KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 14 April 2017 – Global markets are being disrupted by an accelerating pace of innovation in the digital world. Digital transformation has entered an era of unprecedented change for enterprises necessitating a fundamental shift across processes, functions, customer engagement and many other aspects of business. Today, more than ever before, it has become imperative for organizations to implement concrete strategies around digital transformation.
Continuing the journey to visionary innovation, Manoj Menon, Senior Partner & Asia Pacific Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan presented a thought provoking keynote session on Digital Transformation – Business and Social Impact.
“Digital transformation is deeply impacting our businesses and our society. The digitization of data helps make things more efficient by saving on paperwork, manpower and time, where multiple things are now in reach at the click of a button. While digitization is creating great value for society; collaboration between businesses, regulators and policy-makers to maximize value for business and wider society will be imperative,” said Manoj.
Simultaneously, economic downturns and the perception of crisis have fuelled mass support for protectionist policies, as evidenced by Brexit and Donald Trump’s election, adversely affecting businesses. In an interactive think tank moderated by Rhenu Bhuller, Partner & Senior Vice President, Frost & Sullivan and Shivaji Das, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Public Sector and Government, Frost & Sullivan, participants identified looming threats to Malaysian businesses caused by these policies and brainstorm strategies to negate it.
This was followed by a presentation by Hazmi Yusof, Senior Vice President & Malaysia Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan on Smart Cities and a panel discussion on Malaysian Smart Cities and its Potential Business Opportunities. Panelists for this session included Dato’ Faris Yahaya, Managing Director of Cyberview, YM Raja Shahreen Bin YM Raja Othman, CEO of Menteri Besar Selangor Inc., and Safuan Yusof, Director of Urban Observatory for Iskandar Regional Development Authority.
Frost & Sullivan’s key analysts also took the participants on a Tour of Disruptive Innovation, sharing their latest research findings. Topics presented included:
- Strategic Outlook for Automotive Markets – The Way Forward for 2017
- The Next Wave of Innovation in Energy
- Crowdsourcing
- Knowledge-as-a-Service (KAAS)
- Transformational Healthcare Perspectives
The second half of the event was focused on Business Models of the Future. “Companies today need to evolve and adapt to the changing Malaysian business landscape in the wake of digital transformation. Malaysia’s 2017 budget has placed a strong emphasis on the digital economy, a step towards achieving Malaysia’s vision of a fully connected digital economy,” said Manoj.
Malaysia is currently one of the largest e-Commerce markets in Southeast Asia with estimated revenues of US$2.6 billion in 2016, thanks to the astounding rate of digital adoption in the region. E-Commerce in Malaysia, however, has a long way to go as its penetration is only 1% to 2% as compared to 7% to 8% in advanced countries.
In the panel discussion, Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age, panelists discussed the challenges of current standards and infrastructure for e-Commerce in Malaysia as well as the future of e-Commerce in Malaysia. Featured panelists included Joel Tay, Chief Business Officer of Soft Space, Goh Chee Hau, Managing Director of The Lorry, Jesrina Arshad, Co-Founder & CEO of PurelyB, and Karl Loo, CEO of ServisHero.
The highlight of the conference was the Visionary Perspectives panel discussion where industry thought leaders spoke on Innovating to Zero. Michael Kuehner, CEO & Executive Director for Celcom Axiata Berhad, YBhg. Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, Group CEO of Pos Malaysia Berhad, and Sean Goh, Country Head for Grab Malaysia shared thoughts on how digitalization is driving new business models and disrupting industries forcing companies to shift focus and develop products and technologies that ‘Innovate to Zero’. The ‘Innovate to Zero’ concept as a business framework helps to reduce waste and cost while preserving or even improving value to consumers.
Asia Research News and Business Today were media partners for the event.
In its tenth year, Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Innovation and Leadership (GIL) 2017: Malaysia congress took place on 13th April 2017 at Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact Us: Start the discussion
Media Contact
Carrie Low
Corporate Communications – Asia-Pacific
Phone: +603.6204.5910
Email: carrie.low@frost.com
