“AI is our North Star”: How IOH is transforming Indonesia’s intelligent future

(July 2025) How do you build a next-generation telecom provider in a country of more than 100 million users, spread across 17,000 islands and three time zones? 

For Desmond Cheung, Chief Technology Officer at Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), the answer lies in putting people at the heart of digital transformation—and using artificial intelligence as the engine that drives it. 

In a  Transform Talks interview with Huawei's Executive Editor-in-Chief, Gavin Allen, Cheung lays out IOH’s bold strategy to become Indonesia’s most preferred digital telco and deliver world-class digital experiences. He explains how the company is applying AI across every layer of its operations—from improving network performance and customer service, to enabling business innovation and even uplifting rural communities. 

Cheung says IOH’s adoption of AI is improving latency, reducing downtime, and boosting customer satisfaction—while helping to shape the future of the Indonesian digital economy. He emphasized their most impactful practice is to put customer experience at the center and build a data platform foundation. He told us “If you don't build the data platform, you work silo to silo, you can't scale up.“