In 2023, digital transformation will increasingly be utilised by enterprises in their drive towards sustainability, with digitalisation identified as the key to achieving a better tomorrow.
WITH the rapid rise of conversations around ensuring sustainability for a better world, digital transformation is taking centre stage in shifting the needle in the adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles within enterprises and the public sector.
Survey findings released by global industrial technology leader ABB Ltd, for instance, reveal that 72% of respondents are citing sustainability as the reason for increased digital technology spend, with 96% of decision-makers saying that digitalisation is essential to sustainability.
Against this backdrop, the acceleration of digital transformation – be it artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), cloud computing, blockchain, or super-fast network protocols like 5G – is also continuing.
Communication technology is not only anchoring, but also amplifying innovation across various sectors such as healthcare and education, as well as enabling the creation of smart cities and smart industries, alongside increased protection and restoration of the environment.
Elevating healthcare
Building on the evolving role of digitalisation during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – where the industry started virtual consultations or telehealth, remote patient monitoring and inventory management devices – technology will enable healthcare providers to further improve the quality of patient care at a lower cost, while boosting operational efficiency.
The advancement of communication networks can offer significant computational abilities to operate virtual systems, boost cloud deployment and strengthen integration of IoT devices across medical facilities.
These can also support critical processes, including robotic or remote surgery, patient monitoring, contact tracing, diagnostic imaging tests, emergency medical services, as well as robot-assisted tele-ultrasound, among others.
TM One, for instance, is enabling Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH) with its Smart Patient Suite solution – a part of its Smart Healthcare – to improve patient experience. The solution, which leverages IoT technology to transform patient rooms into smart patient suites, brings about a more meaningful doctor-patient engagement.
AI and wearables, on the other hand, can provide patients with a comfortable ambiance, in addition to paving the way for data-driven decisions based on real-time analytics for the monitoring and tracking of patient health and medication adherence. In turn, predictive and preventative intervention is made possible.
Revolutionising education
With Malaysia seeking to transform its education system, digitalisation serves as a catalyst that further enhances possibilities in exploring distance learning, VR/AR and media-rich curriculum approaches to support learning, teaching and logistics.
In the near future, moreover, education will enter another dimension with the metaverse anticipated to bring revolutionary changes to the entire digital ecosystem.
The synchronisation between various technologies means that on one hand, students can benefit not only from the integration of student portals and commonly used platforms within the larger educational ecosystem, but also receive personalised education, engage with peers and access immersive learning experiences using VR/AR in real-time.
On the other, educational institutions can nurture collaborative spaces by moving all curricula to digital platforms for improved interaction between teachers and students, as well as increased collaboration among peers.
University Sultan Azlan Shah, for example, has turned to TM One’s Moodle in Cloud solution as a strategic step to ensure that students can continue learning during pandemic-related disruptions and to enrich the classroom experience.
Added to this is how cutting-edge technology can be a great tool to aid the flipped classroom model, which advocates blended learning that requires students to complete classwork at home and participate in hands-on activities in the classroom, effectively enhancing engagement and enabling an active learning environment.
Evolving agriculture
Food security is of increasing concern for Malaysia, especially considering the global context. The world will have to produce 70% more food to accommodate the growing population by 2050, but agriculture’s share of the global gross domestic product has shrunk to a mere 3% – one third of its contribution just decades ago.
Roughly 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger. And under a business-as-usual scenario, 8% of the world’s 650 million population will still be undernourished by 2030.
Agriculture 4.0 will address the four main developments placing pressure on agriculture in meeting future demands, namely: demographics, the scarcity of natural resources, climate change and food waste.
Farms and agricultural operations will increasingly use advanced devices and precision agriculture systems, such as IoT in the form of temperature and moisture sensors or drones, GPS, robotics and more, to boost profitability, efficiency and safety with regard to the environment.
For one, sensors or drones, alongside other connected machinery, collect data on soil conditions and weather forecasts that can then be channelled into real-time AI learning machines to enable data insights for optimal efficiency.
TM One, through its smart agriculture solutions, offers agricultural entrepreneurs ready-made and customisable solutions to facilitate adoption, speed up time-to-value, as well as simplify execution and maintenance.
Its smart farming solutions, a collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, combine IoT systems for farm monitoring and management, fertigation farm control and monitoring with a smart agriculture platform monitoring dashboard.
Creating smart cities and industriesThe need for liveable, sustainable and smart cities has never been greater. By 2050, 66% of the world’s population is projected to live in cities, up from 54% today.
Utilising current and emerging technologies, smart cities are an emerging trend with an eye on sustainability, aimed at increasing city-wide operational and service efficiency, improving the productivity of economic activities and providing service improvements to citizens.Robust digital infrastructure is leveraged to enable open, city-wide databases and platforms that translate IoT data into big data analytics in the interests of creating the cities of tomorrow: Safe, clean and green, with adequate infrastructure and basic services.
TM One champions the smart cities digital transformation journey which covers, among many other aspects:
> Smart traffic lights: Lights that respond to real-time data collected by connected cameras and sensors to enable smarter traffic control, save travel time and allow local authorities to be notified of traffic light damages in real-time. These have already been implemented in Kelantan, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Johor.
> Smart traffic monitoring: A connected monitoring system that enables the transmission of large volumes of sensor data and offers insights on crowd flow, fleet, system management and so on.
> Public autopilot transport: autopilot buses use cloud control platforms for parking, pickup and charging.
> Drone surveillance: drones equipped with cameras help patrol premises.> Tracking system for postal service: more precise tracking for drivers and packages.
> Data centres that run on TNB’s Green Electricity Tariff: accelerating industries’ sustainability journey through data centres with reduced carbon emissions, aligning with the country’s aspiration for net-zero Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050
> Malaysia’s Smart City Framework (MSCF) aims to drive socio-economic status towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, mainly when it comes to the reduction of carbon emissions, investments in renewable energy, energy management and rising economic competitiveness.
A work-in-progress is Ipoh City Council, which envisions becoming a smart and green city by 2030 through its action plan that targets seven domains, including smart living, smart environment, smart governance, smart people, smart digital infrastructure, smart economy and smart mobility.
TM One’s smart traffic light with AI traffic optimisation features in Ipoh, as a case in point, adjusts the green light duration based on real-time congestion and a centralised single monitoring platform.
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), on the other hand, leveraged AI and smart services to set up smart security and surveillance systems in 25 localities nationwide. This has enabled local authorities to ensure the safety of the population, reduce crime rates, and enable assistance to be delivered more quickly during emergencies.
Under its smart industry thrust, TM One has facilitated UMW’s digital transformation journey by introducing fiberisation and connectivity at UMW’s high value manufacturing park, upgrading its information technology infrastructure and services to optimise data centres and efficiency in managing data, improve scalability, as well as offer better cost management.
It is also a strategic partner in UMW’s journey into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, helping establish innovative, smart and end-to-end digital solutions via a smart manufacturing IoT software platform with real-time remote access. The need for liveable, sustainable and smart cities has never been greater. By 2050, 66% of the world’s population is projected to live in cities, up from 54% today.
Utilising current and emerging technologies, smart cities are an emerging trend with an eye on sustainability, aimed at increasing city-wide operational and service efficiency, improving the productivity of economic activities and providing service improvements to citizens.
Robust digital infrastructure is leveraged to enable open, city-wide databases and platforms that translate IoT data into big data analytics in the interests of creating the cities of tomorrow: Safe, clean and green, with adequate infrastructure and basic services.
TM One champions the smart cities digital transformation journey which covers, among many other aspects:
> Smart traffic lights: Lights that respond to real-time data collected by connected cameras and sensors to enable smarter traffic control, save travel time and allow local authorities to be notified of traffic light damages in real-time. These have already been implemented in Kelantan, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Johor.
> Smart traffic monitoring: A connected monitoring system that enables the transmission of large volumes of sensor data and offers insights on crowd flow, fleet, system management and so on.
> Public autopilot transport: autopilot buses use cloud control platforms for parking, pickup and charging.
> Drone surveillance: drones equipped with cameras help patrol premises.
> Tracking system for postal service: more precise tracking for drivers and packages.
> Data centres that run on TNB’s Green Electricity Tariff: accelerating industries’ sustainability journey through data centres with reduced carbon emissions, aligning with the country’s aspiration for net-zero Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050
> Malaysia’s Smart City Framework (MSCF) aims to drive socio-economic status towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, mainly when it comes to the reduction of carbon emissions, investments in renewable energy, energy management and rising economic competitiveness.
A work-in-progress is Ipoh City Council, which envisions becoming a smart and green city by 2030 through its action plan that targets seven domains, including smart living, smart environment, smart governance, smart people, smart digital infrastructure, smart economy and smart mobility.
TM One’s smart traffic light with AI traffic optimisation features in Ipoh, as a case in point, adjusts the green light duration based on real-time congestion and a centralised single monitoring platform.
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), on the other hand, leveraged AI and smart services to set up smart security and surveillance systems in 25 localities nationwide. This has enabled local authorities to ensure the safety of the population, reduce crime rates, and enable assistance to be delivered more quickly during emergencies.
Under its smart industry thrust, TM One has facilitated UMW’s digital transformation journey by introducing fiberisation and connectivity at UMW’s high value manufacturing park, upgrading its information technology infrastructure and services to optimise data centres and efficiency in managing data, improve scalability, as well as offer better cost management.
It is also a strategic partner in UMW’s journey into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, helping establish innovative, smart and end-to-end digital solutions via a smart manufacturing IoT software platform with real-time remote access.
