In Singapore, the high level of infocomm adoption among enterprises and users has set the stage for infocomm to play a wider role in sectoral transformation. Over the last few years, infocomm usage and accessibility have been on the rise with household access to broadband reaching 82 per cent in 2010. Similarly, on the business front, infocomm usage has also grown steadily. In 2010, for businesses with 10 or more employees, 90 per cent had broadband access while 69 per cent had a web presence. This has paved the way for the sophisticated use of infocomm in government, key economic sectors and society.
iN2015: Our journey thus farSingapore leads in e-Government globally, and infocomm continues to bring about changes in the way the Government serves and interacts with citizens. Nine other sectors have been identified in the iN2015 masterplan for sectoral transformation through infocomm. They are: Digital Media and Entertainment; Education; Financial Services; Healthcare; Land Management and Transport; Small and Medium Enterprises; Tourism, Hospitality and Retail; Trade and Logistics and the People sector.
Guided by the iGov2010 vision to connect with citizens through infocomm, Singapore’s e-Government (eGov) efforts have been met with appreciation within the country and accolades on the international stage. In 2010, Singapore retained its top ranking in the Waseda University World e-Government ranking and also the government readiness ranking in the World Economic Forum Global IT report.
Within Singapore, the annual eGov perception surveys indicated that more than 8 out of 10 citizens and businesses are satisfied with the quality of electronic services (e-services) and information
In June 2010, the inaugural Web Excellence Awards were presented to 10 government agencies that achieved high standards for their websites in terms of user-friendliness, content presentation, overall website management and the effective delivery of e-services. The Web Excellence Awards were conceptualised as part of the Government's iGov2010 Website Transformation Strategy to create a vibrant, engaging and integrated government Internet landscape.
Continuing with this journey, Singapore has formulated its next eGov masterplan, which will incorporate new models of collaboration with the private and people sectors, leveraging emerging technologies and social trends.
At the whole-of-government as well as the individual agency level, continued investments in infocomm ensure that the public sector adopts technologies effectively in delivering higher value services to its customers; and in raising productivity of its officers..
In May 2010, the Singapore Government announced that it planned to call for about 350 new infocomm tenders worth S$1.1 billion in FY2010. Details of some of these projects were shared at the Industry Briefing 2010 on Business Opportunities for Infocomm in the Public Sector, which was organised by IDA.
For example, new projects included the re-development of the eCitizen Portal to include new features such as the OneInbox , as well as the enhancement of business intelligence capabilities to analyse information through the use of business analytics tools. Other key projects included the DSTA Enterprise System by Defence Science & Technology Agency, the Central Picture Archiving Communications System by Ministry of Defence and Biometrics Screening Capability system by Ministry of Home Affairs.
Singapore is also looking to collaborate with other countries to explore ways to further enhance the delivery of e-services. In June 2010, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) of the Republic of Korea to to increase opportunities for e-government collaboration. As part of the agreement, both countries will collaborate on e-government projects, support major workshops and conferences hosted by each country and exchange information, knowledge and experiences in relation to e-government.
Besides these infocomm initiatives, 2010 also saw the award of a S$850 million contract for the Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for Schools in June that year. SOE for Schools involves the rollout of about 120,000 seats catering to 40,000 teachers and administrative staff and 500,000 students over two years. Each seat comprises a computing device, network connectivity and support services for all Government and Government-Aided schools. The SOE for Schools programme supports the third Masterplan for ICT in Education (mp3) in providing schools with an ICT infrastructure that will continually enhance teaching and learning.
To position Singapore to tap on the ICT growth opportunities in the Media and Entertainment sector, the Digital Marketplace Programme (DMP) seeks to harness Singapore’s position as a leading hub in the global media distribution landscape in Asia. This programme aims to grow a vibrant ecosystem of world-class companies in Singapore to offer innovative and competitive digital services across the digital media value chain to reach the fast growing digital consumers in the region.
In FY2010, key projects and initiatives completed under DMP are as follows:
Vobile Secure Content Distribution Centre - Vobile has set up a regional content distribution that offers secure media distribution services across the open IP network. A development centre was set up in Singapore to develop the service.
eBus Media Exchange Hub - eBus will develop and provide a collaboration and video delivery service platform to facilitate the digital-format distribution and production of TV commercials for advertisers, agencies and broadcasters. As a result of this project, it is moving its HQ from New Zealand to Singapore in 2011.
Ithos Digital Full DRM-free Unified Music Store - Ithos Digital has developed and launched Singapore’s first online store serving music that is fully free of Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions, featuring over 23 labels across mobile and Internet applications. StarHub Music Store is its first partner.
Digital Media Talent Resource Network - sixdegrees.asia is a talent resource community to connect creative and media professionals across all sectors in the creative industries and assist with job-matching, collaborations and opportunities for professional development. Sambaash is the local start-up that created the online service.
IDA has developed a media ICT blueprint to provide Mediapolis with state-of-the-art media ICT infrastructure and services that serve to differentiate the 19-ha hub in the global digital media industry. A Request for Information (RFI) was also conducted using the blueprint to invite the industry to submit development proposals to deliver the media ICT services.
The projects secured under the Connected Games Programme demonstrated the positive momentum in the development of the games ICT ecosystem in Singapore. Several international games publishers and service providers from China, USA and Russia established operations in Singapore. They include:
Blizzard Entertainment South East Asia Games Hub - Blizzard Entertainment set up its first Asia-Pacific Games Hub to host the Battle.net gaming platform and Starcraft II in Singapore. Blizzard Singapore will reach some 600,000 gamers across Asia-Pacific. Infocomm Asia Holdings (IAH) is the local partner to publish and operate Blizzard’s games.
Shanda Games Regional Publishing Hub - Shanda Games, one of China’s leading global online games company, set up its first international games hub in Singapore to serve Southeast Asian gamers. It publishes both self-developed and 3rd party online games.
Playfast Technologies Distribution Platform - Playfast Technologies, a Russian company, set up its global R&D centre in Singapore to develop peer-to-peer and progressive download technologies. Singapore is also Playfast Technologies’ global HQ.
Garena Regional Games Hub - Garena Online is a home-grown company with one of the largest gaming communities in the world comprising over 60 million registered users across 200 countries and territories. They are planning to publish high quality MMOGs for Asia, which includes the very popular triple-A gaming title, League of Legends.
Last year, for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore, IDA was responsible for developing the official virtual world platform, Odyssey . This virtual world brought the excitement and experience of the Youth Olympic Games to users all over the world through live multiplayer sports games, user-generated content and virtual depictions of the major Olympic venues in Singapore. Odyssey attracted more than 300,000 registered users globally and was used as part of schools’ curriculum to raise awareness of the event and the Olympic values.
EducationEdVantage is an IDA flagship programme that is aligned with the Ministry of Education's (MOE) IT Master Plans with the aim of harnessing ICT to transform the educational landscape. Edvantage bases its initiatives on core programmes such as FutureSchools@Singapore and Experimentation@Schools .
Under the FutureSchools@Singapore programme, industry partners have collaborated with six schools to develop 50 new products and services for learning and teaching. An example of such a product is the amBook - an interactive digital textbook that supports an inquiry-based approach to learning. The amBook, which is being used by several local schools, provides students with simulations and interactive learning content to enliven Science lessons. Such products have been adopted by more than 50 schools locally and some have even been marketed overseas.
For Experimentation@Schools, the aim is to seed and encourage technological innovations among schools and industry, and to scale these to the education community. A new Learning on the Move (LOTM) tool will be completed by next year and it supports the creation of a highly engaging and interactive mobile learning trail. The LOTM tool will be ready for piloting in schools by December 2011.
IDA's Next Generation e-Payment Programme has so far seen over 1,500 terminals deployed in the targeted cash-based segments, and has also indirectly catalysed the deployment of about 23,000 terminals in other segments such as retail businesses, private buses and taxis. The programme leverages the huge base of over 6 million CEPAS (Contactless e-Purse Application) cards currently used for public transport to bring greater convenience to consumers by enabling the seamless use of these cards for payment in various cash-based segments such as food courts, provision shops and convenience stores. When fully deployed, the terminals are expected to generate over 94 million e-payment transactions a year.
The National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) aims to enable the exchange of health information across the healthcare continuum by allowing secure real-time access to patients’ health records by authorised clinicians and healthcare providers. Fundamental to the development of the NEHR has been clinician involvement via advisory groups and taskforces. More than 200 clinicians have been involved in developing the business and clinical requirements for the system. Phase 1 of the NEHR is planned to go technically live in April 2011. The rollout will be a pivotal point in the history of our healthcare system as patients will be able to move seamlessly within the healthcare system, translating into a more holistic and consistent care for patients. Our public hospitals will be the first to come on board, followed by the community hospitals, nursing homes and eventually the general practitioners (GP) and private hospitals.
The National Standard Project (NSP), one of the key guideposts under the NEHR programme, aims to ensure high quality, accessible information for inter-operability and data exchange. This programme establishes the governance framework and policy for standards development, and provides recommendations on implementation and the compliance framework for adoption by the healthcare providers and industry.
A national strategy for Personal Health Management (PHM) is being formulated that will provide the way forward to empower patients and consumers to better manage their own health and form closer partnership with their healthcare providers. A prototype for PHM applications platform will be developed to demonstrate initial use cases and point to future possibilities.
An intelligent map information system, OneMap, was launched in April 2010 to provide reliable, timely and accurate location-based information and services to the public. OneMap is the first major application of the Singapore Geospatial Collaborative Environment (SG-SPACE), a whole-of-government initiative driven by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and IDA to create an environment in which the public, private and the people sectors can collaborate and create a wide range of innovative applications and services using geospatial or map-based information.
Companies that are using OneMap’s geospatial technology to offer business analytics, location-based commerce services, a real-time navigation system and an integrated traffic information application include: MapKing (MapKing Live), Quantum Inventions (Customised Real-time Navigation), ShowNearby (ShowNearby Analytics) and Surround Networks (Location-based Commerce).
The SG-SPACE Clearing House, a one-stop data exchange clearing house for geospatial information (“GeoSpace”) was launched last year. The GeoSpace portal allows public officers to discover and view 300 layers of geospatial data contributed by 23 public agencies. The GeoSpace portal provides new capabilities to public agencies’ planning, operations and decision making.
Infocomm@SME is IDA’s umbrella programme for accelerating the adoption and innovative use of infocomm by SMEs. One of its anchor initiatives is iSPRINT (Increase SME Productivity with Infocomm Adoption & Transformation), which supports SMEs in their adoption of solutions ranging from simple IT systems that improve business operations to innovative uses of technology.
The National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) provided an S$85.5 million boost from the National Productivity Fund to iSPRINT in March 2011. iSPRINT has also been expanded to support a greater portion of qualifying project costs for first-time adopters of ICT, as well as for specialised technologies used in specific industries that will boost productivity significantly.
More than 1,200 SMEs have been supported by iSPRINT as at March 2011, generating over S$12 million in ICT expenditure.
Another initiative under Infocomm@SME is the SME Infocomm Resource Centres (SIRCs), which serve as one-stop centres for SMEs to learn more about infocomm and obtain assistance on how to use it for their business. Since March 2011, a wider scope of services was introduced at the two SIRCs located at the Singapore Polytechnic and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The new services include pre-project consultancies, project and vendor management services, access to ICT implementation guidelines and advisories and third-party ICT expert advisory panel services. Together with other programme partners such as Enterprise Development Centres and Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF), over 1,000 SMEs have benefitted from their assistance.
In the Tourism, Hospitality and Retail sector, the Digital Concierge Programme aims to catalyse the growth of mobile services ecosystem in Singapore by encouraging the development of transactional, location-based and mobile commerce services for consumers and enabling businesses to target their customers more effectively through the mobile channel.
In April 2010, IDA awarded six companies through the Digital Concierge Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) to jointly invest a total of $10 million over two years to develop and deploy common mobile shared services and enablers, such as a directory of businesses, location positioning integrated with the telcos and remote payment. All enablers will be accessible by businesses and third-party mobile service developers alike, allowing them to bring to market a wide variety of transactional, location-based and mobile commerce services.
TradeXchange aims to be the neutral and secure multi-party collaborative platform to integrate the trade and logistics industry, streamlining the exchange of information of key trade and logistics processes.
Following a CFC supported by EDB, IDA, Singapore Customs and SPRING Singapore, two integrated processes were implemented in the areas of marine cargo insurance and trade finance in February 2011, re-engineering processes between trade and logistics companies, bank and insurance companies. For instance, suppliers can electronically apply for financing directly from their procurement systems to the banks that are connected to TradeXchange. Two more processes will be implemented in 2011 in the areas of trade permit processing and freight management. Through process integrations, companies enjoy greater operational efficiencies, clearer supply chain visibility, faster shipment turnaround and increased productivity.
The iN2015 vision goes beyond enhancing the economic competitiveness of the nation and the infocomm industry. It is also about enriching lives through infocomm.
One of IDA’s key digital inclusion initiatives is the NEU PC Plus Programme, which aims to provide computer ownership to low-income households with school-going children and people with disabilities. As of March 2011, more than 30,000 needy households whose gross monthly household income does not exceed S$2,500 have benefitted.
To help senior citizens bridge the digital divide, the Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII) was introduced to hone their IT proficiency, while addressing their needs for affordability and accessibility to infocomm training and computer resources. In September 2010, funding for the SII was increased from S$2.5 million to S$4.2 million to support more senior citizens in embracing a digital lifestyle.
One of the flagship events under SII is Silver Infocomm Day , an annual event organised by IDA, industry partners and the community to enrich the infocomm learning experience of senior citizens. The Silver Infocomm Day held at Singapore Polytechnic in September 2010 and at Nanyang Polytechnic in October 2010 attracted a record 5,200 participants over six days, who attended talks and workshops on topics such as blogging and digital photo management.
Another key programme under the SII is the opening of Silver Infocomm Junctions (SIJ) to provide senior citizens with affordable infocomm training and a customised curriculum. Nine such IT learning hubs have been set up to date, with the latest opening at the i-Clickz Club in Tampines in January 2011.
Silver Infocomm Hotpots are also being set up island-wide to provide senior citizens with convenient and free access to computers and Internet services. As of January 2011, 34 hotspots have been set up at various community clubs, self-help group centres and Residents’ Committees. The initiative is on track to reach its target of 100 of such hotspots by March 2013.
To further encourage senior citizens to pick up infocomm skills, IDA has introduced the Silver Infocomm PC Incentive Scheme . This is a training incentive where senior citizens who have completed minimally 30 hours of IT training at SIJs are able to enjoy the benefit of paying S$100 less for a PC bundle purchased under the Silver Gen PC Special . As of March 2011, 541 PCs have been sold under the Silver Gen PC Special, 56 senior citizens have completed 30 hours of training each and 15 claims have been made under the PC Incentive Scheme.
Another innovative approach to helping senior citizens bridge the digital divide is the Inter-generational IT Boot Camp , where students and their grandparents attend hands-on IT workshops. This helps foster closer inter-generational ties while giving senior citizens the opportunity to pick up IT skills. Seven runs of this programme were conducted between April 2010 and March 2011.
The Infocomm Accessibility Centre (IAC), run by the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD), has provided customised IT training programmes to more than 3,900 people with disabilities as of March 2011. The programmes include the use of assistive technology tools to help them maximise their potential in school, at work and in everyday life. The Centre is supported by IDA, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), National Council of Social Service (NCSS), Singapore Tote Board and industry partner Microsoft Singapore.
The IAC also houses the first ever Assistive Technology (AT) Loan Library in Asia, catering to people with disabilities. Over the last three years, 120 clients and professionals have loaned AT devices from the library. In addition, 631 professionals from various voluntary welfare organisations and hospitals have attended Basic AT training courses and have had hands-on experience with the devices from the AT Loan Library.