Malaysia hopes to become global big data hub

Posted by Justin Hesser on September 26, 2013

One of the more interesting aspects of big data and its rise in the business realm is its rapid growth in emerging markets. Much like mobility, the cloud and many other innovative business technologies of the past five or so years, big data caught on in more established markets first but is now making strides in other parts of the world. Technology producers understand this and those who profit off of tech trends are focusing their efforts on emerging markets to ensure they capitalize on revenue opportunities. 

The markets themselves are doing what they can to benefit from this. Many are embracing their increased interest in new technologies and are seeking new avenues to take their role in the global industry to new levels. Malaysia, for example, has truly accepted its responsibility in the big data industry and hopes to one day serve as a centralized hub for information processing around the world. 

The country's geographical location, open space, industry incentives and infrastructure already give it an advantage over many emerging markets, and perhaps some established ones as well. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia's Prime Minister, attended he Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council meeting in San Francisco this week and spoke about these advantages, although he did admit the country lacks adequate personnel to manage big data the way the country envisions.

"This is a new skill that we need as thousands of data scientists will need to be produced in Malaysia's quest to be a data management enter," he said.

He also spoke of companies local to the conference—particularly Silicon Valley startups—and their ability to assist with the future of innovation, even if they fail as organizations. He indicated he hoped Malaysia could follow a similar pattern. 

"They accept the culture of failure and risk-taking as part of gaining experience for future success," he said. "Nobody is penalized but instead the failure is being used to see what went wrong. In other words, they might fail once, they might fail twice but given the right set of circumstances and encouragement, they might succeed the third or fourth time."

He said Malaysia and other emerging economies in Asia don't have this luxury, but he believes his country's passion for innovation will allow it to increase its presence in the big data market and achieve its goals as a global leader.

This news is relevant to all organizations in an increasingly global marketplace. Relying on emerging economies like Malaysia to facilitate the management of information could provide numerous business benefits by building efficiency and increasing productivity. However, having the right system in place is crucial. FileMaker development can allow organizations to construct a cloud-based custom database management software system that can connect to various markets and communicate vital information in a short amount of time. This is a crucial tool for any company that wants to capitalize on emerging markets.

It's also important to consider the words of Malaysia's Prime Minister. A lack of sufficient data scientists is currently slowing down the country's growth in the data market. This can happen on a smaller scale at your organization, which is why a custom database system designed to easily manage data in a user-friendly interface is so valuable.