TM, Cisco to spur Malaysia’s digital agenda 

• Signed two agreements to pave way for M’sia to develop 5G innovation platform
• Will focus on digital transformation for public sector, service providers & SMEs

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and technology vendor Cisco Systems have announced a new strategic partnership as part of Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme to Spur Malaysia’s ambitions to become a technology-driven nation and regional digital leader.

In a joint statement, both parties said they signed two collaboration agreements to pave the way for key projects focused on helping the country develop its 5G innovation platform as well as accelerate technology adoption and transformation for Malaysia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to Cisco, its CDA programme is a strategic partnership with governments worldwide to accelerate their national digitalisation agendas and create new value for the country, its businesses, and citizens. 

The CDA programme in Malaysia was unveiled as a collaboration framework between Cisco and MyDigital Corporation in May 2022.

It is aligned with MyDigital, the government’s Digital Economy Blueprint, aimed at accelerating the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy, with a focus on driving digital transformation in the public sector, building digital infrastructure, and cultivating agile and competent digital talent, TM and Cisco said.

TM’s partnership with Cisco focuses on three key pillars: digital transformation in the public sector, specifically education – which will be launched at a later date; digital transformation for service providers, focusing on 5G innovation, and digital transformation for SMEs.

The two collaboration agreements signed were:

• 5GaaS Innovation Platform
  Cisco and TM will build a 5G-as-a-service Centre of Excellence to springboard 5G adoption and develop proof of concepts for enterprises and vertical industries
• Accelerating Digital Transformation of SMEs
  Cisco and TM will drive a joint digital solution seeding programme through a proof of concept for selected SME customers. These solutions will range from the Internet of Things to business analytics solutions for SMEs in the retail, education, and manufacturing sectors.

Imri Mokhtar (pic), TM’s group CEO, said the company is honoured to be the first company to partner with Cisco to bring the CDA programme to Malaysia which has the potential to benefit enterprises, consumers and over 400,000 SMEs. 

“This collaboration builds on TM and Cisco’s 17-year partnership and will be the first of many “Innovation Sandbox” collaborations TM will drive, in our efforts to realise the Digital Malaysia aspiration and 5G objectives for the nation,” he said.
 
Dave West, president, Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan, and Greater China said, “Our CDA programme in Malaysia is focused on turning the country's digital economy blueprint into reality by leading the development of core 5G technologies and infrastructure, accelerating the digital transformation of SMEs, and nurturing a pipeline of next-generation IT talent that will continue to support its national ambitions,” he said.