In-house solutions SWIMS and IDEAS+ received global recognition for the Beyond Connectivity and A.I, Data & Analytics categories respectively
Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), added another feather to its cap when they recently bagged not one, but two (2) awards at the prestigious TM Forum Excellence Awards 2020.
The awards were conferred to TM R&D for its innovative solutions namely Smart Water Integrated Management System (SWIMS) under the Beyond Connectivity and Artificial Intelligence (A.I) category, while its Intelligent Network Diagnostic & Expert Advisory System for Service Desk (IDEAS+) solution received the recognition under Data & Analytics category.
Since 2007, TM Forum Excellence Awards recognises the world's leading companies for their innovative achievements spanning digital transformation, business and IT agility, customer centricity, cultural transformation, cross-industry partnering and collaboration, and product and service innovation in AI, data analytics, autonomous networks and cloud native IT. All entries were assessed by a global panel of judges based on the extensive materials submitted. Each year, the judging panels are carefully selected from varied global organisations to ensure a balanced approach and a wholly impartial view.
Commenting on the double wins, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, "This is certainly a welcomed surprise and a proud moment for us at TM R&D. We are excited that two of our very own internally-developed smart solutions, deployed in collaboration with Air Selangor and Group Customer Experience at TM have been recognised by global industry experts such as TM Forum. Both solutions are now commercially available domestically and to the global market. We believe TM R&D is on the right track to support TM's Digital Malaysia aspirations and simultaneously accelerate Malaysia to become a digital nation."
SWIMS is an Internet of Water (IoW) solution, essentially doing for water what Internet of Things (IoT) does for various other industries and verticals. These include electric utilities, transportation, smart cities and factory automation, to enable in-depth, new insights into the operations and the right tools to act on those insights.
"SWIMS offers end-to-end smart water management that improves non-revenue water management. It optimises the repair and replacement of ageing water infrastructure as well as improves response to weather events such as water level and quality. Based on feedback we received from Air Selangor, with SWIMS, water usage visibility improved by 3,000% and meter reading accuracy improved 10-15% through automation," shared Dr. Sharlene.
The TM Forum Excellence Awards also recognises another solution from TM R&D, IDEAS+ which is a one-stop advisory platform deployed at TM's contact centre. Using machine-learning algorithm, IDEAS+ assists the call centre agents to efficiently troubleshoot and resolve various customer issues. The objectives of the project were to reduce Average Handling Time (AHT) at the contact centre when entertaining customer calls, reduce repeated truck roll, increase the accuracy of troubleshooting and escalation as well as to achieve cost-saving. IDEAS+ is an intelligent diagnostic and advisory system for TM contact centre agents to provide predictive guideline as well as troubleshooting steps with more than 95% accuracy.
Established in 2001, TM R&D is the centre of innovation for TM Group focusing on innovations that enriches humanity and bring progress to nations. Growing from strength to strength since 2016, TM R&D has won 15 globally recognised awards and generated more than 2,800 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and 1,400 digital assets to-date. TM R&D's innovations all developed in-house cut across multiple verticals such as Utilities, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education with safety and productivity as the top priority. As TM R&D continues to expand beyond connectivity and into smarter digital ecosystems, its role in TM has become more prominent and exciting.
For more information about TM R&D and its products and services, they can be contacted at business@tmrnd.com.my or log on to www.tmrnd.com.my or follow them on LinkedIn (TM Research & Development) for more news and updates.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
TM R&D recognised at MDEC’s Inaugural Malaysia Digital Economy Industry Awards 2022
Acknowledgement for its support for the agency and contribution to the development of the digital ecosystem Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (TM R&D), the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) recently received the ‘Data Sharing Technology Excellence’ award in recognition of its contribution as a partner to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in growing the data ecosystem in Malaysia. The recognition was given away at the inaugural Malaysia Digital Economy Industry Awards 2022 organised by MDEC, to show appreciation and recognise industry players who have been supporting the agency as well as contributing to the development of the digital ecosystem. Present to accept the award from Dato’ Seri Haji Mohammad Mentek, Secretary General of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, was Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer of TM R&D. Commenting on the milestone achievement, Dr. Sharlene said, “This recognition reaffirms our efforts in developing digital ecosystems to facilitate Malaysians in embracing a more digital lifestyle. It is a proud moment for us at TM R&D and we look forward to continue working closely with MDEC and other agencies with similar aim, contributing our expertise to accelerate data technology adoption and facilitating talent development as well as industry-academic collaboration.” In 2020, TM R&D was appointed as MDEC’s Data Technology Partner under its Data Technology Partnership Programme. The appointment allows TM R&D to work hand-in-hand with MDEC and enterprises in multiple collaboration activities, leveraging on each other’s core expertise and capabilities to accelerate the adoption of data technology among businesses toward boosting Malaysia’s digital economy. TM R&D and MDEC also joined forces to launch a one-stop data exchange platform under MDEC’s #DigitalVsCovid initiative to facilitate and accelerate data sharing. The goal was to bolster research efforts in combating COVID-19. The development of the Data Exchange Platform was among the initiatives aimed at expediting access to data for developers, students, scientists and medical practitioners as well as government agencies. This will help them gather new insights easily on the pandemic and, eventually, pave the way for major breakthroughs. The Data Exchange Platform was built on TM R&D’s Open Innovation Platform (OIP), Malaysia’s first Open Software Development Platform. It consists of a data brokerage platform, an Application Programming Interface (API) store-front and an end-to-end (e2e) ecosystem for the rapid development of smarter 4th Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) services that enable the creation of new revenue opportunities. Established in 2001, TM R&D is the innovation arm of TM Group focusing on creating smarter ecosystems to make business and life easier for a better Malaysia. TM R&D’s solutions are clustered around four pillars namely Intelligent Platforms, Data Brokerage, Connectivity/Tools and IR4.0/Digital Solutions. Growing from strength to strength, TM R&D has won multiple global awards and generated more than 2,800 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and 1,400 digital assets to date. TM R&D’s innovations are developed in-house and cut across multiple industries such as Utilities, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education, with safety and productivity as its top priority.
TM and Tata Communications join forces for IP Transit services in ASEAN
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), the national connectivity and digital infrastructure provider through its global and wholesale arm, TM WHOLESALE and Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tata Communications International Pte Ltd., join forces to offer stable, high-speed and reliable connectivity in the ASEAN region and open access to global enterprises. This collaboration will enable service providers, mobile network operators and internet service providers in the region to address their customers’ growing data connectivity needs by providing access to a global Tier 1 Internet Protocol (IP) network. This will help deliver reliable, stable Tier-1 IP Transit (IPT) service, an internet connectivity service that enables end-users to access all websites and content on the internet. This will further boost sectors such as e-commerce, online entertainment, retail, online banking and delivery services that have accelerated in recent times. As part of this arrangement, Tata Communications expands its IPT service coverage leveraging TM’s data centre, extensive connectivity and network infrastructure in Malaysia. This collaboration will also enable Tata Communications to optimise TM’s reachability within the ASEAN region through terrestrial networks and submarine cables to the neighbouring countries. The submarine cables include the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand submarine cable for connectivity to Indochina and, Nusantara Gateway submarine cable for connectivity to Indonesia. At the same time, TM will benefit from Tata Communications global Tier-1 IP network to serve customers in more than 190 countries and territories hence further extending TM’s IP transit coverage and enhances its regional TMiX offering. Commenting on the collaboration, Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, Executive Vice President of TM WHOLESALE, stated, “We are delighted to work with a renowned global player like Tata Communications, to fulfil our role as the digital infrastructure accelerator in Malaysia. This is part of our effort to enhance our internet service performance with expanded global reach for service providers in Malaysia and neighbouring countries to meet the growing IP networks requirements. The collaboration underscores our commitment to our customers for delivering world class network service, brings us one step further to achieve our aspiration as the trusted digital hub in the ASEAN region. It also signifies our commitment to support the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) initiative towards enabling Digital Malaysia.” Sumeet Walia, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Tata Communications, said, “The service provider ecosystem across the ASEAN region will benefit from our joining forces with TM and enabling access to a Tier-1 internet provider transit connectivity that provides scale and a fillip to boosting the economy. By offering high-capacity and low-latency IP transit services to and from Malaysia for both our customers, we bring forth synergies for a more robust, secure and flexible IP platform.”
TM ONE & SIRIM ACADEMY PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS CYBERSECURITY AND AI GOVERNANCE IN MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 November 2025 – TM One, TM’s enterprise and government sector solutions arm, has signed a strategic Collaboration Agreement with SIRIM Academy, a subsidiary of SIRIM Berhad, to advance Malaysia’s capabilities in information security, artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and workforce certification. The partnership combines TM One’s expertise in cybersecurity and managed services with SIRIM Academy’s recognised strengths in training, consultancy, standards development and personnel certification. Together, the two organisations will support enterprises and government agencies in closing compliance gaps, adopting global best practices, and building resilience in the digital economy. The collaboration focuses on certification and workforce readiness, supporting organisations to comply with Information Security Management Systems (ISMS, ISO/IEC 27001) and the newly introduced AI Management System (ISO/IEC 42001:2023). TM One will provide operational security capabilities for monitoring and incident response, while SIRIM Academy will deliver professional certification programmes aligning with standards requirements and national frameworks. To ensure compliance, organisations can further leverage TM One’s Managed Security Services including its Security Operations Centre (SOC), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), and Threat Intelligence, which offers continuous protection. The agreement also facilitates joint go-to-market opportunities, with TM One or SIRIM Academy leading client engagements as needed. The collaboration was formally made through an exchange of documents between Shanti Jusnita Johari, TM One’s Executive Vice President, and Dr. Mohd Bakri bin Jali, SIRIM Academy’s Chief Executive Officer (Covering), symbolising the start of a shared commitment to advance Malaysia’s digital trust and governance. Shanti Jusnita Johari said, “This partnership with SIRIM Academy reaffirms TM One’s position as a trusted digital enabler for enterprises and government. By embedding training, consultation and certification into our secure digital infrastructure, we ensure compliance is not only achieved on paper but sustained in practice. Together, we are building the human talent and governance frameworks needed for Malaysia to thrive as an advanced digital nation.” Echoing this, Dr. Mohd Bakri bin Jali also highlighted SIRIM Academy’s commitment, “As the training, consultancy and standards development arm of SIRIM Berhad, SIRIM Academy is committed to raising Malaysia’s industry standards and certification readiness. Partnering with TM One allows us to integrate our expertise in standards implementation with their operational capabilities, enabling organisations to adopt ISMS, AI governance and digital trust practices more effectively. This synergy enhances Malaysia’s competitiveness in the digital economy.” The partnership is the latest milestone in TM’s aspiration to become a Digital Powerhouse by 2030, ensuring enterprises and government agencies are equipped with secure, compliant and future-ready digital solutions.