Microsoft in Malaysia

Microsoft started its operations in Malaysia in July 1992 – more than 30 years ago. Today, Microsoft employs more than 200 employees across its offices in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Their company’s mission is to create technology to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. In Malaysia, Microsoft work closely with governments, non-government organisations, enterprises, communities, and individuals to deliver its mission and support the nation’s digital aspirations.

Malaysia’s diversity of races, religions, and cultures is our unique proposition. This presents inclusive perspectives and opportunities—and is what sets us apart and makes us competitive. The Malaysia MADANI visionary approach also extends beyond economic growth – championing inclusive and sustainable development. Coupled with Malaysia’s strategic location, a highly diversified economy, and a supportive labor market, this overall robust foundation is what continues to draw Microsoft to invest in and partner with Malaysia.

As more people and organisations in Malaysia look to innovative technology to drive growth, overcome challenges, and build resilience, Microsoft’s goal is to be the trusted technology partner, in empowering people and organisations to take the leap to digital transformation, with AI.

AI is fast evolving in 2023, we saw the rise of Generative AI – a form of AI that can generate new output, be it text, imagery, or code, just by prompting it using our everyday, natural language. Examples range from helping people draft speeches or write programming codes, to enabling customer service departments build virtual agents in minutes. But that’s not all, we have seen the transformational power of applying generative AI in our day-to-day work too.

A recent study in collaboration with the Malaysia Centre4IR and Access Partnership found that generative AI has the potential to unlock USD113.4 billion of productive capacity for Malaysia, equivalent to 28% of the nation’s GDP in 2022. This highlights the transformative role that AI can play in driving economic growth and innovation.

In fact, new data from a Microsoft study also shows that across the globe, early users of Copilot for Microsoft 365, which introduces generative AI capabilities to support activities such as writing, creating presentations and administrative tasks, experience real productivity gains at work; making them more productive and creative, whilst helping them save time. The three key takeaways are:

• 70% of Copilot users said that they were more productive and 68% said it improved the quality of their work.
• Overall, users were 29% faster in a series of tasks (searching, writing, and summarising).
• 77% of users said once they used Copilot, they didn’t want to give it up.

Customers in Malaysia are starting to see the benefits of using the Copilot too, from the likes of AmBank Group, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, and PETRONAS.

At Microsoft, the believe is that AI is the defining technology of our time, and they are optimistic about what it can do to help people, industries, and society. Understanding its transformative capability, Microsoft is cognisant that this technology will undoubtedly play a part in reshaping how people work.

It may change the nature of some jobs, allowing people to focus on the more valuable, meaningful and enjoyable parts of their work, and may also lead to the creation of new jobs that did not exist before. In line with our aim to democratise AI breakthroughs, Microsoft is committed to help prepare Malaysians for this future.

As part of the Bersama Malaysia initiative to empower the country’s inclusive and sustainable digital economy, Microsoft pledged to upskill an additional 1 million Malaysians by the end of 2023 to ensure every person has an equal opportunity to thrive in the digital era. To realise this, Microsoft works closely with government agencies, non-profit organisations, corporates, and educational institutions, among others. With their support, the company has achieved more than 90% of its target as of November 2023 and looks forward to sharing its latest achievements soon.

AI is poised to deliver significant benefits and it is a great time for us to work together to ensure that these can be enjoyed by all, to enable inclusive economic growth to be truly achieved.