Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Google Cloud and AwanBiru Technology Berhad (Awantec), a technology and talent management company have signed a new Cloud Framework Agreement (CFA) in an official ceremony hosted by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Ismail Sabri, to accelerate public sector innovation and the delivery of digital citizen-centric services.
The CFA reinforces Google Cloud’s commitment to supporting the Malaysian Government’s MyDIGITAL blueprint which aims to bridge the digital divide and grow the country’s digital economy. Terms of the agreement will also see Malaysia’s public sector gain access to Google Cloud’s cloud infrastructure, data warehouse, data security, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and application modernisation capabilities, in addition to privacy and compliance controls, Carbon Sense Suite and other cloud-native tools.
Such services can be accessed in any of Google Cloud’s 88 availability zones in 29 geographic regions across the world, as well as its 146 network edge locations.
Sherie Ng, country director of Singapore and Malaysia at Google Cloud, said that more than 8 in 10 online consumers in Malaysia are now using digital services, due to a permanent shift that’s been brought about by the pandemic.
“MAMPU, through its strategic and forward-looking cloud-first policy, is marshaling the advanced cloud technology infrastructure, tools, applications and talent to significantly accelerate the development of next-generation citizen-centric services – to meet the expectations of the rakyat for digitalised public sector interactions and experiences matching that of the digital native businesses they frequently interact with,” Ng said.
“Having signed this CFA with the Malaysian Government, we look forward to playing an active role in bringing the next phase of its MyDIGITAL blueprint to life. By offering government agencies easier access to flexible, scalable, secure and sustainable cloud infrastructure and services, we aim to help them realize new possibilities in public service delivery to serve the rakyat – be it in education, healthcare, transport, or financial inclusion, etc. – and contribute to the vision of establishing Malaysia as a regional digital economic powerhouse by 2030,” Ng added.
As per the agreement, managed service provider (MSP) Awantec will offer technology consulting and digital skilling programs to public sector agencies, such as conducting user research, supporting rapid prototyping using Google Cloud tools, and driving best practices for cloud implementations at scale.
On the company’s partnership with Google Cloud, Rezal Rahman, CEO of Awantec, commented, “Being a technology and talent digitalization enabler in Malaysia, Awantec is proud to be Google Cloud’s local partner and are jointly committed to empowering Malaysia’s public sector to innovate and deliver critical new citizen-centric services at scale, as Google Cloud is an established leader in enabling organizations of all sizes to securely and transparently convert massive datasets into intelligence and insights.
“With two decades of experience delivering technology solutions and skilling programs to the Government, our joint business relationship is also positively reflected in recent project wins, Rahman added.
Prior to the CFA, Google Cloud and Awantec entered into an agreement with Malaysia’s Ministry of Education in July 2021 to provide Google Workspace to public schools, seeking to boost staff productivity and elevate students’ learning experience while keeping their work, identities, and privacy safe through security controls.
In addition, Google Cloud has been gaining mindshare and market share with large enterprises across various sectors in Malaysia, especially those operating in regulated industries.
