KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The big data analytics (BDA) market in Malaysia is expected to grow to US$1.9 billion (about RM7.85 billion) in 2025, from US$1.1 billion in 2021, according to Malaysia Digital Economy Corp’s (MDEC) commissioned study by IDC.

The study noted that the services sector will contribute 64% of total data-driven spending, with the banking and telecommunications sectors contributing nearly a third, MDEC noted in a statement on May 10. 

MDEC senior vice-president for investment and brand cum chief marketing officer Raymond Siva said the Covid-19 pandemic had been a game changer in terms of demand for BDA, backed by surging demand for data and cloud services.

He added that companies investing in BDA will continue to expand their presence by having Malaysia as a base for their regional and global businesses and operations to manage their core functions.

“As Asia maintains its momentum as the fastest-growing region in the world, we see investors’ confidence in Malaysia’s digital ecosystem continue to soar amid the global pandemic. Existing companies have also started reinvesting in Malaysia,” said Siva.

According to the statement, DataMicron Systems Sdn Bhd, a local MSC Malaysia company, and TDCX, a customer experience service provider, have started embarking on an aggressive expansion, starting with BDA as part of their new investment portfolios.

MDEC stated that BDA is central to Malaysia’s digital economy, resulting in growth of other digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT) and advanced automation.

The agency noted that private-sector engagement is essential in attracting the desired level of digital investment into the country.

“With supportive government policies and through various other MDEC-led capacity building programmes with local and international partners, MDEC has sought to better equip the local workforce with in-demand for rapid-growth digital-led jobs ranging from online content creation, data science and analytics, to programming,” it added. 

It will also continue to support talent development within the BDA realm in Malaysia as it believes that it will help Malaysia’s talent and economic players to tap into the US$13 trillion revenue projected to be added by data-fuelled applications in the global economy by 2030.

“Asia-Pacific’s BDA industry can expect to grow at the fastest rates and in excess of a 15% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) by 2019-2024 due to increased BDA investments by many start-ups and businesses,” said Raymond, citing a recent analysis by IDC's Worldwide Big Data and Analytics Spending Guide 2020.

The report forecast that revenue from BDA solutions reached US$22.6 billion in 2020, with a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 12% in the Asia-Pacific region. It also predicted that this was mainly due to increasing confidence of decision-makers that investments in BDA will be necessary for achieving digital and business resiliency amid the Covid-19 pandemic.