VOICE OF THE MALAYSIAN TECH INDUSTRY
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HUAWEI CELEBRATES 20 YEARS IN MALAYSIA Michael Yuan, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Malaysia
MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021 PIKOM DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021
Connecting as ONE 20 years and counting - past, present and future.
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Vol 4 No. 2 3
Chairman’s Message HUAWEI celebrates 20 years in Malaysia
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PIKOM Fuels Malaysia’s Digital; Economy under the PENJANA HRDF Initiative
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PIKOM DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021: After the Storm What’s Next
Cover Story Michael Yuan, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Malaysia
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23 Digital Disruptors
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Digital Skills
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In-Conversation with Narayana MurthyPowered by Intellect, Driven by Values
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MDEC’S Malaysia Tech Month: WCIT 2022-Connecting To The World
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From the Chairman’s Desk Danny Lee PIKOM Chairman When COVID-19 struck the world, it resulted in ‘new norms’ across businesses, education and government. Nearly overnight, movement restriction orders were issued, limiting social gatherings, in-person business operations, and educational activities, among others. Today as the world continues to battle the pandemic, digitalisation has experienced rapid acceleration. Now digitalisation dominates both frontline and back-end operations, while empowering the world with unique virtual capabilities to navigate the challenges and maintain a semblance of normalcy. Under these circumstances, as a community of IT professionals and business owners, PIKOM has gained tremendous momentum despite the challenges. Over the last several months, our office bearers, council members and advisers have been actively involved in engaging both the government and the public sector in our efforts to further drive digitalisation in Malaysia. We have had the opportunity to participate in various dialogues, advisory consultations and discussions on policies as well as issues relating to the country’s digital roadmap. I am pleased to share that I have had the opportunity to represent PIKOM in the Communications and Multimedia Consultative Council, the Digital Productivity Nexus (DPN), tech industry budget planning with the Ministry of Finance, and a committee member with the National Science Council. We have also been working closely with Akademi Sains Malaysia for talent development, with MDEC on eCommerce strategic growth, MCMC on data centre licensing and the Customs Department on tax-related issues. As the voice of the tech industry, we have also submitted several proposal papers to the government on matters related to IT as essential service, our sentiments on the cabotage exemption policy, eCommerce policy and DST, among others. Last year, our plans to host WCIT Malaysia 2020 in Penang was halted due to the pandemic. Fortunately, seeing how serious we are to have the Olympics of the ICT return to Malaysia, WITSA has awarded PIKOM as the organiser of WCIT Malaysia 2022. Despite all these challenges, it has been a blessing in disguise for PIKOM this year. The Launch of PIKOM Tech Fair 2021, powered by Fusionex, introduced Malaysia’s first, large-scale virtual technology exhibition in Malaysia, showcasing over 20,000 SKUs by tech exhibitors and has now drawn more than 500,000 attendees. We have pivoted from a physical venue to digital space where PIKOM members and businesses can connect virtually
with customers and explore new opportunities. You will find weekly special deals at the PIKOM Tech Marketplace https://pikom.fxvep.com/techfair/home. In driving talent development in the IT sector, PIKOM signed an MoU with Asia e-University to upskill digital talents and graduates. We also continue working with HRDCorp on the Penjana HRDF’s Place and Train Programme in areas of Cybersecurity, AI, IOT, Data Analytics and many others. The month of September saw the launch of Women in Tech Chapter. The Chapter is set up to provide a platform for all women who work in the ICT industry, from both the users and vendors of technology, to engage with each other. There are also plans for WIT to provide support via mentoring efforts, to assist women in achieving their professional goals and aspirations. September also saw PIKOM and PIKOM CIO Chapter teaming up to lend a helping hand during this difficult period. The pandemic has left the most vulnerable among us in dire situations. We are working with various organisations on the ground that are able to provide support to individuals and families that need them the most. This includes helping to provide food aid, basic toiletries and educational stationery. To date, we have collected RM47,250 and disbursed RM40,000 through the PIKOM Helping Hand Program. A big thank you to Veeam for lending a helping hand to the community. Veeam and its employees contributed RM20,000 to Yayasan Chow Kit through the PIKOM Helping Hand Program. We have also distributed the contributions to Muhibbah Food Bank Malaysia Society and Refuge for the Refugees. We also thank corporates like Firmus, Fusionex and many individuals who have come forward to lend us a helping hand. This is a continuous programme and we look forward to your continuous support. This month’s MyIT publication reflects how busy we have been with the numerous webinar series, engagement sessions and PIKOM Members Meet. Also, catch the exciting cover stories on Huawei’s 20-year journey in Malaysia’s IT landscape and EKTech’s foray into digital surveillance. The next few weeks will be equally exciting for us. Look out for our Economic and Digital Job Market Outlook in Malaysia 2021 and the GBS Talent Report, which will be distributed to all members. Also, lock your dates and join us for the upcoming PIKOM Leadership Summit, The Future of Cybersecurity Summit and the Annual PIKOM Unicorn Night, all happening this November. Till then, stay safe, stay strong, march on.
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HUAWEI CELEBRATES 20 YEARS IN MALAYSIA Michael Yuan, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Malaysia talks about the company’s strong footprint in the country over the last 20 years and its efforts to assist in the nation’s digital transformation.
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alaysia entered the digital era in 1996 with the introduction of the Multimedia Super Corridor, and since then, the country has recorded many success stories, attracting both domestic and foreign companies in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to invest and set up operations across various economic zones. It was also this early initiative that enabled Malaysia to adopt and embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), which is a key enabler in the transformation and advancement of the manufacturing and services sectors. Huawei’s foray into the country began in 2001. Since then, the company has deployed 3G, and 4G networks throughout the nation, provided training to raise ICT skills across various industries, and worked closely with various stakeholders to advance Malaysia’s digital economy. “IR 4.0, along with the rapid advancement of disruptive technologies, including 5G, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI), have proven their capabilities to transform the world’s economic landscape significantly,” says Michael Yuan,
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Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Malaysia. With COVID-19 causing various disruptions and challenges, the need for digitalisation has been further amplified in order to cater to the needs and calls for continuity among Malaysian society, businesses, and the government. The urgency to bridge the digital divide saw a
dramatic increase, especially to accommodate remote interactions and business activities, conducted via digital platforms and technologies. “In the year 2020 alone, the digital economy went on overdrive due to the pandemic, which gave rise to new digital businesses and innovative solutions. Brick-andmortar companies pivoted online and
Malaysians at large had to go virtual for their daily needs including for business, entertainment, education, and healthcare,” explains Yuan. He adds that with the world’s digital transformation having picked up pace rapidly, ASEAN’s digital economy is expected to add an estimated US$1 trillion to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) over the next 10 years. On the global front, Huawei continues to top the list for international patent applications, filing more than 5,400 applications in year 2020 alone – which is nearly twice as many as the second largest filer. For 5G connectivity technologies, Huawei started researching these technologies in 2009 and currently holds the largest number of 5G standard essential patents (SEPs), accounting for 18.3% of the global 5G patent families that have been granted and are active, “We believe in research and development and we are committed to spending no less than 10 percent of our revenue each year on R&D. Last year Huawei spent USD22 billion on R&D and plans to spend around USD20 billion this year as well,” Yuan says. “We look forward to many more opportunities to bring our state-ofthe-art advanced technologies to help Malaysia grow and advance further in its digital transformation journey,” he adds.
HUAWEI’S 20-YEAR JOURNEY IN MALAYSIA Huawei Malaysia has had an illustrious journey in Malaysia over the last 20 years. “Our journey took a pivotal turn when we helped deploy the cutting-edge 3G network nationwide beginning 2008. Since then, we have taken on various major roles in supporting the transformation of Malaysian businesses and the overall economy,” explains Yuan. “In 2012, we proceeded to
build Malaysia’s first 4G network, and in the process, consolidated best practices captured from our experience in markets across the world. In the same year, we opened our doors to the Huawei Malaysia Global Training Centre (MGTC) in Cyberjaya, which is our first global training facility to be established outside of China,” he adds Yuan stresses that Huawei is fully committed to creating value for communities and markets in which it operates. The company works closely with partners, including private enterprises to government-owned organisations, to foster a positive lasting impact while leveraging innovation and collaboration to address global challenges. In 2015, Huawei emerged as the first Chinese company to sign an integrity pledge with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to jointly promote business integrity and anti-corruption. “This was, for us, a major milestone that signified our beliefs and principles of conducting business ethically and with integrity, in-line with our “Zero-Tolerance” approach towards corruption. Today, we serve and deliver value to Malaysia through three strategic business groups: the Consumer Business Group, Carrier Network
Business Group, Enterprise Business Group, and two business units : the Cloud Business Unit and Digital Power Business Unit,” Yuan elaborates.
HUAWEI’S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE Connectivity: 4G & 5G Radio Network; IP & Optical Transport Network “We at Huawei are both pleased and honoured to have had opportunities to work with some of the leading telecommunications companies in Malaysia over the past two decades, particularly on connectivity-driven initiatives in recent years,” says Yuan. As the main technology provider in the Malaysian telecom market in the 4G era, Huawei always introduced industry leading technologies to Malaysian operators to support them in building the best experience networks for end users. For example, through the Maxis TechCity project, Huawei supported Maxis’ firstly massively deployed FDD Massive MIMO on 4G, and introduced Multisector solutions for high capacity network scenarios. Huawei also launchedl the world’s first Smart8T8R solution with Celcom to enable the Celcom 4G network to support flexible capacity requirements and also to have 5G evolution capability.
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Now each Malaysian operator is exploring new opportunities in 5G. Through the Maxis TechCity and Celcom Innovation City projects, Huawei had setup several 5G trails with Maxis and Celcom to deploy new 5G technology on the existing 4G network, including the new Cband spectrum trial and Sub3G trial on the legacy network to maximize usage of the legacy investments. This helped the local telecom operators build up the talent and network capability of 5G. On the telecom transport network side, as the cutting edge IP & Optical technology provider, Huawei is focused to provide the most advanced technologies and end to end transport network solutions to all telecom partners in Malaysia. In 2021, Huawei introduced the national first single port 400G capacity in the Maxis IP backbone network to further reduce the per bit cost. While at the future oriented SDN based network automation field, Huawei also supported TM and Maxis to construct a SDN controller based, full automation 5G ready transport network to enable the network with the next 5-8 years smooth evolution possibility. In the optical transport field, Huawei is the first provider to introduce the Quick-ODN technology to TM and TIME in 2020 which to a large extent sped up the fiber coverage in the FTTH access part, which also contributed to speeding up the delivery of fiber deployment to support the national Jendela targets. In the DWDM network part, Huawei is the first provider to help TM deploy the single port 200G to minimize the consumption of trunk fiber in 2019.In 2020, Huawei introduced the regional first Optical Cross-Connection technology in Malaysia to support CTS and Digi to construct the most compact multi-directional DWDM equipment to greatly reduce the cost of equipment room space.
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“From 2019, Huawei has cooperated with Telco operators on exploring new opportunities from 5G technology and business. We had installed the first batch of 5G sites at Langkawi and set up the 5G showcase to introduce the most advantageous 5G use cases to Malaysia. We also worked together with Maxis on the 5G Smart Airport at KLIA to leverage 5G network for intelligent security protection, smart operation, and smart services for passengers and retails. In August 2021, Huawei, Maxis and Proton built the 5G POC at the Proton campus for the Smart Car Manufactoring trial. In addition to these, Huawei supported Celcom in building the 5G Smart campus with the Sunway Group. We are continuing to support Malaysian operators explore more new use cases in Malaysia,” Yuan adds. Recently, the first Smart City Operating System in Malaysia was launched and will be developed in Kuching under the Kuching Smart City Masterplan (KSCMP) which was launched by Sarawak Chief Minister YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg . The Kuching Smart City ecosystem will also assist in better optimization of resources and enable trusted collaboration, resulting in sustainable accelerated growth of the Sarawak Digital Economy concurrently. The launch saw the the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd with SMA, Sains, SDEC and Centexs, which will help the state government adopt intelligent solutions and nurture as well as boost local ICT talents. In March 2021, Huawei Malaysia together with Celcom Axiata Berhad (Celcom) and CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) signed a tri-partite MoU, with the objective of mitigating, managing and reducing threats to
5G security. Through the MoU, the three parties are developing a 5G Cyber Security Test Lab with NESAS certification which is set to execute test cases pertaining to the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and telecommunications security and that will also help improve Malaysia’s preparedness in responding to 5G-related cyber-challenges. “Huawei will also support CyberSecurity Malaysia for the 5G Cyber Security Testing Lab and in becoming the regional cyber security test centre,” highlights Yuan.
Cloud Computing: TM ONE Alpha Edge Starting 2020, Huawei partnered with Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) to build the only Malaysian owned Endto-End Cloud and AI Infrastructure which will help in efforts to position Malaysia as the ASEAN Digital Hub. Yuan shares, “Last year, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) worked together with Huawei Malaysia to set up TM ONE Alpha Edge under TM’s enterprise and public sector business arm, TM ONE. The TM ONE Alpha Edge services were established to enable next-generation innovation for customers, as the sole Malaysianowned end-to-end Cloud and AI Infrastructure in the country, whereby data is stored locally, ensuring data sovereignty.” By tapping into Huawei’s Cloud technology, which provides a powerful computing platform and an easy-to-use development environment, the TM ONE Alpha Edge service will enable TM ONE’s customers to also enjoy the power of a reliable, secure, agile and futureready Cloud platform and services to drive their digital transformation journeys. Speaking about the potential of Cloud services in Malaysia, Yuan says, “There is tremendous potential for the growth of Cloud services in Malaysia, which has been highlighted
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WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS OUR DUTY TO USE OUR EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES TO HELP EMPOWER AND RAISE DIGITAL TALENTS TO FUTURE-PROOF THE WORKFORCE.
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by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the whole world moving to digital during lockdowns, businesses have had to learn fast that they need access to flexible and scalable IT infrastructure to weather through the pandemic.” He adds that Cloud computing is the foundation of digital transformation. Companies that adopt Cloud computing at any level are believed to be more resilient and able to respond to the drastic market changes brought on by the pandemic in an agile manner, such as controlling costs, scaling up usage quickly, or making the right decisions using data collected. Global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC) states that investments in Cloud infrastructure in Asia hit US$98 billion last year, while other market research reports project that Cloud computing market revenue in Southeast Asia is estimated to reach US$40.3 billion by 2025 – the result of increased demand for Cloud computing among SMEs.
HUAWEI’S DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM Yuan highlights that while Malaysia has a strong pool of technical talent such as network engineers and programmers, there is still a shortage of digital talent in the country. With talent development a key priority
for the company, Huawei has rolled out several initiatives such as the Huawei ASEAN Academy, Huawei ICT Academy, Seeds for the Future, and the Huawei Spark programme which are all geared towards training and nurturing digital skills among Malaysians.
Huawei’s Spark Programme The Huawei Spark programme was first launched in 2020 by Huawei’s Cloud Business Unit as a hybrid accelerator programme for deep tech start-ups with a presence in Asia Pacific. The programme aims to drive output in areas such as e-commerce, Fintech, healthcare, manufacturing, and Smart Cities. The programme is targeted at firms that use Machine Learning & Analytics, IoT, Edge Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, leveraging Huawei’s leadership in technology and innovation. Recognising its benefits, Spark was introduced for the first time here in Malaysia in 2020, and was rolled out in collaboration with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), TusStar (Malaysia) as incubator partner and powered by TM ONE – the enterprise and public sector business solutions arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) – through its α Edge (pronounced as Alpha Edge) Cloud platform.
In the Huawei Spark Competition, Innov8tif Solutions Sdn Bhd, the company behind the OkayDoc platform, emerged as champion. OkayDoc is a set of computer vision algorithms that automates ID authentication and prevents fraud in e-KYC through visual zone inspections, security feature detection and content tampering checks. Healthcare services provider DoctorOnCall and end-to-end property sales transaction platform MHUB, came in second and third respectively. Huawei is showcasing the DoctorOnCall solution in Huawei’s newly refurbished Customer Solution Innovation Center. Huawei’s Spark programme is powering local companies with financial, go-to-market, mentoring and networking support as well as marketing exposure to deliver and compete on the global stage.
Helping SMEs “As an industry leader, Huawei Malaysia believes that it is our responsibility to leverage our expertise and knowledge to help enterprises, especially SMEs, transform digitally in order to grow and succeed. Our mission is not only to serve our customers, but we also aim to help the countries we operate in to advance digitally across every
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sector, industry and layer of society,” says Yuan. Among the company’s various notable efforts is its joint venture with SME Corp Malaysia, aimed at driving digitalisation among SMEs by leveraging Huawei’s tech expertise. This is done via the provision of a matching grant as well as Huawei’s digital solutions for SMEs, and to also encourage SMEs to create their own innovative products using Huawei Cloud. Another success story is the collaboration between Huawei and the SME Association of Malaysia to launch an eServices Hub to help other SMEs in Malaysia go digital and build a healthy “SME-sell-SME” ecosystem. To achieve this, Huawei Malaysia will collaborate with tech SMEs to jointly develop solutions and provide a “digital marketplace” for tech SMEs to cater to local SMEs for the creation of business and job opportunities.
DIGITAL TALENT Investing In Digital Talent Development During the recent “Tech and Sustainability: Everyone’s Included” forum, Huawei announced its commitment to invest USD150 million to build digital talent pools all over the world, over the next five years, through its Seeds for the Future Programme 2.0. “Huawei’s Seeds for the Future Programme 2.0 will help college students and young people improve their digital skills. The programme is expected to benefit more than 3 million people,” shares Yuan. “We believe that it is our duty to use our expertise and resources to help empower and raise digital talents to future-proof the workforce. We see the importance of developing and shaping young talent, especially as they contribute to the country’s economic growth, equipped with Huawei’s world class accredited certification,” he adds.
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Since 2008, Huawei has been rolling out talent development programmes through scholarships, technology competitions, and digital skills training. The Seeds for the Future Programme is Huawei’s flagship global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative which was launched in 2008 with the goal of nurturing students in institutions of higher learning, in the ICT field. Over the past 12 years, the programme has benefited more than 5,700 young talents across the globe. In Malaysia, Huawei has partnered with Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) since 2014 to conduct the Seeds for the Future programme, which has since helped over 96 students from various universities across the country level up their digital skills. In 2021, Huawei Malaysia, through the Huawei ASEAN Academy, joined hands with the SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) and the National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) to train and future-proof over 10,000 SMEs as well as the tech community over a period of one year. The training programme is aimed at providing guidance on industry trends and raising ICT awareness, nurturing talents with technical training and certification, and helping SMEs and the tech community to upskill. Huawei also teamed up with the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI) of Universiti Malaya (UM) in April 2021, to drive the country towards an advanced digital economy by 2030. The collaboration aims to foster closer cooperation between industry and academia. In conjunction with this collaboration, the first jointly hosted Digital Economy Summit is scheduled to be held in the near future, featuring universities, think tanks and industry associations converging to share knowledge and exchange ideas. Yuan says, “We are ready to share advanced technologies and
practical expertise around digital transformation with every industry, business and also the government. We believe in joining forces with industry partners to build an open ecosystem. Through this commitment to openness, collaboration, and shared success, we will create value for our customers, contribute to a healthy ICT ecosystem, and drive social progress. With a concrete and concerted effort to keep creating value, nothing can keep us from forging ahead.”
HUAWEI MALAYSIA – PERMANENT FEATURE IN MALAYSIA For any foreign company in Malaysia, having a foothold in the country for 20 years is an achievement in itself. Huawei Malaysia sees itself as a ‘permanent resident’ in this country and is determined to contribute further towards the development of this country for many years to come. This was evidenced by the fact that Huawei chose Malaysia as its regional hub for Asia Pacific, managing operations for 17 countries in the region. Kuala Lumpur as the Headquarters for Huawei Asia Pacific also handles 11 global shared services and global technical solutions from here. As Huawei celebrates its 20th anniversary in the country, Huawei Malaysia can be proud to look back at its two decades journey in the country towards becoming one of Malaysia’s top technology partners win recent years. Huawei pledges its commitment to continue driving change among Malaysians, one initiative at a time. From helping to bridge loved ones across geographical boundaries, to empowering businesses to thrive by adopting digital solutions, Huawei is honoured and proud to have supported Malaysia’s digital growth over the past 20 years, touching countless lives in the process.
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PIKOM FUELS MALAYSIA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY UNDER THE PENJANA HRDF INITIATIVE The National Tech Association has been working closely with HRD Corporation to provide opportunities to Malaysians to reskill and upskill to meet industry needs.
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s the business landscape evolves rapidly and amidst new norms in business and industry, PIKOM is collaborating with HRD Corporation in the PENJANA HRDF initiative to reskill and upskill the country’s workforce under the Place and Train Programme. “PIKOM is very proud to be an industry partner of the HRD Corp under the PENJANA HRDF initiative. Under this initiative it is important for the workforce to reskill and upskill themselves as the industry is very dynamic in terms of technology changes and also new trends. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to HRD Corp for partnering with PIKOM in terms of local technology and talent development,” says Danny Lee, Chairman of PIKOM. Danny explains that PIKOM has disseminated information and is continuously raising awareness among its members on this programme, enabling members’ new hires, under certain criteria, to be trained free of charge, funded by HRDF. Under this initiative 10 organisations will offer jobs and skills training through five strategic pillars provided by HRD Corp. The five pillars include placement and training; skills enhancement and new skills training; small and mediumscale industries development (SME), B40 development, and ‘gerak insan gemilang’ (GIG). At the same time, together with HRD Corp, PIKOM is
offering programmes for employers to train new hires. These initiatives are targeted at jobless graduates, local workers, youths, SME business owners and their employees as well as Malaysians in the B40 and M40 groups. Ten organisations that have pledged their support towards this initiative and in providing 20,000 jobs to Malaysians, include PIKOM, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Brickfields Asia College, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, 7Eleven, AEON, Grab, Kelly and Care Concierge. PIKOM Academy Chairman, Anthony Raja Devadoss says, that ICT companies are picking up their pace amidst the pandemic. He added that 30 days after PIKOM conducted a survey on employment needs, 100 ICT companies indicated that they are seeking to collectively hire approximately 1,000 more employees. The survey was done in response to PENJANA – the country’s short-term economic plan, as PIKOM collaborates with HRD Corp to fulfil the mandate of upskilling the Malaysian workforce.
To-date, courses conducted under the PENJANA HRDF include Project Management, Enterprise Architecture, Big Data & Analytics, Cybersecurity, e-Commerce, Design Thinking, ExO and Remote Innovation, Global Business Services Certification courses, CompTIA, Marketing Intrapreneur & UI/UX and Microsoft & Power BI. PIKOM urges job-seekers to empower themselves and take control of their career by equipping themselves with marketable ICT skills. With more digital tech careers available in the current business environment, potential employees should harness the opportunities provided by the PENJANA HRDF initiative to enhance their knowledge and skills. Currently, PIKOM Academy offers 10 training programmes on a monthly basis in relation to the PENJANA HRDF initiative, spanning Big Data, Cybersecurity & Penetration Testing Certification, Project Management, CompTIA Network Security & Cloud Certification, BCI & IOP Certification courses, e-commerce, enterprise architecture and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor certification, among others.
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FEATURE / MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021
MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021: DIGITAL DISRUPTORS Malaysia Tech Month 2021 featured an enlightening session themed “Five Lessons of Resiliency and How Exponential Technologies Are Transforming Businesses and Society”. dealing with powerlines, Aerodyne is able to accelerate the process by four times. Common concerns on reliability, safety and compliance to regulatory requirements have all been addressed with track record and proven effectiveness to drive adoption rates.
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he Digital Disruptors session featured five speakers who addressed various topics on disruptions in industry and business. The session was moderated by MDEC’s Gopi Ganesalingam, Vice President Tech Ecosystems and Globalisation (TEG), and Ryan Chan, Head of Global Business Development, Tech Ecosystems and Globalisation. In his opening address, Gopi said, “Undeniably, technology is changing the very fabric of our society. We are experiencing digital transformation that has fundamentally altered the way we work, live and interact with one another.” He adds that in any domain technology is driving business growth and inclusion, empowering individuals, driving entrepreneurship, improving the delivery of healthcare services and enabling crucial changes in our ability to tackle shared societal challenges. The discussion encompassed the driving of purpose to technology, creating positive outcomes to the wider world.
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KAMARUL A MUHAMED Founder & Group CEO, of Aerodyne Group - The Future of Flying Robots On the topic of large organisations managing critical assets across large areas, Kamarul explains that lack of proper management leads to rising costs, revenue loss, and threats to national security, among others. He proposes the use of robots in effectively and efficiently managing these assets. In using drones, the question has always been whether these equipment are ready for commercial use as they are often viewed as only beneficial for military purposes. Kamarul shares that using robots is an advanced approach to solving problems in industry, business and government. He added that through Aerodyne’s robots, the company is able to provide faster, better, cheaper and safer solutions to the market. On the readiness of robots for industry, Kamarul says that Aerodyne has been able to show that productivity can be increased by 300%. When
TS. ALVIN KOH Founder & CEO, Blinkware Technology – Saving Lives Through Advanced AI Technology Alvin explains that Blinkware, a pioneer in advanced AI software especially image processing and vision technology, pivoted to be a society-centric company in order to deliver affordable solutions. Previously, the company had successfully completed a project for a Japanese car manufacturer to use its solution in their supply chain to detect defects. With that, as the demand for machine learning grows in the market, Blinkware started to focus on providing technology to fuel industry efficiencies. In 2018, dentists at a hospital in Adelaide, Australia approached Blinkware, to create a technology that allows them to identify cavities fast. At the same time, Blinkware was also working on more advanced technology for the medical field in regards to chest X-rays; and in 2019 when COVID-19 hit the world, Blinkware decided to focus on image processing and image recognition. The company created Airre Scan, an enhanced version of x-rays for the human body. Blinkware worked
closely with Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to pursue this development further to identify other diseases through chest x-rays. The company was able to identify six chronic diseases and specific medical issues via chest x-rays within 1.5 seconds, with only 3 seconds to generate a report. This would have normally taken radiologists 15 minutes. The process created workflow efficiency in radiology and enables mass diagnosis. Blinkware is committed towards its mandate of driving AI with communities at its heart to reduce mortality rates by early detection, mitigate future pandemic outbreaks through advanced antibody sequencing, and encouraging wealth distribution in developing countries through upskilling. Alvin shares that the future will focus on Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) where human train machines; Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) whereby machines think like humans; and, Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) whereby machines surpass humans.
WARREN LEOW Interim Group CEO, Inmagine – AI Technology in the Creative Space Warren says that for the last 20 years, Inmagine has been providing the market with a complete creative ecosystem of tools such as Pixlr.com, the world’s largest online web-based editor, and Designs.AI for the creative industry. The company has a global workforce spread across various countries. On remote and hybrid work systems, Warren says the company manages its workforce effectively as it has always operated virtually for years, with most of its data hosted on cloud services. To compensate physical interactions, Inmagine has virtual engagement sessions with staff or “water cooler” chats. Warren points out that the company’s long-term
goals would be to accommodate a blend of work-from-home and workin-office arrangements. Speaking about Inmagine disrupting the creative industry with its tools and products, Warren shares that the company created tools to aid the creative journey using AI technology, guided by the mantra “smarter, faster and easier”. In foreseeing the future, Warren highlights that creativity is set to be more accessible to more people with the help of technology, making the creation of professional content easier. He adds that with the increasing availability of opensource technology, innovation will continue to grow in the future, while there will a larger movement towards the sharing and decentralisation of content.
FONG CHOONG FOOK CEO, LGMS/ LE Global Services Sdn Bhd – Cybersecurity Touching on the cybersecurity landscape, Fong explains that hackers today are working 24x7, mostly using automated hacking software, and they no longer distinguish their targets, regardless whether it is a large financial institution or a small non-profit charity organisation. He cautions that we need to be aware of the developments in the cybersecurity space, and should not just assume that all will be well with multiple layers of protection because hackers will continue to attack businesses. He says that common misconceptions include that anti-virus software are able to deter hackers, or that if there are no sensitive information then hackers are not interested. However, the reality is that even by using email online, everybody is exposed to cyberthreats and hacking. Today, financial services, manufacturing, healthcare and telecommunications, among other sectors, are all digitalised and interconnected. Fong adds that as
the world increasingly relies on IoT privacy is eroded rapidly. He stressed that hackers can manipulate medical data and make changes to patients’ records thus jeopardising healthcare services. He calls for organisations to conduct vulnerability assessments to find loopholes in systems so that recommendations can be made to strengthen the security of their systems. Fong also explains that penetration testing is also crucial, involving testing the system’s strength and resilience against threats and security breaches.
SIM HON WAI Chief Operating Officer, MDT Innovations Sdn Bhd – IoT & Data: Key to Future Innovations Sim shares that MDT is a deep-tech engineering involving IoT & digital twin system, digital business platform, as well as Fintech UPG switching and enablement. The company has a global presence and developed the smallest Near Field Communication (NFC) module. He highlights that data is mostly used for optimising equipment effectiveness, to conduct trend analysis, make predictions, and deliver sustainable innovations. However, he points out that almost all businesses failed because of oversight in data management. Sim adds that today, businesses are not maximising their potential due to insufficient data quality. He highlights that businesses need to look into areas that can be digitalised. MDT has introduced solutions that focus on location management, tracking the well-being of employees and to drive deep-learning. Sim adds that data can be overwhelming, hence data requires effective data management and data massaging to deliver highly dependable output. He explains that MDT is able to produce data that is relevant to specific industries while driving digital twin implementations.
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MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021: DIGITAL SKILLS Malaysia Tech Month 2021 featured a week-long emphasis on digital skills in the current global digitalised economy.
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he week-long emphasis presented an action-packed array of insights on digital skills, digital jobs, university initiatives and much more. The final session of the week featured a team of dynamic ladies operating in the digital economy. The session featured two tracks on Digital Freelancing and Learner’s Lifelong Learning Sharing Experience.
DIGITAL FREELANCING, TURNING YOUR SKILLS INTO INCOME In this session, MDEC’s Muhammad Haris Hasan, Manager Community Enablement, and Nur Ashikin Halil, Member of the Global Online Workforce (GLOW) shared their insights on digital freelancing. Muhammad said that under the current pandemic situation and with the availability of job opportunities, youths or the millennials generation are more skewed towards selfemployment and digital freelancing. A freelancer and solopreneur since 2016, Nur Ashikin shared her journey in digital freelancing. She explained that there is often a fine line distinguishing remote working and freelancing. Nur Ashikin started out on this journey by joining the GLOW MDEC Programme which provided step-by-step guidance on becoming a successful online worker. She advised that there are many platforms online through
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which online workers can seek out job opportunities. On the reasons for becoming a freelancer, Nur Ashikin stressed the advantage of flexible schedules, versatile work arrangements, multinational exposure, earning competitive rates, and selecting desirable projects. Digital freelancing also provides multiple income streams based on the capacity of the freelancer. Amidst the exciting proposition that freelancing offers, Nur Ashikin also acknowledged the challenges involved. She pointed out that with the current pandemic situation, and with more freelancers available in
the market, one has to be ready to be competitive and stay above the competition. Aside from that, freelancers are constantly on the move across multiple markets and require consistent creativity in all areas. She added that freelancers have to be self-motivated amidst tough times, think out-of-the-box, manage finances efficiently, research market value and common trends, be inclusive and professional. She encouraged upcoming freelancers to attend the GLOW Pemulih Programme to learn about the dynamics of being a successful freelancer.
LEARNER’S LIFELONG LEARNING SHARING EXPERIENCE The session, which was moderated by Allan Cheah, Head Strategy & Advocacy, Digital Skills and Job Divisions, MDEC, featured three panellists namely, Datin TS Dr Siti Hanom Marjuni, Deputy Director ICT Infrastructure, Shared Services and Security Development, MAMPU and Certified Digital Forensics for First Responders (CDFFR), Nur Shahirah Shaharani, SAS Certified Specialist Machine Learning Using SAS Viya 3.5, and Nik Nur Liyana, Head of Transformation and Innovation, POS Aviation and Data Science Student, Forward School.
DATIN TS DR SITI HANOM Datin Dr Siti pursued a doctorate in Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2012 in the field of IT security and forensics. She then joined MAMPU in the ICT Infrastructure, Shared Services and Security Development division in 2017. Subsequently, she also earned her certification in CDFFR, which provides knowledge on best practices in IT security and forensics, among others. Datin Dr Siti added that today there are various tools to carry out digital forensics. On becoming professionals in the digital world, Datin Dr Siti added that challenges included applying the tools learnt in real-life cases. She added that training has helped her upskill as a public servant and enhance her competencies.
NUR SHAHIRAH SHAHARANI
NIK NUR LIYANA
Sharing her journey, Shahirah explained that she embarked on a data science programme in university which encompassed machine learning, predictive modelling, and analysis of computer language involving AI. She added that her knowledge in data science helps her undertake visualisation, reporting and dashboards in her job as a data analyst. On the other hand, machine learning helps her understand AI and carry out data predictive modelling. Shahirah added that learning onthe-job can be challenging as one has to overcome difficulties on their own without the guidance of lecturers and friends as in university days. She navigated the learning experience by embarking on her own learning journey using online resources. Shahirah advised that in such a situation, time management is extremely important considering the struggle between learning and job responsibilities.
Hailing from a non-IT background, Nik Nur Liyana shared that her foray into the IT field commenced in POS Aviation as she took on a leadership role in innovation. With POS Aviation navigating challenging times during this pandemic situation, Nik Nur Liyana decided that she had to equip herself with data science knowledge in order to advise top management effectively in terms of financial management, cost reduction as well as market potential, hence she embarked on studying Data Science. Nik Nur Liyana added that with determination to upskill, one can achieve new skills. On training that have helped in her career progress, Nik Nur Liyana stated that data modelling helps with decision making. It provides an idea on identifying trends, optimisation of costs and the focus for the future.
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FEATURE
MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021: IN-CONVERSATION WITH NARAYANA MURTHY – POWERED BY INTELLECT, DRIVEN BY VALUES MTM 2021 features a special session with a world-renowned leader in the digital landscape, on Malaysia’s growth from digital infancy to its current advanced tech sector, success factors for entrepreneurship and the prognosis for the future.
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or its final day and closing ceremony agenda, Malaysia Tech Month 2021 featured a special session with Narayana Murthy, the esteemed Founder of Infosys Limited, India. Murthy shared his perspective of the growth of the tech landscape in Malaysia and success factors that have put Infosys on the digital world map.
THE BIRTH OF MSC IN MALAYSIA Raymond Siva, Senior Vice President, Investment and Brand Chief Marketing Officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) hosted the session with Narayana Murthy. A world-renowned and award-winning leader in digital and information technology, Murthy was instrumental in the formative years of the Multimedia Supercorridor (MSC) in Malaysia in the mid-1990s. Twentyfive years ago Murthy was invited by then Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to be a member of the international advisory council for the establishment of the MSC. Speaking about his experience working with Tun Dr Mahathir, Murthy shares the enthusiasm, energy and foresight of
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the statesman as he planned for the MSC. He reminisces spending time alone with Dr Mahathir providing his honest views on how to improve MSC. He calls the time he spent learning and sharing knowledge, under the leadership of Tun Dr Mahathir, an extraordinary and memorable affair. On Raymond’s question of Malaysia’s potential for success in MSC back in the 1990s, Murthy said that he believed that Malaysia would go from strength to strength as a result of the excellent foundation laid by the country’s leaders. “I had no doubt that Malaysia would continue to succeed and fulfil the vision of your leaders. I am very, very confident,” he stresses.
EMBARKING ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP Raymond stated that global research indicates that about 90 percent of new start-ups and 75 percent of venture-backed start-ups fail, while just under 50 percent of businesses make it to their 5th year. He asked Murthy to explain the shutting down of his first venture Softronics after just 9 months, and joining eComputer Systems before
embarking on founding Infosys. Murthy explained that he set out on an experiment on entrepreneurship in 1976 with Softronics purposed to develop software for commercial applications for the domestic market in India. Within 6 months of founding Softronics, he realised an important mistake which was the failure to test the market to assess the market potential for software services in India. “I discovered that there was hardly any domestic market for software services in India at that time,” he says. He shares that very few computers were used by corporations in India, and the policy at that time was to protect the market from international competition because India was producing some computers domestically. The computers were mostly sold to the government which brought the realisation that there was a structural problem in the market in India, that was not expected to change for at least a decade. Murthy points out that an entrepreneur should constantly scan the structure of the market to identify problems, and take action immediately. He found that Softronics had no domestic market so
“I believed that Malaysia would go from strength to strength as a result of the excellent foundation laid by the country’s leaders.”
he decided that the best step moving forward was to close it in 9 months. On Raymond’s question on the duration that is ideal for founders to come to a decision to acknowledge the failure of the business and decide to close the venture, Murthy advises that there is no hard and fast rule for the time frame. He adds that as soon as entrepreneurs recognise a structural problem in the market which cannot be changed in the coming decade, then there is no point in continuing.
STEPPING INTO ENTREPRENEURSHIP Raymond brought up the question of whether budding entrepreneurs should start businesses straight out of college, to which Murthy responded that there is a possibility, and he reminded about Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg who did just that. On the other hand, he also pointed that people like Jeff Bezos got to know the market and gained experience first before venturing into entrepreneurship. He explained that entrepreneurs should have the basic knowledge of running a business such as technology, production, financial, operations, human
resources, and customer focus before starting off on a venture. Murthy said he had a long learning journey before achieving success with Infosys.
POWERED BY INTELLECT, DRIVEN BY VALUES On the question by Raymond on how people at Infosys live up to its core values of ‘Powered by intellect, driven by values’, Murthy explained that in the knowledge business every professional has to embrace two important attributes to succeed – one is intellect and the second is values. He points out that the best culture to follow is leadership by example. For leaders to lead by example, they must walk the talk because followers constantly watch their leaders. “Actions speak louder than words,” says Murthy. He shares that companies need value champions to lead the values of the organisation.
BUSINESS VALUE ADDITION Talking about the concept that he came up with called Business Value Addition, Murthy explains that this concept is about the business value that a customer receives from the unit price paid. Murthy highlights that the higher the value the customer
receives from the price paid, the brand value increases. He adds that successful selling is about maximising this value. According to Murthy, the business value that a customer gets from buying an offering is an important point to consider for entrepreneurs.
THE FUTURE IS ABOUT ‘MORE WITH LESS’ On his view of the future, Murthy highlighted that with the new normal impacting the GDP of most countries, the market is going to be highly competitive, therefore, people have to become innovative in using small amounts of monetary resources to come up with impactful innovations. He adds that the new normal will also result in more people working from home which means that it is going to be difficult to build institutional culture, which also makes innovation difficult. “Therefore, we will see a shakeout in the market where really smart people will succeed and the not so smart will bite the dust,” he explains. So now is the time to focus on posterity, value for money, innovation, customers and building a certain organisational culture while becoming more competitive.
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FEATURE / MANAGEENGINE
MALAYSIA TECH MONTH 2021: WCIT 2022 – CONNECTING MALAYSIA TO THE WORLD Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) organised a virtual curation of digital and technology content geared towards promoting investments in a digital economy and establishing Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN.
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DEC’s Malaysia Tech Month (MTM) 2021 was launched as a virtual month-long digital and technology conference comprising workshops, business matching sessions and dialogues. Officiated by Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Communications and Multimedia Minister, the conference presented 40 curated events and more than 300 local and international industry speakers as well as investors. MTM’21 is aligned to MDEC’s recently unveiled “Digital Investments Future5” (DIF5) Strategy – a fiveyear plan focusing on five key thrusts aimed at attracting investments and advancing the nation’s digital economy in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint. The initiative, scheduled to run from 2021 to 2025 in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan, aims to secure high-quality digital investments as it seeks to unlock new drivers of growth. The session features international and local speakers who are experts in IR4.0-driven digital economy. MTM is a platform to showcase digital ecosystem leaders and creators, leading edge companies as well as talents, enabling stakeholders to discover new perspectives on domestic and global trends in AI, drone technology, data
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analytics, fintech, Islamic fintech, e-commerce, creative games, animation and digital works. The session comprised a panel discussion on WCIT 2022 – Connecting Malaysia to the World, featuring a distinguished line-up of speakers namely, Raymond Siva, Senior Vice President, Investment & Brand, Chief Marketing Officer, MDEC; Dr Sean Seah, Deputy Chairman PIKOM and WITSA (World IT & Services Alliance); Cheah Kok
Hoong, Organising Chair, WCIT 2022; Dr James Poisant, Secretary General, WITSA; and, Dato’ Loo Lee Lian, Chief Executive Officer, Invest Penang. The panel was moderated by Ong Kian Yew, Chief Executive Officer of PIKOM. During the session entitled “WCIT 2022 – Connecting Malaysia To The World”, the panelists shared about their hopes and outlook for WCIT 2022 which is to be held in the island of Penang.
RAYMOND SIVA
DR SEAN SEAH
Speaking about the motivation in bringing WCIT into the country, Raymond said that Malaysia has been long recognized for its location, connectivity and multi-lingual workforce capabilities in ASEAN. The motivation is to build on the progress achieved over the years, especially with rapid changes in the last 12 months in the way business is conducted. WCIT is a catalyst to bring digital capabilities across Malaysia, which can be called the democratisation of the digital economy. The WCIT is another important piece that contributes to the progress of the digital economy. WCIT is poised to create leverage to attract investors, address their concerns, bring them into Malaysia so that they can experience the country’s ecosystem and harness the potential for investments in Malaysia, as well as to position Malaysia as the heart of digital ASEAN. On its impact on the Malaysian tech industry, the event is a meeting of minds with the participation of industry titans, and the establishment of connections to showcase the strengths that Malaysia has.
Dr Sean explains that planning for WCIT has been on-going for several years. He added that the last year and a half has been a time of preparations together with Invest Penang. Dr Seah highlighted that Malaysia is ready for a platform to conduct physical and virtual events. He pointed out that the right approach has been taken with advise from various stakeholders and the event has been moved to 2022 instead of 2021, with the hope to welcome delegates to Malaysia for the physical event.
DATO’ LOO LEE LIAN Speaking about the synergy in bringing the event to Penang, Dato’ Loo said, Penang is known as the ‘siliconvalley’ of the east for its robust E&E and semiconductor industries. She added that the country has over 300 multinationals, numerous global fortune 500 companies and over 3,000 diversified local enterprises. Penang has 50 years of accumulated industry experiences – all of them encompassing innovation, excellence in automation, medical technology, robotics, manufacturing, AI, and 5G. Stating that Penang exports over 5% of global semiconductors, Dato’ Loo said that the island state is seeking to drive, the convergence of IT and digitalisation with the hardware and semiconductor industries. Dato’ Loo pointed out that Penang holds an excellent backdrop to host such as a prestigious event as WCIT. Aside from its tech capabilities, Penang is a world heritage site, with rich culture and great food. In looking forward to the event in 2022, Penang has great infrastructure and the state is ready to provide the best experience for delegates encompassing transportation, hotels and direct flights to 22 regional airports connecting to 100 destinations. She added that the state offers a full range of hotels for every kind of budget, and that Penang is ready to be a good host to the world.
CHEAH KOK HOONG Speaking about WCIT as the Olympics of the tech industry, Cheah said this event is a platform to showcase innovative technology. He added that as Malaysia pursued harmonious competition with other countries, in 2008, WCIT broke the record for attendees and sponsorships. Meanwhile, private and government partnership was undertaken seamlessly, demonstrating Malaysia’s extensive prowess in hospitality and the country’s uniqueness in various aspects. Cheah pointed out that in Penang, visitors can experience the integration of tech, heritage, food, and hospitality which is in line with the aspiration for the country to be a digital hub for ASEAN. He explained that as the country recovers, businesses will be looking for solutions and also a platform to promote their solutions so the event will serve well. For that, PIKOM is getting ready for a great experience.
DR JAMES POISANT Dr James shared about WCIT’s impact on the tech ecosystem, and that it is a national priority for the event to be successful. He added that this is a significant impact on the world’s economy. It’s a life changing event that impacts millions. Dr James stressed that this technology event can be used to hook up with major players in the industry, and identify suitable investors with the event marketed effectively. He advises local hosts that key success factors to make Malaysia a game-changer, is to step back and ask ourselves, “How many more OS do we need?” or “FB and Zoom?”. He shared that over the last 25 years we have witnessed the skyrocketing of these anchors of technology that were created in the ICT industry. He added that he believed that Malaysia is going to make its mark by focusing on technology being localized – in other words, to address the local requirements of the community that can use ICT and scale it up. He advised to start thinking about how to make a local application successful and then go global. Dr James highlighted that Malaysia needs to consider how to bridge the gap by providing technology into the interiors of the country.
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FEATURE / PIKOM DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021
PIKOM DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021:
SERIES 1:
Focused on engaging the tech industry through thought leadership, trends and insights, the summit proved to be a platform to spur innovation, and feature new technologies in the market, as well as new business models, as ICT continues to grow in Malaysia.
LEADING THE WAY WITH AI & CLOUD BY TAN KUAN THYE
AFTER THE STORM WHAT’S NEXT
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he National Technology Association of Malaysia, PIKOM, launched its Digital Summit this year, featuring the tech industry, government agencies as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Summit comprises four series namely, the PIKOM Leadership Summit, the Future of Cybersecurity Summit, the GBS Summit and the Special Session With MDEC. The four-part series addresses topics in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cybersecurity, innovation in global business services (GBS) and a special session with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The event comprised a fourpart series addressing topics on AI, Big Data, Cybersecurity, innovation in global business services (GBS) and a special session with MDEC. PIKOM Chairman Danny Lee said, “The tech industry has been waiting for the return of the Digital Summit and after a one-year hiatus due to the unprecedented situation beyond our control, today, we are proud to bring to you the PIKOM Digital Summit on a virtual platform.” “I would also say having this summit in May is a blessing in disguise. The past few months saw more tech players signing up as our partners and increased in registration to the summit. It goes to show the landscape has changed and the acceptance of virtual events is on the rise.” Dato’ Seri Ivan Teh, the Organising Chair of the PIKOM Digital Summit 2021 highlighted that this is also testament to the changing times. “Digital is now part and parcel of any business strategy. As companies embark on the transformation of their business, a pivot to a digital mindset is paramount. It is important not only that we know how to prepare in the recovery phase but seek to capitalise on new opportunities,” he added.
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Pikom Leadership Summit This series encompassed a technology leadership summit with leaders from leading tech organisations sharing their thoughts on the dynamics of digitalisation.
Head of HUAWEI CLOUD Malaysia Tan explained that AI is a new general-purpose technology that has been rapidly progressing the market. He adds that AI can be applied in various industries and has been entering core production systems of enterprises, offering greater value-creating. Tan shares that Huawei predicts that by 2025, all companies will use cloud, while 97 percent of large enterprises will use AI, and 77 percent of cloud applications will use AI. He highlights that AI is rapidly reshaping industries. Huawei and TM One are creating digital impact to empower industry partners with more industrial-based solutions on AI and cloud services. Huawei’s ModelArts helps build an AI platform with ultra-high computing power. ModelArts ExeML is a customised code-free model development tool that helps users start AI application development from scratch with high flexibility.
CREATING THE AI WORLD OF TOMORROW BY JACOB ISAAC Managing Director, Fusionex Jacob said that AI and robotics is often used in homes in the form of smart-home and smart-building technology. He shared about the Hopper App which connects to various data sources to help
short time-frame – this is where public cloud can provide companies with the agility needed within a short time. Chee Seng highlights that cloud is a modernisation tool for organisations with on-demand capabilities.
TONG CHEE LEONG
travellers to book hotels and flights, and enjoy savings. Jacob mentioned GapSquare which bridges the gap using AI to achieve equality such as wages. He explained that Fusionex focuses on the core of every business which is to grow revenue or to decrease operational inefficiencies or expenses. The objectives are to increase revenue, or safeguard and lower your bottom-line using AI through various data sources with predictions. Fusionex augments business functionalities with intelligence, with AI-Pricing, AI-Selling, AI-Sketches, AI-Advisory, AI-Concierge, and AIRewards. Jacob highlights that the pillars of digitalisation encompass digital transformation to engage customers, increase collaboration, optimise operations and change the way we sell. In driving digitalisation, Fusionex provides BDA & AI Hub, Training Programmes, Fusionex Academy, and R&D Labs.
TAN KUAN THYE
PANEL DISCUSSION:
LEE CHEE SENG
The session, facilitated by Dr Dzahar Mansor of PIKOM, explored how cloud computing impacts digital transformation.
Azure Business Group Lead, Microsoft Chee Seng explained that businesses needed a new way to engage customers especially during the pandemic situation. He adds that this needs to be up and running in a very
ON CLOUD NINE – WEATHERING THE DIGITAL WORLD
Huawei On services that are most popular with cloud adoption, Tan explained that most customers look for new ways in conducting their daily business. He opines that in undergoing digital transformation, it is important to drive a different and exceptional experience. Tan adds that cloud is important because it provides the innovation and differentiation element in business.
KEITH SNG Senior Manager Systems Engineering, Veeam Software Keith said many customers are going tapeless and moving into object storage within the public cloud. Customers are also signing up with managed service providers. He highlights that cloud accelerates innovation with public and private cloud infrastructure. Keith shares that diving into cloud requires planning in order to achieve economies of scale.
Business Transformation – Security & Cloud, Time dotcom Berhad Chee Leong shared that Timedotcom provides customers with five pillars of service such as connectivity, security, data centre, cloud and voice services. The company also owns multiple submarine cables connecting Asia, Europe and America. He adds that cloud adoption has been accelerated since the start of the pandemic. Chee Leong highlighted that digital transformation involves various components that include tools, applications, and data, among others. He adds that cloud delivers agility, scalability and assurance in terms of disaster recovery and business continuity.
THE MERAKI PLATFORM: EMPOWERING ENTERPRISES OF TOMORROW BY DERRICK LOW Cisco Meraki Product Specialist Derrick explained the vision and strategy of Cisco to secure connectivity to cloud to remain agile and synchronise all business components under a single roof. He added that businesses today are concerned about how to simplify their IT architecture to make it more agile, adaptable and flexible. Derrick explained that for businesses to successfully digitalise, they need simple, secure and intelligent IT tools for remote working arrangements, securing the business, and verifying as well as authenticating users. He added that
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FEATURE / PIKOM DIGITAL SUMMIT 2021
Cisco’s Meraki is a cloud-managed networking platform that integrates all IT solutions on a single platform for simple and secure management. Networks of the future require simple, secure and intelligent IT networks. He shared that a total of 42 percent of surveyed organisations saved 50-70 percent or more time deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting IT since they started using Meraki.
PANEL SESSION:
NAVIGATING THROUGH THE NEW NORMAL WITH AI & BIG DATA The session was moderated by Stan Singh of PIKOM and featured four panellists who expounded on AI and big data in the new normal.
YEO WEI HONG Head of IT Services, RICOH Yeo explained that data capturing may be slow or time consuming if done manually. He added that that AI tools are able to identify, tag and organise data without manual review. API integration and business intelligence tools are able to ensure efficient data organisation and extraction.
ALLEN CHIN Senior Manager, VMware Allen shared that VMware’s solutions are able to ride on top of other applications thus making it versatile for consumers in a single large bubble with cost efficiency. Today, VMware encourages customers to leverage on existing resources while training new capabilities with new knowledge.
SERIES 2
Future of Cybersecurity Summit
Director of Analytics, People & Culture, Fusionex highlighted that with AI, businesses adopt an outcome. He added that whatever app that is delivered needs to ensure that value supercedes costs.
In his welcome address, Alex Loh, PIKOM Cybersecurity Chairman said that priorities in organisations today include cybersecurity especially when the business is moving towards digitalisation. He added that every organisation must be well-versed in protecting their data and business ecosystem through cybersecurity audit, adopting a zero-trust approach with reliable AI-powered backup and recovery system in place.
PEIRU TEO
JONAS WALKER
CEO, KeyReply Peiru explained that KeyReply offers customers engagement and knowledge management platform. She added that KeyReply envisions that every hospital and financial services firms would require virtual assistance. The company helps clients to solve the shortage of skilled customer support staff, and the retention of knowledge experts.
Security Strategist, Fortinet Speaking about securing the perimeter of businesses, Jonas shared that there is an increase in the trend of cybercrime, which calls for urgent mitigation. He added that cybercriminals often blackmail their victims and hold data at ransom. Jonas explained that criminals usually research their victims and spend months inside the victims’ networks to study the network and plan attacks. With ransomware being the number one threat these days, he reminded that organisations need good cyberhygiene to fight cybercrime.
FREDDY LOO
ONG TING YU Powerware Systems Ong questioned how important is Data Centre Resiliency Assessment (DCRA) to an organisation’s IT operations, and how well do organisations know their data centres’ set-up. He added that data centre outages result in significant financial impact. Ong explained that it is possible to prevent or reduce data centre outages. He highlighted that data centre resiliency relies on
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Malaysia. The company responds to major security breaches and uses intelligence to help protect their clients. He added that when data is stolen it is not only lost but has the potential of being published on public networks thus damaging reputation and causing financial losses.
PANEL SESSION: KEEPING THE FINE BALANCE IN CYBERSECURITY its design, constructed facility and operational sustenance. Ong said that Powerware is able to conduct DCRA to ascertain their data centre’s effectiveness and capabilities. He pointed out that DCRA objectives are to determine resilience levels of the data centre, identify potential weaknesses or vulnerabilities, and make recommendations to close gaps. The DCRA’s scope involves architectural design, electrical services, mechanical services, security & monitoring, and telecommunications infrastructure. Powerware provides customers with a comprehensive report on the data centre setup, immediate risks or shortfalls, equipment health checks, documentations, and maintenance policy.
PANEL SESSION: CYBERSECURITY IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Alex Liew of PIKOM moderated the session comprising four industry experts who shared their thoughts and insights on cybersecurity in the digital era.
MATEEN ANIS PADELA Cyber Security Architect, Keysight Technologies Mateen says that Keysight has solutions that cater to the industry
to help organisations achieve visibility and to identify whether security is compromised. He added that the company helps clients to test firewalls, anti-malware solutions, and other security gaps in existing systems.
TENGKU SHAHRIZAM Cybersecurity Architect, Cisco An active security practitioner, Tengku Shahrizam shared that Cisco holds more than 23,000 technology patents and spends more than USD6 billion on R&D alone. The company helps its customers to connect, secure and automate for agile digitalisation. He added that Cisco addresses the evolving parameter of cyber-protection.
PAUL TSANG
Rani Nathwani of PIKOM moderated the session, comprising four distinguished speakers who provided insights into the challenges faced in the cyberspace.
VICTOR CHU Head, Systems Engineering, Kaspersky Victor expressed that in choosing the right solutions, there are various capabilities and functions that need to be considered. He added that the most valuable digital asset to operate the organisation is the first element to consider. He also pointed out that establishing visibility of the digital assets and understanding the organisation’s security maturity is also very important.
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Certified Information Systems Security Professional, McAfee Paul shared that McAfee is an antivirus company that transformed into a device-to-cloud cybersecurity company. He added that McAfee has solutions to help clients understand the threat to the device.
Vice President, Hitachi Sunway Eric explained that cloud services have built-in security features which is more secure. He added that cloud managed by professionals is the way to go in the future. Eric pointed out that cyberattacks affect the overall business productivity of an organisation and its performance.
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Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, APAC, FireEye Steve explained that FireEye is a global intelligence-led cybersecurity company with a local presence in
Regional Manager, Blancco Technology Group Calvin advised that there are two ways of data recovery – the software level and the forensics level of
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recovery. On the subject of data erasure, he added that in the longterm a good data erasure solution is more sustainable as it enables recycling or reuse of devices or assets, instead of destroying devices.
LENARDO HUTABARAT Manager Enterprise Sales Engineering (APAC), LogRhythm Lenardo explained that it is important to enhance monitoring and detection capabilities while expanding security parameters. User activities are also important. Both devices and applications must be considered. He advised the use of AI to focus on incidents.
SERIES 3:
Global Business Services (GBS) SUMMIT GBS summit is an exclusive event delivered by Outsourcing Malaysia (OM), a chapter of PIKOM that explores an abundance of issues and opportunities in the global business services industry, ranging from strategies to tactics, across regions, industries and technologies.
DANNY LEE Chairman PIKOM In his welcome address, Danny Lee, PIKOM Chairman said, “The economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented impact to the industry. Therefore, we must find ways to adapt, live with the situation and work around the challenges for us to move forward.” Danny added that according to global data, GBS market in Malaysia accounts for 20 percent in terms of business performance, adding to 50 percent in investments, 66 percent in exports, and 61 percent in new job opportunities.
CHEAH KOK HOONG OM Chairman, PIKOM Chapter “As an NGO we have been continuously making our utmost best effort to serve our members better by improving various business avenues and growth channels, while continuing to remain relevant to our members,” said Cheah. He added that it was time for business owners to adopt best practices, knowledge and technical capabilities to remain relevant, resilient and recover from the effects of this pandemic. “Learn, relearn and unlearn from the best that we have today,” he urged PIKOM delegates.
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RAYMOND DEVADAS GBS Summit Organising Chairman Raymond said that the organising committee selected the theme “Road to Resilience” in view of the pandemic. He added that courage, strength and wisdom, are key elements required for resilience in tough times. “Resilience is not an elusive quality that some organisations have and other don’t, it is a practice that we can build by simply refusing to give up despite the rejection and criticism encountered,” he advised. Raymond said the focus for this summit is ‘resilience for recovery’.
REIMAGINING BUSINESS SERVICES SAURABH MATHUR Deloitte India Saurabh Mathur shared his thoughts on how business services will revolve in the next year or more. He explained the concept of ‘Purple People’, which refers to technofunction experts who have a mix of tech and business skills. Saurabh added that technology platforms are playing a key role in driving successful transitions, especially during challenges presented by COVID-19. Successful innovators drive innovation as a systemic competence around four key areas that include Approach, Organisation, Resources and Incentives. Saurabh highlighted the emergence of transformation-based contracts enable end-to-end effectiveness and efficiency.
PANEL DISCUSSION: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The panel session, moderated by Kerry Hallard of GSA, UK, featured four panel speakers who shared their thoughts and insights on digital transformation.
• RAYMOND SIVA Chief Marketing Officer, MDEC Raymond said that MDEC viewed digital transformation as human transformation, because it affects every aspect of life. According to Raymond, the five key technologies that are poised to accelerate businesses are IoT, IR4.0, data analytics, cloud computing, and cyber security. He highlights five key sectors that are being focused on namely, agri-tech, manufacturing, Islamic digital economy, and cleantech, while block-chain technology is seen as an emerging technology that cuts across industries, alongside deep-learning and robotics.
• DANG TIN WAI Head of Business Development, Cyngus Technologies Sdn Bhd Dang shared that since the pandemic began, organisations and customers alike are more accepting and willing to get onboard a transformation journey. He added that it is now an experience economy and engaging customers today is a lot more interesting as there are more channels for engagement.
• SUPRAJA PRASAD Regional Head, Malaysia & Hong Kong, Freshworks Supraja shared that many C-level executives now consider this a good time to digitally transform.
“A hybrid model of transformation is required. We are now always wondering whether something like this will come up again, and how should I prepare for it,” she said, referring to the pandemic. She added that technology acceptance among employees can be improved by raising awareness in order to drive greater acceptance and confidence in technology.
• SUNDARRAJ Automotive Anywhere Sundarraj explained that as the world comes out of the pandemic, the question remains about the right strategies for business leaders to take in remaining resilient. “It is important now for the leaders to tap into the opportunities and transform challenges into opportunities amidst a fluid market situation,” he said.
Sundarraj highlighted that businesses can either opt to return to doing business in the same way as preCOVID-19 or learn from the pandemic and change.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY – COUNTRY ROAD TAKE ME HOME Sudev Bangah of IDC ASEAN, said that business or digital resilience is now a key focus for organisations. As economies across the region begin to open up, sights were set on being a future enterprise. With economies moving into Q3 of 2021, Sudev added that this is the period of the unknown factor especially in Southeast Asia and Malaysia. He has observed that many organisations have found this to be the best time to invest in technology, take stock and reinvent business models and the way they work with customers. “2021 opens new chapters for organisations on their way to the future enterprise, with the appearance of two interconnected DX cornerstone themes – digital acceleration and digital resiliency,” Sudev added.
MITIGATING RISK: ENSURING BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DATA PROTECTION Jaco Benadie, Executive Director,
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KPMG Malaysia said that the pandemic has driven the acceleration of digitalisation. At the same time, this pandemic has contributed to a few grim realities such as increased digital scams, false news, and penalties during movement restriction periods, among others. Jaco stressed that about USD350 million has been lost to ransomware. “There are even now cases of triple extortion, where a hospital’s data was breached and held at ransom. Patients’ case notes were held ransom,” explained Jaco. Other exploitations included breaching VPN, disruptions to conference platforms, e-commerce scams, and fake loans or financial schemes, among others. In view of that, he added that an integrated approach is needed to address these threats which calls for companies to be proactive and be ready to respond.
HYPERAUTOMATION: IMPETUS FOR BUILDING A DIGITAL-FIRST CULTURE In talking about a Digital-First culture, Aditya Chavan from Puresoftware, first reminisced on the war and pandemic in the 1940s. Learning from history, Aditya noted the many efforts were out postWWII and the pandemic. He added that today’s framework to recover sees the entry of hyperautomation as a concept – a combination of components that include robotics process automation (RPA), and task automation along with intelligence being built into artificial intelligence and machine learning; and backed by data science which includes data analytics and business analytics.
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PIKOM AND HUAWEI EXTEND AID TO VACCINATION CENTRES In an effort to support the battle against COVID-19, Huawei (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd donated laptops to PIKOM for use at vaccination centres (PPVs). A total of 15 laptops were distributed to address the shortage of tech devices at PPVs. PIKOM will loan the laptops to the PPVs until the vaccination programme has been completed. Danny Lee expressed, “We are very thankful that Huawei has come forward to be part of this CSR project. This is one of the contributions by the industry association to help ease and support the registration process at the PPVs. To this end, we hope more tech industry representatives will come forward to help in any way possible. It goes without saying that combating COVID-19 is a shared responsibility and together, we will be able to emerge from this pandemic stronger.” Pn. Rita Irina Abd. Wahab, Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei Malaysia, said that Huawei, as a technology
leader, was honoured to exercise its moral obligation to support Malaysia’s vaccination programme and assist the country in its battle against the pandemic. “While we acknowledge that vaccination is the only way out of this pandemic, it is so important for the PPVs to be able to collect data systematically to facilitate the smooth rollout and completion of the vaccination programme. At Huawei, we believe that technology improves lives in all aspects. Therefore, it is our privilege to be able to lend our technology to support Malaysia’s fight against COVID-19 by helping to ensure that as many people as possible are fully vaccinated,” she said. Huawei Malaysia also donated laptops to the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) to support the latter’s COVID-19 vaccination programme through its PPVs and house-to-house vaccination for severely ill, bed-bound patients and specially-abled people, including those with cancer and other chronic diseases. Additionally, the company also donated four technology solutions to the Ministry of Health to enable healthcare experts and frontline medical professionals to carry out remote online consultations with patients and enhance the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment.
SERIES 4:
Special Session with MDEC The fourth series of the Summit was a collaboration between PIKOM and MDEC on how Malaysia can present its local ecosystem in the global scene. The session focused on digital technologies such as cloud and mobile enabling executives to reimagine business in the digital age. In his welcome address, Ong Kian Yew, Chief Executive Officer of PIKOM, thanked the partners of the event for their support in making the event a success.
DANNY LEE “This session in collaboration with MDEC encompasses digitalisation and technology adoption. Building a 21st century business requires executives to embrace digital technology to support delightful customer experiences, create new and modified business processes, fend off new challenges and to adopt new digital technology.”
RYAN CHAN Head of Global Business Development, Global Growth Acceleration, MDEC Ryan shared about MDEC’s
aspirations to make Malaysia the heart of digital ASEAN and to position Malaysia as the preferred hub to launch digital initiatives and start-ups in the region. He added that the Malaysian government had launched the digital economy blueprint several months ago with a key aspiration to grow the contributions of the digital economy to 22.6 percent of the country’s GDP from 19.1 percent in 2019. In doing so, the government is working with local start-ups, scale-ups and innovation companies. The government is also investing up to RM70 billion into digitalisation, attracting 2 local unicorns (homegrown or foreign), providing cashless payment options in all government ministries and agencies and creating 500,000 new jobs by 2025. MDEC’s
strategic thrusts include upskilling all Malaysians with digital skills to contribute towards the digital economy; providing clear endto-end support for business and growing start-ups, digitalising SMEs and globalising scale-ups; and, enhancing foreign direct digital investments by driving the country’s global recognition for animation, game development, esports, data centres, and global test beds for ICT and digital.
TAN KUAN THYE Head of HUAWEI CLOUD Malaysia Tan said that as a research and development-driven (R&D) digital technology organisation, Huawei aspires to bridge the digital gap to achieve a fully connected and intelligent world. “Inclusivity is always on Huawei’s mind,” said Tan. He added that Huawei aims to position Malaysia as a digital hub from three perspectives, namely ICT infrastructure, talent development and an inclusive ecosystem. Pivotal in building Malaysia’s digital economy, HUAWEI CLOUD is partnering with TM to establish the only Malaysian-owned end-to-end Cloud and AI infrastructure, to serve as Malaysia’s Sovereignty Cloud and ASEAN’s digital hub. Huawei is also working towards enabling Malaysia’s digital talent development and
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technological knowledge sharing, to spur ideas to commercialisation. To ensure sufficient market readiness, Huawei is striving together with MDEC towards educating the market through awareness training, educational training and professional training. Huawei is developing an inclusive digital platform with a comprehensive ecosystem, enabling SMEs to digitally transform their businesses. Huawei also has a Go China Go Global With Huawei programme that delivers experience sharing and helps Malaysian companies to bridge international markets. The Huawei Spark programme was introduced to develop and groom Malaysian companies via sell-to, sell-with and sell-through Huawei methodology to achieve more sustainable success.
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS SESSION This session featured representatives from five Malaysian companies who shared about digital solutions provided by their respective companies, to drive business growth and digitalisation.
SHARMA LACHU Founder and CEO, Accendo Technologies Sharma explains that by 2030, the demand for skilled workers will outstrip supply, resulting in a global talent shortage of more than 85.2 million people resulting in USD8.452 trillion in unrealised annual revenue. As business become more competitive, integrating data-driven insights to make critical decisions for optimum business performance is important. Sharma explains that Accendo’s talent intelligence platform, TalentPlus, is able to help organisations leverage on data to obtain various individual and business gains.
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Founder and CEO, Epitome Jan said that Epitome Global unlocks the potential of the future workforce. The company is a talent technology company that builds solutions to enhance successful career journeys. Epitome recognises the various challenges faced in the workforce and offers the best solutions which are driven by the adoption of digital technologies, collaborative ecosystems, enhanced vocational pathways, and new mindsets and incentives. Its key products include the Catalyst Profiling & Self-Discovery tool, the Coach Upskilling & Reskilling micro-learning app, and the Advance Job & Skill Matching platform.
CEO, OrangeFIN Asia Robin shared that OrangeFIN Asia is a robotic workforce process automation organisation, that creates robots that can assist in daily work. The company’s AIpowered software robots work 24x7, 365 days and offer fixed resource costs with no extra HR overheads. The robots can be managed by the owners from anywhere in the world, and work across multiple platforms, interdepartment and functionalities, alongside any existing systems without enhancements.
GEORGE LEE
Securemetric Technology Wo explained that Securemetric offers SigningCloud – an advanced digital signature platform that allows users to upload any document and sign in at any time and anywhere to replace the traditional paper based handwritten signature. This reduces cost, increasing efficiency and productivity. The solution supports any file type of document signing, provides traceable signing operations, generates interactive reports, as well as supports signatures, stamps and digital watermarks.
CEO, Innova8tif Solutions George highlighted that with all businesses going digital, there needs to be a digital strategy. Innov8tif helps its clients strategically identify suitable customers. The company’s solutions offer 24x7 instant customer onboarding, speeds up sales without branches while complying to regulatory requirements. Innov8tif’s solution also helps avoid financial loss and prevent identity fraud. Customers using its solutions now experience 35.8 percent less fraud compared to eKYC without document authentication.
WO SWEE TECK vP Regional Sales,
