Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 Web-Only Content BUILD WE BUILD TECHNOLOGY, COMPANIES AND TALENTS IDA strives to help companies build and use technology to drive economic growth. In addition, we nurture the next generation of tech talents by encouraging a culture of experimentation and invention, sparking the growth of innovation. Strengthening our tech companies Technology start-ups play an important role in injecting innovation and vibrancy into the economy. In 2014, IDA made significant progress in nurturing and growing the Singapore tech start-up ecosystem with the introduction of the Accelerator and Accreditation programmes. Accreditation@IDA, which went live in July, allows young Singapore-based tech companies with the IDA Accredited Product mark to be considered first, where relevant, for innovative tech government projects. The aim is to help Singapore tech start-ups build their credentials and position themselves as vendors capable of handling projects by government agencies and large enterprises. Eight start-ups have been accredited under this programme to date. They include video analytics-as-a-service company Kai Square, security solutions provider V-Key, mobile platform provider Tagit, semantics-linked data software company Latize, energy management system provider Green Koncepts, video analytics solutions provider Trakomatic, data governance solutions provider Deep Identity, and enterprise mobility solutions provider Inspire-Tech. In another initiative to strengthen Singapore s tech companies, the Partnerships for Capability Transformation for the Infocomm Sector (ipact) scheme was announced in June 2014 to facilitate deeper collaborations between large tech companies/end-user enterprises and local tech companies in Singapore. Through this programme, ipact aims to improve local companies productivity and capabilities. IDA has committed S$15 million to drive the initiative over three years through to March 2017. Under the scheme, lead partners will work with at least three local tech companies on different development projects for up to two years. Putting start-ups on the fast track The Accelerator initiative, which is managed by IDA s investment subsidiary Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL), aims to build a strong pipeline of high growth, innovation-driven tech start-ups with the potential to scale globally. Under this initiative, start-ups are put through an internship where they will be challenged on their go-to-market strategies, the scalability of their business and whether they have the right talent fit. 166 innovation-driven tech start-ups S$300,000 - S$800,000 raised by start-up teams 9-15 MONTHS fundraising period The local and global accelerator partnerships seeded by IIPL since March last year have led to an accelerator boom in the country. 166 innovation-driven tech start-ups have since received mentoring support and assistance through the various accelerators and programmes supported by IIPL. The average follow-on funding raised by the start-up teams was between S$300,000 and S$800,000, which is three times what they used to raise without accelerator mentoring and networks. With the fast-tracked acceleration, they were also able to raise the funds within a much shorter period - 9-15 months compared with 36-48 months previously.
Creating space for the ecosystem Physical space has also been created for the tech start-up ecosystem to congregate and grow. Singapore s biggest integrated start-up facility BASH (Build Amazing Start-ups Here) was launched in February 2015 as the go-to place for tech builders, investors and innovators, offering amenities such as a prototyping lab, a photo and video studio as well as access to mentorship and community networks. To foster partnerships between Singapore start-ups and their counterparts in the United States and Europe, IIPL has also set up nodes in San Francisco and London. There, it will offer entrepreneurial and businessbuilding activities and events to help establish ties between the start-up communities. Recognising innovation Singapore s highest accolades for infocomm innovation were presented by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Infocomm Awards in November. In all, 12 private and public organisations received recognition for the development of innovative infocomm products/solutions and the innovative use of infocomm technology that contribute to the Smart Nation vision. In the category Most Innovative Infocomm Product/Solution, Numoni Pte Ltd won the top award for NUGEN, a micro-transaction self-service terminal for the underbanked. The Land Transport Authority of Singapore won for the category of Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Public Sector) for their Advanced Data Analytics for the Bus Service Enhancement Programme and in the category Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Sector General), DBS Bank clinched top honours for the effective use of data analytics to optimise ATM cash management. For the Most Innovative Use of Technology (Private Sector SME), Singapore District Cooling Pte Ltd won for the itransform solution which has transformed laborious paper-based maintenance operations using a real-time and locationsensitive plant operations and maintenance system. Winners of the National Infocomm Awards 2014 Most Innovative Infocomm Product/Solution Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Public Sector) Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Sector - General) Sector - SME) NUMONI Pte Ltd for NUGEN Micro-transaction Self-Service Terminal for the Underbanked Land Transport Authority for its Advanced Data Analytics for the Bus Service Enhancement Programme DBS Bank for Driving Optimal ATM Cash Management with Analytics Singapore District Cooling Pte Ltd for itransform ViSenze Pte Ltd for Visual Search (ViSearch) National University Hospital (NUH), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), National Healthcare Group Pharmacy (NHGPh) and Integrated Health Information Systems for the Outpatient Pharmacy Automation System at NUH, TTSH and NHG Pharmacy Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd for Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST) Singapore Transport Association for Mobileye Nanoveu Pte Ltd for EyeFly3D Nanoglass National Environment Agency for the Integrated Environment System National Trades Union Congress for U Portal Eyeota Pte Ltd for Eyeota Audience Data Marketplace
Enticing tinkerers Talent is a vital resource for building a Smart Nation. In 2014, IDA stepped up efforts to seed and nurture interest in ICT and related fields and to grow Singapore s pool of expertise in anticipation of the manpower requirements for an innovation-driven economy. One important initiative that was introduced was IDA Labs, which encourages tinkering with tech to build technical capabilities and attract more young people into the ICT industry. IDA has allocated up to S$10 million to develop these physical lab spaces for individuals, companies and government agencies to collaborate in building innovative products and solutions that address real world challenges. The first two labs which opened in April were IDA Labs@HQ in Mapletree Business City and IDA Labs@NDC at the National Design Centre. In November, IDA unveiled a mobile variation - Lab on Wheels which is a 40-seater bus retrofitted with engaging and experiential technology. Its aim is to provide primary school students with a fun way to learn tech and encourage them to pursue tech as part of their school curriculum or as a career. Lab on Wheels is expected to reach out to 16,000 students from 80 primary schools by Dec 2016. Nurturing tech talent There are plans to develop coding as a national capability. The Code@SG movement was introduced to bring coding and computational thinking to students from an early age, and has since benefitted 23,500 students. The 24-hour code::xtremeapps programming competition, which was held in August, was also aimed at creating greater hands-on experience with technology and building up essential skills for a Smart Nation. Over 250 participants in 101 teams took part in the challenge. In another initiative aimed at creating a build culture amongst the young, IDA and Singapore Polytechnic set aside S$2.8 million to co-fund the Robotics & Maker Academy. The Academy aims to equip some 10,000 primary and secondary school students with computational thinking skills and a basic understanding of coding and robotics to help Singapore gear up as the world s first Smart Nation. 23,500 student beneficiaries 250 participated in the 24-hour code::xtremeapps programming competition IDA also nurtures promising ICT talent by providing them support in their studies through its Integrated Infocomm Scholarships and National Infocomm Scholarships. In August, it awarded 20 Integrated Infocomm Scholarships to support outstanding O level students in their infocomm studies from polytechnic through to the university level. 20 National Infocomm Scholarships (NIS) were also presented to students pursuing degrees at local and overseas universities. The NIS scholars are given the unique opportunity to be nurtured by leading global companies, local companies and government agencies during their course of study.
Building analytics capabilities In view of the specific skillsets and expertise required for Singapore s Smart Nation push, IDA moved to strengthen Singapore s infocomm capabilities in key areas such as data analytics and security. It held its inaugural Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) class for data science and analytics in August, with over 350 private and public sector participants turning up in person for the session. IDA s aim is to create a data analytics community where participants can share their experiences and provide mutual support in this area as well as network with industry professionals working in the data analytics space. IDA also teamed up with Google to help aspiring data analysts jumpstart their career in the digital media and advertising sector. The collaboration falls under the ambit of IDA's Company-Led Training (CLT) Programme which supports the industry in recruiting, mentoring and training entrant infocomm professionals in fast-growing technologies such as data and analytics; and mobile application development. At the CLT Partners and Trainees Appreciation Day in July, 43 graduates were presented with their CLT certificates. The next cohort will be significantly bigger, with the number of fresh graduates seeking mentorship under CLT growing 38 per cent in 2014 compared with the previous year. Besides Google, other partners who are currently on board the programme include Dimension Data Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, IBM Singapore, Integrated Health Information Systems (IHIS), SAS Institute Pte Ltd, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS. Throughout the year, various data-related challenges were also organised to spark interest in analytics and uncover new insights and possibilities through data. For example, the Data Innovation Challenge (DIC) was held to help solve big business challenges. It connected user enterprises and data providers with data specialists, ICT companies, research institutes, and institutes of higher learning to develop prototypes, proof-of-concepts and analytics solutions to address commercial problems. User enterprises that have taken part in DIC include DSM Engineering Plastics, Prudential and Great Eastern Life. Raising cyber security awareness and expertise Another important set of skills required for a Smart Nation is cyber security. To beef up Singapore s capabilities in this area, IDA worked closely with industry partners to develop higher-level skills within the local talent pool. In June, Singapore Technologies Electronics and Engineering opened its cyber security training facility DigiSAFE Cyber Security Centre in Jurong to help IT professionals specialise in the field of cyber security and upgrade existing security professionals. To boost security within the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) industry, the Multi-Tier Cloud Security Standard (MTCS SS) was introduced in 2013 to help users gain clarity over security provisioning by CSPs. The standard has seen good take-up, with Amazon Web Services becoming the first global CSP to attain the top-tier MTCS Level 3 certification. Microsoft also became the first CSP to obtain MTCS Level 3 across its services Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service. Other CSPs which have been certified include Hong Kong-based Ribose as well as local CSPs New Media Express and ClearManage. More companies are expected to come on board, with MTCS certification being a mandatory requirement for IDA s public cloud services bulk tender. IDA also helped to introduce a new accreditation programme for certification bodies for MTCS SS. The new programme by the Singapore Accreditation Council will help improve the robustness of the standard, ensuring all layers are properly certified and accredited. IDA has also enhanced the CSP Registry with near real-time analytics on the performance and availability of cloud services. The CSP Registry was set up to engender trust through transparency for the benefit of cloud adopters by making information about CSPs available online. The near real-time analytics capability is being made available with the signing of a Memorandum of Intent with Dynatrace. 43 graduates awarded CLT certificates
Transforming sectors and helping SMEs to come on board IDA has continued to push for the innovative use of technology in various sectors to bring about improvements in service delivery. For example, to encourage technology innovation to improve teaching and learning, it partnered Bett Asia to organise the inaugural Bett Asia & IDA EdTech Excellence Award in November. 10 companies five from Singapore and five international were shortlisted to pitch for the Award, with Playware Studios Asia winning the top accolade for the Singapore category for its collaborative online game learning environment. To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) reap the benefits of technology adoption, IDA enhanced its isprint (Increase SME Productivity with Infocomm Adoption & Transformation) programme to support SMEs in piloting new sector solutions, using sector solutions that have been proven through earlier pilots, and leveraging high-speed connectivity to achieve more with technology. Announced in August 2014, the enhanced isprint scheme incorporates the Government s S$500 million Infocomm Technology for Productivity and Growth (IPG) programme, which emphasises the sector-focused approach as an effective way to help progressive SMEs to pilot new solutions relevant to business practices in their sector, and help the rest of the SMEs in the sector to use proven solutions with confidence. IPG supports the costs of deploying proven sector-specific ICT solutions, implementing new and innovative technology solutions in Singapore and enterprise fibre broadband subscription plans. It also provides SMEs with support to implement Wireless@SG services at their premises. To get more SMEs on board the ICT train, IDA partners agencies, trade associations and chambers and the IT industry and organises outreach events. For example, a seminar on Enabling Digital Retail was organised in March 2015 as part of IDA s e-commerce retail framework to help retailers learn about new strategies for reaching out to online customers. Strengthening the foundations for a Smart Nation With the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network providing up to 1Gbps connectivity nationwide, and Wireless@SG offering free Wi-Fi connectivity in up to 10,000 hotspots across the island by end-2015, the stage is set for the next wave of infrastructure developments that will deliver a nationwide sensor network and strengthen the foundations for a Smart Nation. The tender for the Smart Nation data centre has been awarded, and industry proposals have been received for the development of the Smart Nation Platform (SNP) which was first announced in June. The SNP will enable more efficient collection and sharing of data to improve situational awareness and catalyse innovation in Smart Nation services. Aggregation Gateway (AG) Boxes, which form an important part of the SNP, will provide high-speed fibre connectivity and power at the street level, and accommodate sensors from different government agencies to monitor everything from traffic to street lights and crowded buses. IDA is also working with industry partners to experiment with HetNet (heterogenous network) technologies, which will enables mobile users to switch seamlessly between different types of wireless networks such as WIFI and cellular. Meanwhile at Jurong Lake District, data sensors are being deployed to create a live environment and living lab for Smart Nation projects ranging from smart queue monitoring and smart navigation to autonomous buggies. Fifteen trials involving more than 20 partnering companies and various public agencies have been launched. Efforts are also underway to enable seamless interoperability between connected smart devices within the home, under the IoT@Home initiative. An Industry Working Group has been set up within the IT Standards Committee to identify relevant open standards and establish a set of technical references that will facilitate the creation and delivery of innovative new Smart Nation applications. The first two of these have been released for public areas and within the home, with more expected to follow. A Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) pilot was also launched in October to address the challenge of discovering datasets in the private sector using a federated approach that allows data providers to increase the visibility of their datasets and reach out to new customers. To engage the tech community, businesses and other stakeholders on Smart Nation, IDA organised and participated in many events to showcase the possibilities and opportunities that it presents for Singapore. In October, it held a two-day Smart Nation: Data Works event which brought together more than 40 leading data experts and specialists, who shared with about 1,000 industry participants the inside stories of how organisations were using data and provided insights into effective data analytics strategies. Web-Only Content 10,000 hotspots offering free Wi-Fi connectivity HETNET enables mobile users to switch seamlessly between different types of wireless networks