TM and Cisco co-invest in projects for 5G innovation and digital acceleration of SMEs

Telekom Malaysia (TM) and Cisco have partnered to co-invest in projects for 5G innovation and the digital acceleration of SMEs. The partnership is part of Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme, a long-term partnership with governments, industries, and academia worldwide to advance national digitisation agendas, and is in line with MYDIGITAL, Malaysia’s national strategy, to become a regional digital leader.

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

Two collaboration agreements were signed by the both of them, which comprise the establishment of a 5G-as-a-service Centre of Excellence, to launch 5G’s adoption and develop proof of concepts for enterprises and vertical industries, and a joint digital solution seeding programme through a proof of concept for selected SME customers. Some of the solutions offered through the programme comprise the Internet of Things (IoT) and business analytics solutions for SMEs in the retail, education, and manufacturing sectors.

Cisco will also be launching a digital talent development initiative focused on introducing digital talent to Application Programming Interfaces (APIS) and training on how to navigate its cloud-based network, Cisco Meraki, as well as other mentoring opportunities and hackathon events.

Group CEO Imri Mokhtar said: “TM is honoured to be the first company to partner with Cisco in bringing the CDA programme to Malaysia, which has the potential to benefit enterprises, consumers and over 400,000 SMEs.” He added that the partnership builds on TM and Cisco’s 17-year partnership and will be the first of many “Innovation Sandbox” collaborations.

Cisco Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China president Dave Wes added that the company's 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. The programme will also accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs, and nurture a pipeline of next-generation IT talent that will continue to support the country's national ambitions.

Previously, TM also collaborated with other strategic partners to boost public sectors in Malaysia. In 2019, it partnered with OYO Malaysia to boost the tourism experience of both local and foreign tourists in Malaysia. Under the partnership, TM provided its full suite of unifi services to patrons of OYO Hotels and Home and dedicated customer support and technical teams for round-the-clock support at OYO Hotels and Homes. Meanwhile, OYO Malaysia offered special promos for TM customers for their stay at OYO establishments through TM's loyalty programme.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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