NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING

1 MARCH 2023

Sarawak Energy embarked on its digital transformation journey in 2018; introducing its Digitalisation Roadmap to drive operational excellence with the purpose of maximising corporate values and optimising resources such as manpower, time and expenditure. Malaysia’s largest renewable energy developer and provider is now firmly on the path of becoming a digital utility.

The company was recently featured at “Bersama Sarawak: Microsoft Cloud Summit”, an annual event designed to empower organisations to unlock the full potential of cloud computing and drive Sarawak’s digital transformation journey forward.

Held at the Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching, the summit brought industry leaders, cloud experts and tech enthusiasts together to explore the latest advancement in cloud technology, network with peers and gain practical insights from real-world case studies.

Sarawak Energy Chief Digital Officer, Sim Ko Sin was an invited panel speaker for the session “Digital Transformation of Going on Cloud”. Other panellists were Chief Executive Officer for Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Sudarnoto Osman and Co-Founder of The Learning Curve, Kenneth Chai. The discussion was moderated by Kathleen Lim from Microsoft Malaysia.

During her session, Sim discussed the obstacles that Sarawak Energy had to overcome prior to shifting its focus and aspirations of becoming a digital utility by 2025.

She explained, "In the beginning, we utilised multiple platforms and systems that lacked synergy, integration and did not feature single sign-on functions or analytics functions for example. We also lacked modern collaboration tools such as videoconferencing facilities and other office productivity and mobility toolsets.”

She highlighted the notable changes that Sarawak Energy had implemented to enhance its operations and business such as the introduction of paperless bills, hazard reporting using the company’s mobile app SEB Cares, e-learning and remote monitoring systems.

When asked on Sarawak Energy Digital Acculturation Programme (SEDAP), Sim said, “Our success in digital transformation is predicated on our people’s skills and capabilities to leverage new technologies and innovation.

“While we attract talents with digital competencies, we must also close the digital competency gaps and enhance digital savviness in our multi-generational workforce. SEDAP is our way of providing meaningful experiences, centred around adopting digital methods of working, building a digital workforce and empowering our digital people with digital toolsets,” she added.

Sim also said that upskilling the employees with digital skills has improved workforce flexibility which encouraged the exploration of new ways of working by leveraging technologies and innovations; creating positive experience of using digital tools thus making a more receptive environment to make digital changes and accelerate digital transformation.

“Sarawak Energy has offices across Sarawak, and we are also communicating with various stakeholders. Virtual conferencing enables us to carry out meetings and events anytime and anywhere. Through cloud applications, our employees can also share larger volumes of data and documents with a wider audience, and they are utilising the shared document function to provide feedback on each other’s work. We can also reduce overlapping of information and redundancies with shared folders,” she elaborated.

Sim revealed how Sarawak Energy is transforming its business operations through the use of modern technologies and accelerating smart business by developing business digitalisation blueprints and roadmaps for each of its core lines of business including Digital Power Plant, Smart Grid and Smart Retail.

The “Bersama Sarawak: Microsoft Cloud Summit 2023” featured a full day conference and exhibition.

“Digital Transformation of Going on Cloud” panel session, moderated by Kathleen Lim (far left) and panel speakers (2^nd to 4^th left respectively) - Sarawak Energy Chief Digital Officer, Sim Ko Sim, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation, Sudarnoto Osman and Co-Founder of The Learning Curve, Kenneth Chai.

Sarawak Energy Chief Digital Officer, Sim Ko Sin spoke about Sarawak Energy’s digital transformation journey