Gamuda Berhad (Gamuda) and Dagang NeXchange Berhad (DNeX), through their wholly-owned subsidiaries, respectively – Gamuda Technologies Sdn Bhd (Gamuda Technologies) and DNeX Solutions Sdn Bhd (DNeX Solutions), have entered a joint venture (JV) to provide novel air-gapped Google Distributed Cloud Services (GDC Services) to the public and private sectors in Malaysia.
The GDC Services is a sovereign cloud solution that offers customers the highest regulatory requirements access to Google Cloud’s leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud technologies in a secure, fully isolated, on-premise environment.
This partnership succeedsthe Google Cloud Partner Advantage Commercial Partner Agreement between Google and DNeX on 30 September 2024.
The JV (with an equity ratio of 50:50) is authorised to act as the sole provider of GDC Services targeted at over RM11 billion market across government, including federal and state entities, as well as private entities such as financial service institutions and security-sensitive organisations.
As a local entity, the JV is committed to cultivating high-level technical expertise within the Malaysian workforce, fostering a robust ecosystem that drives digital sovereignty, promoting economic growth and enhancing Malaysia’s strategic position in the global technology landscape.
Marking a significant milestone in Malaysia’s digital innovation landscape as the first local provider of specialised air-gapped cloud infrastructure, Gamuda-DNeX GDC Services will involve procuring GDC hardware, expert workload sizing, providing customised AI solutions, application development, ongoing client support, data migration, and infra maintenance to clients.
Quote by Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir Jamalullail, Executive Chairman, DNeX:
We are pleased to partner with Gamuda to deliver market-leading cloud and AI solutions. This aligns with the Government’s ambition to transform the country into a high-income nation and be competitive in the Southeast Asian region. With our diverse businesses and wide client base, especially in the government sector, covering Technology (semiconductor), Energy and Information Technology (IT) space, we can establish a foothold and maximise opportunities arising in these areas. Through this joint venture, we’re committed to driving meaningful digital transformation that enhances efficiency, security, and service delivery for the public sector. This unique solution will unlock possibilities for secure and transformative innovation, namely the use of AI and advanced analytics in delivering integrated, citizen-centric digital government services, advancing treatments for chronic health conditions, and optimising energy production in hydro or solar power plants.
Quote by John Lim Ji Xiong, Chief Digital Officer, Gamuda Berhad
Partnering with DNeX represents a pivotal strategic alliance, harnessing their solid multifaceted technological prowess to enhance and enable AI and Cloud adoption in our national digital landscape. By leveraging our deep expertise in cloud and AI technologies and our established partnership with Google Cloud, we’re uniquely positioned to accelerate transformation across the regulated sectors. Gamuda has a proven record with experience and know-how in the Google Cloud ecosystem and solutions, further strengthened by our investment in Cloud Space, an award-winning Google Cloud Premier Partner, and talent development at the Gamuda AI Academy. This collaboration goes beyond technology – we’re bringing comprehensive capabilities in project delivery, value engineering and experience in organisational transformation. We aim to implement digital solutions and create a robust ecosystem that empowers the Malaysian government and private sector to stay at the forefront of technological innovation.
Transformative Benefits of Google Distributed Cloud Air-Gapped
- Full Isolation: GDC services enable organisations to meet stringent data sovereignty and regulatory requirements. They are designed to support strict requirements in alignment with NIST SP 800-53-FedRAMP high-security controls.
- AI for Accelerated Innovation: Use Google Cloud’s VertexAI platform, including their lightweight, open model Gemma.
- Data and Analytics: Data lake modernisation, ETL and secure data science at scale – on-prem.
- Scalability and Flexibility: It provides the scalability and flexibility of cloud computing within an air-gapped environment, allowing organisations to adapt to dynamic business needs.
- Security End-To-End: Data protection in transit, at rest, and in use utilising built-in hardware security modules (HSMs). Comprehensive application protection against threats with strong network security.
- Low Latency and Survivability: Low latency due to proximity and processing continues even when the connection is down.
- Open Marketplace: Access familiar third-party ISV integrations and products, such as databases, monitoring tools, and others, through the GDC marketplace at the click of a button.
- Software Sovereignty: There are no proprietary software lock-ins. GDC allows flexibility when choosing software stack solutions. Cloud-native services are based on open-source components.
Malaysia actively embraces AI as a key driver of technological advancement to spur economic growth. This is evident via the launch of the Malaysia Artificial Intelligence Roadmap (MAIR) and the recent establishment of the National AI Office (NAIO), which will be officially launched in December 2024.
Given the strong push for AI adoption, a joint venture between Gamuda and DNeX is poised to leverage both entities’ strengths. By combining the entity’s technical expertise, strategic partnerships, and commitment to digital solutions, the JV is poised to drive meaningful change in how government services are delivered.
As GDC services are new to the market, a comprehensive go-to-market strategy will be implemented to ensure successful entry and growth. Furthermore, the combined resources and expertise of DNeX (which has a proven track record in delivering eServices to the Government of Malaysia) and Gamuda (a regional engineering and infrastructure group with advanced technological innovations, including AI solutions) will enable the effective delivery of GDC services, a cloud-based service focusing on data sovereignty and further supported with advanced AI capabilities.
These services align with the government’s aspiration to embrace AI as the key driver of technological advancement and spur economic growth. This is also in line with the objectives of the Malaysia Artificial Intelligence Roadmap (MAIR) and the establishment of the National AI Office, set to be launched in December 2024.
