Accelerating The Blue Ocean Of Innovation
Telekom Research & Development Sdn. Bhd. (TM R&D) has seen a rapid transformation from its initial role as a basic research facility to an innovation powerhouse that focuses on co-creation and commercialisation.
Under Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, TM R&D’s Chief Executive Officer, the company offers R&D services across multiple organisations and regions, having commercialised 18 solutions with a 29% CAGR revenue growth since 2019.
Seven of the solutions have been deployed within TM’s operations, and four have been exported to at least six countries, the farthest in South Africa. TM R&D now owns more than 2,800 patents, copyrights, and trademarks, with 100% adoption of all their solutions since 2018. So what is Sharlene’s secret to success?
A modest, enthusiastic, and people-centred leader, the CEO attributes the successes that the company had experienced under her leadership to the effort that its people had put in.
“I made sure to look for staff with a purpose similar to TM R&D’s ethos – a will to try new things, a will to learn new things, a sparkle in their eye, and a spring in their step,” she elaborated.
Incorporated in 2000, TM R&D is the innovation arm of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), Malaysia’s leading integrated telco and digital technology group. Since Sharlene became its CEO in 2016, TM R&D has embarked on its transformation into an R&D force to be reckoned with.
“We are a world-class R&D company supporting TM and enterprises outside TM. As the key enabler in driving TM’s digital aspiration, TM R&D’s innovation moves beyond connectivity to smarter digital ecosystems, covering customer experience, process optimisation, and new business opportunities. Our organisation helps businesses to solve operational issues and co-create solutions for the global market. Our strength is in smarter connectivity and smarter business ecosystems.”
Sharlene believes that her role as CEO is to ensure that the company’s people can explore new ideas, test them out, and build upon them. To that end, she encourages her team to ‘dream big’ and see how their ideas can be turned into reality.
“My management team and I have worked to create an enabling, conducive, and safe environment for our people, where there is no such thing as a bad idea or failure. At the same time, however, I want our people to internalise the culture of ‘individual contributors and no passengers’ (i.e. no freeloading and everyone works together), as this is the hallmark of becoming great leaders someday. I enjoy throwing challenges to my team and working on solving them together.”
“We have received many local and international awards, which include the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards, World Communication Awards, TM Forum Excellence Awards and WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards. Our recent notable win was the Innovative Tech Company of the Year Award at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards 2022. This is in acknowledgement of our transformative approach to software and technology, demonstrating that our innovations can lead to the creation of new approaches and prospects in the world,” she enthuses.
According to Sharlene, TM R&D’s vision is to make life and business easier with smarter ecosystems, in order to enrich humanity and bring progress to nations. “We strive to stay relevant with new innovative solutions that the market cannot do without, and take on projects that provide multi-fold benefits to businesses and the global market,” she explained.
The company aspires to facilitate the creation of the next ‘unicorn company’ (a private company/startup with a post-money valuation in excess of USD1 billion) for TM and for Malaysia. Two of the major challenges that she foresees the industry will need to overcome over the next few years have to do with talent retention, and with ensuring both agility and productivity.
“We have access to limitless technology, but we simply do not have enough highly-skilled people to realise their full potential. In order to overcome this talent gap, we have established exciting career paths for researchers/creators, and invested in reskilling and promoting new talents. At the same time, we need to ensure that decision-making is as decentralised as possible to drive agility and at the same time ensure productivity. To address this, we have enhanced our way of work by introducing solution domains for better alignment and focus.”
Nevertheless, Sharlene believes the future is bright for TM R&D. “Every Fortune 500 company in the world has its roots in R&D; if you do not innovate, you cannot stay ahead of the competition. I believe the role of R&D in any organisation is sustainability. With strong roots in R&D, an organisation is able to solve operational issues at the root cause of things and create new revenue streams and unique solutions to the world’s problems.”
On a more personal level, Sharlene believes that female leaders have a lot to contribute to the industry. She further advises aspiring leaders to never be afraid to take on bigger projects and build up their networks.
“Never turn down any work. Always take it all on with a positive attitude, as this is an opportunity to learn new skills. Every assignment, big or small, is a chance to try new approaches, build new alliances, and open up new opportunities. And make every effort to meet people from all walks of life; you never know with whom you will meet next and how these people can bring a positive impact or change in your life or career.”
She also acknowledges her pride in the team at TM R&D. “Our work will help propel Malaysia to be a nation of producers, not consumers. Having the ability to produce is what will ensure technology and job security for Malaysia.”