10th ICC jointly organised by IDA and SCCCI

In his opening address at the 10th Infocomm Commerce Conference (ICC) jointly organised by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) on 17 August 2006, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, voiced his surprise that some companies do not strategically invest in Infocomm.

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.