SaigonNezumi.com

A friend from a Western company is looking for a Vietnamese guy experienced in using Ubuntu Linux.  Please see the brief job description below:

To prepare an Ubuntu migration from Windows, we are looking for a Vietnamese Person with Ubuntu skills to support :

• Post-Installation Ubuntu Support
• Internal Staff Training on Ubuntu / Open Office
• Location HCMC/Hanoi/Danang
• Around 150 Computers will be migrated

This person will be connected with the IT to solve issues reported by the end-users. He will be a key person in the Ubuntu implementation, to be sure we have a smooth operation under Ubuntu.

Contact Me and I will forward your email to this company.  This job sound very exciting.

I mentioned over a month ago that VTV visited my Linux Lab.  A couple weeks ago they aired the 10 minute segment on VTV.  I know several of the guys featured on the program including An Nguyen of SaigonLUG and Professor Son from the University of Education.   The open source community is starting to grow in Saigon but it still has 5-10 years to mature.  It is definitely more active then 5 years ago which is very positive.

My piece is at the 7 minute mark after the interview with Professor Son.  Oh, the entire clip is in Vietnamese…

Sorry for adding this late, I posted it on Facebook over a week ago and then just got lazy

Ms. Quynh Ngoc from VTV visited my Linux lab at the American International School today through a referral by An Nguyen of SaigonLUG.  Though we knew about it for a couple days, we only received permission from the school at the last minute.  My students were not prepared but since this was a normal lab day, I was not worried.

This is actually my third academic year using Linux and open source software at AIS.  For their ICT projects, the majority of my students are using either Synfig Studio, Blender and/or GIMP this quarter on either Ubuntu Linux or Windows platforms.  I am impressed at how fast they transitioned to Linux and open source software.  My 10th, 11th, and 12th graders this year are definitely my brightest open source users to date.  I will blog about some of their projects in late January, 2010.

The visit by VTV was went okay.  They just visited one class and got the footage they needed.  Long, my ICT student, and I were interviewed outside the classroom.  That was a little nervous for a guy who hates cameras.

I am glad that Vietnam is taking a stronger look into open source now.  I also thank AIS for supporting open source and Linux from the first day I started there back in 2006.  Our students will be some of the leading IT experts in the future, in my opinion…

Last Monday I meet with the team from Google for an informal dinner at the Gala Royale in District 1 of Saigon.  About 14 people attending including several developers.  Christine, Stephanie, Niki and Diana, yes all ladies, represented the Google team.  This was just more of an informational meeting for Google.  They will return next year to meet with more Vietnamese developers.

My friend, Phu, from the Vietnam Investments Group, recommended Gala Royale as our meeting place.  It turned out to be a good location.  VIG’s IT Manager, Cuong, also attended.  Other in attendance included Leon Sikes (Managing Partner – MNG JVP), Vinh (Director of Software Development – SLG Vscapeone), Cuong (CTO – Buffalo Tours), Mark Tran (Managing Director – Transcend People Limited), Dr. Heiko Rudolph (RMIT Australia), Long ( my ICT student from the American International School) and Chi (who worked on an open source project with NEC and the Linux Foundation).

Hopefully in the near future, we will see a stronger involvement with Google in Vietnam.

Gala Royale M Lounge and Grill
63 Mac Dinh Chi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Over two years ago, I wrote a blog post about the Advantages of BPOs to Vietnam and how Vietnam had a comparative advantage due to low labor costs when compared to other outsourcing countries in Asia.  Since I posted that article, I have received many  inquiries monthly asking information about business process outsourcing (BPO) opportunities in Vietnam.  Several BPOs  in Vietnam have become quite successful including Transcend People, Ltd., run by my friend Mark Tran.

I met Mark a couple years ago.  At that time, Transcend People, TPL, was located in one building.  Today TPL is located in three different buildings in Saigon staffed by experienced Expat and Vietnamese professionals.   Below are some information about Transcend People provided by their company website:

Established in 2004, Transcend People, Limited (TPL) is a privately-owned and rapidly growing business process outsourcing (BPOs) provider headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. TPL offers customized, flexible, and superior BPO solutions to long-term partners and aims to become a world-class BPOs service provider.

TPL was established and is managed by experienced industry professionals from the US. This unique background underlies a strong commitment to ease of integration, transparent communication, and superior customer service. TPL has built an extensive roster of loyal and satisfied clients who have experienced the TPL advantage. At TPL: We do it better! Source: http://transcendpeople.com/tpl/home/about.html

TPL offers the following BPOs services including; Data Entry, Web Services, Sales and Marketing, Accounting and Human Resources.  You can visit their BPOs Solutions webpage for more information: http://transcendpeople.com/tpl/home/solutions.html.

I will blog more about TPL in the future.  In the meantime, if you want more information about the services Transcend People offers, you can either contact TPL directly or just send me an email for a personal referral.

Transcend People, Ltd.

Website: http://transcendpeople.com

Contact: http://transcendpeople.com/tpl/home/contact.html