Recently, leaders from Aware Group had the opportunity to travel through Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. After two and a half long years of connecting virtually and delivering projects from a distance, we were finally able to meet with our partners and customers in the region again! It was fantastic to reconnect in person, supporting regional economic growth and technology adoption as well as developing new relationships with partners and customers across Southeast Asia.
We’re humbly proud to say we’re one of the most sought-after providers for the ethical use of AI in Asia-Pacific (APAC), and to be able to have our people on the ground working to enhance the adoption of emerging technologies was invaluable.
Chief Technology Officer Jourdan Templeton and Director of Sales Inde King visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Singapore; taking it as an opportunity to reaffirm our presence in the region.
Jourdan Templeton noted, “the pandemic changed the way many organisations do business. After a few years working remotely, it was great to visit customers face-to-face again. It was an honour to formally accept our Azure Partner of the Year Award [2021] in Malaysia also.”
What we accomplished
During our time in Singapore, we were able to hold productive meetings with leaders and colleagues within Microsoft, discussing how we are engaged in the region and exploring how we can work together to enhance the adoption of emerging technologies such as advanced analytics and Aware AI for Pathways across the APAC region.
We met with the Singapore branch of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), one of our most vital partners, and a new partner of ours whom we plan on working with to distribute our products throughout Southeast Asia.
From Singapore, we travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Along with a productive meeting with the Trade Commissioners for both NZTE Malaysia and NZTE Vietnam, we met again with several representatives from Microsoft. After winning Azure Partner of the Year at last year’s Microsoft Malaysia Partner Awards but not being able to accept the award in person due to COVID travel restrictions, it was fantastic to be able to thank the team for recognising the impact of our work within the country.
The last stop of the trip was Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where, along with even more valuable conversations held with NZTE and Microsoft, we were able to engage with several potential enterprise customers; holding Data and AI envisioning sessions to discuss how emerging technologies could be utilised across large-scale developments, ports, and cities.
While the trip was mostly filled with meetings, we wouldn’t have truly visited Southeast Asia if we didn’t take a little time to experience the culture and beauty of the countries as well. Eating local foods, walking through the most stunning parts of the countries, and even going into a sensory deprivation tank, Jourdan and Inde were still able to squeeze a little fun into the trip.
Business trips can often be demanding, but Inde King reflected on the value he sees in them: “I absolutely love having the opportunity to be in Southeast Asia as it’s one of the most diverse regions in the world. As a business traveller, I appreciate how quickly you are immersed into the different cultures, traditions, and delicious food as you move between economies.”
Going forward
We’re an internationally recognised technology company, having worked with hundreds of global enterprise and public sector customers to innovate and improve productivity and operational efficiencies through the adoption of emerging technologies.
As we continue to grow and scale our business, we also gain the opportunity to invest in the areas we want to expand further within. We are one of New Zealand’s most renowned AI and data companies, and we will continue to provide top-tier products and services to our Kiwi customers, both new and old. But with a Series A Capital Raise in the works, we now have the means to push more deeply into other markets – namely Australia, the US, and Asia-Pacific.
In early 2020, Aware Group established our fourth office in Singapore as a strategic base to support our APAC partners and customers. But, due to the global pandemic, we weren’t able to truly fulfil this goal, as our employees had to come right back to New Zealand before we could even really get started.
Although the pandemic isn’t over, it’s safe to say the world is on the mend, and we’re finally able to reestablish our presence in the APAC market, with more in-person engagements across the region planned for the future.
We look forward to more trips across Asia-Pacific and continuing to expand into this dynamic and beautiful part of the world.
