- 31 minutes ago
In this interview with CEO, President & Chairman, Rimini Street, Seth Ravin we discuss the biggest IT spending challenges facing organisations in 2026, including identifying low-value technology investments, protecting critical cybersecurity and resilience budgets, funding AI and automation initiatives, and regaining control over vendor-driven technology roadmaps.
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00:00Technology leaders today are facing difficult balancing act, bots wants tighter control over
00:05costs, economic conditions remain uncertain and also at the same time, organisations are being
00:11asked to invest in AI, automation and digital transformation and the key question is no longer
00:16simply how much companies spend on IT but where they spend the money and what they protect and
00:23also what actually delivers business value. To help us unpack these challenges, join us this
00:29morning is CEO, President and Chairman Remini Street, Seth Ravin, who will share practical
00:34insights on how organisations can optimise technology investments while staying secure, resilient and also future ready.
00:41Seth, good morning. Thank you so much for joining Niaga Awani at this time. Now, let's start our discussion
00:46with the big picture because the title stated here, you know, safeguarding IT budgets, cut waste and not
00:53innovation. A lot of companies, we've seen it in Malaysia and many countries as well, you know, is
00:59getting rid of your IT team internally and use a third-party IT team incident. And we have to
01:07restrict it, I have to restrict it every time I have a problem with IT. So let's talk about the
01:13real waste.
01:14What is it constituted as a real waste when it comes to IT?
01:17First of all, Najeeb, great to be back here with you. And the whole point is, we must focus on
01:25the key
01:26things, security, that's going to be a mandatory spend. We have to look at the existing budget and
01:33it's about allocation. Some people believe that you can't do innovation and run your business on the
01:41same budget. And the answer is, you can. If you spend appropriately and you are rigid and you're methodical in
01:49the
01:49way that you invest, you can afford AI and new technology in the existing budget.
01:57But in 2026, let's talk about the trend. In 2026, where do these companies still spend heavily in IT for
02:04limited business value? And how should, you know, bought business leaders think about that and
02:11strategically? Well, innovation is no longer about doing a next software version. And this is a huge
02:18change because this is where so much money is spent in doing new versions of the same software that
02:25doesn't drive real value. We believe companies should focus on three things, reducing total cost of
02:32operations to improve profitability and enhance competitive advantage. If their spending does
02:40not yield one of those benefits, they need to stop doing it. Now, of course, when I talk about cost
02:46cutting, a lot of people are talking about, you know, it might jeopardize the security aspect of it.
02:53So when you talk about that, you know, that basically brings us to the second questions. And the third
02:59question I would say, you know, which items or which segment should be absolutely must be protected in terms
03:05of when it comes to IT systems for one particular company? Well, I think we know a couple things are
03:10happening. One, we've got wars and conflict around the world that's causing disruption to supply chain and
03:17temporary cost enhancements. But costs are going up in general. Labor costs are the number one item. So we must
03:27find a
03:27way to reduce the total amount of labor that we spend in achieving running a business. And so from that
03:34perspective, we have to secure it. So security spending is going up as a percentage of the IT budget. But
03:42we can
03:43stop doing things that waste money. You do not need to do these upgrades and migrations to core operating
03:50systems. That money can be put towards innovation. And so it is possible to allocate in a better way.
03:59And that's exactly what we're doing here in Malaysia with Sunway and other large companies and Proton,
04:06et cetera, is we're helping them reduce total operating costs, freeing up that money to invest in
04:13innovation. It is absolutely possible. So, but many business leaders also, you know, would, of course,
04:20would agree that innovation cannot stop, you know, simply because budgets are tight. At the same time,
04:25they find it very difficult in balancing what you mentioned just now, you know, helping the
04:30optimization of the operational cost. And then you can, you know, take up this money and put into
04:35innovation. And innovation, those days, even until up to this day, they are talking about trial and error.
04:41So you really have to spend it and you really have to take the risk in terms of innovation.
04:46Although, how do you see striking this balance? Do you see that the companies, especially in Southeast
04:51Asia and Malaysia, are really keen and also, you know, know how to do this? Well, they don't know
04:59how to do it. And that's what we're here to help them figure out, right? Exactly. And so we have
05:04great business here in Malaysia growing. And, you know, we committed him on TV last year and said,
05:11we're going to hire a thousand engineers here in Malaysia. And we are doing that. And we're off
05:17and running because we believe in the economy here. We believe in the labor force. We believe in all of
05:24the pieces that can come together from Malaysia, even if we're having temporary cost issues and other
05:30issues related to conflicts and taxes and tariffs, et cetera. But the basics are here in Malaysia for
05:37amazing business. And so we're seeing it with company after company. They are making these moves.
05:44There are paths forward and they're being bold. In fact, 26 of our companies here are investing in AI
05:54in very advanced ways. And so we're really excited about what's happening here.
05:59Yeah. And talking about AI, because it's very interesting because I attended AWS re-invent in
06:03Las Vegas. So there's a lot of, you know, talk about, I mean, the technology is there and it's here
06:08to
06:08stay. And we'll talk about, you know, the cost of it. And it's not cheap. But how do we balance
06:14this?
06:15Because, you know, how can basically organizations create room for AI and automation projects without
06:20asking for, you know, higher IT budget in that sense? Well, look at the amazing work that,
06:27for example, is happening at Sunway. We're fixing processes over there. They're automating the
06:34processes. And then they're thoughtfully using AI very advanced ways. And a lot of our customers are.
06:41They are starting to understand that AI is not a solution to every business problem. It is a tool.
06:48And the business all over the world is learning how to use this tool. It is not cheap. It is
06:55not
06:55free. And now that they understand the cost and the executive suite, we can more thoughtfully think
07:01about how to use this tool within the organization. And many organizations, they, of course, sometimes
07:07they, you know, really rely on their vendor in that sense when it comes to, you know, adapting and
07:11the technology and all that. So another challenge, I would say, for organizations, you know,
07:16which they are facing right now is deciding who should ultimately shape technology investment
07:21priorities, the business or the vendor supplying the technology. What do you think? What do you make
07:27of it? This is the time where businesses will choose their own path. It has to because all of the
07:35software
07:36companies now have what they call a dot AI or an AI version. It is impossible for CIOs and CFOs
07:45to do every
07:46upgrade and migration of product that every one of their software vendors wants to do. There's literally
07:53not enough people, time or money to do it. And so decisions have to be made. And they will choose
07:59their
08:00own path going forward because they have no choice. So, so they need to refer to you or they need
08:06to
08:06have internal expertise when it comes to that? Well, they have the internal expertise in the business.
08:13We are people who help them figure out what they should spend on what they shouldn't, but we work
08:19with them. They're the experts of their own business. We just provide a framework. We provide our
08:25guidance and the fact that we work with thousands of the world's largest companies and governments
08:31around the world. We bring that knowledge to help them make those decisions for their own organization.
08:37Now, help us understand because we've talked about, you know, reducing waste, protecting critical
08:43capabilities, funding innovation, and of course, strengthening governance. So, the next step is really
08:48about, you know, turning those ideas into a reality and practical decision-making process. How tough
08:54is this, things to be done based on your experience dealing with all these companies?
09:00Well, we have to change mindsets. Innovation and modernization is not just AI because that's what
09:08the market thinks right now. AI everything. And AI fatigue is real. All of us, every day, everything
09:15says AI, AI. But now as people start to better understand, it is truly only one tool. The reality is,
09:24most companies could benefit from starting with fixing their processes, making them more efficient
09:30and then automating them where they don't need AI. All of that can yield benefits long before ever
09:37spending on AI. And now that the C-suite is starting to understand that AI costs money, it's an electronic
09:44person, and every time it thinks, somebody gets paid. That is a very important thing for C-suite to
09:52understand. Changing mindset is not an easy task to do, even at the C-suite level. So, how do you,
09:59based on your point of view, you know, looking at the case-to-case basis, not just in the Malaysian,
10:03Southeast Asia, maybe in this region, how do you see the changes of the mindset in the
10:10economic leaders community? I think they're coming around to it. We've done it with thousands of
10:15companies very successfully for 20 years. So, the mindsets are opening. They're changing because it
10:22is a fiercely competitive global economy. And if you don't follow what everyone else is doing and you
10:29have a good product, it doesn't matter. If you can't get your costs down, your operating costs down,
10:35you can't fund the innovation you need, you will fall behind your competitors. So, it really is a global
10:43fundamental need for people to change their philosophy, change their strategy, change their
10:49vision, and all they have to do is change their spending and they can afford current operations and
10:56investing on their existing budget. Yeah. I want to ask this because at the end of the day, for Malaysia,
11:02for instance, the backbone of our economies are MSMEs, the small, medium enterprises. So, they are, of course,
11:07they are keen into, you know, getting into the technological journey, AI, and they need to have a
11:15better IT systems in place because at the end of the day, they are dealing with customers' data.
11:21How do you see the readiness of our MSMEs when it comes to, you know, having the right IT systems
11:27in their digital journey, whether it be AI or be it automation in that sense? And how do you see,
11:35that deep, you know, view and really taking care of the customer's data? Well, it's a really exciting
11:41time even for the SMBs because the access to technology at lower prices is amazing. I mean,
11:49they can do things today that the biggest companies in the world couldn't do 10 years ago. And from that
11:56point of view, the opportunity to grow, to be something amazing is here. And I think that's what's so
12:04exciting about what's happening in Malaysia and Indonesia is the ability to start a business,
12:10the ability to build a business because the technology is available to them at prices they
12:17can start to afford. It's going to change the world. It's no longer going to be just big companies.
12:23Now, smaller companies can compete effectively even with big companies.
12:28Yeah. I want to talk about the trend moving forward. It's five years down the road. How do you see
12:33the trend in terms of, you know, having the right IT systems in organizations and at the same
12:40times, you know, their digital journey on AI or automation for certain companies? How do you see
12:47five years down the road in terms of that? Because we've talked about, you know, one thing, mindsets
12:52have changed. Second thing, they are willing to invest in the more secure IT system and also focusing
12:58more into innovation and all that. But how do you see five years down the road?
13:01I think it's going to depend on the labor force. And I know Malaysia, Indonesia, the region is
13:09spending money to try and bring AI literacy and new innovation literacy into the workforce.
13:18The great thing about this region of the world is you have people, you have young people, you have to
13:26get them trained into AI because you want to become a digital hub. You go to Northern Asia, you have
13:33problems. They're not, the birth rate is very low. They don't have workers coming. They must automate
13:39because they won't have anyone to run their factories, anyone to do the work. Down here in Southeast Asia,
13:47you have the labor force. You just need to get them trained and make them available. And I think that
13:53that is a very significant part of five years from now, if you have the workforce, you can
14:00be the digital hub that I think people are envisioning in Southeast Asia.
14:05Many leaders, many cases or many business leaders think that, you know, when they embark on the
14:11innovation or automation journey, they are looking at, you know, reducing workforce in that sense.
14:17So we are talking about AI replacing jobs and all that, but we are less, you know, to talk about
14:23how
14:23AI basically creating new higher wage, higher salary job in that sense. How do you see the whole
14:30situation? Do these C-suites understand the future ready workforce, the future of the business itself?
14:40Well, things still need to be made. Factories still need to be built. And I think you've seen some of
14:47this articulated in the US government strategy of bringing jobs back to America in balancing that a
14:55bit. The jobs will be different. Instead of working in the factory, many people will be working to build
15:03the equipment, the robots, servicing and keeping the factory open using IT and electronic capability.
15:12But robots still need to be built. Machines still need to be built. So there will always be
15:18a group of people who have to build these items. But there will be many new jobs to actually run
15:26these, program them, improve them. So I think it's a pretty exciting journey over the next five years.
15:33There will be different types of jobs. So I don't think the labor force is going to have a problem
15:38finding them. We must make sure they're trained to do the jobs of the future. That is, I think,
15:45a very big government initiative that will have to be with private sector. You're seeing some of the
15:51big companies invest in universities to actually train people to be able to do those jobs because
15:58they know we need the workforce. My final question to you, Seth. Investing in technologies, in human
16:05capital, and as you mentioned just now, it takes a longer time for the return of investment in that
16:11sense. And sometimes in this current economic situation, we can no longer wait. You know,
16:19we don't have much time in that sense, given that what happened in the, you know, the war that's
16:25currently happening, you have to strike a balance between where do you want to spend your money on
16:30and all that. How do you, how should the C-suites view investments in these technologies, in this
16:36journey, for a better ROI, for a longer time? Well, the fact that they could keep their same IT budget
16:43and afford innovation if they make the right decisions in how to spend today. The money is
16:51there. They need to have the courage, the boldness to move forward from what is a traditional spending
16:58model to a changed model. The money is there. And that's the point is they don't need to go to
17:05the
17:05board. They don't need to go get additional money. They just need to change the way they're spending
17:10today. All right, Seth, thank you so much for joining Negawan. I really appreciate that. This
17:15CEO, President and Chairman of the Ministry, Seth Ravin, will talk about, you know, safeguarding
17:21its IT budget since 2016, cut waste, not innovation. This is a way forward for many businesses,
17:27businesses not just in Malaysia but Southeast Asia and of course globally.
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