KUALA LUMPUR:Some 84 per cent of Malaysian businesses believe cloud-based tools or digitalisation efforts have been the most important factor to their business continuity and disaster recovery during COVID-19, according a survey conducted by Alibaba Cloud in November 2020.

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, said 66 per cent respondents have become more supportive of using cloud-based information technology (IT) solutions to grow their business compared to before the pandemic.

“The survey also found that 76 per cent of Malaysian respondents believe cloud-based tools have helped them cope with their business and operational needs during COVID-19,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Although a significant proportion of businesses in Malaysia were already using cloud-based IT solutions (72 per cent), it was lower than the number in neighboring Singapore (87 per cent), indicating an opportunity for greater adoption and an area of focus for providers.

As remote working has become the new normal for many people, 40 per cent of respondents from Malaysia believe that the most significant benefit of cloud-based IT solutions has been the enabling of a flexible workplace, the highest among the markets surveyed.

Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Malaysia general manager Jordy Cao said the pandemic has transformed many businesses, advancing them along the path of digitalisation.

“We have seen numerous companies prioritising investment in cloud-based IT solutions to enable a flexible workspace, making it the starting point of their cloud migrations.

“As a leading cloud service provider in Asia-Pacific, we will continue to support Malaysian businesses on their cloud transformation journeys with solutions that are easily deployed, readily integrated into companies' existing IT infrastructure and secured with cutting-edge technologies," said Cao.

Since COVID-19, over half of Malaysian respondents (54 per cent) said that their companies work more with cloud vendors for remote working, building new products and managing workload, indicating its perceived benefits.

However, businesses in Malaysia were also found to be the most cost-conscious among the markets surveyed, with most stating that the cost of a new solution was their primary consideration when deciding on its adoption.

‘The Role of Cloud in Asia and Confidence in Asian Innovation Survey’ was commissioned by Alibaba Cloud and conducted by an independent research organisation to obtain a better understanding of how regional businesses are feeling about and using cloud solutions as well as viewing local innovation.

More than 1,000 businesses from six areas across Asia, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, participated in the survey by answering a questionnaire distributed in November 2020.

-- BERNAMA