Digital has become the nucleus in our way of living

The past 18 months of the COVID- 19 pandemic has proven that in the face of adversity, we have opportunities as well. People have learnt not just to survive, but to strive. The lessons from these challenging times are both valuable and profound, digitalisation being one of them.

The world is all set to move beyond the fringes of digitalisation to make it a way of life. All have become possible through digital tools, from working remotely to hybrid models. Not only our working styles, but even the way we conduct businesses, fast-changing customer expectations have evolved to digital experiences, which has led digital platforms to become the preferred choice for all.

Seamless digital journey and personalisation is the new normal

It has now become crucial for us to understand consumer behaviour through insights and intelligence. Doing so enables us to cater for our customers with personalised services. We call it the ‘Power of Knowing’.The establishment of a relationship between human intelligence and artificial intelligence is a true version of the power of knowing:

• AI is to assist us in filtering, processing, and deciphering the huge amounts of data and information gathered from day-to-day business operations. Human intelligence is required to interpret the data, utilising it in ways that will delight the customer.

• Predicting the future with our intuitions by leveraging the existing data on consumer trends.

The changing needs of Malaysians guide TM’s journey to human-centred technology company

TM is a national institution, one that has served you for many decades. Throughout this period, we've evolved from a telecommunications provider to a convergence player, and we are now on a journey to become a human-centred technology company.

The changing needs of our customers guide us on our journey. This paradigm shift is essential for us to continue to play our part in empowering a digital Malaysia. In the next three years, we will continue to invest in our people, infrastructure, and technology to be ready for the next wave of innovation that will come, especially in digital solutions that shall deliver a delightful customer experience.

Over the past decade, TM invested over RM 22.4billion in digital connectivity and infrastructure. We have deployed an extensive state-of-the-art network with over 640,000 fibre cables (equivalent to 16 times the circumference of the Earth), alongside the expansion of solutions into cloud and security. As soon as Malaysia moves into a 5G-enabled future, our network will be ready to serve retail customers, enterprises, as well as the public sector:

• By bringing efficiencies into our processes and operations with the right balance between human and artificial intelligence (with an RPA-like technology), we have automated 230,000 hours of tasks at TM. Digital means have also enabled us to introduce a hybrid working model, empowering our employees to take control of their time while still being productive in their work at TM.

• Providing digital services to our customers is an outcome of optimising our systems, technologies, solutions, and capabilities to, most importantly, address the human over anything else.

• We also continue to demonstrate our capabilities to work closely with our customers to understand their needs better from operational and human perspectives. For example, in the Energy sector, we are collaborating with our customers to make unmanned platforms a reality. Similarly, in the manufacturing sector, we are working closely with our customers to enable advanced factory automation.

Championing digitalisation requires us to take a collaborative approach

Technology in isolation cannot lead to digitalisation on its own. There is an equal need to focus on upskilling talent in various technologies like cloud, cybersecurity and analytics. This can happen in three ways. Firstly, through the upskilling of our current workforce. The second is by hiring highly skilled digital talents from leading global technology companies, and finally, certainly collaborating through JVs or even the acquisition of technology companies to support our aspirations, and yours too.

As leaders, we will continue to find the best path forward for the organisation and our nation. We need to find new ways to marry technology and human curiosity with forward-thinking leadership to fast track our country's digitalisation journey. This journey will require the coming together of Malaysians, corporations and the government with technology partners like TM One in an open and innovative digital coalition, one that I believe will benefit everyone.