Mr Charles Goh (right) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Infocomm Singapore pavilion.

Led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), six local infocomm companies participated in the recent 11th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) to explore business opportunities within Chinese business communities around the world.

The WCEC is a biennial gathering of Chinese entrepreneurs from across the globe. This year, the event took place from 4-6 October 2011 and attracted about 4,000 delegates from 32 countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on 6 October 2011 at Suntec Convention Centre, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said new technologies are changing the global business landscape and creating new opportunities, even as they pose challenges to existing businesses. “They are fundamentally altering the landscape and restructuring jobs and entire industries. They have increased connectivity, shrunk supply chains and opened new markets,” he said.

Among the Singapore infocomm companies looking for partners at WCEC to explore these new opportunities was Inspire-Tech, which is currently working with IDA on a proof-of-concept for a Government Online Storage System. Inspire-Tech’s EasiShare solution is “similar to Dropbox, but designed primarily with security and convenience in mind”, said Mr Charles Goh, Managing Director.

With the increasing use of iPads and tablets to drive productivity gains, governments and multinational corporations want their officers to be able to access information while on the move, he observed. This usually means putting data in the cloud. However, unlike the Dropbox online storage service which targets mainly users of the public cloud, EasiShare targets organisations which have more stringent security and confidentiality requirements surrounding the information that they put in the cloud.

Describing itself as “more of a product company than a systems integrator”, Mr Goh said the company works with partners to access local networks and tap on local expertise for help with product customisation. At WCEC, Inspire-Tech was looking for partners to re-sell its EasiShare solution within the China market as well as Chinese business communities overseas.

Mr Kwa Kim Chiong: JustLogin has customers in 23 countries around the globe, all of them using the same version of the software.

Another company that was represented at the Infocomm Singapore pavilion at WCEC was JustLogin, which was the first company in Singapore to offer Human Resource management software on the Software-as-a-Service or cloud computing model.
Today, JustLogin has customers in 23 countries around the globe, all of them using the same version of the software, said its Chief Executive Officer Mr Kwa Kim Chiong. “All they have to do is to go in and configure it to meet their needs.”

According to Mr Kwa, one of the strengths of the company is that its solutions have been developed from scratch for the cloud computing model. “We have been around for more than a decade in the SaaS space,” he pointed out. Today, the company offers software such as payroll, leave management, electronic forms with workflow, and time attendance, among others. By paying about S$10 per user a month, companies, especially small and medium enterprises, can make use of the applications without having to invest in costly hardware or software, or worry about maintenance and support. For example, there is live chat support on every screen, through which customers can get in touch directly with support personnel in Singapore, said Mr Kwa.

Other companies represented at the Infocomm Singapore pavilion at WCEC included internet sentiment analysis company Brandtology, telecommunication services provider SingTel, facilities management and electronic records management solutions provider SQL View, and hosting provider Webvisions.

Prime Minister Lee said within the dynamic environment shaped by the emergence of new technologies, Singapore will continue to seek to stand out as a key node in the global marketplace. “We aim to make Singapore a useful partner to Chinese entrepreneurs all around the world and succeed together with all of you,” he said.