Advancing towards a knowledge-based economy
eWarna

Featured under Malaysia, Mighty Asian Powerhouse, Information and communication technology, http://www.global-business-press.com, Weekly Telegraph, Feb 2006

Malaysian companies are at the forefront of global advances in technology. In 1999, eWarna recognised the need for a web-based colour physics application to address problems in the textile and apparel supply chain, and colour communication processes.

By 2000 it had developed a prototype and secured venture capital financing, and in 2002 won an MSCAPTICA award. In 2005, eWarna was a finalist in the Red Herring Asia Top 100 Technology Companies.

eWarna has developed OCX (Online Colour Exchange) technology which transmits colour and colour information accurately via the internet. For the textile and apparel sector, this signals an end to sending samples of materials back and forth via courier. Instead, eWarna digital samples are now a reality.

Already several hundred clients, many in the US, are using this technology. eWarna is now developing its applications for other markets and industries where the use of colour is paramount. The company works on the principle of “pre-emptive innovation” – designing and building what customers will buy.

“Innovation is one of our key competitive differentiators,” explains CEO Shiew Man Hon. “Our products are based on the world being different in the future, and we are going to build a product for that future.”

By 2003 eWarna had already partnered with IBM, offering “Colour on Demand” web services to other software providers. In April 2005, eWarna launched an OCX colour indexer. In October 2005 it partnered with three PLM companies, offering OCX technology as a plug-in with their implementation. The company has acquired two international patents so far and expect more to be awarded in the future.