US$94M Digital Malaysia Initiative: How Cloud Computing Creates Opportunities
In October 2011, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launched a rare Digital Malaysia Initiative (DMI) meant to turn this South-East Asian country into a hub for e-commerce activities. This giant, one-of-a-kind project aims at creating an initial 160,000 high-value jobs by 2020 and subsequently increasing the per cent of the IT sector’s contribution to GNI by about 17%.
This information hints at bright prospects for IT investment in Malaysia in the coming years. Interestingly enough, the projected success of Digital Malaysia Initiative is entirely pinned on Cloud Computing technology.
DMI is primarily designed to foster rapid growth in areas of online education, e-commerce and mobile technology. It also aims to enhance e-payment among small- and medium-scale businesses, evolution of e-entrepreneurs, and coordination of Internet-based business activities, guaranteeing higher productivity and creating jobs.
With this explosive scale of digital adventures, Digital Malaysia Initiative should bring about strategic changes and challenges to the Information Technology processes in Malaysia. Some of the unavoidable challenges will include:
- Dealing with an unprecedented increase in the volume of data produced;
- Guaranteeing optimum performance or efficiency of the IT industry and its numerous diversifications;
- Maintaining a culture of cost-efficiency;
- Guaranteeing security and data-protection.
For Malaysia to become the center of Asia’s e-commerce, it must devise appropriate mechanisms for dealing with large generation of sensitive data that will require safe and flexible storage facilities. Online education, e-payment systems, e-entrepreneur activities, e-government procedures and e-commerce operations will all require the kind of efficient storage facility provided by Cloud Computing. Storing time-sensitive and highly confidential data through cloud technology provides the flexibility and scalability most e-business operators desire. And if firms’ storage requirements increase in the near future, they can request larger storage space.
Digital Malaysia Initiative is centered on the premise that cloud computing will play a significant role. This dream is achievable if Malaysian business owners pay serious attention to the potential gains from adopting cloud technology. Apart from leading to dramatic cuts business running costs, cloud computing will also necessitate business continuity and safeguard or protect sensitive data.
DMI also provides opportunities for Western IT firms wishing to actively participate in the Asian IT market. One of the reasons the Malaysian Government supports Digital Malaysia Initiative is to provide a level-playing field for foreign investors. This is the best time for such investors to check out the benefits of DMI for business expansion. Furthermore, Malaysia has long been regarded as a vibrant home to foreign companies such as IBM, Shell, Nestle, Sony, PricewaterCoopers.
Cloud computing will continue to make inroads into Asian economies, with Malaysia leading the campaign. The 21st century has generally seen rapid development in Asia, with China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia leading the pack in IT sector development. This trend will seemingly continue.
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About the Guest Author:
Jerry Olasakinju, a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree holder, is a passionate researcher and writer whose interest in everything computing is unparalleled. He blogs about his literary works at http://jerryolasakinju.blogspot.jp/
