Author: Alfie Amir

Alfie Amir is a senior analyst in Current Analysis Group. He is responsible for research, consulting and analysis focusing on market and technology trends, competitive analysis and account-based intelligence for ICT spending and modeling future investments. He also works across several trackers (e.g., fixed, mobile and IT) providing market sizing, forecasts and insights across the region. Alfie is quoted regularly in trade press and is a regular speaker at conferences, workshops and other industry events.

ASEAN Enterprise 5G Q2 2023 Round-Up: Leaders Focus on Key Use Cases While Challengers Start to Make a Move

July 11, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network

Summary Bullets:

• AIS and Singtel continued their momentum with various initiatives to extend their enterprise 5G leadership in their respective markets. They are also starting to focus on high-growth verticals and use cases.

• A few telcos in the region are starting to make their moves to close the gap with the leaders, but most other providers are still taking conservative approaches in their initiatives and investments in enterprise 5G.

The enterprise 5G developments in ASEAN started slow in 2023 with only a number of initiatives in the first quarter, mainly from leading players like Singtel in Singapore and AIS in Thailand (for more, please see: ASEAN Enterprise 5G Q1 2023 Round-Up: Slow Start to the Year for Most ASEAN Telcos While AIS and Singtel Extended Their Leads, April 17, 2023). In the last quarter (Q2 2023), while AIS and Singtel continued their momentum to lead the enterprise 5G markets in respective countries, other telcos such as M1 (Singapore) and Maxis (Malaysia) made their moves through industry collaborations and commercialization of vertical use cases.

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Alibaba Cloud Customer 360 Summit – Enhancing Business Customer Engagements Through Partners

July 4, 2023July 11, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader

Summary Bullets:
• Alibaba Cloud has a wide ecosystem and leverages partner capabilities to offer customer experience solutions.
• It could also highlight its own capabilities (e.g., AI, vertical solutions) to differentiate against competitors.

Alibaba Cloud, in collaboration with Meta, held its Customer 360 Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showcasing its solutions ranging from CPaaS to IoT. The event also featured several partners including Meta, Hyped Mind, Agmo, Neo4j, and StarSG, that bring various capabilities to complement the provider’s portfolio as well as to help businesses achieve their goals, particularly in enhancing enterprises’ customer experience and engagements.

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Dual 5G Networks – Still Far from Ideal but Way Better than SWN to Drive 5G Development in Malaysia

May 5, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network

Summary Bullets:

• The details are still unclear, but the Malaysian government’s announcement on dual 5G networks is a positive move that can accelerate 5G developments in the country.

• Telcos should start collaborating and get more involved in the second 5G network for greater control of the infrastructure.

The Malaysian Communications and Digital Ministry recently announced that 5G rollout in the country will move to the second phase, in which Malaysia will have a dual network model upon reaching a population coverage of 80% of the first network. Having dual wholesale networks is still far from ideal compared to separate deployments by the telcos. However, it is a very positive move from the single wholesale network (SWN – for more on SWN, please see “Malaysia 5G Through SPV: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back,” March 8, 2021) as it will provide wider options for telcos/service providers and enable them to differentiate. It can also drive 5G development and accelerate innovations in creating new applications and use cases. All major local telcos (e.g., CelcomDigi, Maxis, and Telekom Malaysia) have already voiced their support for the dual networks while the largest player, CelcomDigi, has announced it will withdraw its equity participation with Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB – i.e., the current SWN provider).

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Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q1 2023 – Strong Momentum After Solid Performance in 2022

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• Malaysian telcos recorded steady performance in the enterprise segment in 2022.

• They started the year strong with several industrial collaborations, but there are still huge market opportunities for them to capture.

Malaysian telcos had strong momentum last year in building their vertical capabilities and enterprise 5G solutions. This includes TM ONE in smart cities and manufacturing sectors, CelcomDigi in healthcare and logistics, and Maxis’ 5G Alliance. For more, please see the 2022 quarterly updates at: Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q1 2022: Wider Industry Collaborations Despite Stagnant Growth in 2021 April 13, 2022; Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q2 2022 – Mixed Developments but Positive Overall Progress August 11, 2022; Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q3 2022 – Slower Development but Steady Performance October 31, 2022; and Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q4 2022 – Stronger Vertical Play, Wider Enterprise 5G Development January 5, 2023. This report analyzes Malaysian telcos initaitives in the enterprise segment in Q1 2023 as well as their 2022 financial year business performance in the segment.

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ASEAN Enterprise 5G Q1 2023 Round-Up: Slow Start to the Year for Most ASEAN Telcos While AIS and Singtel Extended Their Leads

April 17, 2023April 24, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• AIS and Singtel continued their momentum with various initiatives to extend their enterprise 5G leaderships in their respective markets.

• Other telcos in the region had a slower start to the year with only several initiatives and collaborations.

In 2022, telcos aggressively expanded their 5G networks and built enterprise 5G capabilities through various partnerships with technology vendors and collaborations with industry players. While many initiatives were still in the proof-of-concept and trial stages, leading telcos such as Singtel and AIS have launched their respective solutions commercially in the market. For more, please see GlobalData quarterly ASEAN 5G 2022 reports here:

• ASEAN 5G Q1 2022 Roundup: Beginning of 5G Network Slicing and the Platform Play, April 8, 2022.

• ASEAN 5G Q2 2022 Roundup: Wider Partnerships Between Carriers and IT Providers, August 3, 2022.

• ASEAN 5G Q3 2022 Round-Up, October 17, 2022.

• ASEAN 5G Q4 2022 Round-Up: Wider Industry Collaborations, Private Network, and Sustainability, January 3, 2023.

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AWS Cloud Day Malaysia – New Region and Diverse Vertical Capabilities to Drive Malaysia’s Digital Ecosystem

March 27, 2023March 29, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader

Summary Bullets:
• AWS’ new Malaysia region and diverse industrial capabilities will strengthen its market position.
• Industry collaborations will be the key to capturing growing business-led cloud opportunities.

AWS held Malaysia Cloud Day earlier this month and shared its latest plans in the country including a plan to invest $6 billion in the country by 2037. The investment will include a new local region to address the increasing adoption of cloud services in the country as well as various programs to upskill workforce in the country (for more, please see AWS Malaysia Region Will Address Malaysian Cloud Demand but Could Lose Early Market Opportunities to Competitors, March 6, 2023). At the event, AWS also shared various success stories with a number of enterprises across different industries including key players such as Petronas, Pos Malaysia, Bank Islam, Carsome, Axiata, and Astro. This is crucial to showcase AWS’ capabilities not only to offer basic cloud services, but also to work closely with enterprises on their cloud-led digital transformation and help them address business challenges through a wide range of solutions.

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Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q4 2022 – Stronger Vertical Play, Wider Enterprise 5G Development

January 5, 2023January 26, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• Leading enterprise telcos, TM and Maxis, continued to build their capabilities with vertical solutions and enterprise 5G.

• While Celcom and Digi added various new capabilities in their enterprise ICT portfolio, the merger could slow down their growth momentum.

Malaysian telcos ended 2022 with several new initiatives in Q4 2022 after a slow development in the previous quarter (for more, please see Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q3 2022 – Slower Development but Steady Performance, October 31, 2022). Telcos continued to expand their vertical capabilities through collaborations with industry players. Besides this, 5G commercial availability and the Celcom-Digi merger will also accelerate the enterprise ICT development in the country, but it could also change the market landscape.

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ESG Watch – ASEAN 5G Q4 2022 Round-Up: Wider Industry Collaborations, Private Network, and Sustainability

January 3, 2023August 29, 2023 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• ASEAN telcos continue to expand their industry collaborations and private network launches to explore market opportunities and monetize their 5G investment.

• Some telcos have started considering 5G green technologies to reduce their carbon emissions and enhance their solution proposition with sustainability messaging.

In Q4 2022, Indonesian telcos are entering the next phase of the 5G development with wider industry collaborations whereas Malaysian carriers have finally launched their services but still focusing on consumers (for more, please see 5G is Finally Available in Malaysia, So What’s Next for Telcos?, December 7, 2022). Meanwhile, telcos in more advanced markets are shifting gears with more advanced initiatives including private 5G networks and ESG.

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5G is Finally Available in Malaysia, So What’s Next for Telcos?

December 7, 2022December 13, 2022 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• 5G is finally available in Malaysia but there is still a lack of innovations with the service providers.

• 5G monetization may not be critical, but telcos need to expand their initiatives with partners to explore new applications.

5G is Finally Available in Malaysia

Malaysia started its 5G journey as early as 2019, but the service was only widely available in the country in November 2022, after all major telcos except Maxis signed the Access Agreement (AA) with the sole wholesale provider Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). For more, please see Malaysia 5G Through SPV: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back, March 8, 2021 and 5G War Begins Again in Malaysia as Launch Nears, September 24, 2021. Those service launches were rather late compared to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Currently, Malaysian telcos are focused largely on offering 5G as part of their mobile plans for the mass market. There are limited initiatives with enterprises to leverage the technology to co-develop new solutions. However, with a fast-expanding population coverage from 33.2% in September 2022 to (planned) 80% by 2024, combined with a strong push by the government through various industry initiatives, enterprise 5G development in the country is expected to accelerate within the next two years.

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Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q3 2022 – Slower Development but Steady Performance

October 31, 2022November 2, 2022 by Alfie Amir, posted in IT Leader

Summary Bullets:

• Maxis and TM ONE recorded steady growth in the enterprise segments in the first half of the year.

• However, the performance is still below the overall industry growth. Telcos’ mind share is growing but there are still gaps in service capabilities.

The Malaysian enterprise telecom service market has developed rapidly in the last two years. Despite the delay in the 5G wholesale agreement and the Celcom-Digi merger, there were various new product launches, partnerships and acquisitions (see Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q2 2022 – Mixed Developments but Positive Overall Progress, August 11, 2022 and Malaysia Enterprise Telecom Update Q1 2022: Wider Industry Collaborations Despite Stagnant Growth in 2021, April 13, 2022). However, Q3 2022 was a rather quiet period for the local enterprise telecom service market, with no major initiatives announced by the providers. Thus, this update will discuss the top line performance in enterprise services of the major domestic telcos for H1 2022.

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