7 October 2010 - Opening Address by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, at the National Infocomm Awards 2010 Gala Dinner, Ritz Carlton Singapore
Opening Address by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, at the National Infocomm Awards 2010 Gala Dinner on 7 October 2010, 7:00pm, Ritz Carlton Singapore
Friends and colleagues from the infocomm industry,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It gives me great pleasure to join you this evening. Every two years, we gather for the National Infocomm Awards to witness and celebrate creativity and innovation in the infocomm industry in Singapore. We also recognise user organisations which have deployed infocomm technology to enhance their businesses and operations.
2. As you have just seen in the Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) video, over the last 5 years, we have made great strides towards achieving our vision of transforming Singapore into an intelligent nation, a global city that is powered by infocomm. The public, private and people sectors work closely together to build infocomm capabilities to improve the way we work, live, learn and interact. The Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network is also being put in place to enhance productivity and innovate new products and services. But we all know that it takes more than just robust infrastructure to leverage infocomm successfully. I will cover three areas - passionate people, exploiting technology and transforming the business.
People and Passion behind Infocomm Innovation
3. As we all know, enterprises need to respond to the constant and often rapid changes in technology, business models and consumer trends. Through all this flux, there is a need to remain competitive and relevant. It is important to remember that people form the cornerstone of innovation, and having the right talents, not just those who are experts in their field, but also those who are passionate about the business, will give organisations a winning edge. The ability to inspire and develop the next generation of infocomm professionals is therefore key to innovation. Tonight, all our finalists for the NIA exemplify this quality. Let me highlight one example.
4. Back in 2007, Resorts World Sentosa faced the enormous task of custom building a back-end system that connected core business operations, to manage a large inflow of visitors while enhancing customers' experience. When the pioneering IT team first embarked on the project, they were no more than ten men strong, all of whom were infocomm experts but had little experience in the hospitality industry. Belief in the team's abilities and unwavering support from their management allowed the ten-man team to successfully implement an infocomm solution called the Customer, Membership and Services System in just under two years. With this comprehensive system, RWS is now able to offer holistic and personalised services and adapt marketing strategies to suit each customer.
5. A company can take on the challenge of innovation if there is strong buy-in from its stakeholders. Through the earlier example, we can see how important it is for leaders to recognise their people as an asset and to inculcate a culture that encourages staff to take risks, be innovative, and to think out of the box.
Exploiting Technology to Seize Business Opportunities
6. In the same way, businesses could harness new technologies such as Cloud Computing and Business Analytics, or BA, to create fresh opportunities. Across Asia, the level of sophistication and demand in the use of Cloud Computing is on the rise and Singapore is well-positioned to harness this technology trend for business opportunities. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) here are already recognising the cost effectiveness and potential of Cloud Computing. In fact, some of tonight's finalists have even used it to optimise business operations to benefit their customers.
7. For example, GTW Holdings, the company behind HungryGoWhere.com, had invested in cloud technology to improve their services to F&B outlets. Similarly, another NIA finalist, PurpleClick Media, implemented a CRM system that resides in the cloud. With detailed information on sales trends, PurpleClick is able to monitor the company's overall performance easily and make necessary improvements more efficiently.
8. Earlier, I mentioned the technology of Business Analytics. BA helps organisations to analyse its data to gain customer insights and formulate business strategies. We see sectors such as healthcare, retail, finance, logistics, as well as the public sector benefitting from such technology. ACRA, for example, has launched a financial analysis application called Open Analytics, allowing the business community to have web-based access to the national corporate registry. Enterprises and their stakeholders can use the application to compare the performance of their companies against that of their peers and identify new market opportunities. Analysts, too, can monitor and analyse trend performance of companies or any specific industry sector. Even in the realm of social media, intelligent analytics offered by service providers such as Brandtology, can now be used to interpret the mass of social chatter on the Web and indicate the effectiveness of a company's product or its marketing campaign.
Transforming the Business
9. Other than having the right people with the passion and exploiting technology to our fullest advantage, it is also important for businesses to challenge the status quo and existing practices to bring about significant improvements in operations. This year, some of our finalists have achieved that level of transformation.
10. At Jurong Port for instance, infocomm technology has played a key role in its business process re-engineering. The adoption of infocomm and mobile technologies has resulted in higher berth utilisation rates and shorter turnaround times, leading to increased vessel productivity. It is no longer a rarity to see a 60-year-old stevedore updating and capturing cargo entries and exits using a hand-held mobile device as the port has gone paperless. Similarly, at the National University and Tan Tock Seng hospitals, doctors, nurses and pharmacists have altered their work patterns with the deployment of a complete medication management system. This system not only improves operational efficiency, but also reduces the risk of human errors.
11. These organisations recognise the need to stay relevant and competitive in today's digital environment. They have embarked on the bold move of integrating infocomm into their businesses, working hand-in-hand with longstanding operational practices.
Conclusion
12. I am very encouraged by the high level of participation at this year's National Infocomm Awards. These companies exemplify the spirit of innovation and what the National Infocomm Awards is all about -- the continuous quest for excellence in our organisations and the creative use of infocomm technology to catalyse and achieve new heights in the business arena. I congratulate all the winners of NIA 2010, and wish one and all a very good evening ahead.
13. Thank you!
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