iWow Technology

IN OCTOBER last year, the 10 millionth mobile device containing iWow Technology's proprietary i.frame software was shipped.

It was a milestone for the Singapore-based wireless solutions provider, formed in 1999 by four friends who had met in the army or through work in the telecommunications industry. Says Mr Lee Yao Chiang, 38, executive director of the company and one of the founders: "At that time, we felt that wireless was on the verge of a boom. The mass was coming up."

But it was not easy for iWow, which stands for Inspiring the World Of Wireless, to penetrate a market dominated by Europeans, Americans and Taiwanese. Its founders persevered, going for trade fairs to plug its products and services, with some help along the way from International Enterprise Singapore.

Things gradually snowballed from their first few overseas customers. "We were able to support them well and they passed the word around," says Mr Lee. iWow's products and services are now used in more than 100 countries. The company has a staff of 120 and offices in Malaysia and China.

The company has two main business areas. One - managed by its wholly-owned subsidiary iWow Connections - designs, manufactures and distributes wireless connectivity products such as modems. It has its own brand iTegno and the products are mostly made by contract manufacturers in Indonesia.

The other, handled by subsidiary iWow Communications, provides technologies and design solutions for mobile phone development. The cost-efficient i.frame software, developed by iWow's engineers for mobile phones, is what attracts many customers.

"It garnered a lot of attention from the big brand-name mobile phone players as well as from our technology partner Texas Instruments," says Mr Lee. iWow has a partnership with Texas Instruments in which the software is embedded in chipsets that the American semiconductor manufacturer supplies to makers of cellular phones and other mobile devices.

In the financial year that ended in  March 2006, iWow posted a profit of $1.8 million, and a turnover of $14 million, which is almost double that of the previous year's.

This year is the second time the company is in the Enterprise 50 list. It entered the listing for the first time last year at 17th place.

"E50 is a prestigious award for privately held companies in Singapore," says Mr Lee. "It gives our customers the confidence that we are a fast-growing dynamic company and that they are leveraging on the correct partner for their product supply."

Looking ahead, iWow is aiming for a stock exchange listing by 2009 to obtain more funds for expansion. There are also plans for a research and development facility in China. The company's R&D activities are currently carried out in Singapore.

R&D and technical talent are needed for iWow to keep its edge. "We have to continually improve and maintain a gap between us and our competitors," says Mr Lee.

"And our competitive advantage has to be based on something that is sustainable. That means technical competency, quality and reliability of our services, and responsive technical support to our customers."

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