With VoIP, instant messaging and other collaborative technologies gaining ground rapidly, many companies and analysts see Singapore being strategically positioned to take advantage of these trends. iN.SG speaks to various infocomm players to get a first-look at the shape of things to come.

Mr Gregory Wade, Director of Asia Pacific, Research In Motion (RIM) says that CIOs and CTOs from across the region are consistent in their identification of requirements for wireless enterprise architecture. Based on RIM's experience in Singapore, enterprise decision makers are seeking wireless architecture which are established, reliable and secure. Scalability and manageability are also key factors – platforms should be able to support multiple hardware partnerships as well as multiple network protocols (such as GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiFi).

As a result of these requirements, RIM sees five major trends emerging in Singapore:

• Fixed Mobile Convergence
• Enterprise grade collaboration
• Expansion of value added services in mission critical enterprise environment
• Utility vs. Aesthetics
• Work life balance

Fixed Mobile Convergence represents the path leading up to mobilisation. We are seeing an emergence of consumer and enterprise grade solutions in the market and the lines between fixed and mobile environments are blurring. Clearly, security is still of paramount importance and BlackBerry leads in this important element of wireless solution delivery.

Both Research In Motion and Juniper Networks see convergence among mobile devices as a major trend that is taking place in Asia

Where Internal Messaging (IM) has been seen as a valuable tool for individuals to communicate and share life's experiences, businesses are starting to recognise the importance of dynamic collaboration within office walls, across the country, and internationally.

Companies and end-users are seeking more from the wireless service providers and solution providers. Platforms such as BlackBerry provide the basis from which to build business-driving, customer experience enhancing applications and solutions.

Companies and individuals need to sustain and support a concerted effort around establishing a strong work-life balance. The promise of the next phone cannot be met without some tangible elements of utility for end-users, thus we are witnessing this growing trend in Singapore.

According to Mr Brendan Leitch, Director of Service Provider Marketing of Juniper Networks APAC, consumers and businesses will increasingly demand more customised and unique services from operators. These services include IPTV, video sharing, my-space type services, you-tube services, instant messaging services onto mobiles. More importantly he says, consumers will want their services bundled into a single, easy to use interface and a single bill that charges only for their services. To make this happen, the carrier must deploy and deliver these services over a single network platform. "This is called convergence," he adds.

According to Mr Craig Gledhill, Cisco's Managing Director for Singapore and Brunei, strong broadband penetration and increasing affordability of technology solutions now enable SMBs to realise the same benefits from technology as larger companies

Mr Craig Gledhill, Cisco's Managing Director for Singapore and Brunei says that a major trend is the strong adoption of technology among SMBs. Strong broadband penetration and increasing affordability of technology solutions now enable SMBs to realise the same benefits from technology as larger companies. Video is also expected to be another significant growth area for Cisco, just as voice became an application on Internet Protocol Networks, so will video.

He also added that the consumer market is also taking on a new importance, not just for Cisco, but for the technology industry in general. Empowered by the Internet and other online collaborative applications, consumers are beginning to determine what technologies enterprises adopt and what service providers deploy. Linksys is a very key component in Cisco's consumer strategy and the synergies that Cisco can drive with Linksys are tremendous. You would have seen Cisco technologies such as voice over IP being integrated into Linksys' product portfolio.

How is Singapore poised to take advantage of these trends?
RIM feels that Singapore is well poised to take advantage of these trends and is leading the way to establish strength and prominence in areas, namely Fixed Mobile Convergence, work-life balance, etc. according to Mr Wade, opportunities exist vis-à-vis application extension, the germination of small design houses and independent developers. The Singapore Government has also been putting forward initiatives which strive to achieve work-life balance.

According to Rim, on a regional basis, Singapore is a leader in supporting and sustaining an environment which can ultimately support Fixed Mobile Convergence. Infrastructure is critical and Singapore continues to demonstrably invest in IT and telecommunications infrastructure. According to Mr Wade, if you couple this dedication with the continuing rise of technical educational institutions, Singapore's strong position is irrefutable both regionally and globally.

Singapore Government's commitment to leveraging infocomm technology to benefit the country's economic growth will generate a lot of opportunities for the industry

Mr Leitch says that Singapore's consumers lead the region in adopting new and unique services. Singapore businesses are similarly aggressively in adopting innovative new business oriented services. He also applauded Singapore's well established software and technology development environment. "With sophisticated end users and a well developed tech industry, Singapore is strongly positioned to take new services to market, leading the industry," he said.

According to Mr Gledhill, the Singapore government's commitment to leveraging infocomm technology (ICT) to benefit the country's economic growth will generate a lot of opportunities for the industry. "We have seen a lot of excitement generated by SOE and by wired and wireless infrastructure projects but we are also going to see a lot of ICT infrastructure build-out as a result of the Integrated Resorts," he added.

Mr Gledhill also added that Singapore was ranked #1 and #2 in the past Global IT Reports by the World Economic Forum, so it clearly is considered a leader in leveraging ICT. Singapore does lag in some areas, notably in broadband penetration, but this will change now that the government has identified this as one of the areas to invest in.

What do you expect to see happening in the near future?
Value-added services (VAS) will continue to represent a significant element in enterprise wireless strategies and as a matter of fact, we do foresee GPS playing a bigger role within the solution environment in Singapore. Mr Wade says that RIM expects Fixed Mobile Convergence to lead to tighter integration of software elements, be it from multimedia engines, mobile applications or voice telephony. This, according to Mr Wade, will see security ultimately becoming even more important within corporate strategies for mobility and he anticipates the growth and extension of solutions with an emphasis on security and reliability of mobile solutions.

Mr Leitch says that advances in technology, competitive pressure, and an evolving regulatory environment are radically shifting the economics of delivering voice, data, and video services. In response, he says that providers are making significant changes in their business models, not just to cut costs, but also to drive new, differentiated revenue streams.

Overall, he says that we can expect that operators will remodel their networks to rapidly accommodate new services as consumers and business users demand them. These networks will need to be built using only open standards as opposed to the traditional approach of procuring a single network system from a single vendor, which greatly limits the number of services and applications that can be taken to the market.

According to Mr Leitch, building networks using Open Standards will address the need for the operators to build services for consumers and businesses, using their choice of software and hardware partners that are best suited to build and deliver those specific services. Operators are free to work with any partner of their choice. It will also provide the Singapore technology industry the opportunity to deliver customised software and hardware for Singapore, Asia and around the world Cisco's Mr Gledhill expects that, with iN2015 and the other ICT initiatives, the buzz is returning to the ICT sector. "This is an exciting time for ICT in Singapore and there is a real sense of what can be achieved if Singapore executes correctly on its initiatives," he enthused.