Sectoral Transformation

Living the Digital Future

Infocomm is a key enabler of business innovation and transformation and plays a pivotal role in helping Singapore's economic sectors stay ahead and be globally competitive. The iN2015 programmes and initiatives are collaborative efforts with sectoral champions to enhance the adoption of infocomm for greater productivity and economic benefits and building a digitally inclusive society.

The nine sectors under iN2015 are: digital media & entertainment, education, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing & logistics, land and transport, tourism, hospitality & retail, government and society.

Digital Media and Entertainment

The iN2015 goal for the Digital Media and Entertainment sector is to establish Singapore as a key player on the global stage and to draw high value-added media and entertainment activities here.

  • Digital Marketplace Programme (DMP)
    The DMP aims to establish Singapore as a trusted digital media management and distribution hub for Asia with a vibrant ecosystem of world class companies in Singapore offering innovative and competitive digital services across the value chain, reaching the fast-growing digital consumers. To date, the implementation includes eight industry projects to develop the Digital Media Ecosystem, as well as accelerator projects such as the world's first content fingerprinting/contextual advertising and iScreener online platform for the Asia Television Forum. The DMP Forum has also been scaled up to include 100 key local and international industry players.
  • Connected Games Programme
    To establish Singapore as the leading regional centre for developing and distributing Connect Games content and services, IDA works closely with the industry to set up enabling platforms and to strengthen its capabilities. Two Games Resource Centres have been established, at Nanyang Polytechnic with the PlayStation development capability and the Unreal Technology Lab at Singapore Polytechnic. The Singapore Game Box initiative was launched in September 2009 to promote Singapore games titles.
  • Virtual World
    The Singapore 2010 Odyssey, a unique virtual world platform for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, was launched in March 2010. The platform aims to foster Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, through e-learning, social networking and entertainment for youth in Singapore and around the world.

Education

The goal of the iN2015 Education and Learning plan is to foster an engaging learning experience to meet the diverse needs of learners in Singapore, through the innovative use of infocomm. This is done by creating an enriching and personalised learner-centric environment for educational institutions; building a nation-wide education and learning infrastructure; and positioning Singapore as a centre for innovation in the use of infocomm technologies in education and learning. EdVantage is the flagship programme by IDA, aligned to Ministry of Education's (MOE) IT Master Plan, to achieve the goal of iN2015.

Through EdVantage's FutureSchools@Singapore programme, six schools have been selected as the pioneer batch to serve as peaks of excellence in enabling school-wide transformation of learning and teaching through infocomm. These six schools are collaborating with 15 industry companies to develop more than 50 innovations to enhance curriculum and pedagogies. Three learning trails were deployed under EdVantage's Experimentation@Schools programme to promote authentic learning beyond the classroom.

To provide seamless access to relevant educational digital resources, the MOE edumall2.0 and iSHARE (inter-cluster SHAring of Resources) were developed. edumall2.0 provides quality learning and teaching resources from MOE and educational industry partners while iSHARE allows 30,000 teachers access to quality learning and teaching digital content created by the teachers themselves.

The Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for Schools will also be deployed to provide an ICT environment that facilitates teaching and learning in all schools, further standardise the ICT operating environment to achieve operational efficiency and aggregate ICT demand to achieve cost savings for the MOE.

Financial Services

The Next Generation e-Payment Programme aims to promote e-payment adoption and realise the vision of Singapore as a leading e-payment nation, providing convenience to both consumers and merchants and enabling commerce for all. The key strategies of this programme are to accelerate consumer and merchant adoption of e-payment solutions and to support the further development of innovative e-payment solutions, such as mobile payment enabled by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

  • Contactless e-Purse Application (CEPAS)
    Launched in late 2006, CEPAS is the Singapore standard for Multi-Purpose Stored Value Card (MPSVC). It is a significant milestone for Singapore's micro-payment landscape, and is a result of close collaboration with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and industry to develop a nationwide interoperable micro-payment platform that bridges multiple sectors. The creation of CEPAS is a significant step towards giving consumers the convenience of having a single card for making transit, motoring and retail payments seamlessly, instead of having multiple cards for different purposes.
  • Contactless Point-of-Sales (POS) Deployment
    To bring convenience of e-payments to more consumers and businesses in cash-based segments such as food courts, provision shops and convenience stores, a Call-for-Collaboration was issued from April-June 2009 to accelerate the deployment of CEPAS-compliant Point-of-Sales (POS) terminals beyond the transport sector. With the award of the Call-for-Collaboration in November 2009, the number of contactless POS terminals is expected to more than quadruple from 5,000 to almost 24,000 by 2011, converting an expected 94 million payment transactions from cash to e-payment transactions each year. Retail merchants would benefit from a reduction of up to 50% in transaction fees and consumers would have a highly compelling alternative payment choice to cash for low value purchases.
  • Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments
    IDA set up an industry Roundtable in January 2008 to foster industry collaboration towards the establishment of an interoperable infrastructure for NFC services, starting with transit and payment. The Roundtable, which comprised 11 key industry players from telcos, banks and payment providers, agreed to collaborate towards achieving an interoperable commercial deployment of NFC mobile payment through a neutral Trusted Third Party (TTP) infrastructure. Together with the Roundtable members, IDA has also defined the technical and operation requirements for the deployment of the TTP infrastructure.

Through the Corporate Financial Information eXchange (CFIX) initiative, IDA is working with a multi-agency team to create a national financial reporting taxonomy which will help streamline corporate financial information flow across government and reduce the burden of multi-agency reporting on businesses. By enabling easy access to CFIX data as a trusted source of financial information, this effort will also seek to catalyse the development of innovative value-added services, such as those leveraging business analytics, to deliver greater insights to businesses.

Healthcare

The goal of the iN2015 programmes for the healthcare sector is to accelerate its transformation through an infocomm-enabled personalised healthcare delivery system to achieve high quality clinical care, service excellence, cost-effectiveness and strong clinical research.


  • National Electronic Health Record (NEHR)
    The National Electronic Health Record aims to enable the exchange of health information across the healthcare continuum by allowing secure "real-time" access to patients' NEHR by authorised clinicians and healthcare providers. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for the NEHR was issued in February 2010 and Phase 1 of the NEHR is expected to be completed by March 2011.
  • Integrated Clinical Management System (CMS)
    The CMS programme aims to encourage General Practitioner (GP) clinics to adopt and leverage infocomm to facilitate operations and clinical improvements in patient care. Phase 1 of the five-year programme was completed in December 2008 with the following results: two CMS platforms, six e-services linkages to the Ministry of Health, two e-services with clusters and about 300 clinic subscribers. In 2009, its next strategy - the GP IT-Enablement programme was launched to encourage adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) in the GP community. Phase 1 of the 5-year programme commenced through the CLEO (Clinic EMR and Operations) project in late 2009, which targeted 50 GPs as pilot users to work through the processes and showcase the benefit of EMR adoption.
  • Personal Health Record (PHR) Programme
    The Personal Health Record Programme seeks to empower individuals to optimally manage their health condition. Phase 1 of the programme was completed in April 2009, with the implementation of the Singapore eHealth Portal. Self-management modules such as the Behavioural Health Intervention Tools are made available on the portal to facilitate the use of the PHR by individuals. Moving forward, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will continue with Phase 2 of the portal development, which includes the implementation of new functionalities and extending the scope of Personal Health Management by synergising it with the National Electronic Health Records (NEHR) project.
  • Intermediate and Long Term Care
    IDA started an initiative in 2008 with six Community Hospitals to implement a common Electronic Medical Record (EMR) among Community Hospitals to better improve clinical care and achieve greater operational efficiency. The platform will also be linked to the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) to facilitate care co-ordination and management across care institutions.

Manufacturing & Logistics

The iN2015 goals for the Manufacturing and Logistics sectors are for Singapore to be a high-value manufacturing hub and supply chain nerve centre, powered by infocomm.

  • Infocomm@SeaPort
    Launched in September 2007, this collaboration between IDA and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore aims to catalyse business transformation and operational excellence in the port community through the use of innovative infocomm technologies. In March 2008, the WISEPORT ( WI reless-broadband-access at SE a PORT ) project was launched to provide mobile wireless broadband coverage of Singapore's port waters, allowing vessels to access low-cost, high-bandwidth mobile communications. From April 2009 a suite of content and applications were deployed for WISEPORT, enabling the port community to access up-to-date information such as navigational charts, vessel and equipment status, and training materials and entertainment content for crew and passenger welfare. The BunkerNet project aims to connect all parties in the bunker community and supports the world's busiest bunker fuel operations. The pilot was deployed in November 2009.
  • TradeXchange
    To facilitate the exchange of information within the trade and logistics community, TradeXchange was launched in October 2007. It provides a neutral and secure IT platform to integrate trade and logistics processes. Six value-added services have been deployed since October 2008. These services allow the logistics community to file customs declarations, check schedule and book cargo space, transfer titles securely and purchase cargo insurance online.

    In collaboration with Singapore Customs, Singapore Economic Development Board and SPRING Singapore, four consortia involving 22 companies in the trade and logistics sector were awarded a Call-For-Collaboration in January-February 2010 to integrate key processes in marine cargo insurance, freight management and trade financing through the TradeXchange as a multi-party collaborative platform. Through these projects, companies will enjoy greater operational efficiencies and clearer supply chain visibility. For example, procurement systems providers can enable its users, like buyers and suppliers, to electronically apply for trade finance to the banks by integrating to the banks' systems through TradeXchange. The procurement users will be able to electronically retrieve and submit procurement documents like purchase orders, delivery orders and invoices to the banks and receive electronic finance approval advices without the need for hardcopies. Since April 2010, the consortia have developed interoperable standards that will allow other trade and logistics companies to easily integrate their systems and processes through TradeXchange.

    The TradeXchange programme targets to implement seven such integrated processes by end 2011, benefiting more than 100 companies and impacting 20 per cent of the 4 million annual export shipments.

Land Management & Transport

IDA also works closely with other government agencies to use infocomm in the area of land and transport management.

  • i-Singapore Initiative
    The aim of the i-Singapore initiative was to catalyse development of innovative services through mashups of public, private and people spatial sector contents. From March 2010, four services were made available for a six month pilot: Dynamic Real Time Navigation, Location Based Commerce, Business Analytics and Location Based Community Events.
  • Infocomm@AirHub Programme
    In partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, IDA and four trade association signed the e-freight@Singapore Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January 2010, to promote Singapore as a leading global air cargo and logistics hub. e-freight@Singapore will improve operational efficiency and end-to-end supply chain visibility, through the use and adoption of information technology, giving our air cargo and logistics sector a strategic competitive edge.

Tourism, Hospitality and Retail

The iN2015 goal for the Tourism, Hospitality and Retail sector is to use infocomm to help differentiate Singapore as a leading travel and shopping destination and enhance the growth and competitiveness of businesses.

The Digital Concierge (DC) programme aims to catalyse the growth of the mobile services ecosystem by encouraging development of transactional, location-based and mobile commerce services for the consumer and enabling businesses to target their customers more effectively through the mobile channel. In April 2010, six companies were selected through a Call-For-Collaboration to jointly invest a total of $10 million over two years to develop and deploy a set of common mobile shared services and enablers. Services will be available progressively from end 2010 and consumers can look forward to a richer, more personalised and seamless experience, such as location-aware taxi booking and just-in-time purchase of tickets with delivery to one's mobile phone for auto-gate access to cinema or event venues.

Infocomm@SME Programme

Launched in June 2007, the Infocomm@SME programme is targeted at accelerating infocomm adoption amongst SMEs. Some 4,000 SMEs now have web presence as a result of the programme. Two SME Infocomm Resource Centres have been established, which have helped more than 7,000 SMEs participants learn how to harness infocomm technology for their businesses. More than 110 SMEs have benefitted from S$7 million of funding to transform their businesses in a joint collaboration between IDA and SPRING.

In March 2010, a S$25 million Increase SME Productivity with Infocomm Adoption & Transformation (iSPRINT) scheme was launched by IDA in collaboration with SPRING Singapore and IRAS. SMEs now have a one-stop contact point to seek assistance for their infocomm adoption projects. iSPRINT is expected to benefit more than 4,500 SMEs.

Society

iN2015 aims to build an infocomm-savvy nation where lives are enriched through infocomm. There are programmes to equip needy students, engage the elderly, and empower people with disabilities to gain access to and benefit from infocomm.

  • NEU PC Plus Programme and iNSPIRE Fund
    IDA's effort in equipping needy households with students with computer ownership started in 1999. To date, the NEU PC programme has benefited close to 29,000 needy households whose gross monthly household income do not exceed $2,500 or whose per capita monthly income do not exceed $625. Since June 2009, supplementary Broadband-Only Scheme was launched to provide broadband access to needy households which have computers but cannot afford Internet service.
  • Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII)
    To help senior citizens get connected in the digital age and lead more fulfilling and enriched lives, the SII aims to train 30,000 senior citizens to adopt infocomm. Under this initiative, programmes such as Silver Infocomm Junctions, Silver Infocomm Day and InterGenerational IT Bootcamps offer infocomm training that is digital lifestyle centric or hobby based. To date, more than 18,800 seniors have benefited from the training. To further enhance infocomm accessibility, 100 Silver Infocomm Hotspots will be set up islandwide by 2012. A Call-for-Collaboration was also issued in June 2010 to encourage IT learning, and provide PCs at lower prices to our senior citizens.
  • Infocomm Accessibility Centre (IAC)
    This collaboration with MCYS, NCSS, Tote Board and Microsoft Singapore has funded over 2,800 IT courses for people with disabilities, and helped trainees acquire industry-relevant skills such as PC maintenance, web design, music arrangement and video editing. The IAC is also working with the National Library Board to convert books into the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) format for the benefit of people with visual impairment and dyslexia.

Government

iGov2010 is Singapore's third e-Government masterplan that was launched in 2006. The vision of this masterplan was to be an Integrated Government (iGov) that delights customers and connects citizens through infocomm.

Singaporeans have indicated a high level of satisfaction with e-Government services from the results of the regular e-Government Customer Perception Surveys. Nine in 10 citizens are satisfied with the quality of government's e-services and will recommend the services to others. Singapore has also been ranked highly in international e-Government studies. These include the recent World Economic Forum Global IT Report 2010 at second position; and the Waseda University International e-Government Ranking 2010 at first position. The government agencies have also won numerous awards and accolades for the delivery of e-Government services.

As part of the continual efforts to enhance public service delivery, various initiatives have been developed to provide greater value and convenience to our customers. Some of these initiatives include:

  • Unique Entity Number (UEN)
    UEN offers a common identification number for all entities, such as businesses and companies, to be used in all their interactions with the Government. Over 400,000 entities are already using UEN to interact with 84 government agencies.
  • Mobile Government (m-Gov)
    To enrich the reach of government e-services, m-Gov was introduced to enable citizens to access government information and services via their mobile devices.
  • Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOEasy)
    The SOEasy programme will enable public officers in government agencies to work in a seamless environment that promotes communication, collaboration and knowledge-sharing. SOEasy is currently being deployed, and when the rollout is completed by next year, 60,000 public officers across 75 agencies at more than 800 locations will be connected within a robust, innovative and flexible infocomm platform that consolidates all IT services and harmonises the desktop, messaging and network environments.
  • Gov.sg
    To create an electronic communication platform of the Singapore Government, gov.sg acts as the gateway for citizens to locate information about the Singapore Government.

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