KUALA LUMPUR: Digital transformation is essentially about creating new business models, whereby technology enhances existing ones to be more efficient and productive.
The emphasis by the government to enhance the usage of technology and digitalisation across various public and private sectors to spur economic growth along with digital talent development in the country is the right move forward.
Agility, resiliency, and productivity are the most important factors in determining the success of any organisation, irrespective of its size.
IBM Malaysia is optimistic that the allocations during the recent tabling of the Malaysian government's expansionary 2022 Budget will help to steer Malaysia's economy in the coming years.
Its managing director, Catherine Lian, during a virtual briefing session shared the company's contribution towards realising Malaysia's digital transformation journey.
"As Malaysia plans to move towards a digitally driven, high income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy, we are eager to see Malaysia continue to push this transformation forward.
"IBM continues to collaborate with public and private sectors as we are really thrilled about the potential of hybrid cloud and AI to transform business everywhere," she said.
DIGITAL ECONOMY
Every organisation needs to put the right technology investment for ongoing uncertainty, inevitable disruption, and never-ending change.
Technology adoption, such as hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) are critical to strengthening Malaysia's economic competitiveness and being cloud-ready is essential to Malaysia's digital transformation agenda.
The 2021 IBM CEO study revealed that 60 per cent of CEOs surveyed in Malaysia trust cloud will be the key enabler of agility.
"What will enable your speed and agility is a single, open IT architecture that extends from the core data centre to the very edge of where data and computing takes place - we call it hybrid cloud.
"Hybrid cloud is about meeting you where you're at in terms of the IT infrastructure choices you've made and the various places you do computing - whether it's in a public cloud, or a private cloud, or on-premises regardless of cloud provider.
In another IBM study, it is revealed that nearly 66 per cent of respondents surveyed from Malaysia said workloads being completely portable with no vendor lock-in is important or extremely important to the success of their digital initiatives.
The cloud computing market has grown tremendously in the region, mainly driven by the fact that it costs less, coupled with the greater awareness of data security and the underlying technology. Hence, hybrid cloud isn't just a strategy. It's a reality in time to come. Being cloud-ready is essential to Malaysia's digital transformation agenda.
"We welcome the government's Digital First Programme to encourage the usage of cloud computing in the public sector. The adoption of cloud technology can help improve the public sector's operational efficiencies and innovations in how work and processes are executed," said Lian.
Stressing on the importance of public-private partnerships to continuously unlock the potential of the digital economy for the rakyat, Lian also shared IBM's works to support the government's agenda.
"We collaborated with Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Royal Malaysian Custom department (RMCD) to help them to drive modernisation and boost their operational efficiencies through innovative technology to improve service delivery, to provide better quality of services to the rakyat," shared Lian.
WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
There have been major disruptions in recent years that change the very nature of work.
From the ongoing shifts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the impacts caused by automation, and other possible disruptions to the status quo, many wonder what the future holds in terms of employment.
An IBM study found that a significant shortage of required digital talents, and lack of infrastructure for developing new technology are cited as top challenges.
There is no quick and easy solution to the digital skills gap and IBM Malaysia, as stated by Lian during the brief said that they welcome the government's continued emphasis on the nation's education system, and sharing how this year's budget outlined a clear approach to preparing the nation's workforce for future work opportunities.
"This budget (2022 Budget) sets a target of training 220,000 people via various upskilling and reskilling programmes with allocation of RM1.1 billion to achieve this.
"The government also emphasised on skilling talent in high value-added industries, allocating RM80 million to train and prepare 20,000 workers to support select industrial clusters in the nation," she said.
Answering a question on whether the allocation is enough for what the country aims to achieve, Lian said that "...most importantly it has started" and that the first step is key towards achieving the dream.
To shape the future of work, and to ensure that the digital era doesn't leave people behind. IBM's goal is to help everyone, no matter their circumstances, prepare themselves for the workforce of tomorrow.
Talent is everywhere; training opportunities are not. Therefore, Lian believes big and bold steps are needed to expand access to digital skills and employment opportunities so that more people – regardless of their background – can take advantage of the digital economy.
"IBM commits to providing 30 million people with new skills by 2030. This will help democratise opportunity, fill the growing skills gap, and give new generations of workers the tools they need to build a better future for themselves and society," said Lian.
Any expansion of opportunities for Malaysians to upskill and reskill will certainly help accelerate human capital development that is essential to nation-building.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
"IBM continues to invest and expand our belief in people by collaborating with the public and private sector to bridge the digital talent gap in Malaysia through our programmes and platforms.
"We partnered with the Ministry of Education and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to address the digital skills shortage and to prepare a future-ready workforce through the P-TECH programme," said Lian.
P-TECH (The Pathways in Technology) programme is designed to break the cycle of inequity in education and to address skills gaps in the labour force by linking education and workforce development.
Through the P-TECH model, high schools, tertiary-level universities, and industry partners collaborate to enable students to earn recognised university-level credentials that provide a direct path to competitive, in demand STEM careers in all industries.
"At IBM, we believe that learners at all stages of the employment continuum need access to the skills that will allow them to compete in an ever-evolving economy," she said.
IBM also brings the SkillsBuild platform to help students, job seekers, and organisations opt into the learning experience that's right for them.
"Recently, we announced a collaboration with Politeknik Balik Pulau to establish the IBM SkillsBuild@PBU Learning Institute.
"The collaboration, a first of its kind for IBM in Malaysia, is expected to benefit nearly 800 students annually. This collaboration would also serve the need for industry-relevant high value talent in the Northern Corridor of Malaysia," said Lian adding that the IBM SkillsBuild@PBU Learning Institute helps the students to understand how their coursework, field experience, and the future workplace are connected.
ADDRESSING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS
According to Lian, IBM has always believed in the fundamental promise of technology – that when "...we apply innovation to real-world problems, we drive progress, for both business and society".
"Today's IBM is more strategically focused, more technologically capable, more agile, and more financially sound. IBM is all-in on hybrid cloud and AI because we understand that businesses need a clear and credible path to modernising their mission-critical systems.
"Across every industry, our customers are eager to apply hybrid cloud and AI to transform the way their business works. As a result, we have reoriented our portfolio around a platform-centric model, with Red Hat at the core, infusing our software with open standards that accelerate the adoption of hybrid cloud and the application of AI, across our own offerings, and those of our competitors," said Lian.
Early this month, IBM completed the separation of its managed infrastructure services business to Kyndryl. The separation is one of many actions IBM is taking to sharpen the company's focus on hybrid cloud and AI, as well as to leverage a portfolio clearly focused on technology and consulting, to achieve their growth objectives.
"In Malaysia, we have rallied together to face the myriad challenges, while capitalising on opportunities for the country for over six decades. As a company, IBM Malaysia is also proud to have been part of Malaysia's journey from the very beginning.
"Indeed, throughout sixty years, IBM has always aspired to be a technology leader, providing cutting-edge solutions for Malaysia's private and public sectors alike, and playing our role passionately as an accountable and responsible corporate citizen," said Lian.