The second playlist of Analyse Asia 2 starts from Episode 251 onwards.

Analyse Asia Playlist 2

Fresh out of the studio, Jay Park, Chief Development Officer of Digital Edge, explores the rapidly transforming landscape of data centres in the Asia-Pacific region. Kicking off with the story of Jay’s remarkable career in building cutting-edge data centres, we dive into the explosive growth fueled by AI and the innovative cooling and energy solutions Digital Edge is pioneering to address environmental challenges. Jay also examines the impact of advanced AI chips on next-generation data centre engineering and shares his vision of what great would look like to design efficient and sustainable infrastructure in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.

"So if you look at this, according to this recent structural research report, the data centre industry will spend 100 billion dollars, and about 50 per cent of that growth will be happening in APAC. So, this is massive growth. If you look at the data centres, they have to be built where people are to better support them. But we have a new kid on the block. It's called AI servers, and it's something I have never experienced before in any industry, and this is massive. It'll do a lot of things, but it has to do data processing. So you cannot have all these data centres in, let's say, North America, have people in the APAC area grab that data, send it back to the U.S. or North America, do all the processing, and then send it out to APAC. I just don't see that happening. So, they're building the data centres closer to the users, where people are. And then you do all the processing there. The growth is going to be gigantic, and that's what we are seeing today." - Jay Park

You can find Jay Park on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-park-b5b579335/ and on Digital Edge: https://www.digitaledgedc.com/about 

Episode Highlights: 
[00:00] - Quote of the Day by Jay Park #QOTD 
[01:07] - Jay Park’s Background 
[02:38] - Becoming Chief Development Officer at Digital Edge 
[03:22] - Data Center Evolution and Power Density Growth 
[05:24] - Digital Edge’s Mission and Approach 
[07:30] - Supply Chain Challenges and Skid-Mount Equipment 
[09:25] - Scaling Data Centers for Increased Power Needs 
[12:19] - Cooling Systems and AI Server Requirements 
[15:39] - Modular Data Center Design: Pros and Cons 
[18:57] - Balancing Efficiency, Scalability, and Cost 
[22:08] - Challenges in Data Center Engineering in APAC 
[27:25] - AI Chips and Their Impact on Data Centers 
[31:29] - Principles for Designing Efficient Data Centers 
[34:04] - Water Usage and Environmental Impact 
[37:39] - Exciting Advancements in Data Center Technology 
[42:54] - Advice on Innovation in Data Center Engineering 
[43:36] - Digital Edge’s Vision for the Future 
[44:42] - Personal Inspirations and Emerging Technologies 
[46:26] - Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed &amp; edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig Analyse Asia 

Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 

Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia 

Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ 

Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia 

Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia 

Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup 

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Data Centres in the Era of AI with Jay Park

"At IBM, we really work on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for enterprise. These two are deeply connected. Hybrid cloud for us means that regardless of where the data sits whether the compute is on-premise, off-premise, or across multiple clouds. We believe the client should have the control and flexibility to choose where to run and place their data. If you look at the facts, a very high percentage of client data is still on-premise. It hasn't moved to the cloud for obvious reasons. So, how can you scale AI if you don’t have proper access to that data? AI is all about the data. That’s why we believe in a strategy that redefines and rethinks everything. We call it the Great Technology Reset." - Hans Dekkers 

Fresh out of the studio, Hans Dekkers, General Manager of IBM Asia Pacific, joins us to explore how enterprise AI is reshaping business across the region. He shares his journey with IBM after business school, reflecting on the evolution of personal computers to AI today. Hans explains IBM's unique approach combining hybrid cloud infrastructure with AI for Enterprise, emphasizing how their granite models and data fabric enable businesses and governments to maintain control over their data while scaling AI capabilities. He highlights customer stories from Indonesian telecoms company to internal IBM transformations, showcasing how companies are re-engineering everything from HR to supply chains using domain-specific AI models. Addressing the challenges of AI implementation, he emphasizes the importance of foundational infrastructure and governance, while advocating for smaller, cost-effective models over GPU-heavy approaches. Closing the conversation, Hans shares his vision for IBM's growing presence in Asia as the key to enterprise AI success. 

Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Hans Dekkers [01:00] Introduction: Hans Dekkers from IBM [05:00] Key career lesson from Hans Dekker [06:51] IBM focuses on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for Enterprise, deeply connected [09:27] "Your data needs to remain your data" - IBM's fundamental AI principle for enterprise clients [10:00] IBM's approach: Small, nimble, cost-effective AI models that can be owned and governed by clients [13:59] "The cost of AI is still too high. It's about a hundred times too high" - IBM CEO's perspective on AI costs [14:44] Small domain-specific models example: Banking AI trained for financial analysis, not Russian poetry [18:00] IBM's internal transformation: HR, supply chain, and consulting completely re-engineered with AI [21:18] Major partnership announcement: Indonesian telecom embracing IBM's watsonx platform [22:23] AI agents demo: Multiple agents (HR, finance, legal) debating and constructing narratives [25:00] "Everyone talks about AI equals GPU" - Hans wishes clients understood that inferencing is more important [27:00] IBM's Asia Pacific vision: Reestablishing growing presence and differentiated technology approach [28:00] Closing 

Profile: Hans Dekkers, General Manager IBM Asia Pacific and China: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-a-t-dekkers/ 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. 

Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. 
Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia 
Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl 
Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 
Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia 
Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/
Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia 
Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia 
Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup

Transforming Asia Pacific's Digital Future: IBM's Vision for Enterprise AI with Hans Dekkers

Fresh out of the studio, Patrick McGee, San Francisco correspondent for the Financial Times and author of "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company" joined us in a conversation to unravel the extraordinary story of how the world's most valuable company became inextricably entangled with China. Patrick shared the backstory behind Apple's century-defining Faustian bargain and progressed through how he uncovered the untold story of Asia's contract manufacturing history through Apple's supply chain point of view. He unpacks the famous "Apple Squeeze" philosophy of paying suppliers minimally while providing invaluable training, and shares fascinating stories from characters like the ruthless negotiator Tony Blevins to the tragic figure of Jackie Haynes. Throughout the conversation, Patrick demonstrates how Apple inadvertently created China's contract manufacturing capabilities and explains why the company's current attempts to diversify to India face insurmountable cultural and political barriers. Last but not least, he argues that Apple's very success in China has become its greatest vulnerability, trapped in a relationship where going too fast risks Beijing's ire, while going too slow means remaining stuck in an increasingly untenable position.

"I quote a study that looked at  84 countries in terms of internal migration and India was dead last. That's not a knock against the culture. It's just not part of the culture that young women in particular leave home at 17, go to the other side of the country and work in a factory. You don't have that. So what's the phrase: Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  Apple might have a plan, but  like good luck upending 5,000 years of Indian culture to make it happen." - Patrick McGee, author of "Apple in China"

Episode Highlights
[00:03] Quote of the Day by Patrick McGee
[01:00] Introduction: Patrick McGee, author of "Apple in China"
[03:12] Lessons from Patrick's Career Journey
[05:13] March 15, 2013: Xi Jinping's political awakening - Apple's first "oh shit moment" in China, just 12 hours after his inauguration
[10:25] Apple's manufacturing DNA - why they control supply chains differently than other tech companies
[12:09] The secret pyramid: ID → PD → MD - how Apple's industrial design gets translated into manufacturing reality
[16:11] Terry Gou's legendary call: "I can fix this" - the moment Foxconn became Apple's key manufacturing partner
[19:38] OEM vs ODM strategy: Why Terry Gou chose to never compete with clients, focusing on vertical integration instead
[25:00] Tony Blevins' ruthless negotiations: "We don't have time for you to read the contract. You just need to sign it now"
[26:45] The "Apple Squeeze" revealed: "We won't pay you much, but the experience will be invaluable"
[28:27] Staggering impact: Apple trained 28 million people - greater than California's labor force, 6x Singapore's population
[34:03] The Gang of Eight: Apple's first senior team living in China to navigate political pressures
[41:45] Chinese dominance: Huawei, Xiaomi, and others now control 55% of global smartphone market share
[48:08] Apple's double whammy: Supply Chain locked in China and TSMC
[52:37] Apple's impossible balancing act in India: "Go too fast, risk Beijing's ire. Go too slow, remain stuck"
[53:11] Jackie Haynes tragedy: Apple's failed attempt to improve worker conditions caught between operational demands and Xi Jinping's crackdown
[57:09] Closing

Profile: Patrick McGee, Author of "Apple in China": https://appleinchina.com and San Francisco correspondent for Financial Times
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prmcgee/

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.

How Apple Accidentally Built China's Tech Superpower and Can't Escape with Patrick McGee

Fresh out of the studio, Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer at Salesforce Global, joins us to explore how trust and responsibility shape the future of enterprise AI. He shares his journey from being a high-tech corporate lawyer and trusted advisor to leading AI governance at a company whose number one value is trust, reflecting on the evolution from automation to agentic AI that can reason, plan, and execute tasks alongside humans. Sabastian explains how Agentforce 3.0 enables agent-to-agent interactions and human-AI collaboration through command centers and robust guardrails. He highlights how organizations are leveraging trusted AI for personalized customer experiences, while Salesforce's Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust through transparency, explainability, and auditability. Addressing the black box problem in AI, he emphasizes that guardrails provide confidence to move faster rather than creating barriers. Closing the conversation, Sabastian shares his vision on what great looks like for trusted agentic AI at scale.

"You can try to develop self-awareness and take a beginner's mind in all things. This includes being open to feedback and truly listening, even when it might be hard to receive. I think that's been something I've really tried to practice. The other area is recognizing that just like a company or country, as humans we have many stakeholders. You may wear many hats in different ways. So as we think of the totality of your life over time, what's your portfolio of passions? How do you choose—as individuals, as society, as organizations, as humans and families with our loved ones and friends—to not just spend your time and resources, but really invest your time, resources, and spirit into areas, people, and contexts that bring you meaning and where you can build a legacy? So it's not so much advice, but more like a north star." - Sabastian V. Niles


Episode Highlights
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Sabastian Niles: "Portfolio of passions - invest your spirit into areas that bring meaning"
[01:02] Introduction: Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer of Salesforce Global
[02:29] Sabastian's Career Journey
[04:50] From Trusted Advisor to SalesForce whose number one value is trust
[08:09] Salesforce's 5 core values: Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, Equality, Sustainability
[10:25] Defining Agentic AI: humans with AI agents driving stakeholder success together
[13:13] Trust paradigm shift: trusted approaches become an accelerant, not obstacle
[17:33] Agent interactions: not just human-to-agent, but agent-to-agent-to-agent handoffs
[23:35] Enterprise AI requires transparency, explainability, and auditability
[28:00] Trust philosophy: "begins long before prompt, continues after output"
[34:06] Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust values
[40:00] Future vision: AI helps us spend time on uniquely human work
[45:17] Governance philosophy: Guardrails provide confidence to move faster
[48:24] What does great look like for Salesorce for Trust & Responsibility in the Era of AI?
[50:16] Closing

Profile: Sabastian V. Niles, President & Chief Legal Officer, Salesforce
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabastian-v-niles-b0175b2/

#salesforce #agentforce #responsibleai #trust #aigovernance 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.

Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia

Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl 

Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 

Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Analys1eAsia

Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/

The Future of AI Trust: Why Guardrails Actually Accelerate Innovation with Sabastian Niles

Fresh out of the studio, David Hardoon, Global Head of AI Enablement at Standard Chartered Bank, joins us in a conversation to explore how financial institutions can adopt AI responsibly at scale. He shares his unique journey from academia to government to global banking, reflecting on his fascination with human behavior that originally drew him to artificial intelligence. David explains how his time at Singapore's Monetary Authority shaped the groundbreaking FAIR principles, emphasizing how proper AI governance actually accelerates rather than inhibits innovation. He highlights real-world implementations from autonomous cash reconciliation agents to transaction monitoring systems, showcasing how banks are transforming operations while maintaining strict regulatory compliance. Addressing the biggest misconceptions about AI governance, he emphasizes the importance of integrating AI frameworks into existing structures rather than creating entirely new bureaucracies, while advocating for use-case-based approaches that build essential trust. Closing the conversation, David shares his philosophy that AI success ultimately depends on understanding human behavior and asks the fundamental question every organization should consider: "Why are we doing this?"

"[Question: So what was the biggest misconception for most business leaders usually when it comes to operationalizing AI governance?]
Based on my interactions and conversations, now suddenly they think they have to erect a whole set of new committees, that they have to have these new programs. You almost hear a sigh from the room. Like, oh, we have now this whole additional compliance cost because we have to do all these new things. The reason I see that as a bit of a misconception, because building on everything that was just said earlier, you already have compliance, you already have committees, you already have governance. It's an integration of that because otherwise guess what's gonna happen? We all know that this is the next thing around the corner that's gonna pop up, whatever it's gonna be called. Are you gonna have to set up a whole new committee just because of that? Then the next thing, another one." - David Hardoon

Episode Highlights: 
[00:00] Quote of the Day by David Hardoon #QOTD - "AI governance isn't new bureaucracy."
[00:46] Introduction: David Hardoon from Standard Chartered Bank.
[02:02] How David's AI journey started with human behavior curiosity.
[07:26] Governance accelerates innovation, like traffic rules enable fast driving.
[10:31] FAIR principles in MAS Singapore born from lunches with compliance officers.
[14:23] Don't reinvent governance wheel for AI implementations.
[24:17] Banks already manage risk; apply same discipline to AI.
[28:40] AI adoption problem is trust, not technology.
[34:21] Autonomous AI agents handle cash reconciliation with bank IDs.
[36:00] AI reduces transaction monitoring false positives by 50%.
[39:54] AI requires full supply chain from infrastructure to translators.
[41:52] Organizations must reward intelligent failure in AI innovation.
[44:47] AI hallucination is a feature, not bug for innovation.
[47:35] Measure AI ROI differently for innovation versus implementation teams.
[56:27] Final wisdom: People always ask "why" about AI initiatives.

Profile: David Hardoon, Global Head of AI Enablement, Standard Chartered Bank 
Personal Site: https://davidroihardoon.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrh/

Enabling AI at Scale: Governance as Competitive Advantage with David Hardoon

The Truth About China's Generative AI Revolution Nobody Talks About with Grace Shao

A weekly podcast dissecting the pulse of business, technology & media in Asia. Hear our host interviewing leading journalists, senior executives, respectable authors & thinkers, entrepreneurs & thought leaders to discuss the most important issues that move and shake the business landscape in the Asia Pacific. The show is originally created and hosted by Bernard Leong.