Big Data is
unstructured, high-volume, exabyte-scale data. It is generated every day in every single use of social media, every bit of meteorological movement, and every part of running a business. However, such vast amounts of unstructured data are not enough to learn from or suggest business ideas. It is the use of data analytics –
the systematic processing of big data and analysing it to extract useful, applicable and most importantly, relevant information - that allows big data to serve its best function.
Studies show the importance of
data literacy – turning data into insights – as it can boost enterprise value by up to half a billion US dollars. It’s no surprise, then, that the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL), targets to develop 30,000 data professionals by 2025.
Malaysia’s Big Data Analytics (BDA) marketis expected to grow from US$1.1 billion in 2021 to
US$1.9 billion by 2025. Malaysia is one of the few countries with a structured BDA roadmap to fully unlock the value of Big Data. The
National BDA Framework aims to create a national BDA ecosystem, making it a catalyst for further economic growth in all sectors. It strives to drive BDA demand in all sectors, activate the adoption and usage of BDA in the public sector, and build a robust BDA industry in Malaysia.
The National BDA Framework is projected to result in the following five outcomes:
- 30% increase in workplace productivity
- Stimulate growth in the ICT industry
- Allows the government to be more efficient, thereby saving costs
- 30% of Malaysians can reap the benefits of having a robust BDA industry
- Catalyst for innovations
To drive investments in this space, in May 2024, the Government launched the Malaysia Digital (MD) Tax Incentive, an outcome-based tax incentive offered to eligible MD companies proposing to undertake qualifying activities by leveraging promoted tech enablers, including BDA.
Over the last decade, data-driven investments have been largely concentrated around data centres in Malaysia. Since 2021, data centre investments have generated 3,693 jobs requiring specific expertise, including engineers, data scientists, Big Data analysts, cybersecurity engineers, and IT engineers. The direct impact includes the digital transformation of local companies. This, in turn, allows them to implement digital solutions and automation to improve operational efficiency, reduce business costs and increase competitiveness.
