Innovation at Star Media Group - a Malaysian media house with heritage in the publication, printing and distribution of newspapers and magazines - comes in two forms.

Driven by Yew Jin Kang as Group Chief Technology Officer, the first wave came through the collapsing of two separate content management systems (CMS) into one, merging capabilities across print and online.

In becoming a digital-first business, the deployment reduced operating costs alongside streamlining processes, allowing journalists to chase breaking news stories rather than manage disparate systems.

The second phase of transformation leveraged machine learning technologies in a bid to enhance Dimsum, an over the top content business specialising in Chinese, Thai and Korean language.

With translation critical to success, the introduction of machine learning software helped reduce manual headcount from four to one, as well as creating a new sustainable revenue stream for the business.