Startups

Top 3 resources for developing on Microsoft Azure Microsoft offers startups and students alot of resources to get started on Microsoft Azure. Ranging from the Microsoft BizSpark program which provides free Azure credits and product keys, there is also the Microsoft Imagine program for students to host websites and download software for free. Here are the top 3 resources which you can use in your journey with Microsoft Azure. Azure for Startups (Github) This repository on github contains an array of guides which startups can use to kick start their journey on Azure. There are tutorials and sample code to help startups migrate from other platforms to Azure, as well as the different possible services which Microsoft offers. Visit the Azure for Startups Github page here. ...

InnovFest Singapore 2015 was a 2-day festival held over 2 days (28 - 29 April) at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. The event featured Asian innovation and brought the best ideas together. 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors, government agencies and researchers had the opportunity to meet, share their knowledge and network. [caption id=“innovfest_001” align=“aligncenter” width=“5184”] InnovFest - where Asian innovation meets the world[/caption] The Guest-of-Honor, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative, shared in his opening address about the importance of innovation for our survival. He also took pride in sharing how half of Singapore’s cabinet ministers are engineers, and also how our very own Prime Minister can code. [caption id=“innovfest_002” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Dr. Balakrishnan had the opportunity to interact with the innovators[/caption] I had an amazing experience of talking to different innovators and sharing about Microsoft BizSpark, a program which gives startups 3 years of free stuff – software, service, tech support, and Azure cloud services. As I was roaming around different booths, I had the chance to check out all the new and really cool apps, innovations and cutting edge technologies! Some of the interesting ideas include a a watch that helps hook people up with the opposite gender located nearby, a smart home that can automatically light up your room with using a Kinect sensor based on your identity and profile, a bicycle with wheels that depicts engaging displays. [caption id=“innovfest_003” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Bicycle that displays advertisements[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_004” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Smart home using Kinect sensor[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_005” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Startup Gamurai showcasing their awesome product[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_006” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Nicholas sharing with start-ups about Microsoft BizSpark[/caption] Apart from exhibitions, there were also workshops and panel discussions on the latest trends in global & Asian innovations, keynote speeches and a series of satellite events. We have our very own Director of Developer Experience & Evangelism of Microsoft Singapore, Mr. Nobuhiro Ito, sharing about the secrets of Asia’s User Goldmine together in a panel discussion. [caption id=“innovfest_007” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Panel Discussion on Discovering Asia’s User Goldmine[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_008” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Workshops in InnovFest[/caption] Attendees were treated with a wide variety of delicious food, ranging from an international buffet spread to local delights such as chicken rice and nasi lemak, and also awesome tasting coffee. Over lunch, we also had the opportunity to network with different attendees and exchange ideas around the table. [caption id=“innovfest_009” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] Buffet Spread for lunch[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_005” align=“aligncenter” width=“1024”] The roundtable setting facilitates discussions among attendees[/caption] [caption id=“innovfest_005” align=“aligncenter” width=“1919”] The Cortana boys[/caption] With so many mind-blowing ideas, amazing people and a constant spread of sumptuous meals, it is no doubt Asia’s most exciting innovation conference. I’m definitely looking forward to attending the next one, are you?

There is a feeding frenzy when it comes to buzzwords and “Docker” has now become THAT GUY. If you’ve been subscribing to technology blogs, there’s been an active trend with this new buzzword: docker. The cool kids on the block now seem to revolve around anything “Docker” related. There’s even a local Meet-up Group popping up with event #2 under their belt. The momentum is growing and in fact, even large tech giants like Azure and Amazon Web Services just announced their support behind it not too long ago. Not to be outdone by their industrious cousins, startups that are flocking to Docker are making the VC’s fall in love with them, bringing their founders million dollar valuations seemingly overnight!. So what the heck is Docker and why should I care? Background: Docker is actually an open-source project, written in GO (developed by the G-men of Google, born out of their hate of C++) to do one simple thing: ship applications faster. And the cool part is that this drastically changes all the ways we did things in the past. The problem: There is an inherent issue with how we work with the hardware and software. Applications are tied to an Operating System, and because of this, you can’t simply just move an app from one place to another without a whole lot of stuff that happens by the tech guys. Think back to moving your application icons from the desktop of a computer to a new computer…never worked for you did it? And for good reason! & solution: So what Docker did was they created a portable “container” to do just that! Move your applications without having to worry about where it’s running. What this means for the engineers & developers out there, is that they can use any language they prefer and push, pull, move back and forth to any server in be it cloud or virtual/physical machines. Translation: Engineers can focus on developing applications and can get it to your business or users faster because they no longer have to worry about the “back room” stuff. The future: The current eco-system that supports Docker as of today lists some of the big giants like Google and our friends at Microsoft. But not to be outdone, there are some recent startups focused on this as well, even here in Singapore. Specifically… us, Apvera! Stay tuned as we share our process on integrating new tech to solve old problems on our blog. In the mean time, check out a local startup event in the area on docker and try to run into us. For more info go to apvera.com Connect with Paul on