Digitally enhancing Brunei with UNN’s modernisation journey

Established in 2018 to assist Brunei’s improvement, Unified Nationwide Networks (UNN) seems to develop and increase the nation because it follows its WAWASAN 2035 programme for a greater future.

Wholly owned by His Majesty’s Authorities of Brunei Darussalam, UNN is recognised as a government-linked firm underneath Darussalam Property (DA). Supporting an energetic a part of enterprise improvement, the finance division gives precious data for decision-making, gross sales, operations, and reporting.

Bernd Flack, UNN’s Chief Monetary Officer, explains how he helps the corporate’s targets: “We’re right here as we wish to allow the younger firm to deal within the regulated market they function in, discover a place within the ecosystem that pertains to the Brunei area and discover ways to face worldwide competitors.”

Outlining the importance of the corporate because it seems to assist Brunei, Flack says: “UNN was fashioned to assist assist a much bigger initiative carried out by the Brunei authorities in 2004, the place they regarded to arrange a programme to resume and allow the nation for the long run. The federal government regarded to put money into the training of its inhabitants to outline its financial technique for a dynamic and sustainable economic system and be sure that the nation could have the fitting infrastructure for development. This programme – WAWASAN 2035 – has the incorporation of UNN as one among different key steps to develop its telecommunication and digital infrastructure.”

As a telecommunications firm, UNN helps Brunei with its programme by enabling individuals within the area to navigate challenges round telecommunication providers, knowledge processing, data expertise and connectivity.

“Earlier than UNN was established, there have been a number of telecommunications corporations in operation, competing based mostly on infrastructure. Brunei itself is a small place, so having plenty of competitors meant not one of the corporations might make investments considerably in respectable infrastructure,” explains Flack.

“From this, the concept was born to arrange an organization that delivers infrastructure providers, non-discriminatory to all of the members out there. This implies the telecommunications corporations can purchase our providers for a similar worth so there isn’t any competitors created from UNN itself,” he continues.

One key firm that transitioned within the telecommunications area is Datastream Digital (DST). Previously a full-service Cell Community Operator and a full cellular Service Supplier, DST is now an asset-light, customer-focused, digital-first operator.

“DST continues to construct on its digital platform and can proceed to construct its ecosystem to offer digital providers, worth and comfort as a precedence to its clients in Brunei, with a set imaginative and prescient to develop into the area as a digital service supplier,” explains Flack.

Including to this, Kelly Ngo, Head of Controlling ‒ who additionally seems to tackle the position of CFO as soon as Flack’s task with UNN is over ‒ feedback: “UNN is right here to unify and consolidate all of the infrastructure from the prevailing telecommunications corporations. In doing so, we get to modernise and create a extra cost-efficient digital platform the place we offer greater pace, higher connectivity, higher protection, and higher service high quality. In return, the shoppers get the perfect worth and might get pleasure from all these perks.”

This consolidation began in September 2019, when UNN formally took over all community infrastructure operated by the prevailing telecommunications service suppliers, to ship extremely resilient and high quality providers to the entire nation.

Supporting Brunei’s Telco ecosystem with modernisation

As an integral aspect of its programmes, UNN has checked out a number of numerous methods to digitally enrich Brunei and enhance the lives of residents and residents. It goals to deal with challenges round financial globalisation, development in world inhabitants and the rising use of digital applied sciences that put a pressure on accessible sources.

“The market and expertise are altering, and we wish to reply to that,” says Flack. 

“Once we have a look at the information enterprise, knowledge will be the useful resource that’s driving enterprise now. So, we’re closely investing in knowledge centres and associated providers to be sure that we will present an expert service to the industries,” he provides.

On high of this, UNN gives infrastructure providers and invests closely within the nation’s community, amongst different applied sciences. “Previously three years, we have now renewed the telecommunications programs in an immense approach. Once we began, the community was 2G and now it’s principally 4G-based on a high-performance cellular radio entry community. We are actually making ready for the launch of 5G – we have now pushed an enormous improvement for the nation,” feedback Flack.

He provides: “We’ve got additionally reworked the fastened community. When UNN was fashioned, it was within the transition part to fibre entry, with a copper community within the floor however not ample for the providers required. Initially, we maintained it, however then we began to speed up the fibre community rollout so we might ship greater, higher bandwidth and excessive speeds to our clients – that could be a big achievement for the nation.”

Highlighting the importance of this to the nation’s WAWASAN 2035 programme, Ngo says: “One of many associated goals can also be to implement an ICT transformation journey, the place it’s going to rework Brunei to progress right into a extra digitally built-in future. So, with that, UNN performs a significant position as a result of we’re right here to offer telecommunication providers and to implement a cost-efficient and modernised digital platform.”

“The initiative that appears to offer a digital platform is necessary. The pandemic, which affected everybody, confirmed that we have to develop into extra digitised. Most enterprise actions are actually achieved digitally or just about, so UNN has are available to modernise the community and enhance bandwidth to make sure that persons are nonetheless capable of work, no matter exterior elements which may problem them,” she continues.

To additional assist Brunei and its companies because the world turns into extra digitalised, UNN has invested within the current buildings to create Tier Stage knowledge centres within the area and are within the means of organising new ones to make sure all of the wants and calls for of its clients are met.

Brunei: from 2G to 4G with UNN

Nonetheless an ongoing transition, UNN’s modernisation of Brunei’s community from 2G to 4G is without doubt one of the organisation’s most important achievements thus far. Now, UNN can also be investing in 5G and accelerating what must be achieved to modernise the transport and core community to facilitate this.

“UNN’s mission is to supply wholesale providers to each nationwide and worldwide purchasers. Which means retail service suppliers can give attention to rolling out their very own merchandise to draw these clients within the packages they’re providing. Beforehand, they’d have needed to construct their very own infrastructure, which isn’t sensible for the market dimension of Brunei. That’s the reason UNN is available in to consolidate all of the community infrastructure,” explains Ngo.

This modernisation was key to creating the bottom for Brunei’s financial development, because it offers the inhabitants sooner and extra dependable web entry on a extra fashionable community. As with all mission like this, Flack explains how UNN needed to adapt to fulfill the wants of the totally different areas within the nation: “Though Brunei is a small place, we do have rural areas that don’t, or didn’t, have connectivity. To deal with this, we arrange a programme that takes care of this a part of the nation, to be sure that we will present the identical providers to the agricultural areas. In fact, we have now additionally checked out methods to enhance connectivity in additional residential areas, too.”

Moreover, the modernisation programme regarded on the authorities, training, and well being community. Coming with a number of challenges, UNN quickly realised that, by training and improvement, it might give again to the nation.

“In each initiatives, we wished to provide again to the nation’s economic system in a number of methods. Once we cope with worldwide suppliers, one requirement is that they use subcontractors positioned in Brunei. This provides native corporations the possibility to develop their enterprise,” explains Flack.

To make sure the native corporations have been ready to assist UNN’s community modernisation, the corporate, in collaboration with universities, educated them to make sure they may successfully contribute to the tasks.

“15% of our enterprise is supported by worldwide corporations, however the remaining 85% is completed by native corporations. Once we assemble towers, we depend on native corporations. Once we look to attach households and put new cable within the floor, that’s achieved by native suppliers,” outlines Flack.

“This isn’t simply firm coverage; this underpins our dedication to contribute to the Brunei economic system and allow companies throughout the neighborhood to have a sustainable economic system. All these corporations will achieve extra expertise and be higher positioned for it. They’re all actually dedicated to our enterprise, too,” he provides.

Trying on the important variety of financial advantages this modernisation has delivered to Brunei, Ngo notes: “One other approach this transformation has boosted the economic system is thru the creation of jobs. As we have now created extra work alternatives for native contractors, they should get extra sources to collaborate with us. Lots of them have taken on extra groups to assist them meet the work we have now awarded to them.”

Regardless of these financial advantages, Flack explains that there are some important challenges across the inhabitants’s response to this programme: “We’ve got, from time-to-time, confronted conditions the place individuals have tried to break the community. This not solely impacts UNN, but it surely additionally impacts the shoppers within the nation, so we work along with the federal government to ensure these incidents could be stopped. Not solely will we lose time and incur prices when this occurs, however we additionally lose confidence from these clients which might be affected. To fight this, we have to create consciousness across the influence on the nation if the community is broken.”

Cultivating the fitting partnerships for UNN’s modernisation journey

Key to UNN’s modernisation journey is its long-term partnerships with exterior corporations. With over 280 registered companions, UNN has developed a course of to make sure potential companions will be capable of meet the wants and expectations on the subject of digitally enhancing Brunei.

“Changing into UNN’s companion is expounded to deep information and dealing expertise. Our companion technique depends on not less than two to a few totally different suppliers that present particular providers to us. We examine what their capabilities can provide us, and we attempt to make sure these providers would match for us over a protracted time period,” explains Flack.

Amongst others, one important companion is T-Programs Worldwide, which has supported UNN with its cyber safety portfolio. Keith Lim Chung Chir, Senior IT Structure & Technique Supervisor and Head of Cyber Safety, feedback: “UNN is collaborating with internationally acclaimed and established service suppliers, like T-Programs, to faucet on their information, experience, experiences, and sources to revamp and implement a powerful infrastructure and cybersecurity framework appropriate for a neighborhood context.”

“One such collaboration is the usage of the SOAR, whereby Safety Operations Centre (SOC) analysts from each UNN and T-Programs are capable of plan, handle, monitor, and coordinate the response to incidents in real-time,” he provides.

Through the use of the built-in reside stream performance, SOC analysts from each corporations can collaborate on investigations concurrently based mostly on real-time data on new or current instances, duties, and indicators of compromise.

Outlining one other key participant in UNN’s modernisation journey, Mona Chin, Cloud Infrastructure Lead, says: “Implementation of Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) in UNN Information Centres are delivered by Dell Applied sciences. The brand new hyper-converged infrastructure by Dell and strategic partnership with VMware allowed UNN to launch our first business cloud service hosted in Brunei Darussalam. UNN has develop into the primary Bruneian Licensed Cloud Service Supplier with Dell Applied sciences which permits IT transformation.”

This collaboration has enabled UNN to develop a extra sturdy ecosystem and offered them with a multi-cloud technique. UNN Cloud, supported by Dell, has the capabilities to speed up innovation to realize the organisation’s ambition to develop into essentially the most superior cloud service supplier in Southeast Asia.

With such a strong mission and imaginative and prescient, it comes as no shock that UNN has a complete host of corporations trying to assist them as they modernise Brunei’s networks.

“Ericsson is one other main strategic provider to UNN for important components of the fastened and cellular core that underpins UNN’s fastened and cellular service portfolio,” explains Chris Phan, Deputy Senior Vice President of Community Technique & Know-how.

He provides: “This contains the introduction of the Ericsson IMS core to modernise UNN’s voice service infrastructure, and the introduction of Ericsson’s BSS to modernise UNN’s IT infrastructure and assist the improved buyer expertise.”

Having equipped UNN with Microsoft Licensing for inner use and cloud use, Tech One has helped the organisation obtain 100% Microsoft compliance, elevating UNN’s standing as Microsoft Options Supplier, by Microsoft SPLA Settlement.

“Tech One is recognised for offering high quality assist and after-sales service, bringing worth to UNN’s Microsoft ecosystem. UNN has labored along with Tech One for the reason that institution of Enterprise Infrastructure, and we’ll proceed to work collectively into future transformation,” feedback Yusrin Hadi, Senior Enterprise Infrastructure & Computing Supervisor.

When searching for steerage and assist in business and digital areas, UNN turns to Detecon. “Because of their broad {and professional} experience, Detecon has supported a few of our tasks in direction of success ‒ together with a number of the key tasks: the wholesale service penalty idea, buyer expertise, BSS transformation, DCIT gross sales and providers and so forth. That is evident of Detecon’s dedication to information switch and assist of locals in reaching a better benchmark of excellence,” explains Kim Wah Ang, Vice President of Buyer Service Administration.

As beforehand careworn by Flack and Ngo, giving again to the economic system in Brunei is crucial to UNN’s mission. The organisation due to this fact companions with native corporations similar to CommVerge Options and UNIK Galvanizing. 

Juniper Networks gives UNN with tools for its new IP/MPLS and CG-NAT community by its companion, CommVerge Options. In doing so, Juniper Networks has enabled UNN to construct a brand new 100G Core IP/MPLS and CG-NAT community within the three knowledge centres. 

With a refreshed experience-first IP/MPLS community from Juniper, this partnership will bolster UNN’s efforts to create a modernized and environment friendly telecommunication spine that may assist the federal government’s five-year masterplan in direction of reworking Brunei right into a Good Nation.

Including to this, Hamdani feedback: “The brand new IP/MPLS community can also be aggregated to eight different exchanges (or websites), which vastly expands capability, replaces out of date tools, and consolidates a number of IP/MPLS networks.”

To make sure its community has a strong bodily infrastructure to assist UNN’s community roll-out and restoration, the organisation seems to UNIK Galvanizing as a serious provider. “It has offered us a relentless and dependable provide of supplies similar to tower strengthening and poles, enabling us to carry out strategic planning for our finish clients and handle all stakeholders’ expectations,” says Dk Hjh Martini Pg Hj Abdul Rahman, Vice President of Supply, Subject, Rollout and Energy.

Because the telecom enterprise depends closely on its knowledge and insights drawn out of that knowledge, Flack explains UNN depends on its companion, GlobeOSS, and its Superior Digital Analytic Answer: “Wealthy knowledge extraction paired with the fitting area information and the fitting machine studying algorithm are a robust mixture. Numerous fashions can be utilized like clustering, regression, time collection, graph, deep studying, R-Script, Python scripts and so forth. GlobeOSS’ crew builds, trains, validates, experiments, and deploys profitable AI fashions.”

Serving all Telco gross sales corporations, UNN acts because the Bruneian supplier of wholesale cellular, fastened, converged communications, and knowledge options. It serves all gross sales corporations, offering them an awesome connection and preserving them safe on-line.

Think about ‒ an organization reworked in response to a nationwide improvement within the telecommunications trade – is aiming to make sure that Bruneians can maximise their choices within the methods they impart with one another and the world.

Think about champions freedom, flexibility, simplicity and transparency by cellular, broadband, and bundled merchandise, and providers. The corporate desires clients to have the ability to remain linked in new methods and helps UNN because it helps Brunei rework.

Additionally key to the modernisation of the ecosystem is Progresif, one in all Brunei’s most modern telecommunications corporations offering residential to enterprise-grade cellular, knowledge, and fibre options to Brunei.

“Progresif desires its clients to expertise the thrill of a linked, impressed, and progressive life. The corporate is creating inventive options, modern pricing plans and uncompromising service to make communications simple, to provide our clients the liberty to do extra, be taught extra and obtain extra,” feedback Flack.

Lastly, Ishajaya Know-how, UNNs companion for ERP Programs, helps the corporate with resolution making, as Flack outlines: “Collectively we’re maximising operational effectivity and transparency – whereas constructing a stable basis for future development with Ishajaya’s options for automated and built-in enterprise processes. Their providers assist UNN to enhance resolution making with real-time insights to mobilise our workforce, and extra. UNN extends with Ishajayas’s assist of our SAP functionalities step-by-step.”

With these necessary companions aiding UNN because it helps Brunei with its initiatives for financial development and constantly rising dwelling requirements, Ngo is for certain the corporate will probably be a key driver for the area, concluding: “UNN will probably be a contributor to the way forward for the nation as a result of we’ll all the time be one of many key drivers to try to assist the nation to remodel digitally and likewise be capable of assist the individuals, and the companies to have the ability to carry out their job in a extra environment friendly and efficient approach.”