by RAHIMI YUNUS / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

THE government will migrate 80% of its data to cloud by the end of 2022 and is developing a super app to mine it.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (picture; right) said the data migration and a government super app will enable the government to pull insights to identify societal issues and coordinate support for the needy.

“By understanding pattern behaviours and correlations, we hope to use it for predictive analytics.

“Addressing these issues will help improve public sector services delivery and empower the people,” Muhyiddin said at the launch of Microsoft Corp’s “Bersama Malaysia” (Together with Malaysia) initiative in Putrajaya yesterday.

He said although big data is an economic growth driver, the ultimate question is how to harness technology to enhance social welfare and reduce inequalities while cushioning disruptive transitions.

Microsoft announced US$1 billion (RM4 billion) digital initiatives with Malaysia which will see investments over the next five years, including the setting up of the first data centre region in the country.

The Bersama Malaysia commitment will establish a data centre region in the Greater Klang Valley comprising a set of data centres deployed within a latency-defined perimeter and connected through a dedicated regional low-latency network.

The initiative also includes Microsoft’s plans to skill one million Malaysians by December 2023 to create opportunities in the digital economy.

This includes work with the Human Resources Development Fund, Social Security Organisation, Junior Achievement Malaysia, Talent Corp Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), Grab Malaysia, Biji-Biji Enterprise and local universities to reach people from all socio-economic backgrounds, including young adults and people living with disabilities.

Microsoft was also appointed as the government’s cloud service provider.

Microsoft and its local partner Enfrasys Solutions Sdn Bhd have been appointed by Mampu to provide cloud services to Malaysia’s public sector agencies through 2023.

Besides that, Microsoft will partner Censof Holdings Bhd, Silverlake Group and Web Bytes Sdn Bhd to accelerate digital transformation in the nation’s key industries, including financial services, retail, food and beverage, and the public sector.

Microsoft’s investment in Malaysia is expected to generate up to US$4.6 billion in new revenues for the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers over the next four years, according to International Data Corp’s (IDC) research.

The research also estimated Microsoft, its partners and cloud-using customers to create over 19,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

The Bersama Malaysia initiative is the largest investment commitment by Microsoft in its 28-year history in Malaysia.

“I hope this partnership is just the first green shoots of a broader meadow of investments in Malaysia for Microsoft and other data players.

“This significant investment from Microsoft further fortifies Malaysia’s position as a potential regional data hub and we stand ever ready to welcome more such partnerships as we work with our stakeholders to continually improve Malaysia’s value proposition in this big data space,” Muhyiddin said.

Microsoft global sales, marketing and operations executive VP and president Jean-Philippe Courtois said the upcoming data centre region will be a game changer for Malaysia, enabling the government and businesses to reimagine and transform their operations to the benefit of all citizens.

The data centre region will deliver access to the full Microsoft Cloud including Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

It will also deliver Azure Availability Zones and support Microsoft’s sustainability goals to shift to 100% supply of renewable energy by 2025, including the planned Malaysian data centre region.

Microsoft Malaysia MD K Raman (right) said Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Celcom Axiata Bhd are among the clients that will be using Microsoft Cloud from the new data centre region.

“We are proud to cement our partnership with the nation to accelerate its digital economy. Public-private partnerships are key enablers to propel Malaysia’s digi tal economy forward.

“Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia initiative reflects our joint commitment in support of the nation’s MyDigital aspirations, as we empower every person and every organisation in Malaysia to achieve more,” Raman said.

Additionally, Microsoft will help form the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council, in partnership with the Social and Economic Research Initiative, to collaborate on cloud-first and digital-native policy recommendations.

The alliance has so far discussed digitalisation in the education sector to nurture a globally competitive Malaysian digital workforce.