Definition of Data

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Main Focus of Document

The document focuses on the intention to position Malaysia as a regional internet of things hub and to create a national internet of things ecosystem that will be a source of economic growth for the country.

Target Beneficiaries or Sector

general public, all sectors, Ministries, state governments, local authorities, government agencies

Key Elements

Malaysia's National Internet of Things Strategic Roadmap aims to create a national ecosystem to enable the use and industrialisation of IoT as a new source of economic growth. This is to be achieved by developing and sustaining a globally competitive IoT industry with capabilities, innovations and values beyond those of regional competitors; enabling strategic collaborations and sustaining productive partnerships; facilitating the industry in developing and deploying cost-effective IoT technologies; attracting, developing and retaining leading edge skills in IoT technologies and elevating SMEs in the IoT space; and strengthening the industry's capacity to sustain robust economic performance. 

The Roadmap has three strategic goals.
Goal 1: To create a conducive IoT industry ecosystem to foster the development, diffusion and adoption of IoT technologies. Strategies to achieve this include:
- Formulate an interoperability framework to harmonise standards and technology that enable rapid development and deployment of IoT.
- Create a centralised regulatory and certification body to address privacy, security and standardisation concerns. 
- Establish strategic collaborations between multinational corporations and local firms to foster the development, diffusion and adoption of IoT technologies. 

Goal 2: To strengthen technopreneur capabilities in the applications and services layer and foster the generation of globally competitive IoT products and services to further strengthen Malaysia's position in the IoT industry. Strategies to achieve this include:
- Helping SMEs to act as IoT enablers.
- Supporting the industry to develop generic solutions, introduce flagship projects to nurture startups and SMEs, and nuture IoT talents. 

Goal 3: To establish Malaysia as the regional development hub for IoT. Strategies to achieve this include:
- Positioning Malaysia as the preferred location for IoT outsourcing services.
- Building an integrated centre for IoT solutions.
- Leveraging the local market as a demonstrator of cutting-edge IoT technologies.
- Positioning Malaysia as a showcase country for IoT. 

The Roadmap envisages IoT as a transformative and pervasive driver of change and improvement by potentially adding new dimensions to industry in the following ways:
(a) Testing facilities for interoperability, standards compliance and export-related testing.
(b) Software development standardisation to address standard silos and facilitate the creation of niche applications and services.
(c) System integration services to produce experts from entrepreneurs through interaction with various stakeholders in the ecosystem.

The immediate implementation plans focus on two areas: (1) Alignment with the Digital Lifestyle Malaysia Initiaive and (2) transformational steps for the development of IoT as an industry. Emphasis is placed in the Roadmap on addressing the concerns of SMEs through financial risk mitigation and incentives (e.g. tax rebates or tax incentives to motivate SMEs to use IoT to enhance competitiveness and efficiency, a special fund to finance IoT adoption by SMEs), awareness campaigns and programmes, linkages and collaborations across the innovation ecosystem (industry players, academia, research institutions through a tripartite coalition, and startup accelerators. Three key strategies are proposed to create a vibrant and sustainable IoT ecosystem in Malaysia. The first strategy involves the formation of IoT Malaysia, set up as a government-industry partnership and driven by ICT industry associations, to establish a Community of Practice for IoT in the country. IoT Malaysia will serve as Malaysia's Centre of Excellence for IoT and provide an industry database, serve as a platform for gathering the industry's technological requirements, establish a centre for IoT shared services (including a regional and inter-regional interoperability testing laboratory, export compliance testing laboratory, product customisation centre and incubation centre for startups and small enterprises), act as a nucleus for IoT talent development (to help develop more IoT professionals graduating from institutes of higher learning), and serve as a bureau for the development of the IoT industry. The second strategic action is to establish an Open Innovation Framework to serve as a common platform or 'sandbox' for the IoT industry in order to aid the harmonisation of IoT-related technologies and standards. This is intended to provide a common technology platform for the development of innovative applications and services and for cross-industry participation. The third key strategy involves the Open Community Data Framework to provide a secure environment for opening up access to public data for use by the IoT industry with the intention of expanding applications of IoT, particularly for SMEs. In practical terms, this involves the establishment of an Open Community Data definition, setting up a Data Aggregator System (to alleviate concerns about data security, privacy and traceability) and managing the commercial aspect of data. 

Policy/Regulation Mirrors

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