Malaysia pushing above and beyond to bolster its digital commitments

• A nationwide campaign to assist local digitization was unveiled during the Alibaba Cloud Day KL Summit
• To create a favorable environment for local firms, the cloud leader consults with experts from a variety of industries to redefine the Power of Cloud

Since the pandemic began in 2020, Malaysia has experienced rapid progress in its digital transformation. The government’s 2021 initiative, the Malaysia Digital Economic Blueprint (MyDIGITAL), provided the foundation for the nation’s transition to an advanced digital economy, supporting the nation’s commitments.

According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the project is anticipated to generate 500,000 new employment and increase the digital economy’s contribution to Malaysia’s GDP to 22.6% by 2025.

Since then, tech behemoths like Alibaba Cloud have helped the nation support and strengthen that strategy. To further demonstrate its dedication to assisting Malaysia’s digitalization, Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence core of the Alibaba Group, recently unveiled a new talent initiative and demonstrated a range of cutting-edge cloud-based solutions at the Alibaba Cloud Day KL summit.

In the presence of Dato’ Sri Dr. Adham Baba, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI), the cloud service leader unveiled the Digital Heroes Program, a national initiative to strengthen digital talent that aims to close the skills gap between academia and industry as well as provide Malaysia with a skilled digital workforce.

Insights into Alibaba Cloud’s new digital commitment approach for Malaysia

The Digital Heroes Program is an evolution of the Alibaba Cloud Academic Empowerment Program (AAEP), a program that supports aspiring digital talents through participating accredited educational institutions. This program aims to increase Alibaba Cloud’s digital footprint across more states in the country.

The MY Digital Talent in U Competition, Nationwide University Tour, and Student Ambassador are three new core sections of the Digital Heroes Program, which is built upon the current internship and AAEP initiative programs:

• MY Digital Talent in U Competition, a competition for academic staff and students to learn about cloud computing, with training programs and courses offered;
• Nationwide University Tour, a university tour throughout the entire region that enlightens and introduces local talent to in-depth cloud computing alongside business developers, solution architects from Alibaba Cloud, and selected major industry participants;
• Student Ambassador, a chance for local students to take part in events hosted by Alibaba Cloud, which aids in their further development of leadership, professionalism, and communication skills.

According to Kun Huang, General Manager of Malaysia, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, the epicenter of the Digital Heroes Program, aims to develop a sustainable pool of digital talent that will support the regional business ecosystem in addition to offering unique digital experiences to local students.

“As a global cloud leader, we are proud to be part of the collective effort and would like to leverage our best-in-class technologies and proven experience to support local talent development whilst further empowering Malaysia’s digital transformation journey,” he added.

Dato’ Sri Dr. Adham Baba, who launched the program with Alibaba Cloud said, “As part of Malaysia’s plan to transform the country into a regional leader in digital economy, we welcome technology providers to invest in Malaysia and leverage on the skill sets and capabilities of local talents. Alibaba Cloud is a good example, where the company has successfully set up 2 local data centers, and a strong local team to support local companies and provide them with leading cloud technologies and professional services”.

Since 2017, when they first built the first data center in Malaysia, Alibaba Cloud has been assisting Malaysia to navigate the past of a digital transformation with best-in-class technology, a strong business ecosystem, and also worldwide availability. Alibaba also constructed a second data center and an anti-DDoS scrubbing facility here in Malaysia in 2018, all while strictly adhering to local compliance and regulations.

In a video message, Selina Yun, Alibaba Group VP & Alibaba Cloud Intelligence International President commented, “The year 2022 will continue toward a staggering commodity called evolution, powering massive opportunities for enterprises to achieve digital transformation. Over the past few years, Alibaba Cloud has constantly been aware of it at the forefront of business intelligence. We are dedicated to building an open and collaborative environment for innovation. Alibaba Cloud continues to develop and design a new way ahead in the digital age and build cloud-native transformation.”

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