KUALA LUMPUR – AwanBiru Technology Bhd (Awantec) chief executive Abu Hasan Ismail has been named a candidate to lead the joint secretariat overseeing the roll-out of the government’s digital initiatives, sources told The Vibes.
They said four names were presented to the Economic Affairs Ministry, with the other three being technocrats serving in various government agencies, to head the Strategic Change Management Office (SCMO).
SCMO is the joint secretariat tasked with rolling out change management programmes as a way to drive and increase acceptance of digitalisation across all levels.
It will also be a company limited by guarantee governed by the Ministry of Finance Inc.
Awantech could not be reached for comment, while the Finance Ministry and Economic Planning Unit said they do not comment on speculation.
Insiders said the nomination could lead to concerns of conflict, given that Awantec’s subsidiary, Prestariang Systems Sdn Bhd, has been appointed as a managed service provider to handle cloud services for the government.
Other local companies appointed to manage services by cloud service providers (CSPs) are Enfrasys Solutions Sdn Bhd and Cloud Connect Sdn Bhd.
The CSPs are Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Telekom Malaysia Bhd, which have received conditional approvals from the government.
As part of its Cloud First strategy under the MyDigital blueprint, Putrajaya is aiming for the migration of 80% of public data into the hybrid cloud system by end of next year, which is expected to translate into lower government cost in IT management, and better efficiency in the collection and management of data. – The Vibes, February 26, 2021