NEWS: Microsoft keen to partner Govt on cloud computing

ALREADY PRESENT: MYEG is one example of cloud computing being used to deliver e-government services in Malaysia, said Ananth.

PUTRAJAYA: Software giant Microsoft is keen to work with the Malaysian Government to harness cloud computing in pursuit of initiatives such as connected government and innovation-based economy.

"Just as we saw how the personal computer revolutionised the work environment and the way we worked, played and connected with our families in the 1980s, cloud computing will do the same, here and now," said Microsoft Malaysia managing director Ananth Lazarus.

Cloud computing has grown in popularity in recent years because it allows individual and business users to pay for using applications hosted online instead of buying, installing and maintaining software.

Speaking at a half-day seminar on Cloud Computing Enabling Innovation in Malaysia here, Ananth said: "The cloud is not just about consumers and corporations. Government organisations can rely on the cloud to improve transparency as well."

"At the same time, the Government may address administration goals, offer scalable, interactive citizen portals, collaborate more easily across different agencies, deliver volumes of data to citizens in useful ways and reduce their information technology costs," he said.

In use

Ananth said cloud computing is not new to Microsoft because "we have almost 15 years' experience in cloud computing, hosting some of the world's largest cloud services."

"What's new is the fact that cloud computing has reached a stage where it can transform business and the way we work," he said.

Presently, he said, about 70% of Microsoft's 40,000 software developers are working on cloud computing products and services, with the number expected to increase to 90% by next year.

According to Ananth, there are already elements of cloud computing being used to deliver e-government services in Malaysia.

"MYEG, the public service payment and monitoring application, is one such example," he said, adding that the National Archives is using cloud computing to keep track and maintain the facility's historical database.

According to industry projections, an organisation can save up to 50% of its information technology cost by adopting cloud computing.

The seminar was held in collaboration with the Malaysian Information System Officers Association (Perjasa). - Bernama