14 March 2013 - Speech by Mr Ronnie Tay, CEO, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, at the Official Opening of BT Global Services Office, 13 March 2013, 6.15pm at Changi Business Park
Speech by Mr Ronnie Tay, CEO, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, at the Official Opening of BT Global Services Office, 13 March 2013, 6.15pm at Changi Business Park
Good Evening
Mr Kevin Taylor, President for Asia, Middle East & Africa, BT
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
1. I am pleased to join you this evening.
2. I would first like to extend my heartiest congratulations to BT on the opening of your Global Services office for South East Asia, today.
Singapore as a Trusted and Strategic IT HUB in Asia
3. The trend which we have seen for multi-national corporations to consolidate their IT resources and functions for better efficiency, cost control and governance continues. Asia's growth has also resulted in companies increasing their investments in this part of the world, including in Singapore, to support their expanding business.
4. IDA has been facilitating global companies to set up operations here, as part of our Shared IT Services initiative. This has helped to create more than 1,600 high-end IT jobs and generating more than S$1B in IT investments since 2006. Singapore's value proposition as a trusted and strategic IT hub is underscored by our international connectivity, world-class ICT infrastructure and vibrant ICT community.
IDA Stimulates Sophisticated Demand for ICT Across Sectors with Investments in Manpower and Infrastructure
5. Such investments by global companies have opened up conversations and projects for the deployment and co-innovation of new applications and solutions in Singapore. The injection of innovation capacity via corporate labs by ICT MNCs, research crucibles such as NRF's CREATE, engineering centres by international VC-backed start-ups and new Centres of Attachment for expert-level training has supported the co-innovation initiatives by the user organisations. The recently-announced Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) programme which now includes the ICT sector, supports new partnership models between ICT SMEs and MNCs or Large User Enterprises who serve as Lead Partners and this will further incentivise co-innovation among the companies.
6. Singapore's advanced infocomm infrastructure now includes the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network, with more than 95% of all homes and commercial buildings in Singapore having access to optical fibre. The availability of ultra-high speed broadband services opens up many possibilities for innovative ICT solutions that can be adopted for businesses and consumers alike.
7. In the area of infocomm manpower, IDA will continue to work with our partners in the institutions and industry to support professional development, through initiatives such as the Company-Led Training Programme for Fresh Professionals (CLT), Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP) and the Infocomm Leadership and Development Programme (iLEAD). We want to ensure that our infocomm professionals possess critical skills in advanced and emerging technology areas such as infocomm security, mobility, cloud computing and business analytics, to meet Singapore's ICT needs into the future.
The Digital Marketplace Programme Enables ICT to Bring Such Impact to the Media and Entertainment Industry
8. Indeed, the various industry verticals are seeing good growth and innovation through infocomm. One example is the media and entertainment sector where ICT is a critical enabler, especially with its convergence with broadcast and media, and the ICT revenue in this sector registered 12% growth in 2011 in Singapore to reach $3.5 billion.
9. The Digital Marketplace Programme, or DMP, is IDA's initiative to tap on this opportunity and to develop Singapore as a trusted digital media management and distribution hub of choice in Asia. IDA is also part of an inter-agency initiative to develop Mediapolis, Singapore's 19 hectare flagship digital media and entertainment hub. We aim to catalyse a media ICT ecosystem at Mediapolis so that companies can enjoy excellent ICT plug and play infrastructure, have close proximity access to global media networks, and share ICT services such as content management services. BT's media ICT expertise will certainly be a strong addition to the media ICT industry ecosystem.
10. IDA will continue to facilitate and support global companies that choose to anchor their business critical IT services and capabilities here. We recognise these companies' contribution to Singapore – not only in terms of strong economic spin-offs, but also their leadership in technology innovation and vertical market expertise. BT has been a close partner with IDA in providing secure communications services to the Singapore Government, and we look forward to BT leveraging and growing its presence here in Singapore to provide managed networked IT services to their customers across industries, both globally and locally.
Conclusion
11. On that note, I would like to once again extend my congratulations to BT Global Services on the opening of this new office and wish you all the best in your endeavours.
.webp)