Drawn by Singapore's stable business environment, infrastructure and location, Research in Motion opted to set up its Asia Pacific Customer Support Operations (CSO) Centre at the International Business Park in Singapore

Research In Motion
Research In Motion (RIM), manufacturer of the popular BlackBerry, established its Asia Pacific Customer Support Operations (CSO) Centre in Singapore in October 2006. The new Singapore centre will support RIM's global geographic expansion and offer carriers, partners and BlackBerry customers 24x7 technical support services. According to Mr Gregory Wade, Director of Asia Pacific at RIM, the CSO Centre also provides RIM's carrier partners and end-users with regional and global access to world-class support focused on the technical elements of both the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry service infrastructure for improved levels of customer satisfaction.

RIM chose Singapore because of its excellent communications infrastructure, stable regulatory framework, strong talent pool, strategic geographic location and pro-business environment. The Singapore CSO Centre will work closely with RIM's CSO Centres in North America and Europe. Mr Wade added that Singapore's CSO was the first RIM Centre in Asia Pacific and this demonstrate RIM's commitment in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.

Mr Wade also revealed that RIM plans to create up to 200 full-time customer support positions over a two-year period. They will also be recruiting technical analysts, technical account management, operator account management, and possibly service planning positions. New hires will be trained in either Singapore or Canada.

Lenovo
According to Mr David Miller – President Asia Pacific/Japan, Lenovo (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Senior Vice President, Lenovo Group – Singapore has served as the company's Asia Pacific headquarters since its opening in May 2005. It also serves as the worldwide headquarters for Lenovo's treasury function. "Lenovo's worldwide leadership for our Centre of Excellent, Supply Chain and Services are also based in Singapore," Mr Miller added. Having these functions based in Singapore serves the company well in terms of efficiency and access to key markets.

Mr Miller explained that Singapore offers many positive propositions for companies looking to base their regional or even global operations here. "The geographic advantages are often cited, but beyond these are compelling factors such as economic and political stability. Singapore recently topped an annual World Bank ranking of business-friendly countries, which takes into account among other factors the time and cost involved in meeting regulatory requirements for starting a business," he explained. Mr Miller added that advanced infrastructure and initiatives like Wireless@SG helped keep Singapore ahead of many other nations for businesses like Lenovo when choosing their base of operations.

Sybase
In March 2007, Sybase opened its Wireless Development Centre in Singapore. Designed as a R&D hub for Sybase's mobile and wireless software solutions, the new Wireless Development Centre will focus on developing new technologies in the areas of RFID, embedded software, and mobile middleware for the enterprise.

This is the third centre for Sybase in Singapore. The first is the Asia Development Centre established in 1998. The second is the Wireless Solutions Centre established in 2005.

Motorola has based its Global Supply Chain Control Tower (SCCT) in Singapore to manage Motorola's full value chain of activities in supply chain management

Motorola
Motorola announced in June 2006 that its Global Supply Chain Control Tower (SCCT) would be based in Singapore. It will manage Motorola's full value chain of activities in supply chain management across all businesses from mobile devices to networks, enterprise and connected home solutions.

Dr Simon Leong, Regional President for Asia Pacific at Motorola says that Singapore was chosen due to its stability, world-class business and infocomm infrastructure and strong talent pool. In December 2005, the company set up their latest Customer Solutions Centre for High Growth Markets. The centre is responsible for the localisation of mobile phones and related services for the company's operator customers in the region. Asia was also chosen due to its importance to Motorola as an operations hub and a growth zone.

Motorola is expected to invest about US$60 million over two years to establish the full operational capabilities of the Global SCCT. The company will also employ about 200 professionals in Singapore by end-2007.

Cisco
According to Mr Craig Gledhill, Cisco's managing director for Singapore and Brunei, the company's 500 employees here in Cisco's Asia Pacific headquarter serve in several divisions ranging from Singapore sales and marketing, regional human resources, finance, product management, technical operations and services. In February 2007, Cisco established a state-of-the-art Customer Briefing Centre in Singapore to showcase the latest innovations in Internet Protocol networking technology.

Mr Craig Gledhill, Cisco's managing director for Singapore and Brunei, is very impressed by the government's proactive use of technology as a key competitive edge for Singapore

Mr Gledhill said that Cisco sees Singapore as a very strategic location not just for Asia Pacific but globally. Cisco has also been very impressed by the government's proactive use of technology to gain competitive edge for the entire country. He added, "The people are incredibly talented and with more and more Singaporeans gaining experience overseas and a unique global-view, that will stand the country in good stead. If the Singapore government decides to provide every home and office with 1 Gbps connection, Singapore will be a formidable competitor to any other country."

Oracle
Oracle teamed up with the Singapore Management University to offer the first Asia Pacific certification programme for Enterprise Grid Architects. This programme certifies IT professionals in the design, build and management of sophisticated enterprise grid infrastructure. According to Mr Frank Koo, Managing Director of Oracle Singapore, "Collaborating with the academic and commercial R&D sectors allows technology vendors like us to develop new, exciting and often disruptive ideas. At Oracle we see such collaboration not only as mutually beneficial, but also as crucial to the future development of new and better technologies."

According to Mr Koo, Singapore is recognised as a leader in IT infrastructure standardisation and consolidation. Moreover, Singapore has a stable and sustainable economy, strong IT infrastructure, and a pro-business environment. "All of which enhances its competitiveness and was the logical choice for us to set up our Enterprise-g Centre," he said.

Qimonda
Qimonda was formed in May 2006, the company formed out of Infineon Technologies AG has its Asia Pacific headquarter and regional IT enterprise development centre based in Singapore. Qimonda also recently announced its new Global Distribution Centre in Singapore in February 2007. This Global Distribution Centre aims to streamline its supply chain management processes, and shorten delivery time to its worldwide customers.

Qimonda Asia Pacific's Regional President and Managing Director, Dr Daniel Wong, says that Qimonda's decision to base its regional headquarters in Singapore was due to the pro-business environment, political and security stability, and advanced logistics and IT infrastructures. In addition, the support and assistance rendered to Qimonda by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and other government bodies were also key deciding factors for the company.

Kids can make use of the free wireless connectivity to entertain themselves with online games, or complete e-learning assignments

Since its launch in December last year, the Wireless@SG programme has gained tremendous popularity among people and businesses here. To date, more than 200,000 people have signed up for the service. That puts the project well on its way to its target of 250,000 subscribers by next year. The island-wide network has also expanded coverage from 600 hot spots to 1,300 hot spots.

People and businesses today are using the national wireless network for all sorts of applications. Last month businesses in Chinatown showed how Wireless@SG can be used to offer wireless points of sale, payment and security surveillance. For consumers, many today use it for instant messaging, e-mailing and Web browsing. However, as iN.SG finds out, the plugged in consumers are enjoying such on-the-go connectivity in a myriad of creative ways:

Mr Lim Boon Keong, a programme instructor at a school for children with learning disabilities, uses Wireless@SG to 'chat' with his fiancé in Australia via MSN on his PDA phone. Mr Lim, who is in his thirties, said: "There are always a lot of things to get ready for a wedding. Thanks to the connectivity offered by Wireless@SG, I can chat with my fiancée at next to no cost." Mr Lim, who was at Plaza Singapura's food court, said it helps that his office is at Orchard Road, which is covered by Wireless@SG. That allows him to just hit the streets during lunch time or after work for a quick catch-up with his fiancée, he told iNSG.

The moment retiree Jenny Yip, who is in her sixties, logs onto Wireless@SG, she calls up her bookmarked page, the SGX website, to track her share prices

Retiree Jenny Yip, who is in her sixties, uses Wireless@SG to keep an eye on her investments when she takes her grandchild to the Bukit Merah Library or the daycare centre nearby. "My PDA phone has Wi-Fi, which allows me to log on to Wireless@SG to check on my stocks through the SGX website."

Meanwhile, Wireless@SG has also added a shine to the social life of students here. University undergraduate Ms Geraldine Goh says that she and her friends often use Wireless@SG for keeping in touch and scheduling their activities. Ms Goh, who is 25 and currently studying business administration at a private university said that her peers are frequent users of the free wireless connectivity at fast-food outlets cum wireless hotspots like the KFC in Bukit Merah:, "We can chat on MSN and even book tickets for movies online. Thanks to the 'always-on' connectivity, my friends and I always have something to do no matter how far apart we might be."

Students use Wireless@SG to improve their social life via MSN chats and booking movie tickets online

Housewife Jaslyn Chua, 36, sends her three children to the Tampines West Community Club regularly for activities such as sports, music and educational enrichment classes. Such activities typically take up about two hours, three times a week, she said. "While waiting for a class to be over, it is really useful to be able to communicate on wireless Internet with friends, relatives and even my kids' school teachers via e-mail or instant messaging," she added.

The convenience of such connectivity extends to her son too, who at times has to wait for his elder sister to finish her class. Mrs Chua said: "He no longer fidgets impatiently while waiting for her. Now he keeps himself occupied with online games, or even manages to complete short modules on his school's e-learning website. I'm sure that helps him in managing his time better, especially since he's doing his PSLE this year!"

Ms Angelia Teo, a freelance writer and jewellery designer, also finds Wireless@SG to be a great help to her work

Ms Angelia Teo, 30, a former magazine editor turned freelance writer and jewellery designer, also finds Wireless@SG to be a great help to her work. She said: "As I move around a lot for my business and many of my clients are located in the city area, I can usually check my e-mail and catch up with correspondence easily. My entire contact list is uploaded to Plaxo as well, so in case my phone battery dies, I can still easily retrieve the contact information." Plaxo is a free online personal information management service.

Facts About Wireless@SG:

Do You Know? Wireless@SG is available at the IDA's office in Suntec Tower 3. Try for yourself, the wireless service, at all the function halls and meeting rooms.

Wireless@SG is the Government's wireless broadband programme that aims to extend broadband access beyond the homes, schools and offices, to public places. IDA called a Wireless Broadband Market Development Call-For-Collaboration in March 2006, to grow Singapore's wireless broadband market and catalyse broadband adoption. It is part of the Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure which when ready by 2012, will also comprise an ultra-high speed wired network.

• To Register For An Account Now or View the Latest Coverage Areas, visit the IDA Website.

At the recent 3GSM World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) led a contingent of Infocomm Singapore companies to showcase their products and solutions. Singapore's capabilities in the mobile space was showcased under the "Infocomm Singapore" brand at the four-day event that spanned eight halls at the Fira de Barcelona Convention Centre. The event attracted over 1,300 exhibitors and 55,000 visitors.

The IDA led a contingent of eight Singapore infocomm companies (Agis, Bubble Motion, Exploit Technologies, GlobalRoam, Innoxius, N2N, Tagit and Telogic) to 3GSM World Congress held in Barcelona in February 2007

Organised by the GSM Association (GSMA), 3GSM is the world's biggest mobile communications conference and exhibition. The 3GSM World Congress is the annual event where top executives from mobile operators, equipment vendors, infocomm companies and entertainment providers meet to do business.

The Singapore contingent included AGIS Pte Ltd, Bubble Motion Pte Ltd, Exploit Tech Pte Ltd, Globalroam Group Ltd, Innoxius Tech Pte Ltd, N2N Consulting Pte Ltd, Tagit Pte Ltd and Telogic Ltd.

Benefiting from the Singapore Pavilion
CEO of N2N Consulting, Mr See Chun Yan, said that without the invitation from IDA to exhibit at the show, N2N would have missed a great deal of opportunities in meeting prospective customers, partners and market exposure. "I am very glad to see Singapore companies coming together to help each other to make this event a success," he said.

The help and support provided by IDA was also cited by Ms Vivien Ang, Account Manager at Bubble Motion Pte Ltd, as a boost for Singapore Infocomm companies to gain exposure in these overseas events. As a growing company, Bubble Motion is mindful of how it uses its resources in events like this. "IDA helped open the doors for us into the European market. Its excellent planning and organisation makes exhibiting at the event easier. Being a relatively new company, we lack the expertise to participate at exhibitions of this quality and scale. The publicity by IDA helped draw in the crowds to visit our booth. This resulted in many leads for Bubble Motion."

Infocomm Singapore Pavilion provided participating companies opportunities to showcase their innovative products & solutions to potential buyers & distribution partners at the world's biggest mobile communications conference and exhibition

Ms Nicole Chai, Senior Manager at Innoxius Technologies Pte Ltd said that participating under the Infocomm Singapore Pavilion provided a sense of legitimacy as an exhibitor, and helped boost the confidence of customers. She added, "It gives them assurance that we can deliver. Likewise, if we had gone on our own we would have to fight for the attention of customers among the hundreds of exhibitors. We see many of these companies in obscure areas in the event. This is where we would be located if it were not for IDA's support."

"Generating interest from industry players came from promoting and linking the participating companies with business prospects, and was especially useful", said Ms Cecelia Kao, Business Development Manager of AGIS Pte Ltd. She added that it was a great help that IDA made participating at a global event accessible.

Competing in the global market
As this was the first time N2N Consulting has ever participated in such a major global telecom event, Mr See said that besides understanding the market trends and meeting peers, N2N was able to get an idea how to differentiate itself from potential competitors and hear the feedback from the industry on their products. Saying that he now understands the market better, Mr See added that, in the short term, "it is important for us to focus in the regions we can succeed in given limited resources and time."

At the Pavilion, companies promoted themselves with the "Infocomm Singapore" brand and helped each other to make the event a success

Ms Chai of Innoxius Technologies agrees with Mr See that attending the event gave the company a new perspective as to how Singapore companies should innovate, develop, compete and market their products. "It is also comforting to know that we are not that far off from the industry leaders. Previously, we were thinking in terms of regional markets. After this trip, we feel that we should expand our horizon and look beyond," she added.

Participating in this event has allowed Bubble Motion to gain many quality leads to enable the company to bring its Voice Short Messaging Service to the European market, said Ms Ang of Bubble Motion.

Ms Kao of AGIS was proud to be part of the cutting-edge technology landscape of Singapore, which generated overwhelming interest from multi-national companies such as Alcatel, Microsoft and SK Telecom. "It was also a great opportunity for us to interact and exchange views with key decision makers from related industries, learning about the industry needs and hence helping us position ourselves better in the market," she said.

The eight Singapore Infocomm companies that participated include:

• AGIS Pte Ltd
• Bubble Motion Pte Ltd
• Exploit Tech Pte Ltd
• Globalroam Group Ltd
• Innoxius Tech Pte Ltd
• N2N Consulting Pte Ltd
• Tagit Pte Ltd
• Telogic Ltd