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Industry investments complement government efforts in building a digital economy

Mr S Iswaran, Minister of Communications and Information spoke at the launch of the Developer Space @ Google Singapore on Friday 22 February. The three main topics he focused on were developing business, developing talent and global partnerships, with the common thread of digitalisation and Singapore digital economy running through all three focus areas.

Mr Iswaran spoke of how industry investments are important to complement government efforts in supporting the digital economy

“Complementing the efforts of the government, contributions and investments from the industry such as Google have been important in bolstering our economic growth and efforts to develop new industry segments. These investments and initiatives bring with them the talent, resources and capabilities that are essential for our industries.”

He continued by congratulating Google for launching its first-ever Developer Space @ Google in Singapore and said he thought it will be an important catalyst for the development and the nurturing of the developer community in Singapore.

Singapore government continues to invest in the digital economy

He stated that the Government remains committed to helping businesses and people translate these opportunities into opportunities by providing the support and infrastructure that is needed to ensure that Singaporeans are equipped with the  digital skills to seize the opportunities offered by the digital economy.

He mentioned the introduction of the  Digital Economy Framework for Action last year to prepare local enterprises and the workforce to capitalise on opportunities arising from the digital economy.

He also highlighted as part of the governments digital transformation efforts, the roll out of 23 Industry Transformation Maps to help companies innovate and also boost their productivity. At the enterprise level, they launched the Start Digital initiative last month, the aim being that businesses are digitally enabled from the get-go. This complements the other industry development programme which is “SMEs Go Digital” and to promote the digital message across the whole spectrum of enterprises.

Singapore Government pushing to enhance AI capabilities

Mr Iswaran spoke of how frontier technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), offer unparalleled transformative potential.

“To drive AI adoption and grow our capabilities in this area, we have invested S$150 million in AI Singapore as a national programme that enhances Singapore’s AI capabilities by bringing together Singapore-based research institutions, and AI start-ups and companies.”

He said that the key point and value proposition of this initiative is in the fact that it is working on defined problem statements – practical applications of AI. And that this “helps to enliven the technology, make it relevant, and bring it closer to industry and enterprises.”

Investing in tech talent is key to the successful digitalisation of businesses and the economy

“The backbone of our digitalisation efforts is tech talent who are able to sense make and apply these new digital tools. Talent and the development of tech skills are critical areas in supporting companies moving towards the digital economy. “

In addition to strengthening horizontal capabilities and tech skills such as Data analytics, machine-learning or programming to support the economy’s broad spectrum of needs, the government also want ato develop deep skills and competencies within the industry. Having deep capabilities in technologies such as AI and machine-learning, and being able to effectively adopt and deploy them, what really set industries and businesses apart andgive Singaporeans and Singapore a competitive advantage.

Global partnerships are critical to helping our enterprises and pool of local talents become world class

The Minister went on to say that the partnerships Singapore has with leading international companies is going to be an important part of positioning them well for the future. These partnerships will provide a foothold for local small and medium enterprises to expand overseas and spark new opportunities for Singaporeans.

He added that the Google Developer Space will also make available opportunities for collaboration and sharing of ideas with regional and international tech professionals. .

Mr Iswaran concluded by saying that the government is keen to work with the private sector in order to more opportunities to Singapore and its people.

He said “What you will find in Singapore is really a government that is willing to work very closely with you [Google] in the industry to build the ecosystem, challenge the boundaries of innovation, and pursue more opportunities for our people.”

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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