"With a staff of 50, we're one of Macau's larger enterprise IT firms," said Adam Iao, general manager for Vodatel subsidiary Mega Datatech. "We specialize in providing network infrastructure, from wireless to security, and are currently concentrating on the government sector."

Iao said that much of his firm's mission--supplying network solutions to Macau entities--is focused on hotels and casinos in the private sector. Ho's STDM is cited as a major client by Iao, who said the projects from STDM (SJM) aren't indicative of a "single-empire" philosophy. "They're more diversified, smaller networks, a couple hundred nodes [each]," he said. "We build them under time pressure and must work closely with vendors, suppliers and project teams. We have to be agile, and react quickly."

Iao added that Macau's rapid growth meant that infrastructure not only needed rapid deployment but scalability was a major concern in recent MSAR deployments. The Mega Datatech GM also said other projects his firm had helped complete include the structured cable networks, servers and storage for both Macau Polytechnic and the University of Macau.

Macau's smart cards

Like Hong Kong, Macau started issuing "smart" ID cards to its citizens about two years ago. According to Andy Mok, executive director and sales & marketing director for Megainfo Holdings (Vodatel is the parent company of MegaInfo and Mega Datatech), about half of MSAR citizens currently have the SIM-embedded identification cards. The smart cards will help enable Macau's civil service, the IACM (Instituto de Assuntos Civicos e Municipais), described by Iao as a one-stop service for Macau's citizens (and also the second largest employer in Macau, after the police force) to consolidate e-government services. Iao said his firm helped build IACM's new network, which involved migrating a legacy AS/400 system to J2EE, with Phase One of the project completed several months ago.