[VIDEO] Breaking Down the Issues: M’sian companies need to prioritise digital transformation, say experts

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian businesses are encouraged to take the initiative in upgrading to digital workflow before they are forced to, say experts in the industry. 

“Malaysian companies, on the whole being very reliant on evolving naturally, are not ready for this pandemic,” said Datuk Ariff Farhan Doss, COO of HRD Corp, in a recent interview. 

“Companies that did very well in the past two years are those that started digitising their work processes way before the pandemic and borrowed very heavily from digital processes in their parent companies overseas.” 

With easy access to technology that can make business more efficient, it’s more important than ever for companies to take advantage of such technology. 

“There’s already a big gap between the haves and the have-nots. We have to make a conscious effort to ensure that digitisation becomes a priority for all companies or those who don’t will be left behind.”

The trouble is, much of this digital upgrading requires businesses to upfront the costs, which many cannot afford to do. Ariff points to micro-SMEs especially, who have struggled to digitise. 

He feels that financial and knowledge-building intervention from government and agencies like HRD Corp are an important step in getting smaller businesses to embrace technology. 

Tricia Yeoh, CEO of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, has been studying the Malaysian business response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns. 

She feels that the past two years have hit home the reality that businesses need to change the way they operate. 

“It’s embracing technology into everything operational. Perhaps at the frontend, that’s something that businesses have needed to speed on quite quickly with, but at the backend, the operational systems like admin and payroll – are they run efficiently, using tech as a support system?” 

She added that it is not just hard infrastructure, like 5G, factory automation, and software updates that we need. 

“It’s also important that the workforce is equipped with skills such as digital marketing,” said Yeoh.

“When you have thousands and thousands of small shops popping up on platforms like Shopee and Lazada, how do you compete? It’s all about digital marketing; can they optimise SEO, for example? Do they know how to do that?”

In the end, though, she suggested that whether Malaysia is able to use technology and automation to escape the middle-income trap is not just down to the government. 

“The government does provide some incentives and grants for companies that want to upgrade themselves through automation but in order to qualify for the grant, the company needs to do some basic preparation work, and that involves some costs.

“So, sometimes it’s really about a cultural mindset and a cultural shift as to whether they are willing to put in that initial investment in order to reap the benefits in the future.” 

For more insight on Malaysia’s digital evolution and the future of work, watch the video below. 

This is the latest episode of Breaking Down the Issues, brought to you by the Sekhar Institute, The Vibes and the Good Capitalism Forum

Let us know what you think by commenting or emailing us at [email protected]. – The Vibes, February 20, 2022