful characteristic of the “little kid” deep down inside everyone of us made us forget our work challenges with one another as we battled each other out. We cheered our team mates on from the side lines. We even made jokes about how some of our colleagues should or shouldn’t be playing. That only made us laugh even more, thus adding to a light-hearted and relaxed atmosphere. It definitely fostered a high degree of camaraderie amongst us.

Looking back, this reflects how we have and want to work in the office. The very same spirit of fun yet seriousness with our work just manifested itself in a totally new environment. While getting the job done is crucial to our success, it’s equally important to take a step back to unwind and enjoy ourselves in the process. This paintball team building event served up plenty of opportunities to strengthen the emotional and professional bond between us towards making a better and more cohesive organizational unit for our overall success.

Paintball, just like soccer, is a team effort. While the latter’s goal is to get the ball into the opponent’s goal post, the former focuses on eliminating your opponent by “painting” them or grabbing the flag from their base for victory. One needs to provide firing support for one’s team mates as they move forward into position. Communication is essential in alerting your team mates on the dangers ahead and planning your next move as the enemy threatens us with new strategy and tactics. We see no difference in our work from all these elements of the paintball game. There are many similarities which could be drawn from the game and applied to our working lives.

The 8 competing groups were narrowed down through many rounds of playing, leaving only 4 groups in the quarter and semifinal rounds. Eventually, after an intense round of battle between “Headshot” and “Ops Cantas”, the former emerged the winner while “Cricket” clinched the second runner up place after beating “Deadline Five” who did not go down without fighting.

By 12.30pm, everyone adjourned for lunch and cold drinks, much to the relief of the many Rentwisers who were exhausted from all the running, dodging, crawling and squatting! A small prize giving ceremony followed suit with gold, bronze and silver medals presented to the winners, along with gift hampers and other goodies as well.

This paintball team building event would not have been a huge success if not for the efforts of Fariz Fawzi, the main organizer who contributed much to helping the Rentwise Sports Club committee in realizing this event. This get together session was made even more meaningful by the participation of many sporting Rentwisers who put aside their personal time to bond over the weekend.

Paintball indeed is a fast-paced but fun game that promotes healthy competition among those who dare to give it a try. It never fails to deliver on its promise of an exciting and thrilling adventure of wits and tactic. More importantly, it is an excellent morale booster for all Rentwisers who seized the opportunity at becoming weekend warriors for once!

Events
August 24, 2013 No Comments

Rentwisers recently returned to the Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) at Selayang, Malaysia, to host a Children’s Day celebration with the Myanmar refugee kids after the last visit back in May 2013. Children as young as 2, right up to their teens participated. We took this opportunity to get to know these amazing children better.

The event enabled us to have a closer interaction with the children and we gained a better understanding of their needs and how else we could assist. One of the activities we organized for the children was an arts and craft session. The older children made creative greeting cards while the younger ones made collages, an idea mooted by the Rentwise Sports Club, the dedicated event coordinator, led by its president, Joanna.

The highlight which caught the children by surprise and they thoroughly enjoyed was to find themselves the “Star” for the day. A studio photography session was arranged and very generously done pro-bono by Mudframes Photography. Each child had their individual portraits professionally taken. The children were pre-empted to come in their best dresses for A Party and to our delight, they indeed came dressed in their best and the girls even wore makeup!

The studio photography session organized and conducted by Mudframes captured the very true nature and essence of these children. Most importantly, these photographs will make good and valuable mementos to remind the children of this very particular moment in their lives. Mudframes also presented A4-sized portrait prints to each and every child. These beautiful low-key, all-black background pictures depicted the rather somber experiences of these children. The lighting effect painted hope in an otherwise “challenging” existence.

It was so obvious that most of the children were experiencing their very first professional studio photo shoot session; some looking confused, others, giggling and excited at all the attention and interesting -looking contraptions coupled with the occasional flashes of light. Each and every one of them came with their own story written all over their faces.

The photography and arts and craft session lasted about an hour and a half, before the children were treated to a sumptuous meal of nasi briyani, vegetables, rendang, fried chicken and savoury fruits. It gave everyone much pleasure to see them enjoying themselves, living in the moment, relishing the goodness of life and a delicious meal which we were told, some hardly get a chance at.

In maintaining our pledge to continually support and assist the underprivileged, many of our generous employees donated groceries, toiletries, stationeries, art materials, food items and other essential necessities for these children. The organizing Sports Club committee is very thankful for the dedication of time and demonstration of empathy by all Rentwisers and our Marketing Partner Mudframes Photography to show we care for these children.

31 portraits were made that day. We believe that every single one of these images speaks for themselves. Whatever the resulting conclusion drawn from these images, truth be told, these portraits speak of an underlying innocence and vulnerability prevailing in all children and why we need to protect and care for them. They are our future.

We welcome and urge customers, partners and members of the public to aid the Myanmar refugees in any way they can, by contributing either cash or in-kind donations, or even volunteer their time to teach the children basic computer skills or work with them on on-going card-making activities, both of which will help them carve a better future for themselves.

Greeting cards will then be sold by both the centre and Rentwise with profits going to the centre. Getting the children involved allows them to exercise their creativity and enables the children to pick up a good skill that can be useful in the future.

All proceeds collected will be used to purchase books, stationery, food and sundry goods such as canned food, milo, biscuits and hygiene items. Proceeds will also go towards helping upkeep the centre which badly needs maintenance work to be carried out to repair damaged windows.

You can make a difference in the lives of these children. We hope to get your kind assistance.

How You Can Help:

The centre welcomes donation of any kind from the public, NGOs and corporate organisations. Any enquiries can be directed to Mr. Matthew Ngoh (Email: matthewnth@hotmail.com | Mobile: 016-380 4463)
The Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) Learning Centre is located at:
139-2 (2nd Floor), Jalan 2/3A,
Pusat Bandar Utara Selayang,
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor.
CSR
May 13, 2013 No Comments

Today there are more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Malaysia. 15,000 of them are children of school-going age. According to a UNHCR estimate, only 6,000 of these children attend schools which are set up by various Myanmar community-based groups. These schools are normally referred to as “Learning Centres” and are funded by NGOs or voluntary organisations.

During this visit, our representatives managed to catch up with Matthew Ngoh and Alan Lee, two of the three founders of the PBCC Learning Centre.  Matthew and Alan updated us on the plight of the children. “Many of these children marry as early as 13 – 15 years of age! Thus, they are deprived of a healthy school-going childhood where learning is everything at that tender age. I can’t stress enough the importance of education when I speak to their parents. Education is the only way out for these kids”, says Matthew recognizing the importance of education in steering any child towards the right path in life.

Initiated by Alan and together with good friends Matthew and Pastor Yeoh, they started PBCC 3 years ago when they realized children as young as 2 years were left to fend for themselves while their parents went to work. As basic as it is, the centre gives these children a place to come to for shelter and for a simple meal. Most importantly, it keeps them off the streets. Apart from teaching the children English, the PBCC Learning Centre conducts Bahasa Malaysia classes and teaches the Myanmar Language, Science and Maths to its 28 children, now aged between 4 to 12 years old. Art and IT classes used to be conducted but unfortunately had to be discontinued about a year and a half ago due to a lack of volunteers.

“Back then, IT classes were held every Sunday afternoon for both children and adults,” Matthew reveals with regret. “It would really be great to have volunteers help revive these classes at least twice a week to give these children a refreshing boost in their learning pace”.

Located on the 2nd floor of a shoplot, the PBCC centre runs on an extremely tight budget. It has 3 full time Myanmarese teachers whom are paid a very small sum of RM 1,600 a month. Rental is RM 600 monthly while utilities come up to approximately RM 100 a month. Apart from giving the children temporary shelter while their parents go to work, the centre also provides basic sustenance to the children. Some of these children bring their own home-cooked lunches consisting of rice and often nothing more than a fried egg while the centre supplements and supplies others who cannot afford a meal; with just a simple fare of milo, crackers and bread.

Most of the learning materials including school books and stationeries are supplied by UNHCR. “We always welcome donations from members of the public, whether in the form of reading materials, food items, clothing or toiletries,” says Matthew. “We are currently sustaining on donations by NGOs and churches.  Unfortunately, one of the churches is not able to support us financially this year. Nevertheless, we should still be able to pull through another year,” Matthew says optimistically.

The PBCC Learning Centre at the helm of 3 caring and loving Malaysians strives to continue providing a refuge for the children of the Myanmar refugee community.  The struggle of these Myanmar refugees is real. Every day is a constant fight for survival and recognition to be treated as an equal human-being. “It’s heart-wrenching at times when you witness poverty-stricken families breaking up and afraid of

The Rentwise Sports Club will be organising an internal donation drive and appeals to all our employees to contribute either cash or in-kind donations. All proceeds collected will be used to purchase books, stationery, food and sundry goods such as canned food, milo, biscuits and hygiene items. Proceeds will also go towards helping upkeep the centre which badly needs maintenance work to be carried out to repair damaged windows.

Another project that we will be kicking off soon is getting 10 staff to volunteer their time to work with the children to make greeting cards, which will then be sold with profits going to the centre.  Getting the children involved allows them to exercise their creativity and enables the children to pick up a good skill that can be useful in the future.

We sincerely urge everyone to aid the Myanmar refugees in any way they can; be it giving cash donations or in-kind donations, or volunteering their time to teach the children basic computer skills or card-making activity, which will all help them carve a better future for themselves.

It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the brutal reality that unfolds in the lives of these Myanmar refugees. As citizens of the world, we have moral and ethical responsibilities to assist the social and economically-challenged lot. Today is the day you will rise up to the call for a better world. These Myanmar refugees deserve an opportunity for a brighter future.

Change is imminent and it starts with YOU!

How You Can Help:

The centre welcomes donation of any kind from the public, NGOs and corporate organisations. Any enquiries can be directed to Mr. Matthew Ngoh (Email: matthewnth@hotmail.com | Mobile: 016-3804463)

The Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) Learning Centre is located at:

139-2 (2nd Floor), Jalan 2/3A,
Pusat Bandar Utara_Selayang,
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor.

Press Releases & Media
April 26, 2013 No Comments

In this fast-paced, modern society, Information Technology (IT) has become an indispensable part of operations for any company wishing to stay current in the market place. However, with such a wide variety of IT equipment and rental solutions on offer and without access to the right expertise and advice, companies of all sizes, but particularly SMEs, naturally find it daunting to make the right choices for their respective business. IT issues which arise are simply frustrating and disruptive, thus reducing productivity. Expenditure may be incurred in the short-term on IT equipment that is unlikely to meet the organisation’s needs in the longer term.

Rather than purchase new systems outright, one increasingly popular option is to rent IT equipment. Established nine years ago, IT rental specialist Rentwise – an SME itself – helps companies with the right product selection, installation, support and consultancy and eventual decommissioning and retirement of the equipment, enabling them to focus on their core business for greater performance and progress. And the scope is expanding.

As Rentwise CEO Leanne Ooi explains, through renting, companies will not bury their cash in hardware that depreciates. “People need to realise that owning technology costs money because technology is constantly changing and requires high maintenance, thus lowering the company’s productivity. Companies should be focusing their resources on supporting their core business instead and leave the technical issues to the IT experts.”

Integrated Solutions

Demand in the early years was predominantly in the rental of desktops and laptops. “We have been aware for some time however that there is a significant demand from our existing clients for servers and network equipment. Over the past year, we have been building the expertise and gearing up to launch our server and network equipment rental offering. This year, we are going all out with these new offerings and with our desktops and laptops rental, we are now able to offer a comprehensive IT rental solution,” says Leanne.

Head of Business Technology Services, Rafel Affendy Jamaluddin adds that the company has been training the Operations Teams to support the higher-end expanded product offering. “We will also leverage on our partners’ capabilities when it comes to network and band-width management solutions as well as IP PBX systems.”

Realising the criticality of IT infrastructure management in an organisation, Rentwise also offers an IT infrastructure monitoring solution on top of its current asset management service which very much caters to laptops and desktops. According to Rafel, this solution immediately flags up IT infrastructure issues minimising downtime and any knock-on effect on the business. The solution includes complete monitoring and alerting for servers, switches, applications and services.

Leanne sees this as a tremendous opportunity for growth. “Looking at the potential and demand in the market, where IT services and other hardware are required by every company, our goal is to grow this into a 50-50 business (50 percent on PCs and 50 percent on servers and networks) with the aim of providing a holistic IT rental solution.”

Rentwise currently supports over 200 companies with major clients in manufacturing, construction, education and healthcare.

Customers First

“Our mission has always been to provide a cost-effective, comprehensive and hassle-free experience for our customers. We realize to do this we have to offer an end-to-end service from deployment and installation to retiring the equipment. In between we provide service support and consultancy. This means Rentwise will take care of all stages in the equipment lifecycle leaving our customer to focus on the usage of the equipment. Our business model is based on adequate technology, which means prescribing customers what they truly need – not too much nor too little, which prevents unnecessary expenditure,” adds Leanne.

Working with global suppliers, the company offers products that are brand-new, open-box but unused right through to 3-year-old equipment which is fully refurbished – not just aesthetically but including motherboards and major components such as hard drives and RAM.

End-of-Lease equipment is either refurbished or put into the market in fully functioning condition. Where End-of-Lease equipment is too old, it is recycled by DOE (Department of Environment)-authorized recyclers with recovery reaching close to 100 percent, thus minimising carbon footprint.

Besides Malaysia, Rentwise also has operations in Singapore and will be offering its new range of products there. “We also have clients in Vietnam and Thailand. As we plan to expand to these countries in the next two years, launching these new products and services this year in Malaysia will serve as a good preparation ground,” highlights Leanne.

Events
March 3, 2013 No Comments

The greatest and most prized  asset for a  company today is no longer its brand, inanimate tools or intellectual property (IP) but the very people who make up the workforce that breathe life into the business. Talent management and talent retention should therefore sit very high on the list of priorities when it comes to human resources (HR) management.

Earlier this year, we worked very closely with a group of specialized HRM consultants to specifically design and tailor a range of HR programmes for the different working levels within the company which we then embarked on, to top grade and up skill our work force. Recently concluded was the second series of a three-part series, “Building a Collective Performance Workforce” leadership programme; an intensive mentoring, training and coaching initiative for people managers to mould and prepare future leaders of Rentwise.

The first series of this programme, “Negotiation for Non-Negotiators” took place from 5 – 6 November 2012. This part one saw participants addressing challenges on internal negotiation. In the second series, participants were able to establish the 3 key leadership essentials, which are the “5S-1M” Principle, “The Power of Nine” and “The Sun Tzu’s Philosophy on Moral Influence” that the company needs at this current stage to align the workforce towards organizational excellence. Participants were also given the tools and techniques needed to drive the workforce to adopt the 7 organisational core values needed to ensure they deliver collectively the vision and mission of the company.

The final series, “Coaching & Mentoring: Empowering To Drive Intentional Results” which will  be held end of March 2013 will prepare leaders to manage the many aspects of Human Resource crucial in delivering outstanding results via a performance focused work culture.

The 18 personnel present for this training consisted of Production Executives right up to the Top Managers. Irrelevant of seniority, each participant was required to participate in working groups to ensure everyone’s opinions were heard. Discussions were engaging, critical points addressed with ideas exchanged as to how a highly efficient and productive working environment can be achieved.

All these people-centric key developments and enhancements that we eagerly champion are instrumental in the building of better customer relationships. We continuously strive to strengthen our employees in both soft and hard skills; to ensure customer satisfaction. Of course, all these were done to uphold our main philosophy of always putting our clients first by ensuring customer service excellence. This is only possible if we invest in our human resources.

At Rentwise, not only are we committed to building an all-rounder talented workforce; we help our staffs unearth and hone their skills at various levels to realize their true potential. Sir Ken Robinson, the English author and speaker aptly puts this into perspective:

“Human resources are like natural resources; they’re often buried deep. You have to go looking for them; they’re not just lying around on the surface. You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.” ― Ken Robinson

Events
December 17, 2012 No Comments

The much awaited year-end warehouse sale of refurbished IT Equipment by Rentwise took place from 30 Nov till 1 Dec 2012 from 10am to 5pm, this time, bigger and much better! This much anticipated event last opened its doors to members of the public back in December 2010. So its arrival brought smiles to many value-seekers and bargain hunters who recognized the good quality stuff on offer as always.

The event was held at Rentwise’s Warehouse in Seksyen 7, Shah Alam. It just couldn’t have come at a better time, as most jumped at the opportunity of finding their perfect Christmas gifts for the fast-approaching Yuletide celebrations.

This 2012 Warehouse Sale boasted the biggest batch of high quality and branded pre-owned IT equipment for sale. As a reputable organization strongly rooted in servicing numerous corporate clienteles, the average consumers are never far from mind. This mega warehouse sale had PCs suitable for both business and home users as well.

Reconditioned and branded LCDs were going from as low as RM 99, Home PCs from RM 199 and Notebooks from RM 649! One may opine that this may be too good to be true but yes, it was. It was  just simply too irresistibly true. The early birds seen streaming in as early as 9.30am in those two days before carting away large trolley-loads of purchased IT equipment was a testament to this.

The products on sale carried with them a respectable amount of raw processing power; a definite value for money. For instance, a Dell Latitude business class D620 Notebook with a Core Duo processor, equipped with 3-4GB RAM and a reasonable 160GB hard disk drive was selling for just RM 649.  IBM T60/T61/Z61T Notebook models with similar specs but powered by a Core2Duo processor were a mere RM 50 more at RM 699.

All notebooks carried with them a 1 month warranty. However, customers who preferred just that tiny bit of extra assurance could opt for the extended 1 year warranty for an additional RM 200 only. As with most resource-intensive applications in this time and age, storage and performance issues are always at the forefront in any technology equipment ownership consideration. Rentwise is aware of this sensitivity and took upon itself to cater for customizable orders. An upgrade to a 320GB notebook hard disk drive would see you parting with only RM 95, while a 2GB DDR2 notebook memory booster would pinch your wallet for a measly RM 45.

The layout of the warehouse had been carefully designed. There was a section purely on Notebooks, followed by Accessories and finally, the booth displaying a range of branded refurbished desktops and LCDs. The methodical arrangement of the warehouse sale grounds was planned thoughtfully in advance to ease congestion and traffic flow. Customers who first walked in were required to register themselves for the free admission. Once customers decided on their purchase, they proceeded to have their orders taken. For any customization required be it memory or storage upgrades, the corresponding request was tended to immediately with just a mere 30-45 minutes wait depending on traffic.

The upgraded equipment ordered was then delivered to the Collection Booth for final specifications and physical condition inspection with the customers. Satisfied customers proceeded to pay accordingly at the cashier. Customers enjoyed the flexible payment methods available, as both cash and credits cards were accepted.

Business class desktop models on offer were the Dell Optiplex 760 USFF Core2Duo 3.33Ghz with 4GB RAM for no more than RM 889 (including a 17” LCD monitor!), or a Dell/HP/IBM range powered with either a Core Duo/Core2Duo processor. Packages were available for sale either with or without an LCD panel.

An additional 1 year warranty upgrade for desktop cost RM 100, while an extension of 1 year warranty for any LCD panel would set you back by only RM 30. LCD panel sizes available were 15”, 17” and 19” models; together with the decently equipped and reasonably powerful desktop or notebooks, more than catered to most average users for the usual usage pattern of word processing or internet surfing.

Truly, not just any warehouse sale but The Warehouse Sale of the year, given the attractive offerings.

A section of dedicated desktops pre-loaded with computer games were also seen at one corner, much to the relief and excitement of curious active children who waited for their shopping parents. Besides being a notable entertainment function, these powerful desktops were a live demonstration of the raw power of the refurbished desktop on sale.

Apart from notebooks, desktops and LCD panels which were clearly the main stars of the sale, there were a wide variety of Accessories available as well. The notable brand of Sandisk Cruzer pendrives of 8GB capacity was selling for just RM 29, while the Sandisk Cruzer Ultra 64GB was a steal at RM 155. A range of Logitech speakers and headset were also on display for sale right next to Bit Defender Antivirus 2013 software. Lastly, on sale were also the Toshiba 605/610/110 Series of pocket-size mobile hard disk drive.

Internet continuity is especially important with the increasing development of applications designed to run on various internet browsers. The need for minimal down time in internet connection is all the more evident with the hype on cloud-enabled services and proliferation of web-based applications that allow for easy access, anytime, anywhere. Recognizing the effectiveness and affordability of this cloud solution, Rentwise has chosen to partner with Netximizer, who was present during this sale to create more awareness to the public regarding their products and services.

As a provider of the components of a human computer interaction (HCI); i.e. desktop and LCD panels, the IT experience will not be complete without a reliable document management and print solution. Thus, Rentwise has partnered with Ricoh in this respect, given Ricoh’s many years of experience and proven reliability of its product range. These partnerships clearly underscore Rentwise’s dedication and ability in providing a complete end-to-end solution for the end user’s work requirements; from an increased uptime with

The Special 2 Days Rentwise Warehouse Sale was undoubtedly well received. In the end, it saw more than 450 happy buyers over the 2 days sale. Customers were clearly astounded by the rock bottom prices of products on sale and many Day 1 customers came back in Day 2 and added onto their initial purchases.  With reasonably priced upgrade packages for storage and memory; it was difficult to not consider this as a timely Christmas gift purchase either for oneself, family or fellow friends.

Most importantly, customers were clearly very happy with the help and assistance offered by the friendly staffs and engineers on deck to guide their purchase decision process. Not just any regular staff, but highly qualified technical personnel to advise and help clarify all the mumbo jumbo the average customer has to grasp in any IT equipment purchase.

Quality products sold by Qualified Rentwise personnel indeed. As always, Rentwise stays true to its principles on delivering and meeting needs cost effectively.

CSR
November 1, 2012 No Comments

St. Mary’s School, locally known as SMK St. Mary, is a public all-girls secondary school located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which participated in Rentwise’s CSR program. St. Mary’s school is undoubtedly steeped in old charm personality and tradition.

Its humble beginning dates as far back as the pre-world war two era. This historical significance is further sealed by its witnessing of the hosting of two of Malaysia’s First Ladies; Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah and Datin Paduka Seri Endon.

Boasting a long string of proud academic and extracurricular achievements, the school’s history stretches as far back as when it first opened its doors on 4 November 1912, in a house located at 18 Weld Road (now known as Jalan Raja Chulan).

In 1998, the school was relocated to Jalan Intan Baiduri, Kuala Lumpur with an enrolment of 410 students in 10 classes. All Science labs, the VIP room and meeting room were fully equipped by the end of the year.

In 15 July 1999, the school PA system was fully established, thereby completing its technological and communications infrastructure. On 15 June 2001, the school ushered in the dawn of the much-welcomed information technology age. Datin Amar Elizabeth Moggie, wife of the then Minister of Telecommunications, Multimedia and Post, officially opened the school’s Computer Laboratory.

As a forward-thinking organization that embraces excellence and believes in equal opportunities, Rentwise is proud to leave its mark on the pages of SMK St. Mary’s journals. After a few sporadic upgrade of IT equipment in batches since 2001 by the Parent Teacher Association, SMK St. Mary is relieved to welcome a much needed major overhaul of its Computer Lab.

Rentwise, Malaysia’s fastest growing Independent Lessor for new and/or remanufactured pre-owned IT equipment has sponsored 40 sets of desktops and LCD panels to SMK St. Mary’s Computer Lab, as part of its continuous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

This momentous occasion saw three highly qualified Rentwise engineers present to co-ordinate and execute the installation of these refurbished IT assets at the Computer Lab. The dedicated staffs of Rentwise delivered all 40 units of personal computers up through 4 flights of stairs to the Computer Lab situated on the second floor. The setup took an approximate 6 hours.

Recognizing the importance of education and generation of future accomplished leaders, Rentwise saw a need in helping to re-equip the school’s computer lab after 11 years since its launch. This upgrade was necessary to afford students of St. Mary’s school, a much needed competitive edge in this ever changing fast paced technology-enabled society.

Capitalizing on its core specialty in the sourcing, consultation, support, management and rental services of IT equipment, Rentwise sponsored a range of 40 sets of Dell & HP desktops and LCDs as part of its ongoing CSR program.

This sponsorship would inject new life and breathe new creativity among the students of St. Mary’s school, thereby allowing them to experience reasonably-equipped hardware and software at optimum performance. This has been a huge departure and major leap in improvement as compared to the school’s previous sluggish and obsolete system and usage of CRT monitors.

With the availability of high speed broadband and better equipped IT infrastructure, students of St. Mary’s school can now enjoy quality IT service through a smooth and conducive learning environment, made possible by the upgraded IT equipment.

Following the set up, the desktops were loaded with Internet Security Software sponsored by Trend Micro before they were connected to the Internet with Internet access equipment sponsored by Allied Telesis. HELP University sponsored IT consultancy work to integrate all the systems whilst Canon Marketing sponsored a multifunction printer for all the printing needs.  All old and replaced IT equipment were then loaded into the delivery truck to be properly disposed of.

Despite these computers being refurbished, they could very well perform and run just as well as any other new computers. When well maintained and serviced, these refurbished computers can expect to last through another 3-5 years in operation duration.

An extension of this IT equipment life span by redistributing and redefining their key functions to a different consumer segment and frequency of usage is simply brilliant. This “no wastage” policy is evident in Rentwise’s core philosophy of upholding a greener practice for a sustainable tomorrow. Thus, it comes as no surprise that a marriage between a CSR program affording opportunities and reducing uncalled-for disposal of recyclable resources is only more than ideal.

Rentwise’s CSR program is all about giving back to the society. It aims to help impoverished, marginalized and vulnerable children and their families. This commitment is demonstrated not just through monetary support afforded or equipment upgrades enabled as the current project testifies, but also through pro-active participation and engagement of its employees and their families whenever possible.

With the many significant theatrical performances, musical and sports achievements SMK St. Mary has witnessed over its many decades of existence, Rentwise sincerely hopes its donation of IT equipment will help contribute to the school’s many facades of successes and proud chapters. Rentwise hopes this upgrade will be a key enabler in allowing SMK St. Mary to exceed its own expectations by surpassing its long string of awards and excellence in both academic and co-curricular involvements.

The school’s 1,243 students should now find no difficulty in drawing inspiration and getting motivated with this upgrade in information technology. These newly refurbished computers will totally revolutionize the way students interact with their peers and their approaches toward learning their subject matters.

Whether be it igniting the passion of a future technologist among its notable alumnae-in-the-making, or simply serving as a source of inspiration to students of St. Mary’s school, Rentwise’s act of kindness surely does go a long way in impacting impressionable minds.

Being the very innovative company it constantly strives to achieve, Rentwise is always on the lookout for creative partnerships in its growing CSR program. Previous CSR programs have seen Rentwise working directly with charity organisations. However, Rentwise is currently hoping to establish meaningful collaboration with large corporate clients who may consider donating IT equipment deemed obsolete. This IT equipment will then be refurbished before being deployed for a charitable cause. Through this symbiotic partnership, more computers can be donated and hence, more will benefit from its use.

As a big-hearted organisation which preaches practicing sound investment strategy; “Own that which appreciates, rent that which depreciates”, Rentwise is certainly living up to its tenets of wisdom for both businesses and the younger generation alike. An investment into the human capital especially in a school as reputable as SMK St. Mary is a demonstration of Rentwise’s firm beliefs in paying it forward. After all, there are no better appreciating assets than our very own children paving the way for a brighter future.

Rentwise has definitely redefined the very essence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Indeed, it is a small step in the making toward a giant leap forward to a better tomorrow.

The students of St. Mary’s school have every reason to smile, now that they have unprecedented access and power in their hands to shape their very own future. The power to effect change and court endless possibilities through an enhanced learning infrastructure is an invaluable asset to the school.

This seed of hope sown amongst our younger generation is invaluable.

The price of dreams and inspiration? Simply priceless.

Editorial Contact:

Natalie Ng
Executive Assistant
Rentwise Sdn. Bhd.

General line : +603-3341 6552
Email : natalie@www.rentwise.com

Sales Enquiry: Toll free 1 800 22 2088
Sales Email: sales@www.rentwise.com
Website: www.rentwise.com

Events
October 1, 2012 No Comments

Dear Fellow Colleagues,

It’s been a few weeks since our company retreat and annual dinner at Janda Baik, Pahang but I’m still feeling the good buzz from the trip! How about all of you?

Let me just share a brief summary of this special event to enlighten our colleagues who couldn’t join us. Everyone gathered bright and early on a sunny morning on 15th September 2012, all excited and geared up to start the journey. We set off at around 7.45am and managed to reach our destination at 9.30am. Even at first glance, the Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort was a beautiful, tranquil hillside retreat surrounded by lush tropical landscape and a stunning location perfect to hold our company event.

Our cheerful trainer for the day, Mr. Roy Tan kicked off the team activities superbly by getting the guys and girls to line up in two lines and giving each other massages to wake ourselves up! A great ice-breaker which made everyone feel more relaxed and comfortable with each other. After that everyone was split up randomly into four groups and the team activities began.

The first activity of the day was an entertaining one, sort of like playing the twister game where there were  rows of numbers spread on the floor and each player had to place their hand and foot on the numbers called out by Roy. The game was to test not only how flexible our bodies could be, but more importantly on the significance of trust, supportiveness and cooperation within the group. Sure enough there were several yoga masters showing off their poses there!

Next we all did a personality test to determine which type of personality we were, aimed at better understanding ourselves and naturally those we work with. There were 4 core personalities – Visionary, Nurturer, Commander and Analyser. It was definitely interesting to find out which personality type we all belonged to, as it will help to guide us on how to approach and work with each other better.

The major 3 Principles to develop High Performance Work Teams that were constantly highlighted during the team activities were:

Ideas: Tap into the creativity and potential of people of all levels to adapt quickly to the volatile economy.
People: Any successful organizations needs people who are high performers and also work well together.
Time: Be mindful of time, be punctual on meetings and deadlines, and always be ready to seize opportunities when they arise.

There were many other fun and engaging activities that day and it will be too long to describe all of them. The common themes were recognizing the different personalities that drive us, emphasizing that mutual trust and respect are the building blocks of lasting working relationships, realising that each of us has our own values and that the success of any organizations depends on strong teamwork and collaboration from individuals to produce high-quality results.

Let’s just look at the wonderful photos below that say it better than me:

At the end of the day, it was truly inspiring to see everyone regardless of departments or designations, united as one with great team spirit to solve all the tricky challenges thrown out. Ideas were bounced off each other, discussions were lively and healthy, and there were strength in numbers. We understood now how the word “Impossible” can be changed to “I’m Possible”.

Finally, the highly anticipated annual dinner! Everyone was dressed up in their finest following the 70s theme. A big round of applause must be given to all the group performers who put so much planning, effort and time to come together to give fantastic performances.

Group 1 – “The Funkadelics” presented a short play based on the popular Bollywood film “Bobby 1973”. The show was highly entertaining and the acting was hilariously funny.

Group 2 – “The Freestylers” were a quirky mix of multicultural diversity group. Started off by singing and grooving to the popular 70s Malay song “Seiring Sejalan”, switched to Bangra (Sikh) dance, Chinese Lion dance and ended by dancing to the current worldwide craze “Gangnam Style”. The group members are budding hip hop artistes who totally outdid themselves with crazy dance moves that left us all in stitches!

Group 3 – “The Continental Drifters” gave their best dancing to the classic 70s disco hit “YMCA”, then shuffling to the coolest dance moves of “The Sid Shuffle – Ice Age: Continental Drift”.

Group 4 – “The Singaporeans”. They took 4 weeks to create a touching, heartwarming presentation of Rentwise’s history and its people. Warm accolades were given to colleagues who had left but made their mark, while existing staff and new blood were celebrated, since they will be the ones to continue to build the company and push it to a new frontier.

When the winner of the group performance was announced, it came as no surprise that Group 2 – “The Freestylers” won by a landslide, as they captured the hearts of the audience as well as the judges.

Best Dressed Male and Female of the night also garnered the most votes as they really went all out with their 70s-style costumes. Mr. Timothy Mak aka Avis Mak won the Best Dressed Male category impersonating Elvis Presley, while Ms. Mandy Sam won the Best Dressed Female category dressing up in a blonde wig and retro clothes and accessories!

One of the sweet surprises of the night was that everyone who attended the dinner was eligible for the lucky draws! All 39 of us won something, no matter if it’s small or big prizes. So there were no losers that night, only happy winners!

Best Performance Winner: Group 2 – The Freestylers!

Group Members: Naga, Vimalan, Perdip, Rosmima, Sharizal, Richard & Thaneswaran

Each of the performers received Parkson/Jusco Vouchers (RM 100/pax).

Best Dressed Male

1st Prize: Timothy Mak, Runner up: Kelvin

Best Dressed Female

1st  Prize: Mandy Sam, Runner up: Wendy Tan

*1st  Prize Best Dressed Male:
NTUC Vouchers SGD 100

*1st  Prize Best Dressed Female:
Parkson Vouchers RM 150

Runner ups:
Parkson Vouchers RM 100

Lucky Draw Winners:

1st  Prize – iPad 2: The Lady in Red, Yvonne Chen
2nd Prize – Microwave Oven: The Hip-Hopper, Thaneswaran
3rd Prize – HP Printer: The Photographer Extraordinaire, Termizi

* Other prizes included a rice cooker, Ipad docking, glass chess set, pendrive, wireless drive, multimedia speaker, HP printer, HP carry case, Jusco & Parkson Vouchers.

Special thanks to the Sports Club Committee Members for organizing the event and making it happen!

  • Vijay
  • Wendy
  • Aisyah
  • James
  • Chandra
  • Termizi

To sum up, it was a superbly successful outing at Janda Baik, Pahang. Firstly, we got to know each other in a more personal level during the trip and also found out the many hidden talents among our fellow colleagues. All of us learned the tangible value of communicating effectively with one another and that by joining forces together – we can overcome any challenges that come our way especially in these times of economic uncertainties.

We hope that our next company event will be even more successful and that all of you will participate as eagerly and excitedly. For those who didn’t make it this time around, make sure you do not miss out on all the fun and merriment during the next outing!

Editorial Content
Natalie Ng
Executive Assistant
Rentwise Sdn. Bhd.

Events
May 3, 2012 No Comments

Rentwise Invites You To Give Back Through The Support Of The Newstart Charity As Part Of Rentwise’s CSR Program

Are businesses in business just for business? We don’t think so. At Rentwise, we are committed to give back to society as part of our ongoing CSR program. In particular, we focus on helping impoverished, marginalized and vulnerable children and their families.

Our commitment goes beyond monetary support to the voluntary engagement of our employees and their families. In the spirit of sharing and increasing our collective impact, we are inviting you, our business partner, to join us and make a difference in the lives of those in need.

For years now, The Seventh Day Adventist’s Newstart Charity has helped communities with donations, health screenings, career training and special events. The charity’s next activity is the ASIAN Youth Orchestra Concert, to be held on 10 June 2012. Rentwise is a key sponsor of this event and we will be on hand to help make this concert a resounding success.

NEWSTART Charity – ASIAN Youth Orchestra Concert

Date: 10-Jun-2012
Time: 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium @ Mutiara Damansara (Next to IKEA)

Under the direction of Dr Claudio Gonzalez (USA), The ASIAN Youth Orchestra is composed of 40 musicians. This concert will also feature the Joyful Choir for the Blind.

Concert Tickets:

Class

A (Red)

B (Yellow)

C (Blue)

Price

RM 500

RM 300

RM 100

NEWSTART Charity – ASIAN Youth Orchestra Matinee Concert

There will also be a matinee concert for the ASIAN Youth Orchestra under the direction of Dr Claudio Gonzalez. This matinee concert will be held on the same date (10 June 2012) from 2 PM to 3 PM at the same Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium @ Mutiara Damansara (Next to IKEA).

Concert Tickets For Matinee Session:

Class

A

B

Price

RM 50

RM 25

To purchase tickets for the matinee and evening performances and/or to join us in helping to organize and run these concerts, kindly contact Ms. Yvonne Chen at yvonne@www.rentwise.com  or +603-3341 6552 ext. 601.

You may also send us your donations via cheque payable to The Seventh Day Adventist Corporation (M) Bhd – Newstart Charity and forward it to our Rentwise office at the following address:

Lot 9 – Unit A1, Natco Industrial Park,
Lorong Keluli 1B, Seksyen 7,
40000 Shah Alam, Selangor DE, Malaysia.

We will then forward your donation to the charity.

Thank you in advance for your support and we hope to see you on 10 June for what promises to be a memorable concert!

Sincerely yours,
Leanne Ooi
CEO

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