Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 05, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Despite the robust growth of the digital economy, the digital state of Malaysia’s economic sectors, is still at an average of 73% as of 2017. The latest white paper
by YCP Solidiance, “Accelerating Your Digital Transformation: Are Malaysian Companies Geared to Digitalise?” suggests Malaysian companies implement an integrated digital strategy to remain competitive, particularly in adapting to the “new normal” of business operations due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The State of Digitalisation in Malaysia

The growth of Malaysia’s digital economy in recent years signifies an increasing potential for businesses to digitalise their processes. The digital economy contributed approximately 18.5% to the nation’s economy in 2018 with a CAGR of 8% between 2015-2018.

Malaysian companies are driven to digitalise but still face various obstacles. YCP Solidiance research shows that six out of 10 companies are still at the basic digitalisation stage, and only an estimated four out of these companies have an integrated digital strategy. The higher adoption rate of basic digitalisation is reflected in the usage proportion of digital tools.

Small-medium enterprises (SMEs), the bedrock of Malaysia’s economy which contributed 38.3% of the country’s GDP in 2018, have indicated priority in adopting sales and CRM tools in the near term. Large companies, on the other hand, intend to improve on front-end digital tools such as e-commerce or mobile application presence in the short term.

However, both SMEs and large companies face common barriers with regard to inadequate digital competencies and the inertia to changes. The digitalisation progress for large companies that often have larger human resources and financial capacity is inhibited as they face more deeply intertwined issues with obtaining organisation buy-in.

Embracing Digitalisation: Start Small, Start Now

While the majority of companies acknowledge that digital transformation is imperative to sustainable progress to be a more effective, digitally-powered organisation, this study reveals that these ambitions have not been translated into actionable digital strategies.

Considering the current economic climate, the immediate priority is to ensure business continuity with digitalisation as the most optimal solution. Therefore, companies are recommended to kick start their digital transformation journey, focusing on one key area at a time.