Sovereign cloud set to form part of AVM Cloud-TIME ‘3Cs of Digitalisation’ strategy in 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: AVM Cloud Sdn Bhd (AVM Cloud) believes that cloud adoption, encompassing also sovereign cloud, is set to grow strongly in 2023.

Its Chief Technology Officer Kenny Lim (pic above) said that numerous enterprises have come to realise the importance for data to stay within Malaysian soil to prevent foreign access to data under all circumstances.

This scenario comes against the backdrop of regulation such as the US Cloud Act and similar laws in various countries worldwide.

“The European Union has also been proactive in mitigating dependence and the risk of foreign access to critical data which is why EU regulations – such as GDPR, Data Act and the Data Governance Act – were implemented to control data flow across borders to prevent the risk of access by non-European authorities,” he said.

“Over here in Malaysia, it would also be wise for enterprises – particularly those involved in sensitive industries such as financial services, healthcare and telecommunications – to implement sovereign cloud strategies so as to better safe-guard their data,” he added.

Sovereign cloud essentially provides a trusted environment for storing data and ensuring that such data cannot be transferred out of the country. “Essentially, it is about protecting and unlocking the value of critical data with sovereign cloud being part of a multi-cloud strategy.”

"Due to the challenging business environment, we have observed business leaders looking to multi-cloud strategies for scalability and capability to open the door to growth and real competitive advantage," said Kenny.

"These enterprises have also started investment in learning and development, as businesses look to develop comprehensive training programmes to upskill, reskill and train employees on latest cloud technologies."

At its end, AVM Cloud is the first VMware Authorised Consultant and Premium Partner in Malaysia and among the nation's first VMware Verified Cloud Partners.

"Through AVM Cloud's strategic partnership with VMware, we are able to offer a family of solutions customised to build, run, manage and secure any app across various platforms for the benefit of customers," emphasised Kenny.

With AVM Cloud's strong cloud value proposition, its customers enjoy the ability to migrate to the cloud without recoding apps. These solutions also modernise IT infrastructures, and operate consistently across the data centre, the edge, and the cloud.

This vision ties in strongly with the strategy of its parent company, TIME dotCom Berhad (TIME), which is essentially the ‘3Cs of Digitalisation’.

The 3Cs – representing cloud, connectivity and cybersecurity – are reinforced with the Group's latest powerful technologies to enable run more efficiently and astutely in the long run.

Essentially, the approach leverages on the strengths of the various TIME products and services to offer customers a suite of customisable solutions and a digital foundation built on a comprehensive ecosystem to enable digitalisation across the 3Cs spectrum, such as:

• TIME's private and public cloud platforms being housed within its secure hyperscale data centres under AIMS Data Centre Sdn Bhd (AIMS), thereby improving operational efficiency and agility for successful deployment of any cloud strategy. In addition, AIMS offers co-location, managed services and disaster recovery offerings from its interlinked data centres in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya, Bangkok and multiple key cities in Vietnam.

• In terms of connectivity, TIME's converged network streamlines and simplifies the infrastructure by interconnecting with global service providers and virtualised network services over cloud platforms via Malaysia’s first-ever horizontal network function virtualisation (NFVi) architecture so that organisations can optimise connections both locally and globally.

• As for cybersecurity, processes and strategies adhere to the five core functions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework to better prepare customers, with both TIME and AVM Cloud have strategic alliances with leading cybersecurity specialists such as LGMS Berhad, Fortinet, IBM and Tecforte to facilitate greater intelligence sharing.

A key factor to ensuring successful cloud implementations goes back to partnership: "To ensure success, organisations must work with partners they trust and that are capable of hosting authentic and autonomous sovereign cloud platforms."

"AVM Cloud, with the strong backing of the TIME Group, is that partner," said Kenny.