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The high concentration of banks and financial institutions in Hong Kong presented attractive business opportunities for IT solutions providers, according to a US-based IT company.
Authentify Inc, a leader in telephone-based out-of-band authentication solutions, is expanding its international operations with the opening of a new service centre in Hong Kong. The centre, Authentify Limited Hong Kong, will provide sales and customer support services for its multi-factor authentication products aimed at financial, e-commerce and online payment firms in the Asia Pacific region. The company regards Hong Kong as the best strategic location to manage business operations in Asia Pacific.
¡°The Authentify authentication tool currently has worldwide reach as a result of US-based customer applications that extend into other countries and this has generated interest abroad for our technology,¡± CEO of Authentify Mr Peter Tapling said.
¡°The high concentration of banks and financial institutions in Hong Kong, which represent our leading vertical market, made the city a logical choice for basing our Asia Pacific operations.¡±
With the opening of Authentify Ltd Hong Kong, customers will have local access to a comprehensive range of services including dedicated regional account staff, technical implementation people skilled in IT risk assessment and management and 24/7 technical support.
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr John Rutherford, officially welcomed the company¡¯s new operation in Hong Kong. He pointed out that the opening of Authentify¡¯s regional headquarters here was a classic example of how the dynamic growth of various sectors in the region had created an array of business opportunities for many enabling industries, such as IT.
¡°The presence of advanced IT solution providers like Authentify in Hong Kong will not only further strengthen the competitiveness of our IT industry, but also enable their local and international clients to have access to leading-edge products and services. This is particularly important for businesses in highly competitive industries such as financial services,¡±Mr Rutherford said.
He wished the company every success in its future developments locally and regionally.
Seeing the growing demand for authentication IT solution in the region, senior executives of the company have expressed confidence in their development in Hong Kong.
Authentify¡¯s regional director for Asia, Mr Robert Soden, said financial services firms around the globe faced the same dilemma of how to implement a more secure and trustworthy form of user authentication to protect their online systems from being compromised by fraudulent people posing as legitimate users. "With the opening of Authentify Ltd Hong Kong, we are providing businesses in Asia Pacific with local access to the resources they need to implement the same effective and easy-to-use authentication service used by leading US banks and e-commerce properties,¡± Mr Soden said.
Authentify, Inc provides automated out-of-band authentication services that enable organisations to quickly and cost-effectively perform real-time user authentication during an Internet session. The company¡¯s patented technology employs a service-oriented message architecture to integrate into existing online processes. Authentify markets primarily to financial services firms, corporate security professionals and e-merchants. For further information about the company and its patented process, please visit the website at www.authentify.com.
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with encouraging and facilitating inward investment into the city by providing the support needed to establish a business presence here. For more information, please visit the website at www.investhk.gov.hk.
Ends/Friday, March 31, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:01
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