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Exabytes Group CEO, Chan Kee Siak has made it his mission to overcome challenges. In fact, the reason he started the Exabytes as a web hosting company was to solve a problem. “The trigger was frustration,” he candidly admits.
The journey started in 2001, when he was just 19 years old and studying in college. He was selling computers for extra pocket money, when he was inspired by how CEO of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell, had embraced computing and e-commerce. However, when Chan tried to start his own website, he could not find a reliable web hosting provider to work with.
“I had no help and support, and had to figure things out by myself,” he recalls. “After searching and searching, I was frustrated that no one was solving this problem, so I started Exabytes as a web hosting company to do it myself.”
Fast-forward to today, Exabytes is a leading business, cloud, digital and e-commerce solutions provider with a mission to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) digitalise and bring their businesses online. At the heart of its work is an enthusiasm to energise customers’ online web presences with end-to-end services that go beyond domain name and shared hosting to include digital marketing, e-commerce and more — and in the process, to also give back to society. “Unless we expand access, digital knowledge may create new divides,” Chan says. He explains: “As one of the key leaders in the digital industry, my job is to minimise the gap in digital literacy, to assure individuals and businesses of the success they’ll see in time, and most importantly, to ensure safety and cybersecurity for them, their businesses and their children.”
A belief in the power of digital technology
In Singapore, this has seen Exabytes join the Digital for Life (DfL) movement of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). With support from various DfL partners, it offers free courses to the community through three key initiatives: Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship with Exabytes (AWEWE), Digitalise Singapore for Youth, and BTS of Web Design Workshops.
Chan shares that these projects are particularly important to him because he has seen time and time again how digital technology — even something as simple as a website or online store — can equalise the playing field and “give everyone a chance to make a better living”.
“By introducing these digital tools to the community, I hope people will be able to create and grow their online presence, and have the resources to build their ideas and portfolios online. I believe it will improve their professionalism, and overall, bring convenience for the community in Singapore,” he declares.
Exabytes is eager to give back to the community, and regularly works with community partners to run workshops for youths, so they may acquire the skills for a digital-first future.
Accelerating women entrepreneurship
Each of Exabytes’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives is of personal significance to Chan. For example, AWEWE — which as its name suggests, is designed to support female entrepreneurship. It was started because of his experience with his wife and other female colleagues.
“I saw that there are women who sacrifice a lot to care for their families, and the dilemma they face is that they also want a career of their own. So, I thought if they knew how to make good use of web technology, they’d be able to start a career that offers them the flexibility they need,” he says.
A run of AWEWE, held between February and June 2022, saw Exabytes partner with organisations such as IMDA, Society for WINGS, the People’s Association, Mumpreneurs Go Places, Social Media Mums, She Leads Tech and PolarisHub to conduct free monthly workshops in Singapore.
To date, 600 participants have benefited from the campaign. These women have gained hands-on experience building their own websites, and access to sharing sessions from momtrepreneurs, as well as talks on digital safety and cybersecurity.
Mala Begum, founder of traditional home bakes store, Mala’s Kitchen testifies to the benefits these workshops can bring. “Exabytes gave me the opportunity to showcase my skills and supported me at every step to create my own website. The website has in turn allowed me to reach out to more customers and make more sales,” she enthuses.
Besides picking up technical skills about how to start their own websites, participants of AWEWE also attended the “When is the right time to have a website for my business” workshop to help understand the ways going digital can support their careers.
Empowering youth innovation
As a young entrepreneur once, Chan also holds youths, whom he fondly refers to as “our future”, close to his heart. To empower them to realise their aspirations and push new frontiers in tech, he steps in to personally mentor young entrepreneurs he meets. While some of these youths have worked with Exabytes, others continue to partner the company as they carve out their careers elsewhere.
In addition, Exabytes leverages its position as a leader to galvanise and unite community partners in support of the DfL movement. For example in 2021, the company teamed up with Cyber Youth Singapore (CYS) for the Digitalise Singapore for Youth initiative. This aims to support at least 1,000 youths between the ages of 13 to 35 years in launching their ground-up technical projects.
While CYS stepped in to provide access to youth participants, Exabytes came on board with resources like web hosting, domain names and virtual private servers to assist youths in prototyping their ideas.
By supporting youths at the Digitalise Singapore for Youth initiative, Exabytes hopes they will be empowered to use technology in pursuit of their dreams.
Plugging the digital skills gap for underprivileged youths
Support is also available for underprivileged youths, Chan says. In his own humble upbringing as the son of a hawker, he has experienced first-hand how “technology can connect people to a world of opportunities and provide them with the skills they need to succeed in a digital world”.
“When used in the right way, technology can be a game changer for youths who may have lacked the opportunities to access it,” he elaborates. But for this to happen, youths must first be given access to digital resources and be equipped with the skills to enrich their lives.
Exabytes’ 2021 BTS of Web Design Workshops, run in collaboration with South Central Committee Family Service Centre, were therefore aimed at doing just that.
Over five days, 25 secondary school students got the opportunity to learn about basic coding and even built a website based on their topic of interest. Post-camp, participants continued to receive technical support from a dedicated Exabytes account manager. They also joined a WhatsApp group where they could easily reach out and receive guidance and support to safely build their presence in the virtual world.
The BTS of Web Design workshop held across five days in December 2021 was aimed at both giving students access to digital tools, and to foster interest in tech-related careers.
You can do your part to create a digital-first future
Reflecting on the success of Exabytes’ CSR initiatives thus far, Chan adds that he is grateful for IMDA’s support in connecting him to reliable partners whose objectives align with his, and who can complement Exabytes’ strengths.
“Sincerity is important,” he affirms. “I can see from the engagement and the resources each partner puts in that they are genuine about their support. They don’t just throw in some money to have their logo put up.”
This dedicated support from partners has allowed Exabytes’ initiatives to continue to run virtually throughout the course of the pandemic. Now that social distancing regulations are easing, Chan is excited to continue impacting the community and creating more change at face-to-face events.
His goal? “I want to continue to support other entrepreneurs using the web resources that I have. It won’t cost me a lot, and anyway, as business owners, we cannot only think about making sales. We also need to give back to the community,” he concludes.
Just like Chan, there are many ways you can help Singaporeans embrace digital as a lifelong pursuit, and to enrich their lives.
- Visit https://www.exabytes.sg/about/esg to find out more about Exabytes’ programmes and how you or your loved ones can benefit.
- Visit https://www.digitalforlife.gov.sg to learn more about the different projects in the works and how you can participate.
Chan Kee Siak, CEO, Exabytes Group
