23/01/2026

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FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2026

BIZ & FINANCE

Aisling Malaysia Group forges alliance with IITM Global KUALA LUMPUR: Aisling

Bridgenet expands presence with office in Johor KUALA LUMPUR: Bridgenet Solutions Sdn Bhd, a managed service provider (MSP), has expanded its footprint in southern Malaysia with the opening of a new Johor office, reinforcing its long term commitment to supporting enterprises in the region. Johor continues to emerge as a key hub for cross-border trade, manufacturing, and digital services, supported by rising investment activity and its strategic proximity to Singapore. With a dedicated team based in Johor, Bridgenet said it is positioned to deliver faster response times, deeper local engagement, and more reliable support for customers across the southern region. “Johor is playing an increasingly important role in Malaysia’s digital and industrial landscape,” said group CEO Keane Leong, adding that establishing a physical presence here allows them to work more closely with customers and partners, respond faster to their needs, and invest in local talent that understands the region’s business environment. “The Johor office reflects our long-term commitment to building trusted partnerships and delivering secure, reliable technology solutions that help businesses scale with confidence,” said Leong. The expansion strengthens Bridgenet’s ability to support organisations across managed IT services, cloud solutions, and cybersecurity, enabling enterprises to navigate growing operational complexity and escalating security demands. “The closer proximity enables stronger collaboration across the ecosystem,” said CelcomDigi enterprise business TechCo acting head Alex Foo who added that with teams on the ground, customers benefit from more responsive support, while partners can work more closely to develop solutions tailored to the needs of the southern market. The Johor expansion forms part of Bridgenet Solutions’ broader growth strategy following its integration into CelcomDigi in 2021. By combining local presence with the scale and capabilities of the CelcomDigi ecosystem, Bridgenet is well-positioned to support enterprises with evolving IT infrastructure and cybersecurity requirements nationwide.

High End Skilling & Academic Programs), the partnership creates a seamless pipeline from academic research to global market commercialisation. IIT Madras Global CEO Thiru malai Madhavnarayan said: “IIT Madras is globally recognised for its excellence in research-led innovation, entrepreneurship and high end skilling and academic programmes. We are excited to partner with Aisling Group and bring our successful research and innovation model to Malaysia. This collaboration will help create a robust research and innovation ecosystem that aligns with the digital vision of the country, meets local industry needs, fuels deep-tech startups and em powers Malaysia’s digital future.” The introduction of IITM Global certified programmes into the Malaysian ecosystem marks a significant step towards achie ving long-term digital self sufficiency.

o Collaboration with Indian institute’s arm aims to build sovereign AI talent, deep-tech innovation, and world-class digital capabilities

Professional Development, the talent solutions arm of Aisling Group Malaysia, has partnered with IIT Madras Global Research Foundation (IITM Global), a wholly owned entity of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. This collaboration marks the launch of IITM Global–certified professional IT and digital technology programmes in Malaysia, designed to establish a localised high-tech ecosystem focused on delivering world-class AI research, deep-tech entrepre neurship, and essential sovereign digital capabilities. Its core focus is on enhancing Malaysia’s Sovereign Capability to ensure the nation owns the critical skills and intellectual property (IP) required to lead in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Strategically aligned with the 13th Malaysia Plan and the Malaysia Digital Action Plan 2030, this collaboration contributes to

sovereign developer and exporter of deep-tech solutions. Aisling is proud to be the bridge that makes world-class locally-created inno vation possible in every sector of our economy.” Aisling Group board director Akhil Gupta said this colla boration is a game-changer for Malaysia’s strategic growth as it will leverage the IIT Madras deep tech startup engine, to create a tangible pipeline of investible opportunities cementing Malaysia’s position as a regional hub for future-proof innovation. Structured around the four core pillars of IITM Global (Scale Ups, Research & Consultancy, IPs & Transfer of Technology and

the nation’s push to strengthen the local AI talent ecosystem. By equipping professionals with high value skillsets, Aisling Professional Development partnering with IITM Global will play a role in helping Malaysia achieve its target of creating 300,000 to 500,000 new jobs in the digital technology ecosystem by 2030. Aisling Group founder Melissa Norman said: “For nearly 30 years, we have seen a gap between global technology and local talent readiness, and we want to address this concern. With IITM Global, we aim to build the capabilities of local talent and in turn transition Malaysia from a consumer of technology to a

AWS, Exabytes launch RM4.3m cloud skills programme KUALA LUMPUR: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has entered into a RM4.3 million social impact agree ment with Exabytes to equip hundreds of Malaysians, particularly those from B40 and M40 communities (lower and middle-income house holds), with cloud computing and AI skills to meet the country’s fast growing digital workforce demand. The two-year initiative is part of the Exabytes’ Centre of Cloud Excellence (CCoE) and aims to bridge Malaysia’s digital talent gap through a fully sponsored Diploma in Applied Software Engineering (NitroDegree) and AWS re/Start, a cohort based workforce development training programme. opportunities in cloud computing, DevSecOps, and Artificial Intelli gence/Machine Learning engi neering. Under the agreement, AWS will provide Exabytes with approxi mately RM4.3 million in funding over two years (2026-2028), with disbursements tied to measurable programme outcomes including student completions, AWS certi fications achieved, and successful job placements. The initiative includes robust reporting mecha nisms to ensure transparency and track the programme’s social impact. All graduates who meet perfor mance standards will be well-placed to explore job opportunities through internships and full-time placements within Exabytes and its partner network. “In partnership with AWS and Forward College, we’re building an end-to-end talent engine – from education to employment,” said Exabytes founder and CEO Chan Kee Siak. “Through CCoE, we’re helping customers and communities alike to grow digital, grow talent, and grow innovation. By prioritising B40 youth and enabling career-switchers from M40 communities, we’re helping Malaysians gain financial inde pendence through future-ready digital careers,” he added. He said by investing in the AWS Malaysia Region, they are building the next generation of digital leaders who will drive Malaysia’s innovation economy forward. Exabytes CCoE was established to accelerate Malaysia’s digital transformation and align with the nation’s vision of becoming a regional technology hub. Through its GROW Digital, GROW Talent and GROW Innovation pillars, the CCoE provides a collaborative platform for businesses, educators and cloud providers to innovate, train and scale together. It serves as both a learning ecosystem and a launchpad for new ideas, from SME cloud adoption and upskilling to entrepreneurship and community driven innovation. The launch follows AWS’s US$6.2 billion (RM25 billion) investment to develop its AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region, announced in 2024. Both pathways are designed to prepare participants for employment

Education retains its importance in the Malaysian landscape for parents, students and stakeholders. The changes are fast paced with new developments in new fields of study such as cybersecurity, data protection, augmented and virtual reality, machine learning in education, digital education and artificial Intelligence. Leading the way are universities, who are invited to showcase their latest programmes, curriculum and content in our Education Focus for 2026.

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