Microsoft Copilot for M365 is the generative AI that revolutionises organisations’ efficiencies by surfacing strategic insights, finding information, assisting with the curation of content, even summarising and planning your day as efficiently as clicking a button! What is missing from this equation is that deploying the technology isn’t as simple as flicking a switch and ‘going live” with Copilot for Microsoft 365. While the competitive advantage Copilot for Microsoft 365 offers is unparalleled, ensuring the protection of your organisation and its information assets requires more than activating the licenses.

This article examines the necessary preparation organisations should go through to prepare and mitigate potential pitfalls before integrating Copilot for Microsoft 365 into your organisation.

Despite the recent surge in interest in AI over the last 12 months, generative AI is a relatively young discipline as a technology that can engage with everyday users conversationally. Just a few years ago, AI was confined to academic research institutions, the subject of peer-reviewed papers and the research conference circuit. Organisations like OpenAI brought this technology to everyday users and now the workplace has realised the possibilities that context-based GenAI offers, igniting the interest in Copilot for Microsoft 365.

Source: Shutterstock

Copilot for Microsoft 365  allows users and workgroups to automate their day, collaborate more efficiently, be more productive and use collated data from across the organisation to make more informed decisions; all based on information reserves that are continually added to.

While there are benefits generative AI can bring, organisations must address significant concerns regarding security and data governance when embracing such technology.

Here we delve into three steps crucial for the successful implementation of generative AI:

 Step One: Prepare the Environment and Consolidate Your Data

“Make Microsoft 365 the core of organisational information “

Making Microsoft 365 the core basis for business data, and therefore business intelligence is the most operationally logical choice for the majority of organisations. Most IT professionals understand that information becomes much more valuable when it is at users’ fingertips in the most-used platforms, rather than kept  in isolated silos. Migrating data into M365 allows the smart algorithms of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to access relevant information, enabling the AI to enhance its understanding of how your organisation works based on the information available to it.

Fortunately, the AvePoint Confidence Platform helps organisations achieve this consolidation of content through migration, a process which goes beyond a straightforward lift-and-shift.

AvePoint Fly empowers organisations to move from on-premises or remote email to digital collaboration platforms like Google Workspaces, Box, Dropbox, Slack and other collaboration platforms to M365. It discovers and maps existing applications and content, creating migration schedules that minimise operational disruption and downtime. With multiple legacy tenants’ data in one place, businesses can start to better capitalise on their digital resources immediately.

Step Two: Identify and Organise

“Strengthen your data to enable strong Copilot for M365 results”

AvePoint’s Insights and Policies provides the framework to identify high risk content and build efficient and compliant workflows automatically to remediate any potential breaches. Reviewing and strengthening information security provides the ability to establish a solid foundation, encompassing robust cyber protections, identifying areas of sensitive and overshared content and classifying of information according to sensible privilege rules. This is a vital preparatory stage to protect your intellectual property (IP) and ensure your information remains secure and accessible to the right audience.

AvePoint Opus streamlines the classification and organisation of information within M365 (amongst other repositories), ensuring a standard approach to manage content that minimises user intervention. The aim is to ensure information remains accessible and supports compliance with relevant standards and legislation while being available to those who need it.

Simultaneously, organisations should reassess privilege hierarchies and security rules, considering the large investments in solutions like Teams, Groups, OneDrive, SharePoint, Power Automate and so on. Resolving and revising access accumulated access rights accrued over the years, helps bolster security and internal operational efficiency through simplification and consolidation.

Source: Shutterstock

Step Three: Continuous data management

“Ensuring relevant resources”

Tools such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 increase their value to the organisation over time, as they continually improve and refine their capabilities with the accumulation of information.

This is however contingent on the accuracy of your information. Keeping information that is no longer relevant and no longer serves a purpose can impact on the accuracy of machine learning’s findings. Information may represent older products or abandoned work practices that are no longer suitable for the organisation’s current environment.

It is however important to properly store and archive all data, both for compliance and as a source of contextual information for business intelligence with Copilot AI. Here, AvePoint Opus has you covered, keeping data accessible and secure.

Addressing ‘data hygiene’ regularly is imperative, yet many organisations have the resources to manage every aspect of their information assets. AvePoint   automates content lifecycle management by automating the archival of inactive or ROT content and disposing of content that has exceeded its regulatory lifecycle. Furthermore, addressing data hygiene issues also offers a mechanism to reducing storage costs associated with M365.

As outlined in this article, the presence of shadow IT and siloed information can significantly impact the effectiveness of generative AI-driven content curation. Just having access to Copilot for M365 as part of a M365 license does not guarantee quality generate content. Without careful consideration of the organisations information structures, classification methods and content lifecycle management, the potential power of generative AI tools are unrealised.

For organisations committed to realising the maximum benefits of Copilot for M365, we recommend seeking specialised guidance to become “AI ready”. As an early adopter of machine learning technologies, AvePoint has assisted hundreds of organisations across various customer segments to unlock the full potential of generative AI.

With AvePoint’s expert guidance, you can navigate the Copilot for Microsoft 365 journey confidently, leveraging  technology that is specifically designed to deliver optimal results.

To find out more about Copilot for M365 and how it and AvePoint can transform your organisation’s approach to data-based driven operations, contact AvePoint for a demo.

The post 3 Steps to Successfully Automate Copilot for Microsoft 365 Implementation appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

In the bustling landscape of logistics in Southeast Asia, Teleport is a potential game-changer, striving as it is to achieve 24-hour or next-day delivery at a lower cost. As the logistical arm of Capital A Bhd, Teleport wants to challenge the status quo of the industry.

But amid the region’s rapid economic expansion and escalating consumer demands, the critical question looms: can Teleport truly revolutionize the delivery landscape of Southeast Asia? 

Teleport’s growth has been impressive. The company has rapidly expanded its presence across key markets in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Singapore, and China. This strategic expansion has allowed Teleport to tap into the region’s burgeoning e-commerce market, catering to the growing demand for seamless and efficient delivery services.

ON THE HORIZON: TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS IN 2024

Aaron Raj | 4 December, 2023

In a recent interview with Tech Wire Asia, Pete Chareonwongsak, the CEO of Teleport, shared insights into how the company is employing innovation to tackle future challenges in Southeast Asia.

How do you view the logistics industry in Southeast Asia amid rising demand for faster, cheaper deliveries?

CEO Pete Chareonwongsak. Source: Teleport

I think we do not have enough homegrown Southeast Asian logistics companies. When someone says Southeast Asia logistics, the names that typically come to mind are J&T and Ninja Van. The former initially started in Indonesia and is funded by the Chinese, so it’sexpanded to where 90% of its business now comes from China, not Southeast Asia. So it’s never really been born and bred here.

The same is true with Ninja Van, which started in Singapore and expanded to all the Southeast Asian countries. That’s the closest, but it’s funded by global venture capital.

That is why I’ve always felt we, Teleport, have an opportunity as we were born and raised here in Southeast Asia. Our DNA, infrastructure, and everything in between is here; we will not leave this part of the world. 

So my understanding of Southeast Asia logistics is that many great companies come and go: their focus starts here but eventually moves elsewhere. Our mission has been to connect Southeast Asia better than anyone else, especially in performing next-day delivery.

Has Teleport proven its viability in its current market, or does it still have much to prove to establish a more substantial presence?

There’s a lot more. Based on statistics, we could reach about five million SMEs of a specific size in the region and give them access to our services. Everyone always talks about the SME opportunities in Southeast Asia, only to eventually realize that the money’s not there. But the opportunity is there. If you’re here long term, then at some point, you have to do something that allows collaborations to happen. 

So, there are still opportunities in the long term. We currently serve at most 10,000 clients, but five million SMES are within the region. That means we have a long way to go in making it accessible.

Why do logistics companies frequently expand beyond Southeast Asia? What do they look for elsewhere that they need help finding here, especially given the region’s abundance of SMEs and MSMEs?

What is missing is the total addressable market. That’s why they go elsewhere because, undeniably, there are many larger markets that exist elsewhere today. So, at some point, when they’re funded a certain way or aim to grow a certain way, they need to go and find a large market to justify their reach and growth. That makes it hard for Southeast Asia-focused companies to stay here. There’s always something else, somewhere else. 

We have an understanding of the region that some other companies lack, and our dedication and focus is here, today and tomorrow. So that’s what we see that they don’t see, perhaps making sense of their move to look elsewhere for markets. But if no one builds like we are doing, connecting Southeast Asia in a cheaper, faster, and better way, then SMEs will never have a real opportunity to grow. 

Many of the Southeast Asian brands, e-commerce, and even supply chain operators never really have something that changes their capacity to grow. They have to flow with the market,  still to this day. So we’ve got to find some angle to serve them, and that’s really where Teleport’s focus is.

Which is Teleport’s biggest addressable market at the moment?

It is China into Southeast Asia. The region is the triangle between Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok. The cross-border opportunities between these three countries, in particular, are mature.

Next-day delivery at a significantly reduced cost is a bold proposition. How is Teleport working towards this goal?

If you look at the top three reasons why somebody would be willing to use Teleport, the first is price, the second is reliability, and the third is speed. You have to hit all three, and that is very hard. But that’s what we’re trying to do. How do we bring the actual cost down? Then, once we’ve brought the cost down, how do we make money? People need to understand what it costs us to enable next-day deliveries.

Our view on life now is pretty simple: how do we get the cost down? And the way to do that is to not start the business model by buying a lot of stuff. So our first question was how do we build the business model we want without owning anything initially? The most important thing about next-day delivery is sending things between two borders. How do we do that in a next-day fashion? It’s got to go on a plane. 

So, how do we put stuff on a plane? There are only two ways. One is you buy some aircraft, and FedEx, DHL, and UPS have bought hundreds of planes. So they’ve signed up for that visibility, and if we want to do that, we would have to compete against them over time with a better cost solution. 

But what are other ways to put stuff on planes? Well, you and I fly everywhere, and every time a plane flies, a little bit of space is left over. That’s called the belly. How do we get access to that space across Southeast Asia? We need partnerships, and that’s where AirAsia came in. That’s how we built the business, off AirAsia’s belly. We wouldn’t be here without it, because it gave us the most extensive Southeast Asian network.

With those spaces overnight, we then had to figure out how to build a business model on that space, which is very cost-effective. Because passengers have paid for the seats and baggage allowances, we need to figure out how to bolt that little bit of space onto the rest of the business model, which is end-to-end delivery. Essentially, that was how we built the business. So it becomes much easier when you don’t own the thing. 

The second thing is figuring out how to partner so you can gain access to the asset you need. The third is then how you tie it all together and do it.

Does Teleport have specific growth goals for its portfolio regarding the number of businesses?

We set a 24-month goal. Around two million e-commerce parcels a day are coming into Southeast Asia, and we want to capture most of that. For perspective, two million a day would be on par with our esteemed competitors. The amount is undoubtedly huge on a global scale, but we are looking towards that direction.

What role can technology play in facilitating the transformation of the logistics industry to meet the demands of faster and more affordable deliveries?

My view on addressing that this year is to slow down the growth slightly, which is shocking to most people. But if we don’t build these foundations with the right technologies, we won’t reach the two-year goal of two million deliveries, for example. So this is the year where we figure out the value of Gen AI or any AI solutions to our operations.

Source: Teleport

How many airplanes are in the fleet you use?

Airasia has 204 passenger aircraft, which will all be fully re-activated by the end of the first quarter. Teleport owns three freighter planes in Malaysia. On top of that, we have 30 airline partners based in Asia and Southeast Asia.

What changes do you anticipate in the competitive landscape if Teleport achieves its vision, and what adjustments might other logistics companies need to make in response?

A couple of things. Firstly, in this region, there are a lot of low-cost carriers that would eventually think about how to continue to improve their business. Like how Teleport built the company off AirAsia’s back, many other low-cost carriers will do the same – spin off a logistic business from their airline operations.

Even in China and Latin America, people have started to spin off their logistics business. So, the multimodal angle is going to be an essential trend.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/teleportasia_black-box-ceo-pete-on-awan-launch-part-activity-7093153593406484480-GV61?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

The post Teleport’s quest for next-day e-commerce delivery in Southeast Asia appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

In a digital age dominated by AI, Malaysian consumers increasingly lean towards AI-assisted brand interactions, with 47% expressing a preference for such interactions over human ones, surpassing the global average of 39%. However, despite this burgeoning consumer demand, Adobe’s latest State of Digital Customer Experience report reveals a significant disparity between consumer preferences and brand readiness in Malaysia.

The report underscores a consumer appetite for AI-enabled tools and services, particularly when exploring new products and services. Yet, Malaysian brands are lagging behind their global counterparts in harnessing the latest AI innovations to enhance customer experience (CX). Only 8% of Malaysian brands utilize generative AI to bolster CX initiatives, a stark contrast to the 18% globally. Moreover, just 6% of Malaysian brands are establishing upskilling initiatives to leverage generative AI, trailing behind the global average of 11%.

Adobe: most are yet to adopt the data-driven technology tools and capabilities needed to deliver personalisation at scale and keep pace with customer preferences.

While there’s a glimmer of hope as some brands in Malaysia demonstrate awareness of the organizational implications of adopting AI, with 22% briefing senior leadership, the overall progress remains sluggish. However, there’s a silver lining as Malaysian brands are poised to elevate their generative AI capabilities in the coming year, with 33% prioritizing it as their primary CX focus.

MALAYSIAN TELCO PROVIDER HAS DATA BREACH – AGAIN

Aaron Raj | 30 January, 2024

Consumers leading on AI in Malaysia

“Consumers are swiftly embracing generative AI-led experiences. While brands in Malaysia are lagging in terms of AI adoption, our findings indicate that this will soon evolve as Malaysia, as well as other Asian markets, are well poised for an accelerated uptake amid continued realization of the direct benefits that generative AI offers and its strong position as a technological hub,” Simon Dale, VP of Adobe Asia said. 

Dale added that when it comes to business strategies, most brands in Malaysia acknowledge that improving the CX is of top or significant priority. “This is driving brands to focus on evolving their digital experiences, underscored by a strategic emphasis on flexible and highly personalized interactions,” he added.

Nevertheless, bridging the gap between consumer expectations and brand initiatives poses a significant challenge. Malaysian consumers desire unified, seamless experiences across online and in-person interactions, yet most brands struggle to deliver personalized experiences at scale. Data-driven technology tools and capabilities necessary for personalization remain underutilized, impeding brands’ ability to keep pace with evolving consumer preferences. 

“More than two-thirds of consumers in Malaysia (77%) want brands to offer the same level of personalization online and in-person, and they want unified, seamless experiences in every interaction. However, meeting this expectation remains a top brand challenge,” the Adobe report reads. That’s not it. Privacy and security concerns loom large, with consumers wary of data misuse and lack of transparency in data practices. 

Despite 69% of Malaysian consumers expressing willingness to boycott brands that aren’t transparent about data use, only 26% of brands perceive this as impacting retention. This disconnect underscores the need for brands to prioritize transparency and establish robust data privacy policies.

“Consumers have emphasized that their most impactful brand experiences are relevant and personalized to their preferences. As brands continue to digitalize at full speed to meet expectations, it is crucial that they also strategically navigate data privacy and security concerns so as not to jeopardize their relationship with customers,” noted Dale.

After all, as brands delve into generative AI, consumer apprehensions about data privacy intensify. Many fear unauthorized data use and excessive data collection, highlighting the critical need for brands to implement stronger AI guardrails and internal usage policies. In conclusion, while Malaysian consumers embrace AI-driven brand interactions, Malaysian brands are struggling to keep pace, falling short in leveraging AI innovations to meet consumer expectations. 

As the digital landscape evolves, Malaysian brands must prioritize AI adoption, transparency in data practices, and robust internal policies to bridge the gap and foster trust with consumers in an increasingly AI-driven world.

The post Malaysia’s AI divide: consumers embrace, brands lag appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Modern society is driven by advancements in technology, including software, electronics, robotics, and more. Every day, we see technology developing, changing the ways we work and do business. At the forefront of current technological progress is arguably the double-act of AI technology and autonomous robots. There is little doubt that mobile, self-governing robots will play key roles in the future.

In just 50 years, the market for industrial robots has evolved significantly. Today, that evolution has delivered “cobots,” otherwise known as collaborative robots that work alongside humans. Whether autonomous robots will continue to work side-by-side with organic people, or take over their roles completely, is a debate that rages on.

Dawn of the RoboDog. (Image generated by AI).

Artificial intelligence technology has accelerated at an astounding pace over the last two years, affecting many sectors across the globe. AI has become a part of everyday life for so many, with intelligent assistants on hand to support us as we work. They are now at our beck and call, answering queries, and even performing repetitive dull tasks in various industries.

Hasn’t that always been the point of technological advancements, though? To help us complete physical tasks quicker, or even to do them instead of us, freeing human beings up to do more intellectually demanding tasks? If recent decades are anything to go by, we are relying on automation more than ever before.

Emerging as a key competitive factor for manufacturing operations worldwide, the number of industrial robots being used in the workplace has grown exponentially since the 1970s. For instance, only 200 industrial robots were being used in the US in 1970 compared to 4,000 in 1980. By 2015, that number had risen to 1.6 million. Today, there are an estimated 3 million or more autonomous robots in use.

Robots in industry through time

To understand the impact of robots on different industries, we need to go back to their origin in the 1940s and 1950s. British neurophysiologist, W. Grey Walter, was the man who started it all, developing Elmer and Elsie, two robots in the late 1940s. Inspired by biological systems, Grey Walter’s “Tortoises” (as they were also affectionately known as) exhibited fundamental autonomous actions. Using basic sensors, the robots could navigate their surroundings and even respond to stimuli, mirroring lifelike behavior.

During the 1950s, the progression of autonomous technology continued with George Devol, “the Grandfather of Robotics,” creating Unimate. Beginning with basic devices for moving objects autonomously, Devol is credited with inventing the first industrial robot as we understand the term today.

Over time, advancements in electronics, sensors, and software expanded autonomous robot capabilities to include complex tasks like painting, welding, and precision work.

THE 5 MOST POPULAR ROBOTS IN THE WORLD

Muhammad Zulhusni | 20 July, 2023

These early examples of robots began being used commercially on assembly lines by the early 1960s, primarily performing heavy lifting tasks – establishing the notion that robots were for tasks that would have been physically difficult for individual average humans to accomplish. But the robots didn’t stay locked into heavy lifting tasks for long. It soon became evident that the robots were significantly increasing manufacturing productivity.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, demand for automation increased. So industrial robots shifted from mostly heavy lifting to more precision tasks, prompting the development of smaller, electric models equipped with advanced controls and motors that were ideal for assembly work like tightening bolts and nuts. Robots added dull, repetitive work to heavy, difficult work and broadened their repertoire significantly.

MORE ROBOTS IN THE FUTURE: KIA AND BOSTON DYNAMICS SET TO LAUNCH A ROBOT IN 2024

Muhammad Zulhusni | 7 August, 2023

Fast-forward to the late 1970s, and robots had expanded their capabilities even further. This included tasks like arc welding, intricate painting, and hazardous environment operations, allowing humans to work on other, less risk-intensive areas of production, while simultaneously raising safety in robot-friendly industries.

This enhancement of workplace safety allowed robots to handle dangerous conditions in environments such as steel mills, freeing skilled laborers to focus on more critical manufacturing operations and ultimately boosting productivity.

Enthusiasm for robotics continued into the mid-1980s. Engineers started to innovate with a view to progressing the industrial landscape faster than ever before. This was the era that sparked the evolution of modern industrial robots, integrating advanced sensors and basic machine vision systems.

As technology continued to advance and computer hardware costs decreased, robotic capabilities took a substantial leap. Engineers were able to install precision force sensors and lasers on robots, allowing them to detect and track components on assembly lines, providing a human-like sense of sight and touch that feels familiar when we look at Amazon’s new robotic solutions, Sequoia and Digit. Like Amazon’s “humanoid” robots, the 1980s’ engineering marvels elevated robots from repetitive task performers to machines that exhibited “limited intelligence.”

While 1980s autonomous robots, otherwise known as autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), could transport goods and materials from one workstation to another, they still lacked the flexibility and adaptability of the autonomous mobile robots we know today. But, as we stepped into the 1990s and 2000s, there was a rejuvenated interest in the development of true autonomous mobile robots.

That resurgence of interest brought progress in the development of artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and machine learning. Piece by piece, autonomous robots were able to perceive their surroundings more attentively than ever before thanks to advanced sensors. The robots could also learn from their experiences and adapt to changes via newly updated AI algorithms. This was the genuine dawning of the age of autonomous robots.

As the 2000s rolled on, independent robotic system technology began to genuinely excel. Over the last decade or so, mobile autonomous robots have been adopted by numerous industries across the world, including software, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare. While most still work alongside a human workforce, these robots have streamlined warehouse operations and revolutionized the way products and materials are handled.

Yes, these robots have replaced human workers in many environments; something that holds many ethical conundrums for another day. It’s the fact that these robots can augment a human’s capabilities that make them a priceless commodity in various industries. Although there are a host of drawbacks associated with the use of this technology, there is little doubt that autonomous robotic systems have helped improve safety, increase productivity, and introduced new, exciting possibilities in the world of innovative machine learning technology.

Mars Rover, a space-based autonomous vehicle on a deserted planet.

The present and future of autonomous robotics

Today, mobile autonomous technology is widely used in the industrial sector, as well as sectors like agriculture, health, logistics, and property maintenance. Although adoption on a full scale may still be years away, mobile robots maintain their potential to completely change the way business is done in the future. Even in the modern age, autonomous mobile robots are evolving. That just leaves us with the question of the future of robots in industry.

Today, machine learning and AI has empowered industrial robots to make autonomous decisions without the need for human guidance. Modern robots are able to analyze extensive sets of data, improving their performance via varying mechanical motions. Engineers now prioritize instilling “real intelligence” in robots for increased complexity and efficiency, cultivating a safe collaboration with humans in manufacturing settings.

Cyber-strawberry season. (Image generated by AI).

In recent years, there has been a rise of collaborative robots (cobots). This marks a shift towards robots that are designed to operate alongside humans safely. Using force-limited joints and computer vision, cobots can interact directly with humans. But, being smaller and lighter, they are trained to complete specific tasks, freeing up human workers to focus on other jobs.

Initially passive, the development of cobots has been incredibly swift. They now have independent power sources, enabling them to add precise object manipulation and environmental awareness to their bag of capabilities. Their seamless operation alongside human workers has already resulted in mass changes in the manufacturing world, as shown by the nearly $1 billion cobot market and 40,000 operational machines worldwide.

The future of autonomous robots includes a much wider adoption of cobots, particularly ones that will drive efficiency. As costs come down, their wider adoption will make autonomous robots a fact of life across industrial sectors all around the world.

Autonomous robots will soon be in every sphere of our world.

The post The evolving robot: Past, present and future roles appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

After going through an “optimization of the workforce” in September 2022, Malaysia’s only tech unicorn, Carsome, appears to be gearing up for additional layoffs in the coming months. According to several reports, the move comes as the Southeast Asian used-car online marketplace accelerates its efforts to break even by the end of this year and reach full-year profit in 2024.

The company employs approximately 4,000 people across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and, most recently, the Philippines. The first layoffs in late September 2022 only impacted its Malaysian workforce. Now, according to a Bloomberg report, the Temasek-backed unicorn is contemplating job cuts throughout Southeast Asia, with Indonesia and Thailand being the most affected.

CARSOME AND SUNWAY ILABS TO LAUNCH MALAYSIA’S FIRST AUTO ECOSYSTEM ACCELERATOR

Aaron Raj | 15 April, 2022

Quoting individuals familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported that Carsome has scaled down its operations significantly in those two markets it entered in 2017. The company had earlier outlined intentions for an initial public offering (IPO) and stock market listings in Singapore and the United States (US) in 2023. Still, some concerns exist that deteriorating macroeconomic conditions could dent its valuation.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia earlier this month, CEO Eric Cheng explained that Carsome is considering an IPO as one of the potential avenues for the future, and that timing considerations and favorable market conditions will influence the decision.

How is Carsome doing financially amid recent layoffs? 

Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, Carsome Group Inc.

The driving force behind Carsome’s profitability is its retail arm, which provides refurbished cars and ancillary services like auto financing, insurance, and post-sale services. Launched approximately three years ago, the retail business (Carsome Certified) contributed 35% of Carsome’s US$1.5 billion revenue in 2022.

In an interview with Forbes, Cheng noted that the trade margin, representing the transaction profit after subtracting associated operating costs, stands at 13% – twice that of the core wholesale business. According to Cheng, Carsome, which claims to be the region’s largest online used-car platform by revenue and transaction volume, sold more than 150,000 vehicles last year, equivalent to a 3% market share of Southeast Asia’s used-car e-commerce market.

By the first three months of 2023 (1Q23), the group achieved its operational profitability milestone for the first time, primarily driven by a significant growth of trade margin, which doubled compared to the same period last year. “Notably, more than 80% of the trade margin came from high-quality transaction margins, far ahead of most of its global peers,” Carsome noted in a blog post. 

In terms of funding, in September 2023, Carsome secured US$170 million in Series D2 round funding, elevating the company’s valuation to US$1.3 billion. That funding round marked Carsome’s most significant equity investment, with participation from international investors such as Catcha Group, MediaTek, Penjana Kapital, and Emissary Capital, alongside existing partners like Asia Partners, Gobi Partners, 500 Southeast Asia, Ondine Capital, MUFG Innovation Partners, and Daiwa PI Partners.

Are layoffs the only way for Carsome to be profitable?

The company also secured new credit facilities of US$30 million, bringing its total liquidity to approximately US$200 million, enabling the company to pursue various growth initiatives. These initiatives encompass extending auto financing, insurance, and after-sale services beyond Malaysia to other markets where Carsome operates. 

Cheng expressed to Forbes the company’s goal for the upcoming year: sustaining growth, increasing market share from 3% to 5%, and aiming for 10% in subsequent years while maintaining profitability amidst pursuing diverse opportunities. 

But should the workforce of 4,000 employees be trimmed further to achieve the company’s goals? Carsome “makes adjustments to its workforce where necessary,” the company said in an emailed response to Bloomberg, declining to comment on specific numbers. “We remain committed to investing in all of our current markets and plan to accelerate profitable growth in 2024,” it added.

Carsome has trimmed hundreds of jobs twice since last year to cut costs for profitability ahead of a potential IPO.
(Source – Shutterstock)

Are layoffs a prerequisite to the stock market listing?

While layoffs might indicate a company’s readiness to go public, it’s not a definitive signal. Other factors, like financial challenges or shifts in business strategy, could also prompt layoffs. However, it is crucial to understand that a decision to go public doesn’t automatically signify financial stability or success for a company.

CARSOME CONFIRMS LAYOFFS AFTER EXPANDING ITS ECOSYSTEM

Dashveenjit Kaur | 30 September, 2022

Nonetheless, it’s conceivable for companies to trim their workforce to enhance their financials before undergoing an IPO. Following the first round of layoffs last year, some avid Carsome followers expressed dissatisfaction with the startup’s direction. “Over the next quarter, we could see more layoffs coming from Carsome, all because the top management doesn’t know what to do with the money from investors,” Crazy Tan argued in a post.

But Carsome has publicly claimed its profitability, leading many to begin questioning the rationale for laying off hundreds of staff to achieve further financial gains. Perhaps Carsome is reversing its efforts after going on a hiring spree until early 2022. Now, workers are bearing the brunt of pullbacks.

The post Is the Carsome unicorn status in Malaysia overhyped amidst recent layoffs? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

The story of Intel Corp in Malaysia began in 1972 when the company established its first offshore assembly and test facility outside the United States. The decision to set up operations in the Southeast Asian nation marked the beginning of a transformative journey that would impact Intel and the nation’s semiconductor landscape.

The US chip giant started with a 5-acre assembly plant in Penang, a Malaysian state on the northwest coast of the Peninsular. As per Intel’s records, by 1975, the A1 Intel Malaysia site facility had a workforce of approximately one thousand individuals and had become an indispensable component of the chip giant’s manufacturing network. The AI plant started with assembling just the 1103 DRAM integrated circuit.

However, a fire in the May of that year led to the company’s decision to reconstruct a new facility the following year. The fire resulted in damages amounting to US$2.5 million, more than Intel’s initial investment in Penang three years earlier. It wasn’t until 1976 that production resumed in Penang. 

On May 1, 1975, a little after 9 a.m. a fire broke out in Intel Penang’s mold room, probably the result of a faulty light. Source: Intel

“The new plant’s construction had been a herculean effort in its own right,” Intel said in a blog posting. In the following years, Intel’s presence in Penang expanded significantly in both its physical footprint and the scope of duties. It incorporated a comprehensive testing facility and established a dedicated center for development and design, all while maintaining its original function as an assembly site. Its workforce experienced substantial growth during this period, multiplying several times over.

INTEL RELEASES THE INDUSTRY’S FIRST AI PC ACCELERATION PROGRAM

Muhammad Zulhusni | 23 October, 2023

It took about two decades since the Penang A1 site came up for Intel to establish another site to manufacture motherboards. The facility still resides in the town that borders Penang, called Kulim. The facility was strategically located within the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Malaysia’s first high-tech industrial park, which officially opened in 1996. 

Today, the site encompasses five buildings, assembles processor packaging, and is a critical operations center for mobile modules. Intel Kulim is located a 45-minute drive away from Intel Penang.

The role of Malaysia’s factory in Intel’s supply chain

Malaysian then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad takes a closer look at an Intel microchip during his tour of a newly launched Intel Corp. building 02 July 1999, in the northern state of Penang. (Photo by JIMIN LAI / AFP)

Intel’s facilities in Malaysia occupy a pivotal role within the company’s global manufacturing network. This marks a significant departure from the early days of the A1 plant, which initially focused on assembling the 1103 DRAM integrated circuit. Although Intel operates wafer fabs across the globe that create a thin slice of semiconductor, known as a wafer, all of them will eventually be sent to the chip giant’s Malaysia campuses, both in Kulim and Penang.

Raymond Saw, a writer from SoyaCincau, visited both Intel facilities in Malaysia recently and shared some details on how things are being done there. In his article, he stated that the wafers initially reach the campus known as Kulim Die Sort and Die Preparation (KMDSDP). The campus space would be illuminated with distinctive yellowish sepia lighting at all times, a precaution to prevent the deterioration of the Mylar polyester sheets that secure the circular wafers in position.

The wafers will go through two stages in the Kulim campus: preparation and sorting. After those procedures are completed, the processed dies are shipped to Intel’s Penang Assembly and Test (PGAT) facility across the Penang Strait for additional processing. Once the final processing steps are completed, the chips will go through ‘testing’ before it is considered completed. 

They would undergo extensive testing before packaging and sale. To identify faulty chips, the finished CPU is subjected to a burn-in test involving high temperatures and voltages. Those that pass this stage undergo further testing, which includes checking electrical traces and overall functionality. Finally, a platform performance verification phase simulates real-world conditions using machines to ensure the processors operate as intended.

Layout of Penang campus. Source: Intel’s website

Jobs and positions at Intel Malaysia

Since 1972, Intel claimed that it has invested over US$5 billion in its facilities in Malaysia, employing over 15,000 people in its largest assembly and test manufacturing facility. Not only is it Malaysia’s largest product design and development center, but it is also one of two Intel shared services hubs supporting global operations.

According to SoyaCincau’s report, the chip giant claims 40% of their 15,000 employees are women, with AK Chong, the current Managing Director of Intel Malaysia, being the first woman to hold the position. Another interesting fact shared by Intel is the fact that Intel Malaysia has a workforce that comprises 98% Malaysians. 

Intel also plans to further anchor Malaysia’s position as an advanced manufacturing hub with its latest advanced packaging facility, estimated to be completed by next year. The new expansion facility, the Pelican Project, was unveiled when Intel announced its commitment to investing more than US$7 billion into the country over the next ten years. 

Earlier this year, Intel also revealed that another factory is being built in Penang, and it’ll be Intel’s first overseas facility for advanced 3D chip packaging, known as Intel’s Foveros technology. Malaysia will eventually become Intel’s largest production base for 3D chip packaging, Robin Martin, corporate vice president for manufacturing supply chain and operations, told reporters in August this year.

In short, Intel is expanding its operation in Malaysia as a whole and creating thousands of job opportunities while developing the local semiconductor industry.

The post How Intel pioneered the semiconductor industry in Malaysia appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Last October, the United States Bureau of Industry and Security issued its most unprecedented export controls against China. The intent of the US government was clear — to impede China’s ability to produce, or even purchase, the highest-end chips. The logic of the measure was straightforward: advanced chips and the supercomputers and AI systems they power enable the production of new weapons and surveillance apparatuses.

Since it was elected, the Biden administration has taken a much more adversarial approach to ward off China’s access to advanced chips than was common before. Before announcing the export controls on October 7, 2022, the US unveiled the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. It came with guardrails designed to limit the extent to which companies receiving CHIPS Act incentives could expand semiconductor investments in “countries of concern”— China included.

Those guardrails inevitably augment the stringent export controls on semiconductor equipment to China, and the January 2023 US-Japan-Netherlands pact limiting chipmaking tool exports. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the guardrails will “help ensure that malign actors do not have access to cutting-edge technology that can be used against America and our allies.” 

US-China tech war played out with regulations – for now.

President Biden continues with plans to stop Chinese development.

But the US is not yet satisfied because, reportedly, there are loopholes in the export controls, which the Biden administration plans to address as the ruling passes its one-year mark. “The Biden administration is seeking to strengthen controls on selling graphics chips for AI applications and advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese firms, the people said, asking not to be named because the rules aren’t yet public,” a recent Bloomberg report read.

DO RISC-V RESTRICTIONS SIGNAL THE FAILURE OF THE US EXPORT CONTROLS ON CHINA?

Dashveenjit Kaur | 10 October, 2023

The updated rule, said to be in the final stages of review, will include enhanced scrutiny for Chinese companies attempting to bypass export restrictions by rerouting shipments through other countries. Additionally, Chinese chip design companies will be included in a trade restriction list, requiring foreign manufacturers to obtain a US license before fulfilling orders for these firms.

The US is seeking new restrictions on exports to China.

The US officials warned China recently to expect rules restricting shipments of semiconductor equipment and advanced AI chips to be updated this month. Further confirming the reports was a regulation titled Export Controls to Semiconductor Manufacturing Items, Entity List Modifications, posted on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website last week.

“Export control rules are generally not posted by OMB until an agreement between the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce and Energy on their content. An anticipated companion rule updating restrictions on exports of high-end chips used for artificial intelligence has yet to be posted by the government,” Reuters’ report indicated.

According to Reuters, the Biden administration is aiming to publish both rules simultaneously, possibly this week. What has been irking the US is that since the October 2022 ruling was announced, China has expedited its investments in developing its domestic capabilities.

For example, despite ongoing US sanctions, Huawei subtly introduced a new 5G-capable smartphone last month. What surprised industry observers was that the phone’s 5G processor was manufactured by the domestic company Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). This component exceeded the expectations of many experts regarding the company’s production capabilities.

THE AI POWER RACE: CHINA BOOSTS COMPUTING POWER TO TAKE ON US

Aaron Raj | 11 October, 2023

In short, the efforts to close the loophole show how the Biden administration is struggling to cut China off from top AI technology, and how difficult it is to plug every gap in export controls. Although shipping AI chips to mainland China would violate US law, experts have pointed out the significant challenges the US faces in regulating these transactions. 

They highlight the fact that employees based in China could access chips held at foreign subsidiaries remotely and still comply with legal requirements.

Samsung SK Hynix granted indefinite waivers, with TSMC expecting the same

Last week, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that its local chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix will be allowed to ship US semiconductor manufacturing equipment to their China factories indefinitely without separate approvals. Choi Sang-mok, Seoul’s senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, told reporters the US government has already notified the two companies of its decision, which takes effect immediately.

Previously, Samsung and SK Hynix, alongside Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract producer of computer chips, received waivers when Washington imposed sweeping export restrictions to prevent China from getting advanced semiconductor technology. The one-year waivers from the US would have expired this month.

IDC: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLY CHAIN SHRINKING, CHINA SET TO BENEFIT

Dashveenjit Kaur | 13 October, 2023

This recent development alleviates the worries of Samsung and SK Hynix regarding their chip manufacturing operations in China, which depend to some extent on equipment from the US. Moreover, according to a Fitch report, China is a key manufacturing hub, accounting for 40% of Samsung’s total flash memory chips (NAND) production capability. 

It also accounts for 40%-50% of SK Hynix’s dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and 20% of its NAND capacity. TSMC has also applied for–and expects to receive–permanent authorization from Washington to export US chipmaking equipment to its China-based factory. 

“TSMC has been authorized to continue (to) operate in Nanjing, and we are currently in the process of applying for a permanent authorization for our operations in China,” it told AFP in an email Friday. 

According to the Taiwanese chip giant, the Bureau of Industry and Security advised the firm to apply for a “Validated End-User (VEU)” authorization. This “would serve as a permanent authorization,” TSMC said, adding that it has not had to apply for it in the past. “We expect to receive a permanent authorization through the VEU process.”

Biden turns the screw on China still further.

The post US to tighten chip export restrictions on China appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Not too long after India imposed — and then postponed — a licensing requirement on the import of laptops and personal computers (PCs), leading players began registering for the country’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Those 40 companies, including Asus, Dell, HP, and Foxconn, plan to start manufacturing in India. In short, the world can anticipate more Made in India laptops and PCs soon.

Last week, local reports indicated that around 30 out of 40 applicants are expected to qualify for the PLI scheme for IT hardware. Those companies committed to making PCs, laptops, tablets, servers, and other equipment worth Rs 4.65 during the scheme period. First introduced in 2020 for electronics makers, PLIs incentivize domestic and foreign companies to invest in Indian manufacturing and meet predetermined output targets.

According to a report by The Economic Times, major IT hardware companies like Dell and HP are participating directly in the program, while other significant players such as HPE, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, and Thomson are taking part through electronic manufacturing service (EMS) companies with manufacturing facilities in India, such as Flextronics and Rising Star.

WHATSAPP FOR BUSINESS TARGETS INDIAN ENTERPRISES

Aaron Raj | 22 September, 2023

In a Monday post on X, Alphabet chief executive Officer Sundar Pichai announced that Google will begin to make its Chromebook laptops in India through a partnership forged with HP Inc. The announcement by Google is the latest among global technology companies wiming to expand their assembly in the key growth market.

The first Indian Chromebooks – coming soon.

HP explained that the partnership will propel a joint vision: to support the digital education ecosystem in India, and to help more students enhance their learning by providing affordable, safe, and high-quality computing devices to education authorities, schools, and institutions. 

To top it off, with ChromeOS at its core, these Chromebooks include security and accessibility features, making them ideal for classroom environments.

Where will the Made in India Chromebook laptops be manufactured?

HP has a Flex Ltd facility near Chennai in southern India, where the company has been making laptops and desktops since 2020 – the Chromebooks will be built there. HP noted that the Chromebook production started on October 2, 2023. “Chromebooks are typically priced at the lower end of the market and have thin profit margins, making them sensitive to tariff measures,” Bloomberg pointed out.

IS INDIA EASING LIMITATIONS ON THE IMPORTS OF LAPTOPS AND TABLETS?

Dashveenjit Kaur | 26 September, 2023

That said, local manufacturing allows HP to avoid potential curbs on Chromebook imports. Bani Dhawan, head of education for South Asia at Google, emphasized the company’s ongoing efforts to support the digital transformation of education in India. “The local production of Chromebooks with HP marks an important step in our efforts to support the digital transformation of education in India,” said Dhawan.

“We hope this collaboration will help accelerate the adoption of technology in more schools, so that every student and educator have access to the tools and skills to pursue their potential.” 

A rise in tech production in India

Lately, India has been witnessing a significant uptick in technology production. Just last month, government sources claimed that Apple Inc. has plans to scale up production in India by over five-fold to around US$40 billion in the next four to five years. The iPhone maker crossed the US$7 billion production mark in its 2022 financial year.

Apple is already manufacturing iPhones in India and plans to start manufacturing Airpods in 2024. A government official quoted by the PTI News said, “It [Apple] doesn’t have any plans to participate in the IT hardware PLI [scheme]. It may come later, but now, its focus is to scale up existing production levels.”

India is yielding results even when it comes to the country’s ambitious push for self-sufficiency in mobile phone assembling. The South Asian nation shipped two billion domestically assembled smartphones and feature phones between 2014 and 2022 as part of its Make in India initiative.

India’s export industry for telecom equipment, including smartphones, is rapidly expanding. Source: S&P Global

According to market and research firm Counterpoint, a staggering 98% of all mobile phone shipments within the Indian market in 2022 were domestically produced, and 16% of the production was exported, compared to a mere 19% of domestic phones in domestic production in 2014, the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration assumed office.

Modi has been courting several global players in big tech to make India a new powerhouse.

The post HP and Google will start producing Made in India Chromebook laptops appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Agriculture tech might sound like an oxymoron – at least until you look at a tractor. Even though farming and agriculture seem distanced from technology, in the face of growing demand and a need for ecologically-sound methods of producing food, tech is just the ticket. Agriculture tech has come a little way since the plow and the hoe – though those are still perfectly valid (and green) examples of farming technology.

Tools have been used in agriculture since day dot. The modern tool is tech. Source: National Geographic.

For example, only 1.2% of all water on earth is classed as usable freshwater. In fact, the amount of fresh water per capita has fallen by 20 percent in the past two decades, and approximately 60 percent of all irrigated cropland is water-stressed.

In the face of pressures arising from climate change, pollution, water policy and water-intensive industries, it is more important than ever to protect freshwater as a vital resource.

The agricultural innovations of recent decades – synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and high-yield crops – have helped to increase the amount of food we can grow globally, but these inventions would all be moot without fresh water.

THE FUTURE OF FARMING: HOW MODERN AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY EMBRACES PHOTOVOLTAICS

Muhammad Zulhusni | 2 August, 2023

Agriculture specialists are under unprecedented amounts of pressure to improve operational efficiency and minimize the environmental impact of water usage. A recent report published by Viasat shows significant desire among agriculture professionals globally to enhance the industry’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, with water conservation and waste reduction being main priorities, followed closely by achieving a net zero target.

Agriculture tech to stave off climate change

The UN’s Environment Programme recently touched on the potential of “climate-smart agriculture,” and the importance of pioneering and utilizing technology which can improve the efficiency of water use and reduce pressure on global fresh water supplies. Climate-smart agriculture comprises a set of farming methods designed to increase the productivity and resilience of land, especially land affected by climate change.

While it’s not a solution to climate change, it can help to solve some of the problems that arise as a result of climate change. Balancing the operational needs of agriculture – such as crop yield and livestock production – against the need to ensure long-term environmental sustainability, however, is an ongoing challenge.

Source: McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/agricultures-connected-future-how-technology-can-yield-new-growth

One potential answer to that challenge is to harness satellite-enabled internet of things (IoT) solutions. There are a multitude of applications of this technology within agriculture, and it has a lot of potential to help the agriculture industry’s net zero mission by supporting farmers and agriculture specialists to gain further insight into their operations, and to better use and manage the resources available to them.

Broadly speaking, the IoT refers to everything that is connected to the internet, but the term is also used to describe objects that ‘talk’ to one another, like smartphones, wearables and sensors. These devices can collect data for a specific purpose, and that data can be useful within a broader context. Within an industrial context, for instance, manufacturers might insert a sensor into a product or material that can monitor its condition.

Agricultural robots could help the farming community.

With regards to agriculture, IoT-connected sensors can measure moisture levels in soil, which can provide precise and valuable insight into the conditions in which crops are being grown. This in turn lets farmers make more informed decisions around irrigation planning, which can minimize water waste and allow crops to thrive while also offering additional operational benefits, such as reducing costs arising from excessive water usage.

IoT solutions can also support smart agriculture through remote controlling. For example, Ranchbot, a provider of satellite-enabled remote water monitoring solutions, is helping to realize the benefits of the IoT on farms and ranches.

Through its two-way communication solution, farmers and ranchers can oversee their operations through applications on their mobile devices, which enable them to easily monitor water levels and control machinery (eg pumps) completely remotely. This additionally reduces travel time, saving fuel, and subsequently reducing carbon emissions.

Based on Viasat’s industry research, 71% of global agriculture tech decision makers plan to leverage IoT solutions to more accurately measure and understand the impact of their sustainability performance in the next year. 72% of agriculture firms have reported an impact from their investment in IoT solutions focused on improving sustainability outcomes, including 20% specifically seeing a reduction in their water usage as a result.

SEEDS OF CHANGE: AGRITECH REDEFINING FARMING IN ASIA

Muhammad Zulhusni | 6 June, 2023

There are many options available to businesses looking to adopt IoT solutions to improve sustainability and operational efficiency, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), agritech companies and dealers and distributors of farming equipment.

Solutions provided by these suppliers may require some form of internet connectivity to the cloud, and access to reliable global connectivity coverage can be critical to allowing farmers in the most remote and inaccessible spots to benefit. In locations lacking in cellular connectivity, satellite provides a solution.

Many growers and livestock farmers are seeing IoT applications as a good choice to address their operational and sustainability issues. Farmers and ranchers alike benefit from having an ‘extra pair of eyes’ which can monitor and control assets and deliver invaluable oversight and actionable insights – none of which would be possible without wide-reaching, resilient satellite connectivity.

Can the IoT and edge computing help fight climate change while feeding the world?

The post Climate smart agriculture enabled by technology appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

The journey into artificial intelligence (AI) for IBM Corp dates back several decades. The company, commonly known as Big Blue, has pioneered the way, pushing the boundaries of AI technology, especially for business use cases. One of the most significant milestones in IBM’s AI journey came with the development of IBM Watson in 2010, a milestone akin to a moon landings for the then still-burgeoning field.

At that point, for a system like Watson to use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to answer questions was a big deal. Watson breathed new life into IBM — a giant company once dependent on its legacy products. At that point in time, IBM knew that AI was a technology that could do for the company what the mainframe computer had done before it — provide an engine of growth and profits for years, even decades.

Fast forward 13 years, and today IBM still stands on the same pedestal, spearheading AI for business. But this time, it’s striving for an advanced branch of the technology — generative AI. At its annual Think conference in Singapore last week, IBM took the opportunity to walk the reporters through watsonx, its services with generative AI capabilities tailored for enterprises and even governments.

ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT: 5G SUBSCRIPTIONS IN SEA, OCENIA WILL SURPASS HALF A BILLION BY 2027

Dashveenjit Kaur | 23 June, 2022

Watsonx: AI for business explained

Unlike OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and others, IBM never got itself into the consumer-facing AI frenzy driven by ChatGPT. IBM’s prowess caters to enterprises in general, including governments. “It’s designed for enterprise and targeted for business domains, to solve real business problems that drive quick gains in productivity,” Sriram Raghavan, VP at IBM Research AI, told reporters during a panel session at IBM Think Singapore.

Sriram Raghavan, VP, IBM Research AI.

Raghavan meant that watsonx empowers organizations to be AI value creators, not mere users. “With watsonx, your business is not limited to just prompting someone else’s AI model with no control over the model or the date.”

watsonx allows users to train, fine-tune, deploy, and govern the data and AI models they bring to the platform. They own completely the value they create. As a cloud-native AI and data platform, watsonx consists of watsonx.ai, watsonx.data, and watsonx.governance.

• watsonx.ai: is a studio for foundation models, generative AI, and machine learning.
• watsonx.data: is a data store built on an open lakehouse architecture.
• watsonx.governance: is a toolkit for responsible AI workflows.

IBM demonstrating ways enterprises can put governance to work using watson.governance

In short, watsonx.ai allows AI developers to harness models offered by IBM and the Hugging Face community to tackle a broad spectrum of AI development tasks. These models come pre-trained and geared to handle various NLP tasks, encompassing question answering, content generation, summarization, text classification, and data extraction. 

Future releases will expand the array of IBM-trained proprietary foundation models, facilitating efficient specialization in specific domains and tasks. Meanwhile, watsonx.data helps clients overcome challenges related to data volume, complexity, cost, and governance as they scale their AI workloads. 

IBM revealed that 150 business clients have participated in the company’s beta and tech previews. Source: IBM

The platform enables users to seamlessly access their data, whether stored in the cloud or on-premises, through a single entry point. This approach dramatically simplifies data access for non-technical users while ensuring security and compliance. The significance of watsonx.data is that it empowers those non-technical users by granting them self-service access to enterprise-grade trustworthy data within a unified collaborative platform. 

watsonx – empowering AI for business.

It also reinforces security and compliance protocols through centralized governance and local automated policy enforcement. Soon, watsonx.data will harness the capabilities of watsonx.ai foundation models to simplify and expedite user interactions with data. 

2023 IBM STUDY: CEOS WANT GENERATIVE AI ADOPTION

Aaron Raj | 24 July, 2023

Then there’s watsonx.governance, leveraging IBM’s robust AI governance capabilities to help organizations implement end-to-end lifecycle governance, mitigating risks, and effectively managing compliance with the evolving landscape of AI and industry regulations. The advantage is that watsonx.governance empowers organizations to lead, oversee, and oversee their company’s AI initiatives. 

IBM’s AI roadmap

When IBM launched watsonx, the tech giant also unveiled its AI roadmap that spans over a decade, from 2023 to 2030 and beyond. While the goal this year is to expand the enterprise foundation model use cases beyond NLP, IBM foresees 2024 to be the year Big Blue would integrate guardrails throughout the AI foundation model lifecycle and AI governance at the organizational level.

IBM CONSIDERS IN-HOUSE AI CHIP TO SAVE COST ON OPERATING ITS WATSONX

Dashveenjit Kaur | 13 July, 2023

In fact, IBM, according to CEO and chairman Arvind Krishna, believes smart regulation should be based on three core tenets:

1. Regulate AI risk, not AI algorithms.
2. Make AI creators and deployers accountable, not immune to liability.
3. Support open AI innovation, not an AI licensing regime.

“If AI is not deployed responsibly, it could have real-world consequences – especially in sensitive, safety-critical areas. This is a serious challenge we must overcome, and it is precisely why we urge Congress and the Administration to enact smart regulation now,” Krishna wrote in a LinkedIn post dated September 14.

By 2025, IBM believes AI will become more energy and cost-efficient. “In 2025, we will improve the energy and cost efficiency of foundation model training and inference by five times and bring 200 billion over parameter foundation models to enterprises,” the roadmap reads. 

In 2027, IBM expects foundation models in production to become scalable. By that year, it will be routinely doubling the number of foundation model parameters in output for the same energy envelope every 18 months. IBM predicts that training and inference will be four times more energy efficient by then than it will be in 2025.

2029 will be an inflection point, according to Big Blue. “AI will support diverse forms of reasoning with explainability and trust. Energy efficiency will increase four times, and operationalized AI models are predicted to be a routine in enterprises.

“Something’s happening in AI…”

The post AI for business: IBM is charting the path with watsonx appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.