I attended the Internet Alliance’s IA Tech Industry Awards 2026 on 13 March 2026 with industry peers. It was great to catch up with many old friends and exchange updates and views.
As one of the jury members, I was asked to share some tips on how to stand out in award submissions like this. Here’s what I shared with the audience:
1. Companies – Great to see some SMEs joining, alongside the familiar brands. Let’s not forget that all the familiar brands started out as SMEs. We need more young companies to join and drive tech development in this country.
2. Build – Great to see entries showing how they built and developed their applications, rather than simply being technology users. In categories like AI, for example, some companies shared how they built innovative AI solutions to drive business outcomes — rather than just adopting existing AI tools.
3. Story – Happy to see some entries that knew how to tell a compelling “story” — beyond just meeting the requirements, they uploaded a strong PPT/PDF to highlight their product or service. A suggestion for future submissions: consider producing a short video in addition to the written requirements.
Put these three words together, and you get: “Companies Build Story.” I hope our tech companies continue to build great products and services — and write a great story for themselves in the history of Malaysia’s technological development.
Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to IA president, Dr. Sunny Ooi, and the IA team for the invite and the opportunity to contribute a little to the industry! 🙏
