Dr Marom explaining why Telco Systems chose Singapore

The company provides networking solutions to the carrier and enterprise markets and is looking towards working with telcos and other telecommunications firms in the region to make a transition to IP-based networks. Dr Zhi Marom, CEO of BATM Advanced Communications Ltd, believes that all telcos will be making the switch from traditional methods like Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) to IP-based communications systems to support future data, voice or video communications.

Dr Marom, who was in town for the announcement, said that Singapore was chosen because of its excellent infrastructure and robust telecom market. "Singapore's small size and good infrastructure, educational institutions, people and government support are what attracted us to Singapore in the first place," Dr Marom said.

According to the company's Vice President for Asia and Japan, Mr Leigh Wilson, the company plans to invest US$10 million in the region over the next two to three years, although this figure is dependent on the success of the company in finding the right partners in the region. The company hopes that its Asia Pacific operations will contribute about 15% of overall company revenues by 2007.

Finding the right partners is the greatest challenge facing the company in this region. According to Dr Marom, the company is already in partnership with several vendors that are both users of the company's products and OEM partners. However, they are also here to look for the right technology partners and potential partners in the educational arena.

"Given my background in education, we are very eager to be able to team up with universities and other research institutes to research and develop the next generation of communications technologies," Dr Marom said.

Over 240 ISVs attended the 2-day workshop

From this pioneer batch of participants, Microsoft and IDA expects to work closely with a number of the local Infocomm companies to develop,
commercialise and implement their IP strategies over the next 6-12
months.

Due to the high level of interest at the inaugural programme, Microsoft will be planning for another workshop in the near future.

For enquiries on the workshop, please contact Microsoft:

Mr Mark Fong
Overseas Development Program Manager & ISV Lead
Microsoft Singapore Pte Ltd
Tel: (65) 6882 8899
Mobile: (65) 9640 6403
E-mail: markfong@microsoft.com

The National Infocomm Scholarship continues to attract the best and brightest

A record number of 36 students were handed National Infocomm Scholarships (NIS) in September, with four of these given to foreign students who will be required to take up Singapore citizenship or permanent residency. There was also a four-fold increase in applications over the previous year to 567 applications.

The NIS is run in partnership with leading Infocomm companies in Singapore with support from the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) and the Singapore Computer Society (SCS). To give the students wider exposure, experience and guidance, scholars will be given the opportunity to do a six month attachment and mentorship with their sponsoring Infocomm company at their overseas offices or research facilities in the final year of undergraduate study.

Mr Chan Yeng Kit, CEO of IDA with the NIS recipients at the 2006 awards ceremony

Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said during the awards ceremony that Infocomm would continue to be a key driver of the Singaporean economy. He also added Singapore needs to develop globally competitive Infocomm professionals who are both technologists and business strategists to grow our Infocomm industry as well as to transform key economic sectors. This is one of the key building blocks for Singapore in the digital age.

The growth of the Infocomm industry of about 6 to 8 percent last year is expected to continue and according to Mr Chan, "The scholarships given out by the IDA aims to ensure the industry continues to attract the best and brightest talent."

Participating organisations for NIS include Computer Associates, Fujitsu Asia Pte Ltd, Frontline Solutions Pte Ltd, IBM Singapore Pte Ltd, Intel Technology Asia Pte Ltd, Microsoft Singapore Pte Ltd, NCS Pte Ltd, Oracle Corporation Pte Ltd and Singapore Computer Systems Pte Ltd. Joining these nine companies this year are seven new organisations, namely Accenture Pte Ltd, Avaya Singapore Pte Ltd, Aztech Systems Ltd, IDA Singapore, Novell Singapore, Singapore Telecoms, and an Infocomm-user organisation, DBS Bank.

The NIS is an initiative of the IDA, supported by SiTF and SCS, with the above participating companies

One of the leading home-grown regional banks, DBS Bank's participation underscores the importance of Infocomm talent for strategic business needs as well. Mr Rajan Raju, Managing Director and Head of Technology and Operations, DBS Bank said: "As a bank born and bred in Asia, one of DBS' key aims is to contribute to the regional community by promoting IT excellence and rising talent in Asia. Our participation in the National Infocomm Scholarship, which attracts some of the best and brightest in the region, will help build a talent pool to meet the current and emerging needs of both DBS and the Infocomm industry. We are pleased to be a part of this scholarship programme."

10th ICC jointly organised by IDA and SCCCI

"All companies, not just technology-intensive ones, can use Infocomm technology to achieve the much-needed competitive edge in the increasingly global business and rapidly changing environment," he said. "Business processes can be re-engineered with Infocomm to be completed faster and more cost-effectively. More importantly, Infocomm helps open doors to new markets, extending companies' reach to new customers across geographical and time zones."

A sizeable proportion of the 130,000 SMEs in Singapore are still ill equipped with technology, as they are often strapped by the lack of knowledge and technical expertise, or have had negative experiences in their initial attempts in adopting technology for business benefits.

Dr Balakrishnan with SCCCI President Mr Chua Thian Poh (2nd from right) at the opening of the 10th ICC

The 10th ICC, therefore, focused on helping SMEs to understand Infocomm technology, and to adopt and upgrade their technological capabilities for new products, services and processes. The Conference Programme was segregated into three English tracks - Enable, Empower and Embrace - to better cater to the needs of the different levels of Infocomm users, with an additional Mandarin track.

Infocomm industry leaders including Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Adobe Systems, Fuji Xerox, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Singtel and StarHub, as well as their partners, showcased their best-of-breed business solutions and technologies at the Solutions Gallery. Industry experts were also on hand to provide free one-to-one consultation sessions at the Solutions Clinic to provide participants with assessments of their businesses and help them develop customised business Infocomm strategies.

Enterprise Developments in Web Services
In his opening address, Dr Balakrishnan also said: "2006 is a significant year for Singapore as we celebrate 25 years of Infocomm. This year, IDA has also launched its new 10-year Infocomm masterplan, iN2015, after a year of consultation with the public, private and people sectors. The iN2015 masterplan seeks to better position Singapore for the digital future, with recommendations for key sectors including local companies."

Elaborating on some of these recommendations, Dr Balakrishnan highlighted the economic potential of Web Services. IDA launched the WEAVE (Web Services Add Value To Enterprises) Programme in 2003 to promote Web Services to the industry. Over the last three years, an industry rate adoption of more than 28% has been achieved. In terms of capability development, there are now more than 3,000 professionals in Singapore trained in Web Services know-how, with a third attaining certification through IDA-endorsed courses.

Altogether, about 65 industry projects have been supported by the IDA, and among the implementers are well-known names like Singapore Airlines (SIA), PSA Singapore Terminals, and United Premas. According to the Minister, the total value of investments is estimated at S$246 million.

Web Services have made significant headway into government agencies. For example, four licensing agencies - the Health Sciences Authority, the Media Development Authority, the National Environment Agency and the Public Utilities Board - have implemented 40 strategic Web Services, which enable real-time integration of services in the Online Business Licensing Service portal. In many cases, this effectively reduces the turn-around time for businesses to obtain their licenses from a few weeks to a few working days, or even within the same working day.

The government intends to extend its Web Services to the private sector through the Government Web Services Exchange, where businesses will be able to leverage e-government common services to save time and effort. For a start, the Web Services currently available include the business-related services offered by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), the carpark-related services offered by Housing Development Board (HDB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the library book catalogue services offered by National Library Board (NLB), and National Service men-related services offered by Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

In the manufacturing and logistics sector, the Collaborative High-Tech Manufacturing Plan aims to drive B2B initiatives using open standards for highly adaptive and responsive supply chains. Companies such as Chartered Manufacturing and its supply chain partners have experienced benefits through this programme: the supply chain has become more efficient and adaptive to changes in market demand, seeing between 20% and 40% productivity improvements in key process areas.

In the retail space, significant improvements have been made in the Infocomm-enabled supply chain operations for the four collaborative hubs developed by Cold Storage, NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Watson's Personal Care Stores. Initial results from their early deployments involving a few selected suppliers show an average annual savings of up to S$1 million.

Business Transformation
"It is clear that Infocomm will continue to transform businesses and have a direct impact on their bottom line," said the Minister. "Local enterprises will have to prepare themselves for the future by leveraging on technologies to stay abreast of their competition." He concluded his speech by urging Singapore enterprises to enable their businesses with Infocomm so as to empower themselves to embrace the challenges ahead.

IDA CEO Mr Chan Yeng Kit (2nd from right) chairing a lively CXO Roundtable discussion at the event

A concurrent CXO Roundtable discussion on iN2015: What Does it Mean for You and Your Business was held at the 10th ICC, chaired by Mr Chan Yeng Kit, CEO of IDA. The lively and encouraging interaction among the 20 CXOs and IDA representatives provided fuel for the concrete development of iN2015. The Roundtable was moderated by Chairman of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) Mr Stephen Lim, who is also CEO/Managing Director of SQL View Pte Ltd.

During the discussion it was raised that Singaporean businesses are becoming increasingly appreciative of the value that Infocomm can bring to their bottom-line. However, it was crucial to know what Infocomm products and services are available and suited to each company to ensure that they were equipped for tomorrow's challenges, and to ultimately go global, with Infocomm.