My friend Yusno has recently just launched his event management system which he started developing early this year. With a dedicated team of developers, he managed to ship this project and is ready to do business! Yes, the tough part is always to ship. Shipping on time is everything when it comes to software development.

The Log On Screen for Evenesis - the event management system developed by Yusno.

And here’s an email interview I had with Yusno on Evenesis’s BETA launch.

Yow Chuan (YC): What is Evenesis all about?

Yusno (YUS): Evenesis is an online web application that offers a full spectrum of event management features such as event planning, event scheduling, event invitation and event response tracking. It also allows you to design your own floor plan, manage your guests’ seating arrangement to suit your event’s theme and coordinate with the venue’s host. There’s also a feature for you to get evaluation and feedback from your attendees. Finally, there’s an ‘Event Report’ that acts as your dashboard where you can see a summary of your event’s statistics such as number of attendees who turned up or absent in a single view.

The Dashboard in Evenesis also features services that can come in handy for event planners such as florists, photographers and even insurance companies.

YC: What are the type of events that I can manage with Evenesis?

YUS: With Evenesis, you can manage weddings, exhibitions, conferences, birthdays, anniversaries, convoctions, fashion shows, movie premieres, open houses, product launches, seminar, conventions and trainings. We are currently adding more type of events based on our event managers’ feedback. Don’t worry if your event type is not listed here. Do inform us and we will add it to our list.

Adding event in Evenesis is simple and straightforward. Each event is currently priced at 50 credits.

YC: What type of users would benefit most from Evenesis?

YUS: Evenesis would be indispensable for anyone who is involved in event management activities. Hoteliers and Event Management Companies are also welcomed and encouraged to use Evenesis to help with their day-to-day event management operations.

YC: So, how can the public start using Evenesis?

YUS: Evenesis is now on Beta version and it is free. Simply go to www.yus.com.my, click the sign up link, and we will provide you with an account immediately.

YC: What can I do with my BETA account?

YUS: You will have 59 credits in your account to create and manage one event, whereby each event would cost 50 credits. You can send up to 60 email invitations (60 x 0.15 credit = 9 credits). Our SMS invitations is not available yet. However, users can still access to all Evenesis modules and functions.

YC: What is this credit thing that you’ve mentioned? Is one credit equivalent to RM1.00?

YUS: Yes, that’s right, a credit is equivalent to RM1.00. Any transaction in Evenesis will be conducted in credits. For example, to create an event, you must have a sufficient credits.

YC: Where and how do I buy and top-up my credits?

YUS: Credits can be bought in multiple of fifties, for example 50, 100, 150 and 200. If you are low on credits, simply go to ‘My Account’ and click ‘Buy Credits’. We accept payment via credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express-AMEX) and Paypal.

YC: Is there any cost involved when setting up and using Evenesis?

The Floor Plan Design module allows you to create your floor plan with ready-made objects such as Projectors, Tables, Podiums, Walls and Stages. It's like setting up a restaurant in PlayFish's Restaurant City.

YUS: Evenesis is free to use if you sign up as our Beta user (with limitations). You can upgrade to full version (once it is launched) and only pay 50 credits for creating a new event. With a full version account, each email invitation will cost 0.15 credit and each SMS invitation will cost 0.50 credit.

YC: Sounds like Evenesis is going to make life much easier for event management planners. Also, I can see myself DIY my own events since all the information regarding reservations, event venues and rates are easily available on the Evenesis platform. As with everything ‘technology’, I deem support as a very important aspect to ensure a pleasant user experience. I know I can call you directly if all my events disappeared from the Dashboard but how do users contact the support team if they have any problem with Evenesis?

YUS: You can email me directly at support@evenesis.com and I will response to you personally! Also, I am open to any kind of collaboration work that can benefits the public. As a matter of fact, I am now inviting any business owners to advertise their products and services that are related to event management for free for a limited time.

The invitation module gives you the option to send your invitation by email and SMS. At the point of this interview, the SMS module is not yet available.

YC: Thanks bro for your sharing on Evenesis. I wish you great success in your full version launch!

YUS: You are most welcome YC!

Disclaimer: Meshio.com does not have any ownership or direct financial interest in Evenesis. Meshio.com does not guaranty or make any warranties, express or implied, as to the quality of services or products that may be provided by Evenesis. You are advised to contact the owner of Evenesis at support@evenesis.com for further information.

A new breed of Critical Illness insurance product launched by Great Eastern, where a portion of the critical illness protection fund is paid in advance, according to severity of the disease.

Via www.LifeIsGreat.com.my:

The first plan in Malaysia that pays at the early stages of critical illness.

With continuous medical advances and emphasis on periodic health screening, early detection of a critical illness is promising and may save your life. But will your finances be there to see you through the early treatment of a critical illness?

Smart Early Payout CriticalCare is designed with you in mind. It’s a unique investment-linked insurance rider, which pays upon early diagnosis of a critical illness, not when the illness has become more severe as with most insurance plans.

Early Payout, Finances Saved
When your life threatens to come to a halt, you need to bounce back fast. With early payouts to provide for early treatments, you won’t have to put off your other life plans should a critical illness occur. More importantly, you do not have to be financially burdened. The lump sum paid may be used at your discretion choose to use it for medical treatments or therapy, medication or even to settle financial commitments.

With the advantage of early financial support from Smart Early Payout CriticalCare, you can focus solely on treatment and recovery so that you can get back on your feet again.

Multiple Claims Across Multiple Critical Illnesses
The most thoughtful thing is, Smart Early Payout CriticalCare allows for multiple claims for different critical illnesses or across severity levels within the same critical illness. Furthermore, you will not have to wait in between submission of claims should your condition deteriorate to a more advanced stage.

There are no limits to the number of critical illness conditions that you can claim against, as long as the pre-defined conditions are fulfilled and the sum of claim payouts are within the rider’s sum assured limit.

Note: Terms and conditions apply.

An example of how it works:
A 30-year old male is covered by Smart Early Payout CriticalCare with a sum assured of RM300,000. He is diagnosed with early stage cancer at Severity 25 and he makes a claim. Six months later, he suffers a heart attack at Severity 25 and another claim is made. Two months after the second claim is made, he suffers a heart attack at Severity 50 and makes a claim. Since the three claims did not reach the full sum assured, he will continue to be protected. If his condition deteriorates, he can make further claims on the remaining sum assured.

An illustration of his claim payouts is as follows:

*The remaining sum assured coverage is based on the assumption that the coverage for the investment-linked insurance plan, Critical Illness Benefit Rider and Smart Early Payout CriticalCare is the same.

Added Protection with Unique ‘Buy Back’ Option
Usually, if a critical illness claim is made, it will be difficult to obtain new insurance cover, depriving your loved ones of financial aid should anything unforeseen happen to you.

The good news is, Smart Early Payout CriticalCare comes with a unique ‘Buy Back’ option to give your loved ones the extra financial protection at the time they may need it most. With this option, you can buy back the death benefit from selected insurance plan offered by the Company, up to the maximum sum assured of the rider. This means that you’re still covered even after a full payout of critical illness claims has been made under Smart Early Payout CriticalCare.

Note: Terms and conditions apply. Smart Early Payout CriticalCare is a unit deduction rider attachable to selected regular premium investment-linked insurance plans and must be attached together with Critical Illness Benefit Rider.

Source: www.pacificmutual.com.my

Petaling Jaya, 1 October 2010 – Pacific Mutual Fund Bhd, winner of the Best Equity and Mixed Assets fund manager awards at The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2010, has announced the following income distributions, amounting to RM22.3 million, for six of its Funds for their financial year ended 30 September 2010:

Pacific Premier Fund – 5.75 sen per unit
Pacific Income Fund – 4.00 sen per unit
Pacific Focus 18 Fund – 3.50 sen per unit
Pacific Cash Fund – 0.40 sen per unit
Pacific Global Stars Fund* – 2.50 sen per unit
Pacific SELECT Bond Fund – 1.25 sen per unit

This translates to the following distribution yields for investors based on the net asset value (NAV) per unit of the respective Funds prior to the distribution:

Pacific Premier Fund – 7.00%
Pacific Income Fund – 6.84%
Pacific Focus 18 Fund – 6.23%
Pacific Cash Fund – 0.79%
Pacific Global Stars Fund* – 5.52%
Pacific SELECT Bond Fund – 1.21%

*Formerly known as Pacific S&P Global STARS Fund

“Despite the ongoing volatile markets and still uncertain global economic conditions, especially in the developed markets, our Investment Team has generated sustained outperformance and reasonable returns for our investors – achieved via our highly disciplined investment process and in-depth fundamental analysis and of equal importance, our focus on risk management,” says Gary Gan, General Manager, Business Development & Marketing of Pacific Mutual.

“The awards and recognitions we have received for our Funds speak volumes for our fund management strength. Our Pacific Global Stars Fund (formerly known as Pacific S&P Global STARS Fund) and Pacific Income Fund have emerged as the best equity global fund and the best mixed asset fund respectively at The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2010,” says Gan, adding that both these funds along with the Pacific Premier Fund – are all currently Lipper Leaders in Consistent Return as well. (Source: Lipper 10 September 2010).

“We continue to stay true to our core competencies, and build our business to provide real value to our investors. Investors who believe in our investment style and approach, which have been proven to work through different market cycles, and investors who have stayed invested in our Funds will again benefit from the consistent distribution payout,” adds Gan.

Pacific Mutual, the investment arm of the PacificMas Berhad and a member of the OCBC Group, currently manages a total of 29 Funds, which include 14 Funds with foreign investment mandates and two wholesale funds. The Company also manages private mandates under its asset management business. As at end September 2010, Pacific Mutual manages RM2.1 billion on behalf of its clients.

My favorite stock-broking firm- Jupiter Securities is giving ZERO-Brokerage for one month to investors who open a new online trading account with them during our Bursa Malaysia Market Chat. Read on to find out more:

(Start of promotional message…)

Jupiter Online is participating in the Bursa Malaysia Market Chat 2010-2011. This is an event not to be missed.

Last year, Jupiter seminars were very well attended, and we received excellent feedback. This year, we hope to emulate last year’s event. Speakers will include Mr Pong Teng Siew, Head of Research, Mr Kelvin Tan, Head of Jupiter Online and other invited speakers. Amongst the topics that will be looked into includes:

How do we profit from the Recovery? Where is the market direction? Will the market reach a new high or will we experience a major retracement? What are the sectors to be invested in? What are the stocks that you should be watching and investing? How can you reduce transaction costs to improve your winning trading strategy? How to have a competitive edge using the tools available in online trading? How to use technical charts to time your entry and exits? What are the stock picks? What are the other good investment instruments available?

For answers to be above questions, sign up for the Bursa Malaysia Market Chat. Lunch and tea will be provided to registered participants.

Schedule for October and November are as follows:

ZERO BROKERAGE for one month for all who open a new online trading account with Jupiter Securities Sdn Bhd during our Bursa Malaysia Market Chat.

Registration is FREE. Please call 03-20709800 or send an email to servicecenter@jssb.com.my.

(…end of promotional message)

If you have been an active trader/investor, which means you enter and exit the share market quite regularly, you would have realized that brokerage fee is one of the most important factor that you must take into account to ensure that you still make a profit, even after the price tick upwards in your favor.

Zero-brokerage is definitely a very good ‘sweetener’ to get us retail investors into the trading game, but even with this one-month zero-brokerage benefit, you must still practice stringent money management because when you are in the game, you must realize that you are playing with the best brains and you have no idea how ‘ruthless’ the game can get.

Good luck trading!