MDeC’s 2020 vision to make Malaysia a regional BDA hub

• Aims to have 16,000 data professionals and 1,500 data scientists by 2020
• Asean Data Analytics Exchange to increase BDA adoption among businesses

 
MALAYSIA’S national ICT custodian Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has set the year 2020 for its target to see the country become a regional hub for Big Data Analytics (BDA).
 
Its to-be-launched Asean Data Analytics Exchange (Adax) would be a key step in this direction, according to MDeC director of innovation capital Dr Karl Ng Kah Hou (pic above).
 
“Adax will bring together innovative talent development models, and it will also have a physical lab where the latest big data technologies will be showcased. People with datasets can come to Adax and learn about how to make use of their datasets.
 
“Imagine having a platform where we have startups, academia and businesses solving BDA problems together,” he said at the launch of MDeC’s ‘Big Community’ online portal (see below) in Kuala Lumpur on March 17.
 
Ng said that Adax will be a collaboration with the private sector to put Malaysia on the map.
 
“It will initially be launched by MDeC but given time, we expect it to be driven by the private sector and be self-sustainable as more and more SMEs (small and medium enterprises) look into BDA to better their business,” he added.
 
Adax’s virtual platform will be launched by the third quarter, while MDeC is still scouting for a suitable location for the physical lab.
 
Ng said that this year, the agency would focus on increasing BDA adoption among Malaysian businesses including brick-and-mortar companies, SMEs, and startups.
 
“Last year’s focus was on bridging the talent gap in BDA but for 2016, we would like to focus more on the adoption rate among businesses and that is why we have Adax and Big Community to help us with this objective,” he said.
 
This year, MDeC will also continue its effort to produce more data specialists, and targets to grow the number of data professionals from the existing 4,000 to 16,000 by 2020.
 
Ng said that there are currently over 100 data scientists in Malaysia, and added that he hopes the figure will increase to 1,500 by 2020.
 
“We also hope to grow the number of open datasets to 1,600 by the end of this year, from the current 943,” he added.
 
Ng also announced that Big Data Week Asia 2016 (BDWA) will be held for the third consecutive year, and MDeC will be partnering with Big IT Technology to co-organise the event.
 
“We are looking at 3,000 participants including regional attendees, to exchange insights and come up with more BDA innovative solutions,” he said.
 
Big Community
 

 
At the media briefing, MDeC also introduced ‘Big Community,’ an online portal that aims to bring together individuals and organisations to learn more about BDA.
 
The portal, managed by regional IT publisher Asia One Publishing Group (AOPG), lists BDA events, job opportunities, and insights shared by experts around the region.
 
“One of our main goals is to increase awareness on BDA and encourage adoption among businesses in Malaysia,” said Ng.
 
“Together with AOPG, we developed Big Community as a one-stop platform to provide local businesses access to global opportunities in BDA.
 
“With more companies adopting this disruptive technology – supported by a robust ecosystem and made possible by the National BDA Initiative – we will be able to position Malaysia as the leading regional hub for BDA, and open doors to more investment opportunities,” said Ng.
 
The key features of the portal include:
 

• Access to experts: The portal provides access to leading big data experts and data scientists from different parts of the world;

• News section: Updates on the latest big data news, developments and opportunities;

• Education section: Features various educational programmes and courses from Institutes of Higher Learning, both local and international;

• Employment section: Relevant job opportunities in the country and around the world;

• Events section: Updates on industry summits, conferences and gatherings; and

• Social feed: Extending conversations to the Big Community Twitter account.

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Big data: Malaysia takes ‘small but significant’ first step
 
Malaysia’s big data aspirations and the talent gap
 
 
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