The cloud platform aims to simplify the complexity of cloud adoption while offering built-in service level agreements that are tailored to customers’ needs

by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) has partnered VMware Malaysia Sdn Bhd to offer next-generation cloud solutions for Malaysian enterprises to accelerate digital and business transformation.

This will be done through the launch of the tGRID project, an initiative to transform TM‘s existing cloud platform to TM ONE Cloud Solutions.

The project will see the offering of a new and enhanced version of TM ONE Cloud services, while featuring VMware’s solution that allows TM to connect both its standalone and non-standalone 5G networks on a single cloud platform.

“For the longest time in the market, customers have been asking for a local cloud service provider. We already have a line of customers who are waiting to come on board.

“We have already gone through the security screening, and we will be announcing these customers in the near future,” TM CIO M Umapathy Sivan told reporters after the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

As the country gears up towards 5G commercialisation, the offering will facilitate a smooth transition to the group’s end-customers during the 5G rollout.

“We will continue to explore potential collaborations with various partners to lay a solid foundation and prepare for the future 5G commercialisation and upcoming 5G era,” Sivan said.

Having invested more than half a billion in their data centres, TM ONE CEO and executive VP Ahmad Taufek Omar said the capabilities of TM ONE Cloud services are also compliant to Bank Negara Malaysia and will address data residency issues in the country.

The telecommunications company (telco) is currently working with multiple partners to ensure all cybersecurity, regulations and compliance issues are met with the highest standards, he added.

The cloud platform, which runs on VMware’s technology, aims to simplify the complexity of cloud adoption while offering built-in service level agreements that are tailored to customers’ needs.

It will also offer Malaysian enterprises an easy-to-deploy, cost-effective and secure solution as they embark on their cloud and 5G journeys.

According to VMware Malaysia country manager Devan Parinpanayagam, cloud and 5G implementation will be key factors in enabling enterprises in Malaysia to scale up and maximise opportunities offered by the new digital economy.

“We are hopeful that the 5G roll-out in 2020 will herald a new era of innovation for Malaysian businesses with the provision of ultrahigh-speed and low-latency connectivity,” he added.

5G is the next generation of cellular network technology, said to be anywhere from 100 to 400 times faster than 4G yet with lower latency (the time required for devices to communicate via wireless networks).

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the adoption of 5G is set to add RM12.7 billion to the economy between 2021 and 2025, while creating 39,000 new job opportunities.

Malaysian telcos have also completed several rounds of live trials ahead of the official 5G commercialisation in the third quarter of 2020.

Hence, businesses and enterprises in Malaysia are expected to invest heavily in next-generation technologies that will allow them to capture growth from the country’s fast-expanding digital economy.

VMware is a software provider company that helps customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device.