DNeX, Google Cloud Forge Strategic Partnership to Deliver Next-Generation Sovereign Cloud for Malaysia

Dagang NeXchange Berhad (DNeX) and Google Cloud have announced a multi-year agreement to deliver next-generation sovereign cloud services in Malaysia. This strategic partnership addresses the country’s growing demand for cloud solutions that meet strict data residency, security, and privacy requirements, particularly within regulated industries like public services, financial services, healthcare, and energy.

Under the agreement, DNeX will be authorised by Google Cloud to operate Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) as a Managed GDC Provider (MGP), with a focus on air-gapped configurations for organizations in Malaysia. DNeX will offer deployment options for Google Distributed Cloud air-gapped on-premises or within partner data centers, with flexible hardware options—including general-purpose central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs)—to address organisations’ specific workload requirements.

GDC is a Google Sovereign Cloud solution that operates entirely within the customer’s chosen environment, requiring no connectivity to a Google Cloud region or the public internet. This will enable organisations in Malaysia to accelerate their digital transformations with best-in-class Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics capabilities while offering data sovereignty, operational sovereignty, and software sovereignty. MGPs are strategic partners that collaborate with Google Cloud to drive the adoption of GDC air-gapped, by providing expert deployment, operational, and managed services to end customers.

Karan Bajwa, Vice President, Asia Pacific, at Google Cloud, said: “Malaysia’s public sector and regulated industries require cloud capabilities that guarantee digital sovereignty while adhering to stringent regulatory standards, and we’re pleased to be addressing this need by partnering with DNeX to deliver GDC air-gapped for local organisations. Google Cloud and DNeX will empower organizations with the state-of-the-art distributed cloud infrastructure, developer tools, and AI services they need to drive digital transformation on their own terms. In addition, we look forward to working with DNeX to address high-value AI use cases across their business, especially in semiconductor manufacturing, in line with the Government’s ambition of elevating Malaysia’s semiconductor ecosystem in the global value chain.”

DNex to Provide Access to Google’s Industry-Leading Enterprise AI Platform

Through GDC, DNeX will also provide organisations in regulated industries with access to Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s industry-leading enterprise AI platform. This will enable them to rapidly develop and deploy sophisticated machine learning (ML) and AI applications to improve operations and better serve constituents and customers, while keeping data securely within Malaysia’s borders. Additionally, GDC allows organisations to use Gemma, Google’s family of open AI models, and Google Cloud’s pre-trained models for speech recognition, translation, and optical character recognition (OCR)—with support for more than 100 languages, including Bahasa Malaysia—in an air-gapped environment.

Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir Jamalullail, Executive Chairman at DNeX, said: “Organizations in Malaysia’s regulated industries are eager to deliver modern digital services to their stakeholders, but are constrained by limited access to cloud services that meet strict sovereignty requirements. Driven by our commitment toward delivering world-class services that create value, DNeX is partnering with Google Cloud to bring an AI-enabled sovereign cloud to Malaysia.”

He added: “This unique solution will unlock possibilities for secure and transformative innovation, such as the use of AI and advanced analytics in delivering integrated, citizen-centric digital government services; advancing treatments for chronic health conditions; and optimising energy production in hydro or solar power plants. This will also expand DNeX’s services offerings in our IT business segment to include hosting services, thereby meeting the growing demand for cloud infrastructure within Malaysia, and align with our focus on securing large-scale digitalisation projects across the public and private sectors.”

Building on a Budding Partnership with Malaysia

Google Cloud’s strategic partnership with DNeX builds on Google Cloud’s previously announced plans to establish its first Google data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia. This reinforces Google Cloud’s commitment to the Government of Malaysia to invest in resilient and innovation-driven digital infrastructure in and for the country to help local organisations across industries advance their digital competitiveness.

Beyond their commitment to deliver next-generation sovereign cloud services, DNeX and Google Cloud are exploring the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence (AI COE), a hub for nurturing local AI talent and developing innovative solutions to real-world challenges. This initiative aligns with the Government’s goal of establishing Malaysia as a regional leader in AI.

“An AI COE will help upskill Malaysians and DNeX’s workforce in particular. This will enable the Group to embed enterprise-ready AI into all its lines of business, including the automation of wafer fabrication and optimisation of daily operations. Moreover, we plan to integrate large language models (LLMs) into our key IT services offerings, such as the National Single Window (NSW) for Trade Facilitation, iGFMAS, and eGADS, as part of the efforts to empower our customers with advanced analytics and process automation. Through our partnership with Google Cloud, we foresee our offerings to be distinctly complementary to highly-regulated institutions and government agencies, facilitating controlled deployment of cutting-edge and energy-efficient AI solutions on customers’ premises,” said Tan Sri.