Countries in the Southeast Asia region are turning to connected solutions enabled by the internet of things (IoT) to make business processes as well as cities smarter, safer and more efficient. At the city level, many cities are integrating a wide range of networked video monitoring solutions to efficiently protect public areas. These help authorities to detect and prevent potential threats as well as in monitoring and improving traffic flow. IoT solutions like connected parking, vehicle safety systems and driver assistance systems will prevent accidents, stress, and emissions. Smart manufacturing enabled by IoT helps manufacturers lower their inventory costs, minimise workflow disruptions and reduce the overall amount of capital required to run their businesses.
Today, a plethora of smart home products are also available, which have made it possible to control connected devices through a single platform, allowing users to control and automate several processes in their homes. For instance, intelligent cooling control systems save energy costs by adjusting temperatures or switching off air conditioners when not in use. Automated house surveillance systems, which can be monitored any time and from anywhere, are also gaining traction.
Given the various benefits of the technology, expenditure on IoT is expected to rise sharply, with spending across ASEAN expected to reach $7.53 billion in value by 2020, a 35 per cent growth from an estimated $1.68 billion back in 2015. Countries such as Thailand and Malaysia are already leading the way and have adopted policy frameworks and strategic roadmaps to enhance IoT adoption.
Indonesia
Based on the Indonesian IoT Forum data, there are around 400 million sensor devices installed in the country. Of these, 16 per cent are in the manufacturing industry, 15 per cent are in the health sector, 11 per cent in the insurance sector, and 10 per cent in the banking sector. The retail, wholesale and computer repair sectors all have 8 per cent each. Further, government has 8 per cent, transportation 6 per cent, utilities 5 per cent, and real estate, business services and agriculture have 4 per cent each.
According to government sources, the value of the IoT market in Indonesia is expected to reach $30 billion by 2022. The reported value is a summation of the contribution of several components including content and application ($13.1 billion), platform ($11 billion), IoT devices ($3.8 billion), and networks and gateways ($2.7 billion). Further, it is predicted that in 2025, 70 per cent of the state budget will be supported by industries which have implemented IoT.
Currently, Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and IT is working on an IoT regulation, which will include spectrum allocations for both licensed and unlicensed connectivity networks crucial for the development of IoT.
Thailand
IoT is central to the country’s 4.0 initiative and will be instrumental in accelerating the digital transformation of the country. Companies like AIS and True Corporation have rolled out NB-IoT technology across the country. Applications such as vehicle tracking and smart parking are already at a commercial stage, while those such as smart metering have entered the trial stage.
In August 2019, the government issued a white paper on the IoT industry. The paper outlines the framework for an IoT ecosystem and for applications that will guide the development of IoT start-ups and stimulate the digital economy in the country. Further, key government projects such as Smart City – Bangkok, the Eastern Economic Corridor and smart grid all have some element of IoT as part of their deployment. In the past two years, several IoT-enabled smart city pilots have been conducted in Phuket, Chiang Mai, Khon-Kaen and EEC, where IoT technology has been used extensively areas such as smart safety, smart tourism, smart living, smart mobility, smart health and smart port.
Singapore
Singapore’s IoT market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, driven by the country’s Smart Nation Project. It lays emphasis on areas such as smart mobility, smart building and environment, smart industry, smart healthcare and smart governance, all of which will be enabled by IoT. Robust telecom infrastructure such as fibre connectivity, data centres, submarine cables and the 5G technology roll-out will further drive the adoption of IoT in the country.
The highest demand for IoT will emerge from the manufacturing industry, which accounts for approximately 20 per cent of Singapore’s GDP. Both private and public sector companies are embracing digital technologies such as big data analytics, cloud services and machine learning to make their operations and processes smarter. Earlier in January 2016, the Singapore government had announced the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan, which laid out the government’s research and development (R&D) strategy for the five-year period until 2020. The government is extending a high level of support for enhancing R&D capabilities in the country and plans to invest S$3.2 billion till 2020 towards cutting-edge advanced manufacturing technologies such as industrial IoT, robotics and cloud computing.
Malaysia
Malaysia, with its robust electronics and semiconductor industries, is poised to become a regional hub for IoT. The IoT industry is expected to generate over 14,000 new jobs besides contributing 9.5 billion Malaysian ringgit to the country’s total gross national income by 2020. This is likely to increase to 42.5 billion Malaysian ringgit by 2025, of which 34 billion Malaysian ringgit will be driven by apps and services, and analytics solutions.Malaysia’s traditional economy of agriculture and manufacturing is expected to be transformed by the adoption of IoT and enable it to move up the value chain.
One of the major initiatives to support the IoT ecosystem is currently taking place in the township of Cyberjaya, where Cyberview is implementing various IoT-based solutions, includinga smart traffic management system, public safety monitoring and energy management among others. Besides, to transform Cyberjaya into a “living lab” for IoT implementations, Cyberview has set up a hub for start-ups focusing on IoT-related solutions in Cyberjaya that enable start-ups easy access to companies and stakeholders in the township. For example, a start-up focusing on developing solutions to lower energy cost on data centres will be able to have access to various tech companies’ data centres with the help of Cyberview.
The country’s government believes that IoT can help the country boost its innovation competitiveness further. Currently, there are more than 146 IoT-related patents filed by Malaysian inventors and researchers.
