As one of only three worldwide IT hubs for the company, Singapore will serve as its central technology gateway to Ernst & Young's offices in 17 countries stretching from New Zealand to China and Japan.

"We adopted the hub strategy to help align IT with our businesses globally by providing core common infrastructure and product services centrally from our hubs," said Joseph Lembo, Director of Global Operations. "Applications that can be provided centrally to each region will lead to cost savings over the long term through consolidation of IT services and pooling of resources." These applications include collaborative, financial, time and expense, knowledge and global tools to aid Ernst & Young practitioners.

Ernst & Young chooses Singapore as its regional hub to host shared IT services for the rest of Asia and Oceania.

To help find the best location for the hubs, Ernst & Young Global engaged the services of BearingPoint Inc., strategic consulting and technology solutions consultants to Global 2000 companies and government organisations. After a three-month analysis, BearingPoint recommended Singapore as the best location for the hub based on Ernst & Young Global's criteria, which included acceptable performance of the hosted applications, price points, people skills, infrastructure, and a stable and business-friendly government.

All 17 Asian and Oceanic countries in which Ernst & Young operates were considered for hub status. However, many of them were eliminated for various factors, such as poor economic and financial infrastructure, and other risk factors. The shortlisted locations eventually came down to Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. Of the three countries, Singapore was eventually selected for its efficient and scalable infrastructure.

After assessing the major co-location players in Singapore, Ernst & Young Global decided to partner Keppel Digihub Ltd. "Keppel Digihub is very service-oriented," said Lembo. "We came away with the feeling that they were very committed to our success." To date, Ernst & Young Global has invested US$6.5 million in their setup at the facility and budgeted a yearly run-rate of approximately US$2.2 million. "With our investment in people, technology and service enablement for the region, it's likely that this number will continue to grow," Lembo adds.

The Singapore hub will play an important role in Ernst & Young Global's follow-the-sun model of IT operations. The Singapore team is responsible for overseeing the firm's global IT operations during the off-hours of the firm's two other hubs located in Stuttgart, Germany and New Jersey, USA.

With the popularity of computer and console games rising across the world and interest in events like the World Cyber Games at an all time high, 13 Singapore software companies recently showcased their products in the 1,600 square metre Singapore pavilion at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), organised by the IDA and Games Exchange Alliance (GXA).

GXA leads the way

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report entitled 'Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2005-2009', the Asia gaming market is projected to grow to US$23 billion by 2009. The same study showed that the wireless market is expected to exceed 230 million mobile gamers spending over US$5 billion a year by 2009 while the subscription market is expected to exceed $7 billion. Singapore is well positioned to take advantage of this; the multi-platform game development and distribution services in Singapore allow video game producers to effectively tap into Asia's wireless and online gaming markets.

The GXA aims to help game companies all over the world to cross last-mile commercialisation hurdles to put game titles into the hands of Asian gamers. With more than 20 members, GXA provides market access to over 13 key Asian countries including China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. The GXA hopes to attract more game publishers and developers to use Singapore as their base as well as providing services in development, localisation, hosting, distribution and marketing throughout Asia. Over 20 games have shortened their time to market by making use of Singapore's Games Bazaar.

Part of the crowd at E3

A recent milestone was reached by the GXA when member company Activate Interactive developed a world's first cross-platform MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game) that is playable on both the computer and mobile phones in real time for Nokia. This allows gamers to fight monsters, find treasures and meet new friends whether they were at home or on the go.

Activate Interactive is passionate about developing games that can be enjoyed across different platforms according to Mr Leslie Wou, CEO of Activate Interactive. Mr Rick Gawdat, Head of Games, Nokia Multimedia, Asia-Pacific said that this all-new gaming concept offers true mobility to gamers giving them the power to play HinterWars both at their desk and when they are out travelling in the bus, train or taxi.

Some of the attendees at the Singapore Pavillion

This launch of the first multi-platform MMORPG is firmly aligned with IDA's efforts to transform Singapore into a development, testing and deployment centre for the regional video game industry. Mr Thomas Lim, Director, Education, Learning, Digital Media and Entertainment, IDA said he feels that for Singapore to be recognised as a hub for game development and distribution, there needs to be creative use of technology, especially in areas such as cross-platform gaming.

Dr. Chong Yoke Sin, Chief Executive Officer, NCS

Local infocomm companies NCS Pte Ltd and Emerio Corporation were recognised by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) as some of the best outsourcing companies in the Global Top 100 Outsourcing Services Providers for 2006. They were the only two Singapore infocomm companies to be recognised by the IAOP.

The IAOP is the global, membership-based organisation aimed at shaping outsourcing as a management practice, as a profession, and as an industry. The Global Outsourcing 100 represents the first-ever listing of the world's top outsourcing service providers by IAOP and is featured in IAOP's website (www.outsourcingprofessional.org).

Mr. Michael F. Corbett, Executive Director, IAOP says that selection to The Global Outsourcing 100 was based on a rigorous application process based on the critical factors for long-term outsourcing success. "As the global standard-setting organisation and advocate for the outsourcing profession, IAOP is pleased to be able to recognise the industry's leading providers with this listing," he added.

Emerio was the only Singapore company in the Rising Stars category. Founder & Chief Executive Mr. Harish Nim said, "This is a strong endorsement for Emerio and further reinforces the fact that its efficient infrastructure, quality processes and data security make Singapore an ideal outsourcing hun for IT services."

NCS came in 32nd in the list of industry leaders. Dr. Chong Yoke Sin, Chief Executive Officer of NCS Group, said, "NCS Group is pleased to be recognised as a global outsourcing leader in the first-ever listing of the world's top outsourcing providers. It shows that Singapore companies can compete with the best in the world. Many companies can claim to be outsourcing providers but customers need to know who the credible providers are and this list will act as a good reference for them."