14 October 2005 - Speech By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore At IDA-CISCO Memorandum of Intent Signing Ceremony, Raffles Hotel.
Speech By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore At IDA-CISCO Memorandum of Intent Signing Ceremony on 14 October 2005, Raffles Hotel.
Mr Charles Giancarlo, Senior VP and Chief Development Officer, Cisco Systems, and President, Cisco-Linksys,
Mr Craig Gledhill, Managing Director, Singapore and Brunei, Cisco Systems,
Friends from Cisco,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Introduction
A very good morning to everyone.
Thank you for taking time to join us at this morning's signing ceremony between IDA and Cisco.
Internet is Pervasive in our Daily Lives
The Internet has revolutionised the way we communicate and work like never before. When I first started work as a young Admin Officer, the pace of work depended on the speed at which the OA - which stands for "Office Attendant", not "Office Automation" - could move papers, memos and files from one floor to another. Then came the advent of the local area networks and the Internet. They were used predominantly for sending and receiving emails then. When Voice-over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, was first launched, take-up was low, as voice quality was poor and there were frequent call-drops.
But already, we were intrigued by the power of computer networks to help us communicate and work more efficiently with each other. Today, all these have become very real, thanks to technological innovations that has made connectivity and the Internet almost a given, and an important part of our lives.
Many businesses now cannot survive a single day without the Internet. This is because many enterprises have anchored their entire communications, data and voice, on Internet Protocol (IP) platforms. In the process, they have benefited from cost-savings and the benefit of managing a single converged infrastructure.
The Potential of Networking Technologies
As networking technologies become more pervasive, taking on bigger roles in our work and social life, the need for more innovative products and solutions will intensify.
IDA is happy to collaborate with Cisco to promote greater innovation in the development and deployment of next-generation networking solutions in Singapore.
Cisco is an acknowledged industry leader in networking technologies. Its next generation network technology integrates data, voice, video over unified wired and wireless networks. Such a converged platform enhances business communications and lower operating costs. Therefore, this collaboration between IDA and Cisco, helps us move a step closer towards a seamless connectivity environment in Singapore.
To realise this vision, Singapore will also need a ready pool of skilled network professionals and capable local enterprises. Thus, the MOI between IDA and CISCO will also focus on developing and upgrading the skills and competency level of network professionals and students in Singapore. It is heartening to see industry leaders, like Cisco, take an active interest in developing our local manpower capabilities. In the next three years, more than 600 network professionals and students will have the opportunity to receive training, certification and scholarships by Cisco and its partners and benefit from the numerous local and overseas industry attachments available.
iN2015 - A National Co-creation Effort
This collaboration with Cisco is a good example of the kind of public-private partnership needed to achieve our vision of an intelligent, globally connected Singapore, powered by infocomm.IDA is currently working with stakeholders in the infocomm industry, to develop a 10-year masterplan, called iN2015, or Intelligent Nation 2015.We hope to work with more industry leaders like Cisco, to build Singapore's capabilities and enhance the competitiveness of our key economic sectors.
Conclusion
IDA is excited by the possibilities opened up by this collaboration. I wish to thank Cisco, and I wish the team success in the project.
Thank you.
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