Singapore, 25 June 2002 - The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore today receives the Explorer Award at the E-GOV 2002 show in Washington, DC, USA, for successfully developing and implementing the Public Service Infrastructure (PSi)...
Singapore, 25 June 2002 | For Immediate Release
Singapore Government Wins Explorer Award for Implementing the Public Service Infrastructure
Singapore, 25 June 2002 - The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore today receives the Explorer Award at the E-GOV 2002 show in Washington, DC, USA, for successfully developing and implementing the Public Service Infrastructure (PSi). PSi serves as the foundation for Singapore's nationwide e-government initiatives and is a government-wide platform for delivering government e-Services to citizens and businesses.
The Explorer Award is presented in conjunction with E-GOV 2002, a premier e-government event in the US, recognised and attended by worldwide government and industry representatives. The award honours organisations that have developed innovative e-government programmes, which increase productivity, conserve limited public resources, and improve the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of public services.
"We are indeed honoured to be one of the few non-US entities to win the distinguished award. The Explorer Award adds a new milestone to Singapore's e-government initiative. It demonstrates our success and commitment in empowering the public to make their lives more convenient by transforming the manner in which the government transacts and delivers services," said Tan Swee Hua, Director, Electronic Services Division, IDA.
Six awards were made for trials in Wireless Java. The Wireless Java CFC seeks to encourage the development of innovative and commercially viable Java applications and services. Total value of Wireless Java is $1.8million, of which the IDA will contribute up to $700,000. This will coincide with the upcoming global introduction of Java-enabled devices is slated for third quarter, 2002.
Ms Tan Swee Hua receives the Explorer Award on behalf of IDA. It will be presented by Mr Mark Forman, Associate Director for IT and e-Government at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
About the E-GOV Award
The E-GOV Award's Selection Committee includes representatives from the General Services Administration, National Defense University, the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, and Treasury, Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as the U.S. Customs Service.
Winners are selected based on these criteria: enabled improved government service through e-government initiatives, are actively in use, solved problems or streamlined processes that impact many constituents, increased productivity and/or saved public sector resources (time and funds), improved the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of government services, improved constituent satisfaction and has organization-wide use and impact.
About PSi
PSi was launched in February 2001 by Ministry of Finance and IDA and it is the first integrated government-wide infrastructure in Southeast Asia. PSi enables large-scale deployment of public services rapidly through online portals with a secured, scalable and central government-wide infrastructure.
The eCitizen and the Government Electronic Business (GeBIZ) portals showcase how the advantages offered by PSi have been deployed.
The eCitizen portal is designed to enable citizens to conduct a wide range of daily activities, such as the e-filing of income tax, renewal of vehicle licenses and application for a business license through one user-centric interface.
The Government Electronic Business (GeBIZ) portal (www.gebiz.gov.sg) facilitates procurement and revenue tenders activities between businesses and the government. Today, more than S$200 million worth of government procurement activities have been conducted through the portal.
Through a consortium of technology companies, including National Computer Systems (NCS) and Ecquaria, IDA jointly designed and developed PSi as a central infrastructure platform for different agencies to share common components. Components include payment gateways, electronic data exchange, authentication services and other security services.
"Being the first government-wide infrastructure to support internet-based transactions in Southeast Asia, PSi is a landmark project. It provides a common platform and gives agencies the flexibility and scalability to add new applications, decreases the time-to-delivery of online services and reduces the government's operational costs," said Lee Kwok Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, NCS.
"Aligned with the Singapore Government's objective to provide user-centric interfaces and support the growing volume of users, PSi was designed to securely integrate and manage information sharing across government agencies and their legacy systems. The results are better cross-agency collaboration and communication. PSi has become a best practice in e-government infrastructure," said Foong Wai Keong, Ecquaria President & CEO.
IDA Singapore, NCS and Ecquaria will jointly showcase their e-government applications at the Government Solutions Center at Booth GSC27 at the E-GOV 2002 show held in the Washington Convention Center from June 24 - June 27, 2002.
About the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is a dynamic organization with an integrated perspective to developing, promoting and regulating info-communications in Singapore. In the fast-changing and converging spheres of telecommunications, information and media technologies, IDA will be the catalyst for change and growth in Singapore's evolution into a vibrant global info-communications technology center.
For more information, please visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/. For more information on GeBiz, please visit www.gebiz.gov.sg.
About the Wired with Wireless Programme
Initiated by the IDA with the aim to jumpstart the development of wireless industry in Singapore and position Singapore as a living lab and business catalyst for wireless developments in Asia. The 'Wired With Wireless' programme is aimed at developing the entire wireless value chain - from infrastructure developers to access service providers, content creators and aggregators. It is a multi-pronged programme that will enable Singapore to have the best integrated wireline and wireless infrastructure for the seamless delivery of rich multimedia content, with focus on areas such as wireless multimedia, mobile commerce and location-based services.
About National Computer Systems
With a presence in ten locations over six countries across the Asia Pacific, National Computer Systems Pte Ltd (NCS), a wholly owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group, is the region's leading information technology (IT) service provider. NCS helps its customers gain a competitive edge through the strategic implementation of IT. Its range of IT services encompasses development and integration, infrastructure and outsourcing management, consulting, training and education. Having established itself as a choice IT service provider in the Singapore public service sector, NCS has also enjoyed substantial success in the Education, Healthcare, Defence, Transportation and Logistics, Telecommunications and Financial Services industries. With a regional workforce of 2,400 dedicated professionals, NCS is well-positioned to engage in a long-term partnership to bring business value to our customers. For more information, please visit www.ncs.com.sg.
About Ecquaria Limited
Ecquaria empowers governments worldwide to meet the dynamic challenges of serving the public to deliver quality service delivery. Ecquaria's key strength lies in e-government - enabling the business of the Government to provide highest levels of service satisfaction to public users. The Ecquaria Service-Oriented PlatformTM for e-government is a ready e-government software infrastructure with customizable and re-usable e-government features such as electronic payment, security, user profile management, business process management, electronic data exchange, multi-channel delivery and system management console for efficient public service delivery. The Ecquaria Service-Oriented PlatformTM powers governments in their e-government initiatives to simplify and coordinate government services and automate efficient transactions with the public and business community. Ecquaria is established with global presence and support in U.S, Europe, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. For more information, please visit www.ecquaria.com or email: pr@ecquaria.com
For more information on Singapore's e-government initiatives, please contact:
Choong Cheng Theng /Gabriel Wong /Michele Soh
Edelman PR Worldwide
Tel: +65 6733 1110
For more information on National Computer Systems, please contact:
Ms Judy Wong
Director, Corporate Marketing Unit
National Computer Systems Pte Ltd
Tel: +65 6556 5667
For more information on Ecquaria Limited, please contact:
Kendrea Wong
Marketing Manager
Ecquaria Limited
Tel: +65 6768 9775
Kelvin Lee
Manager, Corporate Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6211 1726
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