WebSite Malaysia.Net

As a long-term follow up to its Office 365 launch, Microsoft Malaysia (Microsoft) has announced a landmark partnership with SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp), which will see the maker of Windows engage and improve local businesses.

This partnership will see Microsoft investing RM20.8 million to help local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improve their operation efficiencies.

In addition, Microsoft will also be conducting various training programmes with SME Corp to help these businesses with adopting and harnessing the capabilities of Office 365.

Microsoft´s goal is to reach out to 50,000 SMEs within the first year of this collaboration. Since the launch of Office 365 in July, it has attracted a fair number of SMEs to register on the Cloud-based office productivity suite.

"It was at the local launch of Office 365 that we announced of our plans to work with government agencies to ensure that the national agenda will be fulfilled, specifically by transforming local SMEs into global players. In working with SME Corp, we opened the doors for these businesses to be empowered with the tools they need to enhance their operation capacity," said Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.

By being fully focused on SMEs, Microsoft felt it was appropriate to formulate a plan that will empower these companies with the necessary tools they need to succeed at the global level.

"If Malaysian SMEs are to become major contributors to the GDP by 2020, they need to understand that adopting ICT into their operations is critical as it spurs innovation as well as raise the effeciency within these companies," said Dato´ Hafsah Hashim.

According to Hafsah, the opportunity to tranform the way Malaysian businesses operate are enormous. Based on a survey that SME Corp carried out, it became clear that almost most, if not all, local businesses fall within the SME category.

"99.2% of businesses here are SMEs, and in their employ are 56% of the Malaysian workforce," Hafsah added.

These statistics translate to around 32% contribution the national GDP. SMEs goal is increase the current value to 41% target. To do that, it was clear early on that SMEs need to start leveraging on IT in order to raise their game.

"There is no better time than now for SMEs to transform the way they do business and become regional, or even global, market players! The support they are receiving from the government and the private sector provides these companies with the right opportunities to become the best they can be and to play their part in contributing to the nation´s economy," added Ananth.