Internet of Things (IoT) has become a popular buzzword in the industry as of late and naturally, our government has now taken an interest in it. It believes that IoT will be able to provide plenty of benefits and opportunities for the country in many ways; which is a good reason that the development of National IoT Blueprint is now underway.
According to the definition as stated by MIMOS, the National IoT Blueprint will apparently “set the strategic direction for the establishment of a synergized innovation ecosystem that can create sustainable streams of IoT innovations”. In other words, the blueprint’s role is to provide a good foundation for IoT to grow in Malaysia while at the same time allowing the country to benefit from it whether in terms of academia, innovation, economy, and social.
The National IoT Blueprint will also be part of the government’s Science To Action (S2A) initiative that was launched last year in order to help the country to continue growing beyond 2020 through science and technology. It is also expected to complement other existing national-level initiatives such as Digital Malaysia, Government Transformation Programme, and the Economic Transformation Programme.
The blueprint is also expected to help Malaysia becomes an IoT-friendly country that might be able to attract companies and experts from all over the world to participate in Malaysia’s IoT ecosystem. To kick start the process, MIMOS today has hosted the first ever IoT Technical Working Group workshop that will help to shape the development of National IoT Blueprint by using the know-hows, experience, and ideas from various key tech companies and government agencies that participated in the workshop.
These organizations include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Texas Instruments, Kontron AG, Frost & Sullivan, Celcom Axiata, National Heart Institute, Aquagrow, KUB-Berjaya Enviro, Geob International, the Economic Planning Unit of Prime Minister’s Department, and (of course) the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Even though the National IoT Blueprint is still in its infancy and will only be presented to government later this year in October, the amount of parties involved in the workshop showed that there are already a lot of interest in IoT within Malaysia’s ICT industry. After all, the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Professor Emeritus Dato’ Sri Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid has pointed out that IoT is expected to provide the country RM 1.7 billion in terms of gross national income alongside 14,720 new jobs by 2020 which is just one of the reasons exactly why many within the industry believes that IoT will have a huge impact on Malaysia.
However, Dr. Zakri also stated that “putting our act together” is the key to make this initiative (and tons of others) a success. So, let’s see that takes place first before IoT can make things happen for Malaysia.
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