Opening Address by Mr Lam Chuan Leong, Chairman, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore at WEAVE Seminar, Raffles City Convention Centre, Stamford Ballroom
Mr Lam Chuan Leong, Chairman, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Opening Address - WEAVE Seminar, Raffles City Convention Centre, Stamford Ballroom
Singapore, 30 June 2004
Good morning
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. Last May, IDA launched a three year WEAVE programme with 3 targets. They are:
- to have $120 million invested in the development of Web Services, with the industry spending $80 million and IDA contributing $40 million to support the effort;
- to train and certify 600 professionals in Web Services;
- to have 20% of companies in Singapore adopt Web Services
A Year on - Progress and Achievements
2. One year on, we are on track with a total of $32.9 million invested in 26 Web Services projects involving 45 companies and organisations. Of this, IDA supported $9 million.
3. In terms of capabilities development, more than 1000 professionals have acquired Web Services skills and knowledge in the past year. About one quarter of these have been certified through formal CITREP-endorsed courses. The remaining three quarters acquired their skills through hands-on workshops, seminars and in implementing various projects under the WEAVE programme.
4. 130 new jobs have been created. The WEAVE projects are expected to bring in about $125 million of infocomm revenues from their commercialisation.
5. According to an IDA survey last year, 8% of Singapore companies adopted Web Services. This year, the rate has risen to 12%. According to a recent IDC study, the adoption rate in the US and Canada is expected to be 14% by end 2004. Comparing the two figures, we are just 2% points behind. This is good progress.
6. The industry has also come together to help us increase the pool of human expertise. A Developers' Day will be held at Nanyang Polytechnic in September this year. The SiTF Web Services Chapter, together with IBM, Microsoft and Sun, will hold seminar and hands-on lab sessions for 300 professionals to train them on the tools and techniques available to build Web Services applications.
7. To make it easier for vendors and users to adopt Web Services, the OASIS Framework for Web Services Implementation Technical Committee (FWSI TC) was set up at end last year. This Committee is the first to be set up in Asia, and Singapore is the Chair for this.
8. Web Services implementation has increased the flexibility for companies in choosing their partners and in lowering their integration cost.
9. Let me cite some of key successes.
- SISTIC's Web Services-based ticketing system, STiX. STiX is able to seamlessly integrate different processes such as purchasing, payment and marketing, as well as requirements from various industries and countries, under one system. The system's ability to analyse customer profiles helps to design more effective marketing programmes to reach out to particular target audiences. SISTIC can now offer its ticketing infrastructure to other businesses in the lifestyle, entertainment and travel sectors. Customers now have one-stop point for various lifestyle services, from buying movie tickets to browsing related merchandise or booking a tour.
- Another project is by a local software company, Synergix Technologies. It has upgraded its existing ERP solution and made it Web Services-ready. The new ServHub software allows customers to check inventories, conduct price and product enquiries, process sales and purchase orders and check order status in an integrated manner in real-time. The company hopes to make this new software more competitive by allowing it to interoperate with the ERP systems of large vendor companies, as well as providing customers with multiple ways to access the software, including mobile phones and PDAs. The CEO of Synergix will share more details in his presentation later.
10. Other examples include Gridnode which was able to sell its business integration software to MMI, Borneo Motors and a major manufacturing MNC, thus expanding its client base in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. Ecquaria was able to grow its market beyond e-government into lifestyle & entertainment through contracts with SISTIC and Esplanade, while Integro has gained deeper in-roads into the finance sector through a Web Services project with a bank in Singapore.
Moving Forward - Call to Action
11. One final slide, it shows the key vertical industries that the 2004 WEAVE Programme will focus on. You can also see that a number of partners have already come forward to work on specific projects. I hope that others, whose name is not already on the list, will come forward so that together, we can exploit the value of Web Services.
12. Thank you.
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