How Technology Contributes to Economical Gaps in Southeast Asia

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The survey counted 206 professionals in the public services sector across the largest economies in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines & Vietnam. The same survey showed that 60.6% of respondents believe that business intelligence software is the DX solution that brings the largest benefits to their organisation.

Sustainability has also been a growing focus in ASEAN, illustrated by the sustainable mobility and energy targets of ASEAN. The Phnom Penh Declaration on Sustainable Urban Mobility is the first Declaration on sustainable transport issued by the ASEAN Transport Ministers focusing on urban and metropolitan regional mobility. The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation demonstrates the region's commitment to achieving the targets on renewable energy share 23% in total primary energy supply, as well as the 35% share in installed power capacity by 2025. The need for education is underlined as well from a 2021 AIBP survey, where the lack of talent and expertise was ranked as the most significant impediment to digital transformation in ASEAN. In advancing these public interests, tech-powered innovation has and will continue to be key.

Tech-powered innovation has continued to be key in advancing public interests such as mobility, sustainable energy and education.

Taiwanese Companies Contributing to ASEAN Societies

Mobility:

With transport mobility being integral to driving economic and social growth, importance is placed on developing innovations in this area and several companies have stepped up to take the lead. PLANET Technology Corporation has solved key issues pervading public transport networks with their Industrial LoRaWAN Wireless Gateway solution. It facilitates data transmission over long-range distances at low power consumption across urban and rural areas, and supports real-time data collection, enabling vehicle detection and location tracking. This contributed to smart parking solutions and allowed commuters to easily check bus timings, improving the overall public transport system. 

Up-and-coming alternative mobility solutions are getting increased attention as well. Advancements made in vehicle electrification have contributed to the lowering cost of electric vehicles (EV). Coupled with an increasing focus on sustainability in ASEAN, EV adoption and the development of an EV ecosystem are growing. Zealio is one of the key players in the EV interior space. Guided by a user-centric approach, Zealio sought to develop EV components that are easy to install, have zero-interference with other vehicle electronics, are energy efficient and recyclable.

Sustainable Energy:

Environmental concerns are increasing in ASEAN. Stakeholders in the energy industry are seeking to pivot to a green energy approach and Advantech is at the forefront of this change. Advantech has observed that power plant and grid owners are most concerned about data accuracy, operational efficiency and asset management. To address these needs, the company has developed a smart energy management solution that includes pre-built related analytics. In helping Singapore's National Water Agency (PUB) with the monitoring and tracking of their Floating Solar PV System, Advantech partnered with Mirai Electronics to build an IoT framework that gathers critical equipment and environmental data that is sent to the cloud, various dashboard views including green parameters to facilitate data analytics and visualisation, and a system that enables proactive monitoring and response to tough environmental conditions.

Need for Skill Development through Tech-Enabled Education:

A 2021 survey conducted by AIBP showed that 39.4% of public services stakeholders believe people are the principal challenge to becoming data driven. As technology continues to play a key role in innovation efforts, workforce skill levels need to keep up and education is integral to nurturing that talent. Enterprises have recognised this need and are providing tech-enhanced solutions to complement traditional educational methods. 

In pursuit of closing the gap, one successful project was delivered by CYP's Pro AV solutions. CYP integrated their AV solutions together with learning tools such as document cameras, interactive white boards and audio visual devices providing a solution for Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU)'s remote learning programmes. This has enabled the concept of smart classroom, which aims to deliver high-quality classes during distance learning and video conferencing, and let teachers engage both in-class and remote students.