One of Singapore’s most ambitious public sector infocomm projects in recent years took off in July 2009 with the rollout of the Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOEasy) to four agencies - the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and National Heritage Board. This was just one of the many examples of how various sectors in Singapore are being transformed through the increasingly sophisticated adoption of infocomm.

Government: SOEasy does it

The SOEasy platform is being rolled out to 60,000 public officers across 75 agencies.

SOEasy is being rolled out to over 60,000 public officers across 75 government agencies at more than 800 locations. However, to minimise adverse impact on public officers and maintain service levels to the public, the deployment is taking place through "bite sizes". Release 1 is the replacement of existing services while Release 2 (from October 2009) and Release 3 (from February 2010) involve new services such as Unified Messaging.

The SOEasy Programme also involves the revamp of 12 existing service-wide infocomm infrastructures and introduces 10 new central infrastructures in the areas of network infrastructure, desktop services, messaging and collaborations.

Two Singapore Government Network Operations Centres (GNOCs) have been successfully commissioned – one in October 2008 and the other in June 2009. When SOEasy is fully implemented, the two GNOCs will house servers connecting more than 60,000 computers across the public sector agencies.

Besides SOEasy, individual public agencies have continued to invest in infocomm to better meet the growing expectations of businesses and citizens in an ever-changing infocomm landscape. For FY2009, the Government is calling about S$1.73 billion worth of new infocomm tenders for over 390 projects. Examples include the Standard ICT Operating Environment for Schools (SOE Schools) by the Ministry of Education (MOE); the Content and Documentation Management System by DSTA; and the BorderWatch System by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The infocomm adoption efforts by Singapore’s public sector have not gone unnoticed. This year, Singapore topped the Waseda University International e-Government Ranking , making it the first time an Asian country has taken pole position in the study.

Education: Setting the stage for a new learning paradigm

BackPackLIVE! aims to transform the learning environment for students in Singapore.

In the Education sector, the five-year IDA-Microsoft BackPack.NET initiative, which was launched in 2003, has been expanded with the rollout of BackPackLIVE!.

In BackPack.NET, Microsoft, IDA and MOE collaborated to create a fundamental shift in the way a student experiences learning through the use of innovative Tablet PC-based learning applications. The new collaboration, which was announced in July 2009, will focus on inspiring, exploring and scaling innovative ICT practices among teachers to develop students’ self-directed and collaborative learning capability. BackPackLIVE! comprises four pillars - Professional Learning Communities; Developers Community; Cyber Wellness; and Recognition and Promotion. It aims to transform the learning environment for students in Singapore by facilitating greater engagement with students, and promote learning through innovative use of infocomm.

Finance: Tap-and-pay model gains traction

The convenient tap-and-pay model using CEPAS (Contactless e-Purse Application) cards for public transport will soon proliferate to food courts, provision shops and convenience stores, with the number of contactless Point of Sale (POS) terminals expected to more than quadruple from 5,000 to almost 24,000 by 2011. When fully deployed, the terminals are expected to generate over 94 million e-payment transactions per year, converting a significant number of cash-based payments to e-payments.

NFC enables consumers to make contactless payments using their mobile phones.

This is made possible with the award of the contactless POS terminals Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) to five companies in November 2009, under the IDA’s Next Generation e-Payment Programme. The companies are: EZ-Link Pte Ltd, Nera Telecommunications Ltd, Network for Electronic Transfers (Singapore), PaymentLink Pte Ltd and Way Systems Solutions Pte Ltd.

Through IDA’s collaboration with the industry , merchants accepting CEPAS card payments would benefit from a reduction of up to 50 per cent in transaction fees, terminal rental waiver for at least one year and immediate access to a customer base bearing more than 5.9 million CEPAS cards. Coupled with over 2,250 convenient top up points, the wide acceptance of CEPAS card payments by merchants will provide consumers with a highly compelling alternative payment choice to cash for low value purchases.

This collaboration will also pave the way for Singapore to capture opportunities associated with Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile payments in the future, through a wide network of future-proof contactless POS terminals.

Healthcare: Infocomm initiatives gain impetus

In the healthcare sector, several projects seeded under IDA and other government-supported programmes have begun to bear fruit. In September 2009, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) introduced an interactive web-based portal called ROC-N-ASH that allows medical professionals, caregivers, and educators to address two common childhood disorders – Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Childhood Anxiety.

Roc-n-Ash features games aimed at helping children to cope with anxiety and Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.

ROC-N-ASH was developed with co-funding from IDA, the Ministry of Health, and The Enterprise Challenge under the Joint Healthcare Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) programme in 2007. IMH’s two partners, Fujitsu Asia and ASKnLearn, provided the technological and creative expertise respectively. In addition to being featured in the local media during its launch, the portal also bagged a Merit Award (Private Category) at the recent SiTF Awards as well as the Merit Award (e-Health Category) for the Asia Pacific ICT Alliances Awards, competing at the international arena.

In another project, Y3 Technologies, a Singapore-based software development company, partnered open source solutions provider Red Hat to develop Asia’s first open source hospital bed management system. The Bed Efficiency, Administration and Management (BEAM) system, which has been deployed in Mount Alvernia Hospital, is the result of a collaborative initiative for open source software development initiated by Red Hat under IDA’s Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP). The BEAM system uses wireless and mobile technologies to track patient admissions and bed occupancy status.

Land & Transport: Innovating with i-Singapore

In the land and transport sectors, four innovative geospatial services are being developed by local companies under the Image of Singapore (i-Singapore) initiative. The services will allow businesses and citizens to enjoy a more engaging experience and an enriched lifestyle, with the ability to make more informed decisions through easy access to real-time information in a meaningful and timely manner.

Some of the applications that are being developed under the i-Singapore initiative.

i-Singapore aims to catalyse the development of geospatial services that leverage advancements in geospatial technologies and bring together data from the public, private and people sectors. The four companies - MapKing (Singapore), Quantum Inventions, ShowNearby and Surround Networks – were awarded grants under the
i-SIngapore Request for Information in August 2009.

MapKing’s Neighbourhood Community Geo-tagging is about building a location-based community where information (including text and photos) of neighbourhood events can be uploaded and shared. From Quantum Inventions comes a Customised Real-time Navigation system that provides motorist with dynamic routing assistance through the integration of real-time traffic information and inputs from users on current road conditions. ShowNearby’s Business Competitive Intelligence service allows entrepreneurs to search for a new location for a business by reviewing existing competitors in the vicinity and estimate possible demand by analysing available demographics information. Surround Networks connects businesses and citizens, using location-based personalised services on mobile devices. These services will be ready for a six-month pilot by April 2010.

SMEs: Supporting local businesses in their infocomm journey

Infocomm@SME is aimed at encouraging SMEs to adopt IT.

At the Committee of Supply Debate in Parliament in February 2009, then Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang said about S$10 million was being set aside to support infocomm adoption by local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

An example of such support is the Accounting Software Assistance Scheme (ASAS) launched by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and IDA in August 2009. Under ASAS, SMEs buying their first accounting software will receive a funding of up to S$1,500, if the software meets the requirements set by IRAS. The funding also applies to software deployment and training costs.

The ASAS is just one in a wide range of programmes that have been put in place under IDA’s Infocomm@SME initiative to encourage SMEs to adopt IT. Others include the setting up of the SME Infocomm Resource Centres at the Singapore Polytechnic and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the increase of subsidies under the SME Infocomm Package, and the Technology Innovation Programme to help SMEs improve business processes or develop new capabilities using infocomm.

Community: Bridging the digital divide

As Singapore embraces a digitally-enabled future, there is a concerted effort to ensure that no divide opens up to separate the digital haves from the digital have-nots. Particular attention is being paid to groups such as senior citizens and the underprivileged.

An enthusiastic response from participants at this year’s Silver Infocomm Day seminar.

Under its Silver Infocomm Initiative (SII), a three-year programme (2007 to 2010) to bridge the digital divide among senior citizens, IDA aims to educate and train the 50-plus segment into savvy technology users. A recent announcement in November 2009 was the plan to set up 100 Silver Infocomm Hot Spots to provide computers and Internet services to senior citizens free-of-charge. The hot spots, which will be located island-wide, are targeted to be deployed by 2013.

Another key effort under the SII is the setting up of Silver Infocomm Junctions (SIJs) to  provide affordable infocomm training as well as customised curriculum for senior citizens.  Five of these senior- friendly and conveniently located IT learning hubs have been been established, namely at RSVP Singapore in Bishan, Marine Parade Family Service Centre, Chinese Development Assistance Council Bukit Panjang, Paya Lebar Kovan Community Club and i-Clickz Club at Tampines West. Three more SIJs will be rolled out by October 2010.

Training opportunities were also made available to senior citizens during the annual Silver Infocomm Day which took place over two weekends in November and December. The event combined talks, an exhibition and hands-on training in digital lifestyle skills. In addition, a new set of bilingual (English and Chinese) infocomm curriculum has been developed to increase infocomm literacy among senior citizens. There are two tracks, iBEGIN and iLIVE, for senior citizens to learn basic infocomm and digital lifestyle skills respectively. Topics covered include eCommunications, eTransactions and Internet Security, Blogging, Social Networking and eEntertainment.

To ensure that no youngsters are left behind on the digital highway, IDA has announced enhancements to its NEU PC Plus Programme to help lower-income families get access to infocomm resources such as computers and broadband connectivity.

With effect from July 2009, the qualifying income cap was raised from S$2,000 to S$2,500. More computer options are being offered, from entry-level desktop PCs and laptops, to mid-range ones. IDA subsidises between 50 and 75 per cent of the cost, depending on the household income. Students placed under MOE's Financial Assistance Scheme are also eligible. Those who have difficulty meeting their co-payment obligations can perform community service and receive further help under the iNSPIRE Fund, which was set up in 2007 to complement the NEU PC Plus Programme.

The programme also considers families who already have a PC, but who find the cost of a broadband connection to be beyond their means. Through the Broadband-Only Scheme, these families can apply for 36 months of 1Mbps broadband access with Internet filtering option for just S$1.50 a month.