Maxis and MDEC collaborate to promote development of NB-IoT ecosystem, launches first initiative

Following its successful launch of the first commercial Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service in Malaysia last month, Maxis and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is collaborating to promote the ecosystem development of IoT solutions among companies to spur the Malaysian digital economy. 

The collaboration sees MDEC guiding and providing advice to ecosystem players, vendors and enterprises on government initiatives that are in line with the National IoT Strategic Roadmap and the National Policy on Industry 4.0, as well as to provide assistance on initiatives such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Digital Transformation. The collaboration will also see Maxis and MDEC addressing industry needs through engagements and solution development among companies, developer communities and vendors in line with the Malaysian digital agenda. 

Meanwhile, Maxis will be leading NB-IoT initiatives and work closely with MDEC and ecosystem partners through quarterly engagements via joint workshops and knowledge sharing sessions to address specific industry needs and relevant IoT programmes. As part of these initiatives, Maxis will commit to provide key enablers such as testing guidelines, lab facilities, solution and deployment setup best practices as well as expert advisory.

The first of such initiatives is the Maxis IoT Challenge which was launched earlier this week. Themed Innovate our Tomorrow, Maxis is inviting the public to develop IoT solutions to solve real business problems related to Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing and Smart Agriculture. Now open for applications, the Challenge offers cash prizes of up to RM30,000, potential employment opportunities at Maxis and seed funding of up to RM100,000 as well as mentoring support for promising pitches. Other partners for this Challenge include Microsoft and the GSMA. Several roadshows on the challenge will be conducted in Penang, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur throughout this month. 

“This partnership aligns well with our focus to increase the digital adoption and growth of IoT in Malaysia, as well spur the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy. There is a wide range of factors that make a successful IoT ecosystem, and working with industry leaders is vital. Our collaboration with Maxis will help create even more opportunities for enterprises, including opening up new business models and creating value by connecting things,” said Dato’ Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer of MDEC.

“This is a significant step in reinforcing our IoT agenda and with NB-IoT becoming critical and a highly viable option for many businesses across industries, our collaboration with MDEC is timely. We look forward to working closely together on important initiatives that we have planned, starting with the launch of the IoT Challenge – a great way to incentivise the industry as well as discover untapped talent. We are confident that this partnership will accelerate our shared ambition towards a stronger ecosystem of partners, developers and customers,” said Paul McManus, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Maxis.

The partnership further strengthens Maxis’ role as a trusted industry technology partner to businesses that will be able to leverage its NB-IoT network, which is now activated in selected areas within key IoT market centres including Cyberjaya, Penang, Kuching, Putrajaya, Johor Bahru, and KLCC. As a result, businesses are now able to deploy industrial IoT applications to form new data streams, enabling actionable insights by connecting simple devices such as sensors.

Find out more about the Challenge here, http://business.maxis.com.my/maxisiotchallenge