Snowflake, a leading global cloud computing company, has identified Malaysia as a high-priority market and one of the most strategically significant economies in ASEAN for its regional expansion plans.
The US-based company, established in 2012 and renowned for its Data Cloud platform that enables scalable, high-performance data unification and analytics across multiple cloud providers, is intensifying its focus on Malaysia as international interest in the nation’s data economy surges.
Satchit Joglekar, Managing Director for ASEAN at Snowflake, highlighted Malaysia’s growing role in the regional data landscape, pointing to substantial infrastructure investments from global hyperscalers including Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Malaysia is absolutely our top priority for investment and expansion right now,” he said in a recent video conference with Bernama ahead of the Snowflake Summit 2025 in San Francisco. “We are closely monitoring these developments and are committed to deepening support for Malaysian customers by working hand-in-hand with our cloud partners, particularly AWS.”
Joglekar affirmed the company’s ongoing commitment to Malaysia through investments not only in talent and technology, but also in developing a robust partner ecosystem. “This is crucial for ensuring the success of our customers across ASEAN — and especially in Malaysia.”
Malaysia’s appeal is underscored by its impressive digital economy trajectory. Since 2021, the nation has approved RM278 billion in digital investments, including RM184.7 billion in data centre and cloud-related projects. The domestic data centre market is forecast to grow from US$4.04 billion in 2024 to US$13.57 billion by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 22.38%, according to data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). (US$1 = RM4.26)
Adding to its credentials, Malaysia recently ranked first globally in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25, achieving a score of 90 overall and 99 in data openness — a remarkable rise from 67th position in the previous cycle.
Snowflake has ramped up investments in both Malaysia and Thailand over the past 18 months. Joglekar noted that the company’s ASEAN operations, once centred in Singapore, are now expanding across the region’s five major economies: Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.
“As our platform evolves from a data warehouse to a unified data and AI cloud, it’s imperative we maintain a local presence in each major ASEAN economy,” said Joglekar, who brings over 18 years of experience in big data, cloud technologies, and cybersecurity.
He also noted that almost half of Snowflake’s ASEAN customers are now outside Singapore, with strong representation across financial services, telecommunications, and retail sectors.
“We’ve had significant success stories across the region,” he said. “In Indonesia, for instance, we supported XL Axiata in transforming from legacy systems to the cloud — delivering substantial cost savings and faster analytics. Similar outcomes are evident across Malaysia and other ASEAN markets in sectors such as consumer goods, manufacturing, public services, and state-owned enterprises.”
Snowflake’s flagship annual event, Snowflake Summit 2025, begins Tuesday (2 June) at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco. The event is expected to draw 18,000 to 20,000 participants from around the world, underlining the company’s growing global influence.
San Francisco, a longstanding epicentre of tech innovation, continues to serve as a beacon for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence — a domain increasingly integral to Snowflake’s long-term strategy.
-Bernama
