New SingTel programme to help mobile developers bring products to market

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) (www.singtel.com) has launched a partner programme aimed at helping mobile solution developers to bring their products to market faster and at lower cost. Central to the S$2.3 million programme is an innovation centre which will provide developers with advanced IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) test-bed facilities and a proof of concept laboratory for testing their applications over a 3G/3.5G network.

Supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the partner programme brings together multinational corporations and local ICT companies in the mobile space to co-develop, test, and market mobile applications and contents to local markets and beyond. The MNCs are High Tech Computer Corporation, Microsoft, Nokia Forum, Motorola, Research in Motion (RIM), Sony Ericsson and Nokia-Siemens Network, while SingTel will provide access to network infrastructure as well as to its community of consumers across the region.

RADM(NS) Tay: IDA will support initiatives that create an environment of innovation and partnership.

Speaking at the launch, RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer of IDA, noted that such strategic partnerships present many opportunities for innovation in mobile applications and contents. “For the local infocomm companies, they can generate their own intellectual property in products and services which will serve them well in the global market. For the consumers, the innovative products and services will certainly enhance their connectivity and mobility in the Digital Age,” he said.

“IDA would … be most happy to support similar initiatives by other operators and industry partners that would help create a vibrant and conducive environment for innovation and partnership to flourish,” added RADM(NS) Tay.

As part of its partner programme, SingTel will offer developers basic training and consultancy services at no charge, as well as data SIM cards and call traffic at discounted rates. Mobile devices are provided by SingTel’s partners for testing purposes at no cost, and an extensive range of online tools and resources will be made available to developers via a web portal which serves as a platform for sharing ideas and knowledge.

Members can participate in joint-marketing activities with SingTel and its regional partners including the Bridge Alliance, Asia Pacific’s leading mobile alliance. Participants of the programme will also be able to exhibit their solutions at SingTel’s annual enterprise innovation showcase and interact with the telco’s corporate customers at the event.

“At SingTel we have over 158 million customers and we have a very deep understanding of the needs of the people and the businesses we serve,” said Mr Allen Lew, SingTel’s CEO Singapore. “We will share these customer insights with our partners so that they can develop applications and services that fully utilise the capabilities of our mobile networks and devices.”

According to Ms Ong Geok Chwee, Director of Business Development at SingTel, the partner programme aims to engage more than 40 active mobile developers and commercialise at least 10 solutions over the next 24 months.

Mr James Loo, Chairman of the Wireless Chapter at Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation, said the programme will give local mobile application developers a big competitive edge. “My members not only benefit from reduced development costs at this new facility, they can also gain access to advanced pre-market mobile technologies from other companies participating in the programme. This will help them to get their own products developed, tested and ready for the market in a shorter time,” he said.

Fingerprint biometric security solutions provider Upek (www.upek.com) has selected Singapore as the location for its International Headquarters (IHQ). The California-based firm, with international offices also in Prague, Taipei, Beijing and Tokyo, said it selected Singapore over other sites because of the quality of its labour pool, its proximity to suppliers, business partners and customers, its unique central location and world-class transport infrastructure.

“This decision marks an important milestone in our history,” said Mr Alan Kramer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Upek. “(The opening of the IHQ) realises our vision to create a truly global organisation, and also advances the vision of the Singapore Government to embrace all multi-national companies, including earlier-stage companies such as ourselves who want to maintain operations in this exciting and dynamic part of the world.”

The IHQ will manage all of Upek offices outside the United States, thus
expanding the scope of its current Singapore operations.

Upek will also build a Centre of Excellence in Singapore, which will focus on hardware R&D and IC design, manufacturing operations and worldwide sales and logistics. It has also pledged to spend S$100 million over the next 10 years to continue to build and strengthen its presence in Singapore.

According to the International Biometric Group, the global biometrics market (dominated by fingerprint recognition in 2006) is projected to grow from US$2.1 billion in 2006 to US$5.7 billion in 2010.

“We are pleased that Upek has chosen Singapore as its international headquarters, with R&D activities and supply chain management,” said Mr Manohar Khiatani, Assistant Managing Director, Economic Development Board. “Upek’s investment will certainly add to the vibrancy of the semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore.”

With the price of energy surging, a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Data Storage Institute (DSI, www.dsi.astar.edu.sg) and Copan Systems (www.copansystems.com) certainly comes at the right time.

The partnership – a first for Copan Systems in the region - will explore technology innovations that result in power-efficient storage systems and will see a new Copan Systems Training Centre set up in collaboration with DSI.

Prof Chong: As Singapore becomes a data centre hub, high electrical energy consumption can be expected.

Copan Systems produces storage solutions for protecting and managing persistent data. Under the terms of the partnership, the company will train DSI researchers on its enhanced Massive Array of Idle Disks (MAID) technology and deploy its storage systems within DSI’s own data centre. DSI will in turn provide its existing heterogeneous infrastructure at the Network Solution Technology laboratory.

MAID operates on the principle that when persistent data is stored on drives, one would not need all drives to spin all the time. Instead, only those drives that contain data that is requested by a specific application are powered on, and then are powered off when they are not needed. Copan’s proprietary software provides a maximum of 25 per cent of drives powered on with assurances on drive health and data integrity, an 85 per cent savings in power and cooling, and an 85 per cent reduction in data centre floor space.

The Copan Systems Training Centre will serve the Asia Pacific region, which will accelerate the adoption of energy saving storage systems for archiving purposes. DSI will assist in system setups and demonstrations with Copan Systems engineers, providing services to the company’s partners for usage of systems and tools and for performance testing, analysis and benchmarking of deployed storage area network solutions.

In recent years, the steady growth of data centres has introduced a significant problem: energy consumption. The increasing power requirements are driving energy costs up as much as 25 per cent annually and seriously impacting the TCO (total cost of ownership) of a data centre.

“There are many technologies that need to be considered when applying a ‘green’ approach to any data centre, which include servers, storage, networks and data management tools,” said Prof Chong Tow Chong, Executive Director of DSI. “As Singapore becomes a data centre hub for Asia Pacific and Japan, we are expecting high electrical energy consumption on an annual basis. As such, a focus on energy saving storage system technology is necessary… I believe this collaboration will generate positive synergy in this area
of research.”

Mobile operator M1 (www.m1.com.sg) and broadcaster MediaCorp (www.mediacorp.sg) have announced that they are working together to launch a consumer trial for a mobile TV service in Singapore, based on Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVBH) technology. The trial service is planned for a mid-year launch, subject to regulatory approval.

An invitation to tender has been issued for vendors to submit proposals for mobile TV infrastructure and devices, including a trial service. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between M1 and MediaCorp in October last year, to collaborate on the mobile TV service.

Mr Montefiore: Mobile TV breaks the traditional boundary of broadcast television entertainment.

The partnership is the latest in a series of collaborative efforts by M1 and Mediacorp to offer innovative video and TV content that is customised for the mobile phone. Working with MediaCorp Studios, M1 had in the past offered its customers Asia's first 3G mobile drama series as well as celebrity and entertainment programmes on its mobile channel.

"Mobile TV is an exciting new media that breaks the traditional boundary of broadcast television entertainment by making it conveniently accessible to anyone with a mobile phone,” said Mr Neil Montefiore, Chief Executive Officer of M1. ”It is this combination of the right technology and content providers that will create a viable mobile TV service."

According to MediaCorp's Chief Executive Officer Lucas Chow, the DVBH platform offers untapped opportunities for new broadcast services and interactive programme content. “It's a fresh frontier in MediaCorp's continuing efforts to extend our broadcast services and locally produced content to digital platforms.”

Second-year students studying for the Diploma in Cyber & Digital Security.

Temasek Polytechnic (TP) (www.tp.edu.sg) and IBM (www.ibm.com) have established the TP-IBM IT Security Centre which aims to train over 400 staff and students over five years to meet the industry’s growing demand for IT security professionals.

The S$200,000 centre will provide training based on the IBM Information Security Framework, which includes IBM’s portfolio of security solutions and best practices to help clients evaluate their current security programmes and plan a comprehensive enterprise-wide security strategy.

Students from the Temasek Informatics and IT School will receive practical experience on leading-edge security and privacy solutions as well as opportunities to work with IBM’s IT security experts on client projects.

The objective of the training is to equip students with a solid foundation in various aspects of security, including physical, personnel, application, identity and access management, threat mitigation, transaction and data integrity, privacy and governance. The alliance is also set to identify best practice processes and develop new security solutions.

“The TP-IBM collaboration extends beyond security products and technologies to include the training of our students and staff in project management, leadership methodology and processes, industry standards, and business modelling,” said Mr Boo Kheng Hua, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of
Temasek Polytechnic.

IBM will provide advice and assistance on the setup of the new centre as well as consultation and industry insights to help TP develop the curriculum, course synopsis, materials and case studies relevant for students of the Diploma in Cyber & Digital Security at the Temasek Informatics & IT School.

Nearly 400 staff and students will be trained over the next five years by integrating IT security management programmes into the curriculum of their Diploma in Cyber & Digital Security. TP has about 120 students currently enrolled in its three-year Cyber & Digital Security course. The pioneer batch of students with the acquired IT security skills is due to graduate in
March 2009.

Students from TP will also be exposed to real-world experiences through an internship programme with IBM that is supported by industry partners such as the Land Transport Authority of Singapore. They will be attached to IBM for a minimum period of three months. The internship programme, which covers areas such as IT Security Audits and Controls, Incident Handling and Response, Threat Monitoring and Patch Management, Vulnerability Assessment and Handling, Security Risk Assessment and Log Review and Developing Security Standards and Guidelines, will enable the students to put what they have learnt into practice.