What makes the cloud a driving force for the digital economy?

• Deployment of 5G and the granting of five digital banking licenses all contribute to the significance of cloud adoption
• The global pandemic has caused many firms to reevaluate how they manage risks

During the COVID-19 period, the adoption of cloud computing has increased in the expanding economy. The cloud has the most influence of all the disruptive technologies because of its adaptability, accessibility, scalability, resilience, and affordability.

As a result, the government intends to take the lead in the development of the cloud industry by implementing a cloud-first strategy in the public sector and hiring cloud service providers (CSPs) and managed service providers (MSPs) to strengthen Malaysia’s capabilities in the field.

Although there have been long-term ambitions to utilize the cloud, the Malaysia Digital Economy plan is focused on promoting increased adoption of the technology.

Particularly during the two years of a pandemic since the year 2020, which is a megatrend, Malaysia is much more prepared and open for cloud discussions as well as digital transformation. In light of this, an engaging panel discussion on how the cloud has been increasing as the key force for the digital economy was held at Alibaba Cloud Day KL Summit 2022.

In attendance were Calvin Chee, Vice President, IT – Enterprise Application Development & Integration, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Naveen Deshpande, Co-Founder and Group COO, entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Megat Mohammad Faisal, Head of Technology Division, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, and Garry Sien, Global Lead Architect of Global Financial Services Solutions, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Calvin Chee, Vice President, IT – Enterprise Application Development & Integration, Genting Malaysia Berhad, highlighted that recent announcements on the deployment of 5G and the granting of five digital banking licenses all contribute to the significance of cloud adoption.

Megat Mohammad Faisal, Head of Technology Division, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, agrees with this notion. He claimed that the cloud is significantly more alluring, particularly for the financial sector since they are highly regulated.

Technology advancements have enabled new financial service prospects with much fewer regulations and a lower barrier to entry, which the cloud can offer.

“All of these things will be the foundation of the success of your organization’s cloud strategy. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad typically adopts a cloud approach that is “cloud smart, not cloud first” for everything. And one of the most crucial risks to take into account, is cybersecurity,” said Megat. “However, choosing which provider to work with and how much control we have over service quality are crucial factors for this integration when moving to the cloud.”

The business model shift caused by the cloud economy

With this shift in the business model that customers want their organization to capitalize on more “cloud-like, customers-centric experiences”, the questions that came to mind are, would this discussion not be taking place if the pandemic didn’t exist? How much of this strategy has the pandemic actually accelerated? Especially when it comes to enhancing employees’ productivity.

“During the pandemic, productivity was the main topic of discussion as enterprise employees started working remotely and out of their offices. So, questions need to be asked, should employees visit the office several times each week or every day? Do some people have a tendency to be distant all the time?” entomo Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Co-Founder and Group COO Naveen Deshpande asked.

Although there were benefits in how it has helped with employees’ productivity, there can also be disruptions. Deshpande claims that several of the models that were employed to support office-free products and daily work planning operations were also disrupted.

“Nonetheless, [this business shift model] is a good thing for the industry, because the one who can innovate faster, will probably get more opportunities in the market,” he added.

In addition, Garry Sien, Global Lead Architect of Global Financial Services Solutions, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, believes that the pandemic has actually caused many firms to reevaluate how they manage risk.

“When looking at the risk of not being able to continue with your business versus the way that you need to manage the risk of using the cloud, most business owners will tell you that they can handle the risk of utilizing the cloud,” said Sien. “From a banking standpoint, managing internal stakeholders is much less important than serving your consumers. All of a sudden, the change in discourse is now producing a lot of that acceleration.”

Overall, according to Sien, this acceleration is made possible by the fundamental change in thought processes, and in a risk-based strategy like “cloud smart, not cloud-first”, it all boils down to risk tolerance.

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