TIBCO: making digital transformation a reality for APJ businesses

Digital transformation may promise many advantages, but without the right tools, obtaining good results would be impossible. TIBCO positions itself as a digital transformation enabler that provides these tools, said Nick Lim, GM, APJ, TIBCO Software.

"Data is the transformative energy of modern enterprises. When organisations tap on the power of data, they are able to innovate, collaborate, and grow. This power is continuously increasing and businesses need to process the surge of data they're experiencing. This is what’s happening now in Asia Pacific as it drives ahead with its digital transformation initiatives," he said. 

The drive for digital transformation spans all verticals, he added.  "We have observed that across the region, every sector is in the process of digital transformation.

"The verticals we focus on are telecommunications, logistics, and banking and financial services institutions, but we do not limit our services to only these industries. We recognise that companies from various sectors, including manufacturing, transportation, retail, healthcare, government, hospitality, and energy are also unlocking value and creating strategic and competitive assets for smarter, faster decisions."

Changing trends are driving the need for digital transformation in various verticals, Lim elaborated.

"We see great potential in doing business with these industries, particularly in the telecommunications sector. Factors we have considered include the increasing social media penetration in Southeast Asia and the stronger demand for remote working collaborations across the whole of the Asia Pacific. More and more people and businesses will rely on mobile communications, hence increasing the need for better understanding of data and its uses.

"More importantly, we also look into opportunities in healthcare, where digitising the solutions and applying data analytics in hospital systems can ultimately result in developed digital health markets. The benefits are profound, delivering the ability to empower patients, improve engagement, make healthcare safer, and optimise operations."

Emerging technologies are also increasing interest in the type of solutions which TIBCO provides.
"The use of data and data analytics in the region will further be influenced by improvements in artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G. The growing use of IoT devices across the region is going to add to the huge amount of data to be processed. Meanwhile, communication is expected to be faster and easier with the onset of 5G, while enhancements in AI and machine learning technologies will definitely impact the automation of data management tasks," Lim commented.

The current strategy is to focus on all parts of the Asia Pacific and Japan region (APJ), Lim said.  

"There will be no drastic changes this year, but we focus on three key areas in the region: teamwork, prioritisation, and agility," he said. "Because of the current situation, we stand close with our customers by remaining agile with our services, and by delivering value through the challenging business climate we are all in. We continue to prioritise better customer experience while we listen to our partners and incorporate their feedback in our planning.

Source: TIBCO. Lim.

"We are also continuing to drive partnerships with tertiary institutions in the areas of upskilling and development of data science initiatives. We believe we can support the workforce, helping them become skilled in data science through structured curriculums. We work closely with universities and polytechnics to ensure their students can be prepared with the right digital skill sets for the digital economy, especially during these uncertain times.

"We are already working with a few tertiary institutions, such as Singapore Management University, Nanyang Polytechnic, and Republic Polytechnic. We will continue to drive this momentum."

TIBCO is also a huge supporter of employee welfare, Lim added. "In the region, we continue to emphasise upscaling the skills of our employees with new training and learning initiatives that will further turn them into professional experts in their own fields," he said.

Some of the company's customers include:

CargoSmart

This long-standing customers is a leading provider of global shipment management solutions which uses big data for greater visibility and benchmarking.

"The TIBCO services they use have enabled shippers, consignees, logistics services providers, and ocean carriers to get the information they need to compete strongly in the logistics industry," Lim said.

Telkomsel

Telkomsel is Indonesia's largest mobile telecom operator.

"The telecom company wanted a scalable architecture for creating agile and relevant mobile products to keep up with subscriber demand. Telkomsel turned to TIBCO Cloud Mashery, TIBCO BusinessWorks Container Edition, and TIBCO Fulfillment Order Management software to create an agile and scalable platform that provides omnichannel customer experience and better serves an increasing volume of mobile subscribers," Lim said.

"The results have been seen in their customer experience, becoming fast and flexible, with enhanced power integration and agile omnichannel fulfillment."

Citibank Asia

"TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks and TIBCO Enterprise Message Service were the key solutions the Citibank Asia team employed. They then started working with the TIBCO Professional Services Group; this continues to be a great partnership," Lim shared. Citibank Asia has been a TIBCO customer since 2007.