Technology Market Insights H1 2018

In 2017, as Malaysia continued its progress towards its Vision 2020, the demand for high calibre technology talent remained significant.

Continued trend of onshored companies

Throughout 2017, there was the continuing trend of foreign companies onshoring to Malaysia and establishing regional or global hubs, fueling the talent demand to support these onshoring moves even further.

Commercial IT talent was in demand

In addition to IT shared services operations increasing in size and scope, we were also seeing an increase in demand for commercial IT professionals in 2017. This demand was across Applications and Enterprise, encompassing roles such as Web and Mobile Developers, Data Scientists and Engineers, as well as Cybersecurity and Digital Workplace professionals.

Hot talent areas include IoT, AI and Big Data

Mirroring global trends, the hot technology areas in 2017 for Malaysia include Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, data analytics, cloud services, cybersecurity and digital. IT professionals with experience and a proven track record in these areas have been and will continue to be in high demand.

We have also witnessed an increasing interest in contractors as companies look to adopt a more flexible workforce to support key projects.

Technology talent outlook for the year 2018

Going into 2018, we expect to see the trends of 2017 to continue, as well as to see more talent focus on virtual and augmented reality (AR) as well as blockchain.

However, the technology skills gap is likely to deepen due to multidimensional integration across different platforms, and we do expect to see more hybrid roles appearing. Demand for IT professionals will outweigh supply, and in order to meet business requirements, organisations will need to think deeper about their talent strategy to stay ahead.

Technology
Salary Report for H1 2018*

Commerce & Industry
Job Title	Years of experience	Annual salary range (RM$)	Contract rate per month (RM$)
Business Change
CIO / CTO	12–15+	384K–600K	NA
IT Director	10–15+	300K–480K	25K–30K
Program Manager	10–15+	240K–360K	20K–30K
Project Manager	8–12	160K–240K	13K–20K
Business Analyst	5–12	144K–216K	12K–18K
Application Development
Head of Engineering	12–15+	300K–600K	25K-30K
Product Manager	7–12+	145K–220K	12K–18K
Solutions Architect	10–15+	180K–264K	15K–22K
Development Manager	10–15+	180K–300K	15K–25K
Mobile Developer	7–12+	96K–150K	8K–13K
Front End Developer	7–12+	96K–150K	8K–13K
C++ / Java / .NET	3–8	100K–150K	8K–13K
RDBMS Developer / DBA	3–8	100K–150K	8K–13K
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)	5–8	96K–204K	NA
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Director	10–15+	180K–350K	15K–29K
Infrastructure Manager	8–12+	140K–180K	12K–15K
Solutions Architect	10–15+	140K–200K	12K–17K
Systems Administrator	5–8	80K–120K	7K–10K
IT Security Analyst	5–8	80K–120K	7K–10K
Testing
Test Manager	11+	150K–180K	12K–15K
Test Lead	7–10	100K–150K	8K–13K
Test Analyst	4–7	60K–100K	5K–8K
SAP
SAP Regional / Global Managers	12+	200K–350K	17K–29K
SAP Project / Program Managers	10+	160K–260K	13K–22K
SAP Functional Lead	8–12	140K–220K	12K–18K
SAP Functional Consultants	5–10	100K–180K	8K–15K
SAP Techno Functional Consultants	5–10	100K–180K	8K–15K
SAP Business Analyst	5–8	80K–120K	7K–10K
SAP Technical Analyst	5–8	80K–100K	7K–8K
Oracle
Oracle E biz Suite Technical (Developer)	5–10	80K–100K	7K–8K
Oracle E biz Suite Techno Functional	5–10	80K–120K	7K–10K
Oracle E Biz Functional	7–15	100K–180K	8K–15K
Oracle E Biz Project Manager	10+	120K–220K	10K–18K

Banking & Financial Services
Job Title	Years of experience	Annual salary range (RM$)	Contract rate per month (RM$)
Business Change
Program Manager	10–15+	240K–360K	20K–30K
Project Manager	8–12+	160K–240K	13K–20K
Business Analyst	5–12+	144K–216K	12K–18K
Application Development
Solutions Architect	10–15+	180K–264K	15K–22K
Development Manager	10–15+	180K–300K	15K–25K
C++ / Java	3–8	60K–150K	5K–13K
.Net	3–8	60K–150K	5K–13K
RDBMS Developer	3–8	60K–150K	5K–13K
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)	5–8	96K–204K	NA
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Director	10–15+	220K–320K	18K–27K
Infrastructure Manager	8–12+	150K–200K	13K–17K
Infrastructure Engineer	8–12+	120K–200K	10K–17K
Systems Administrator	5–8	100K–150K	8K–13K
Info Security Director	10–15+	180K–250K	15K–21K
Info Security Specialist	5–8	120K–200K	10K–17K
Database Administrator	3–8	80K–150K	7K–13K

*Notes about salary table:

Titles and levels vary from organisation to organisation.
The salary ranges given are only approximate guides. For tailored salary advice, please contact us directly.
12-month base salaries are assumed.
All other benefits and bonuses are in addition to these figures.
Bonus ranges can vary significantly from company to company and will be influenced by market conditions, business and individual performances. Bonus ranges from 1 month at the low end to 100%+ at the upper.
Holiday entitlements range from 12–25 days with senior executives not usually receiving less than 18 days. Less than 15 is very rare and 20 days is becoming the norm.
Healthcare policies are standard.
Pension plans vary with some companies offering greater than the standard contribution. Top up schemes can increase employer contribution levels as much as 15–20% of the base salary for senior executives.