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As digital technology and connectivity evolve, Indonesia, which is well known for having the world’s fastest growth in internet users, faces both huge opportunities and major risks. The nation has been on a digital transformation journey for some time and has made major strides in policy, infrastructure and programmes.
The pandemic has accelerated these plans and forced a rethink of strategies. Nonetheless, the public sector has done a credible job in going digital to continue citizen services and operation in a VUCA environment and in the face of ever-changing citizen expectations.
Part of the digital transformation that the Indonesian public sector has successfully implemented is the modern and remote workplace. Access to the latest technology and collaborative tools has helped public sector officials maintain their work productivity while ensuring optimal resource utilisation.
While the government has quickly adapted and come to terms with the new reality of remote working, there are numerous challenges that governments across the world face. Paradigm shifts in culture and thinking, policy, safety, infrastructure and skillsets are a few areas that need attention.
Additionally, the government must build a solid cyber security system to ensure that its digital infrastructure is secure, especially as machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing advancement continue to make these agencies more vulnerable to a range of cyber-attacks. The mounting security concerns require the implementation of an appropriate security plan that is both realistic and cost-effective eventually.
The focus of OpenGovLive! Virtual Breakfast Insight on 17 November 2021 was on how a secure infrastructure within the public sector can be built for a digital and remote workforce. The was a closed-door, invitation-only, interactive session with senior digital executives from the Indonesian public sector.
Remote working as the mainstay of businesses, agencies, and organisations

Mohit Sagar, Group Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, OpenGov Asia, kicked off the session with his opening address.
Remote working is here to stay and there is no escaping it, Mohit asserts. “The world has been forced to adapt to the new reality.”
Virtual culture has taken centre stage in the past two years of living with a pandemic and there is no turning back. What is pertinent for both the private and public sector is how they view technology. “Will technology be seen as an enabler or as a hindrance?”
As organisations find their footing in this new normal, the benefits of remote working should be acknowledged and harnessed. Working remotely can increase productivity, engagement and collaboration more effectively than in typical offices. However, with employees working from home on their devices, how can the security risks be mitigated?
For Mohit, that is a problem that can be resolved but should not be the reason to prevent the embracing of remote working. Security, like all other endeavours, is a risk. Risks come with every decision that is made because nothing is 100% certain, there is always an element of the unknown.
He urged delegates to not “hide behind security” as the reason not to modernise. Precisely because it is inevitable, organisations need to “understand it and plan for it.”
Developing a virtual culture is no longer an option but a necessity that entails intentional thought in several key areas:
- Building team communication and working relationships
- Emphasising the importance of employee contribution to a strong team culture to business success
- Encouraging collaboration
- Scheduling regular catchups and informal meetings
- Asking people to create meeting content with a clear agenda and context
Governments around the world are adopting quickly to a remote working model. The aspects to consider include strategising ways to increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction and culture, harnessing more possibilities for continuous learning, fostering better collaboration and work relationships and improved mental health.
Hybrid is the future, Mohit believes, and the focus should be on what plans and technology are needed for the secure development of a hybrid workplace. To be effective strategy and platforms must have constructive synergy.
Mohit advises delegates to work with partners and is firmly convinced that the transformation need not be done alone. Partners bring a wealth of expertise and experience that will make the journey far easier to manage and navigate.
Staying secure in the “new normal” of remote working

Garry Ng, Asia-Pacific Director, Lenovo, elaborated on Lenovo’s secure solutions for remote workforces.
“Cybersecurity is harder than ever,” Garry opines. “With a wide cyber surface and more access points, the exposure is magnified. Attacks have been on the rise year on year.”
Government institutions are common targets because of the sheer amount of data they collect and store, the vast and diverse networks they maintain and the massive employee base.
By the very nature of the service they offer and the history they need to have of citizens, they have complex, linked personal data sets – a goldmine for cybercriminals. Further, the distributed workforce and the variety of devices that end-users utilise to access services and digital offerings, make security even more difficult to manage.
Attacks are so fast, so often and so sophisticated that most are never even noticed by IT departments until they are long done.
Garry feels that a distributed and remote workforce is fast becoming the norm. Since 2020, many people started working from home and it seems unlikely that returning to the office full-time will happen. With a VUCA future, many businesses will retain the current status quo, having only necessary employees in the office or using some version of a rotating workforce.
With this remote working situation, organisations have to (and had to) provide devices for their staff. However, each of these devices could be vulnerable to attacks. That is the single most difficult thing to trace, he says.
IT departments are losing control of the devices because there is no clarity on where devices are actually being deployed or used. They have no idea if data is being downloaded from devices. Do organisations know if /when devices are lost, attacked or compromised?
“Against that backdrop, how can organisations protect their employees outside of a safe (office) infrastructure? How can organisations manage devices and networks, patch them and make sure they are secure?” he asks.
For Garry, a robust plan to manage and secure devices outside the office is the key. This includes:
- Endpoint security
- Device and application control
- Device management
- Data protection in case of theft/loss
- Mobile threat detection – across both mobile and PC devices

With the fundamental shifts in IT structure from perimeter-based network to perimeter-less network, the attack surface has also changed from having every in-network device that links with the outside world to having every endpoint at unknown networks and devices. Consequently, the security focus has changed from filtering, monitoring and restricting network inflow and outflow, to protecting, managing and servicing every endpoint.
The problem has changed, especially for the government, he believes. Cybercriminals know that both risk and reward are high when it comes to governmental institutions. They will attack the most well-known, hard to protect vulnerabilities in the system – parts and pieces that have not even entered the system yet – and inject themselves as “amicable” parts of the system (such as firmware, BIOS, HW, OS, common applications, etc.).
What is clear is that this shift from a closed-protect network to an open-distributed network has happened and is expected to only accelerate in the future. As such, cybersecurity solution needs to be applied to the entire lifecycle of every piece of the system.
Garry acknowledges remote work is here to stay and that organisations need to be committed to tackling the challenges of security in this new model. He reiterated that the solution is not one-size-fits-all because every organisation is different. There is, therefore, a need to tailor-make or, at the very least, tweak solutions for each organisation.
Lenovo’s end-to-end security offers OS-to-Cloud security, below-the-OS security and supply chain security that can provide safety for organisations pivoting to the new reality of work.
Pivoting to remote working as the “new normal”

Setiaji, Chief of Digital Transformation Officer, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, spoke next on strategies Indonesia’s public sector have taken when implementing remote working.
“We are faced with the new normal,” Setiaji concedes. “With employees working away from the office, the nature of activities that employees engage in has also changed – remote Access, Video Conference, Digital Signature, Office Online Tools, Emails, Voice Calls.”
Work-from-home or remote working means managing the accompanying issues of data security, connectivity, digital literacy and deploying effective working tools. The trend towards greater digital dependency will only rise, he contends. As it stands, there are more than 170M internet users currently and they are only set to grow.
What is concerning, is that the more than 811 million cyber-attacks that took place between January to August this year alone – the most being malware, trojans and information leaks.
He acknowledged that these challenges in security ought to be confronted, not swept away or trivialised. Against that backdrop, what should organisations be doing?
For Setiaji, the key is to adopt collaborative tools so that employees will be able to work from home anytime, anywhere, from any device over a web browser. They must also be more efficiently supported and better secured.
In the end, in an increasingly digital landscape, technology is here to stay and will be foundational to any strategy. Organisations need to embrace technology to survive, thrive and stay relevant.
Interactive Discussion
After the informative presentations, delegates participated in interactive discussions facilitated by polling questions. This activity is designed to provide live-audience interaction, promote engagement, hear real-life experiences, and facilitate discussions that impart professional learning and development for participants.
In the first poll, delegates were asked about challenges they face when the remote work concept was initiated in their ministry or department. Most delegates (40%) expressed that a lack of focus and productivity was an issue followed by security (30%) and poor communication (20%).
Delegates expressed concern about work culture and productivity as it is difficult to know what employees are doing.
Mohit agrees that this was an initial challenge but, for the most part, has been overcome using the tools available in the market. Combined with solid SOPs, appropriate accountability measures and performance metrics, these early setbacks were laid to rest.
“The rest of the world is using the pandemic as a catalyst for change,” Mohit observes. “The private sector has pivoted and government institutions need to follow; if not, their employees will begin to work for people who will give them what they want.”
When asked which virtual working method their ministry is planning to implement after this pandemic to embrace digital transformation in remote working, an overwhelming majority of the delegates voted in favour of a hybrid working model (74%). The rest of the delegates indicated a physical working model (26%).
Mohit believes that the minority who want to move back to a physical space may well get what they want because that is the easier, more familiar model. Organisations may want to hide behind the excuse of “security”’ to bring back the old, but that is not forward-thinking, he contends.
“Moving backwards is easy, but the future is not behind us; the future is ahead.”
Some organisations are at a crossroads, looking to make a hybrid work sustainable – and this is an inevitable journey, Mohit assures the delegates. If there is good productivity in the current model of hybrid work, it is important to leverage that. If safety is an issue, then work with partners that can help to keep data secure.
Concerning nervousness around security, Garry points out that it is a fine balance between the security organisations want to have and productivity. The moment it frustrates and affects productivity, it becomes a problem, he firmly believes.
The world is in the thick of the digital revolution, says Mohit. People can work from anywhere anytime. We only need to change the culture and the perspective. It is much the same as cloud adoption; people eventually overcame their initial nervousness and is now a preferred option.
“Like there are the options of private cloud, public cloud and multi-hybrid cloud, organisations need to move into a ‘multi-hybrid work capability’,” Mohit is convinced.
The next poll asked delegates to indicate challenges they face in managing the data on the cloud in the context of employees working remotely. A huge majority indicated that control or governance is the main challenge (73%). The rest of the votes were split between lack of expertise (11%), multiple cloud management (11%) and cost management (5%).
When asked about the importance of cybersecurity practices in remote workspaces, most delegates indicated that it is extremely important (81%) followed by important (19%).
Mohit emphasised that cybersecurity is an outside defence perimeter that is a “must-have,” just as “cloud is a must-have.” The key to managing this inevitable future is to pre-empt it with good policy and governance.
On whether delegates have a solid cyber security system to ensure that the digital infrastructure is secure, most delegates indicated that their ministry has a moderate security system (53%), followed by delegates who felt that their ministry has a solid cybersecurity system (43%).
A delegate pointed out that cyber threat is always evolving. The question of security is a conversation that never ends. The best thing to do is to constantly monitor, test fresh solutions, review and employ innovative technologies.
The final poll inquired what delegates thought is the step to be taken to keep the focus on cybersecurity while working remotely. Most delegates (42%) felt installing and updating anti-virus was key, followed by avoiding clicking on suspicious links (36%). The remaining delegates were split between others (11%) and keeping work and home devices separate (11%).
Mohit opined that cybersecurity is about doing all the above; it is much bigger than can be imagined – people have to do everything.
Conclusion
Wrapping up the session, Garry emphasised the importance of recognising the new challenges in remote working. The drive towards the next digital wave must be done securely and cost-effectively in a flexible digital environment.
He encouraged delegates to consider the cost of compromise when it came to adopting technologies to cope with the future of work.
Before bringing the session to an end, Garry thanked everyone for their participation and the robust discussions. He encouraged the delegates to keep the conversations about data security alive and to connect with him and the team if they would like to explore how Lenovo could help in their journey.

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Marsdya TNI Donny Ermawan Taufanto, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense formally inaugurated the ongoing 2022 Defense Research and Development Week with the theme “Research, Development, and Innovation of Defense Technology in Realising the Independence of Defense Equipment Tools.”
The Secretary-General urged all citizens to love, appreciate, and be proud of the innovations created by the nation’s youth. He cited that the activities have an important role in publication and scientific information to understand and produce the best solutions in the form of constructive and innovative suggestions for R & D development in the defence sector.
The activity was organised by Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense – Research and Development Agency in the form of an exhibition that displays defence equipment resulting from research and development of universities, R & D agencies, and domestic industries.
On the other hand, the Secretary-General acknowledged the exhibits of the innovative defence types of equipment, and his attention was focused on the Moto EV, a two-wheeled vehicle with an electric engine. The Moto EV is perfect for silent operation because the noise level has been minimised.
Also, the activity exhibited innovative creations in the IT sector like the Pasupati, a Pindad Simulation Product of Virtual Reality, which is a technology for digitally simulating shooting activities using weapon products.
Using VR principles, users will be invited to interact with the virtual world environment using the console, as if they were using and shooting with real weapons. With a level of ease that has a sensation like playing video games, Pasupati offers easy and real use of weapons while minimising the level of danger.
The activities of the 2022 Defense R&D Week honour the 27th National Technology Awakening Day, which aims to accommodate brilliant ideas from academics and researchers to contribute to the development of defence technology and attain future defence equipment independence.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Information and Communication Technology Training and Development Centre Research and Human Resources Development Agency of the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) held a Regional Workshop On Digital Diplomacy with the theme “The Essence of Information and Communication Technology for Government Leaders.”
The activity is intended for Government Officials for the e-government implementation of countries and territories in the Pacific region such as the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Hence, the activity was a follow-up to the International Conference on Digital Diplomacy (ICDD) with the theme “Unmasking Digital Diplomacy in the New Normal” which was held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021.
The ICDD 2021 activity was attended by 20 countries and produced the Bali Message on ICDD which has identified five focus areas, namely:
- Government Policy Framework to Support Digital Diplomacy;
- Crisis Management Through Digital Diplomacy;
- Data Management to Support Digital Diplomacy;
- Innovation to Support SMEs; and
- Capacity Building and Digital Inclusion.
The ICDD follow-up series will continue to be carried out by the nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the cornerstone of Digital Diplomacy. In the next activity, the Ministry will hold a Regional Government social media (GSMS) Conference, a scientific discussion forum on the use of digital media among governments to share new perspectives and experiences, which provide solutions to challenges in digital diplomacy through government social media.
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Promoting digital transactions
Traders at Ha Long 1 and Ha Long 2 markets in the Quang Ninh province are now able to go cashless using digital payment services under a 4.0 market model. State-run enterprise Viettel Quang Ninh is the supplier of non-cash payment services in the two markets.
All small traders in the markets will make digital payments through Viettel Money, a digital payment platform. Payments can be made via phone numbers, QR codes, or bank transfers. Fees for electricity, water, and environmental sanitation can also be paid with a Viettel Money account.
According to an official, to achieve the government’s target to have electronic payment rates reach 50% by 2025, digital payments must become part of daily life in both urban and rural areas. Viettel Quang Ninh has readied technology and human resources to coordinate with Hạ Long city’s authorities to deploy cashless applications.
In April this year, Ha Long city issued a plan to develop non-cash payment methods for the 2022-2025 period, under which the city aims to have 90% of citizens 15 years and older own transaction accounts and have non-cash payments in e-commerce reach 50%. The average growth in the volume and value of non-cash payment transactions is expected to expand by 20-25% per year, while 100% of the tuition fees of educational institutions and schools in Ha Long should be paid through cashless methods.
Ha Long city’s public administration centre has guided and supported citizens in making payment transactions on the National Public Service Portal. By July, over 1,400 citizens had paid taxes and other fees through the system, with a total amount of over US$ 727,400, accounting for 84% of total transactions.
Digitising Services
Quang Ninh authorities are promoting comprehensive digital transformation, especially in administrative reform, hoping to attract investment into the locality. Since June, digitisation and data extraction platforms have been piloted at the provincial public administration service centre and in the sectors of justice; labour, invalids, and society; education and training; health care; and information and communication.
Over 9,300 enterprises in the region have registered to use e-invoices. Quang Ninh has so far provided 1,712 Level-4 online public services out of the 1,832 administrative procedures. The rate of administrative procedure documents received and processed online via the online public service portal reached 62%. Up to 1,180 online public services at levels 3-4 of the locality have been synchronised on the national public service portal.
Steady progress
Local authorities are developing modern and synchronous infrastructure facilities and enhancing regional linkages to promote economic growth. As of early June 2022, the province’s non-budget investment attraction reached over US $1.6 billion. Last year, Quang Ninh topped Vietnam’s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS). It also ranked second in the public administration reform (PAR) Index. The locality posted an estimated growth rate of 10.66% in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in the first six months of this year, which is 2.64 percentage points higher than the rate in the same period of 2021. Quang Ninh collected over US $1.17 billion for the state budget, an increase of 18% year-on-year.
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To boost India’s 5G ecosystem and achieve several objectives laid out in the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) and Make in India missions, the government recently announced it would allow stakeholders to use an indigenous 5G test bed for free for the next six months (till January 2023).
Stakeholders include recognised start-ups and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). For a nominal fee, it is also available to 5G service providers, equipment manufacturers, and players from the industry, academia, R&D institutions, and government bodies. According to a press release, the Department of Telecommunications has urged stakeholders to utilise the 5G test bed and expertise to test and facilitate the speedy development and deployment of their products in the network. Interested parties can apply through the official government web portal.
DoT approved the financial grant to set up the multi-institute collaborative project in March 2018 with a total cost of US$ 28 million. The eight collaborating institutes in the project are the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Madras, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bombay, and Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), and the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT) at IIT-Madras.
The 5G test bed is available at five locations. The Integrated Test Bed is at CEWiT and other test beds are at IIT-Delhi, IIT-Hyderabad, IIT-Kanpur, and IISc. CEWiT also offers end-to-end test beds with various testing services for RAN and PHY levels as well as other test equipment. IIT-Hyderabad has facilities for gNB Testing, UE testing, end-to-end interoperability testing, and NB-IoT testing. IISc hosts the V2X and 5G open-source testbed. IIT-Kanpur hosts the base-band test bed and IIT-Delhi hosts the NB-IoT and VLC test bed.
The end-to-end test bed is compliant with the global 3GPP and ORAN standards. The indigenous 5G test beds allow Indian academia and industry research teams to validate their products, prototypes, and algorithms and demonstrate various services. It provides complete access for research teams to work on novel concepts/ideas that hold potential for standardisation in India and on a global scale.
It offers the facilities of 5G networks to experiment and demonstrate applications and use cases that are important to India specifically, like rural broadband, smart city applications, and intelligent transport system (ITS). The government believes it will help Indian operators understand the working of 5G technologies and plan their future networks.
The development of the test bed is a key milestone step for India’s becoming self-reliant in 5G technology. The test bed is cost efficient and reduces design time, enabling Indian 5G products to compete in the global market more quickly. The test bed has also led to the development of many 5G technologies/IPs that are available for technology transfer to industry players, facilitating the smooth and speedy deployment of 5G services in India.
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The country is working closely with and expecting that telecommunications providers who are committed to playing a key role in the 5G revolution to help Indonesia’s transformation programme would also engage in the development of telecommunication networks to promote tourism efforts.
Most recently, Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G. Plate, lauded the launch of 5G telecommunication services as part of the G20 Indonesia Presidency series to support the realisation of the G20 Summit in Bali by November 2022.
Bali is the sixth city in Indonesia to launch 5G services, following Surakarta, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, and Balikpapan.
The Minister believes that the introduction of 5G telecommunications services will aid the Indonesian G20 Presidency in meeting its objectives, which include post-COVID-19 recovery and connection, digital literacy and digital skills, and cross-border data flows.
“We believe that 5G technology can accelerate the realisation of all these priorities,” says Minister Johnny.
The introduction of 5G would not have been possible without the participation and support of numerous stakeholders, including the Ministries of Communication and Information and Tourism and Creative Economy.
In addition, various new ideas can be produced for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) firms that can take advantage of the potential and ease of accessing a bigger market by using the internet.
The government will use its internet access to fuel the development of the country’s digital environment, with the goal of creating more chances for the country’s digital economy to grow.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo’s programme to discontinue analogue transmissions, also known as analogue switch-off (ASO), aids in the pace of digital transformation. As a result, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics works with a variety of stakeholders to ensure the success of the ASO programme.
Geryantika Kurnia, Director of Broadcasting of the Directorate General of Post and Information Administration at the Ministry of Communication and Information, stated that the government has planned to accelerate digital transformation if the migration of analogue to digital broadcasts is completed.
The execution of the ASO programme, according to Director Geryantika, will offer digital dividends. With the radio frequency spectrum savings, broadband internet, or high-speed internet services, such as the 5G network that has been tested in various places, are possible.
He added that depending on the size of the channel, each analogue broadcast channel frequency can be used for 6–12 digital broadcasts. The digital dividend can also be utilised to expand internet network coverage to locations that have not been accessible by analogue TV transmissions, particularly in frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged areas.
Director Geryantika further explained that the availability of additional networks and internet speed, as a positive impact of the ASO programme, will have a multiplier effect adding if the internet is evenly distributed, the economic potential could be all over Indonesia. It’s not just an analogue to digital migration.
Moreover, the Ministry of Communication and Information declared that digital TV broadcasts would reach areas with “blank spots,” or locations where TV transmissions have not yet been completed.
The blank area is caused by the difficulty of analogue TV broadcast technology to reach locations with diverse geographical conditions, such as the eastern part of Indonesia, particularly Papua, resulting in limited broadcast coverage.
As a result, after the ASO programme is implemented, the government has promised to create a digital TV broadcast network infrastructure in the leading, outermost, and underdeveloped areas, including the blank spots, through its broadcasting institution.
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The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and a major cloud computing company recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further their collaboration in nurturing local technology talent, collaborating on cutting-edge technology research and facilitating the research works of HKUST researchers.
Under the MoU, HKUST and the global leader in cloud technologies will nurture local talent in knowledge relating to data analytics, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to further develop Hong Kong’s pool of technology professionals and meet industry demands.
The two parties will roll out joint talent development programmes, providing workshops and seminars to prepare students with the practical skills they will require when using advanced technologies as well as promote a culture centred around new technology innovations. Internship opportunities will also be offered to HKUST students by the tech firm.
This partnership aims to support HKUST to move forward as an international leader in education and research. Drawing on its robust cloud experience, the tech firm will continue supporting HKUST in its exploration of Elastic High-Performance Computing (E-HPC) for accelerating HKUST’s research activities in pure science and engineering, as well as AI and machine learning. HKUST will also receive advisory to build an integrated, secure and flexible research platform connecting its campus in Hong Kong and the soon-to-be-opened Guangzhou campus.
The Vice-President for Research and Development at HKUST noted that the tech firm is an active supporter of pioneering research and academic-industry cooperation. Since 2018, both parties have jointly launched 10 collaborative research projects to advance the frontiers of innovative technologies and address challenges of the industry. HKUST aims to strengthen this partnership to pave way for an even closer collaboration, which shall bring greater benefits not just for us, but for the society and region as a whole.
The General Manager for Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Philippines, of the tech firm stated that the partnership with HKUST is an affirmation of our commitment to nurturing technology talent and fostering local innovation ecosystems. HKUST is a leading university with world-class research across disciplines.
He added that the company is delighted to work with HKUST to continuously prepare young talent for the future and looks forward to co-developing more advanced technologies to empower various industries and advance the GBA as a technology hub in Asia.
Through this collaboration, HKUST and the tech firm will also work together to explore new solutions in areas such as AI, next generation intelligent data processing platforms and serverless computing, in view of addressing technology-related challenges and opening up fresh opportunities for academic and industry experts to cooperate on projects.
The two parties have been long-term collaborators. Supported by the tech firm and its parent group’s AIR Programme, the two organisations have worked together on research projects spanning machine intelligence and data computing. Supported by the cloud tech firm, HKUST organised a FinTech hackathon to encourage its students to identify and solve industry challenges and develop innovation solutions.
The global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from US$ 445.3 billion in 2021 to US$ 947.3 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.3% during the forecast period. While technology spending in APAC has increased, the setback due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic is impending. The cloud technology adoption is expected to increase in sectors where the WFH initiative is helping to sustain enterprise business functions.
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The central city of Da Nang and the Ministry of Finance have topped the 2021 Digital Transformation Index (DTI) rankings in the cities/ provinces and ministry categories, respectively. The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIC) presented the Index at the third meeting of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, earlier this week.
Da Nang city topped the ranking for cities and provinces, scoring 0.6419 points, 0.1545 higher than the 2020 ranking released last year. Thua Thien-Hue came in second place (0.5872 points) and Ho Chi Minh City climbed two spots to rank third. The top ten also included Bac Ninh, Lang Son, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Binh Phuoc, and Bac Giang.
The Ministry of Finance led the rankings of 17 ministries and ministry-level agencies providing public services, gaining 0.6321 points, 0.13 higher than the previous ranking. It was followed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Vietnam Social Security. Also in the top ten were the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, the Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology jumped two spots to rank first among nine ministries and ministry-level agencies that do not offer public services with 0.4736 points. It was followed by Vietnam Television (VTV) and Vietnam News Agency (VNA). VNA led in two indicators on cybersecurity and digital transformation.
The MIC Deputy Minister stated that 2021 was the second year Vietnam had implemented the national programme on digital transformation despite the adverse resurgence of COVID-19. In this context, Vietnam has pioneered the application of various digital apps and platforms, attracting millions of users. He urged ministries and localities nationwide to continue the acceleration of digital transformation.
In February, Da Nang became the second city in Southeast Asia to deploy chatbot tech in tourism. To increase the variety of tourist self-service tools and information channels, the municipal Tourism Department had coordinated with a private artificial intelligence (AI) developer to create and pilot Chatbot Danang Fantasticity, the first automatic tourism information search and support channel via text message conversation in Vietnam.
As OpenGov Asia reported, during its six-month trial, the chatbot was updated with relevant information about famous destinations, events, weather, ATM locations, and hotlines, among others. According to the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, Event Countdown is one of Danang FantastiCity Chatbot’s notable features. The function helps tourists avoid missing out on any ongoing or future events in the city and can even plan routes to the destinations.
By registering with an email or phone number, tourists can receive e-coupon bar codes with price promotions. A wide range of attraction sites, tourist activities, and entertainment outlets around the city offer e-coupons via the chatbot. The technology can also communicate with international tourists as it offers English for all its information categories. The chatbot will be available in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.
Further, as part of its digital transformation journey, in April, traders at wet markets in Da Nang went cashless using the e-wallet mobile application Viettel Money, under a 4.0 wet market model. Owners of over 1,000 stalls at Da Nang’s three major wet markets, namely Con, Han, and Dong Da, used QR codes that allowed customers to make online payments through access to select banks and Viettel Money.
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Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Affairs has been keen to accelerate the implementation of projects to organise communication lines in the different areas of the major cities in the region, such as Chiang Mai, Nong Khai.
The Ministry, through the National Telecommunications Public Company Limited, a Thai state-owned telecommunications company operates a project in various provinces to promote tourism and improve the road landscape in Udon Dutsadi and Nong Khai Municipality.
Recently, the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, visited the provinces of Udon Thani and Nong Khai to assess the state of communication lines that had been reported to be experiencing communication issues.
Minister Chaiwut wants to ensure the relevant integration works to solve such problems immediately and to organise the communication lines to have a beautiful view and safe for the lives and property of the residents.
The Minister said that all lines that go through the mess will be put underground by 2023, which is run by the company National Telecommunications Public Company Limited and telecommunication service providers, whose mobile operators will rent underground pipes to connect with each other. He acknowledged that there are a lot of projects and plans for the provinces and to their residents.
Meanwhile, Minister Chaiwut is confident that start-up companies will be an important force in bringing digital technology to create a business – a new, modern service that generates income to support the country’s economic growth in response to the Thailand 4.0 policy.
He emphasised that start-ups are what the government encourages because he believes it is the cornerstone of the future economy as the new generation is doing modern business to adopt digital technology. This could lead to good opportunities in the country and generate income for both entrepreneurs including making the economy grow.
The nation’s Digital GDP is to be driven by at least 30% of all industries within the next 5 years. Hence, the Ministry of Digital the Digital Economy Promotion Agency has continuously promoted and encouraged enterprises to start applying technology and digital innovations in their business operations through various driving measures.
Particularly, the initiatives or financial aid for creating digital enterprises that promote and support partnerships with digital start-ups to implement digital technologies.
In addition, Dr Nattapon Natthasomboon, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society hosted the recently held meeting of the ASEAN Joint Working Group on Digital.
The meeting was organised to discuss driving the key outcomes of other relevant ASEAN framework meetings; monitoring of the implementation of the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025 and the consideration of detailed project proposals for implementation in 2023, which has given importance to accelerating the development of the digital economy.
Furthermore, Noppawan Chaiyamun, spokesman for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society for Political Affairs announced a mobile application that will allow people to access government services easily.
The app aims to provide services to citizens such as medical treatment, social security, health insurance, credit bureau information, check civil registration, check traffic tickets, and pay fines, among others. It also includes water and electricity bills that can be paid via QR code. The mobile app is regarded as the centre for governmental services that are intended to benefit the public.