18 April 2013 - Speech by Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Equinix Third International Business Exchange Data Centre on 18 April 2013, Thursday, 10.00am, at the Equinix Singapore.
Speech by Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Equinix Third International Business Exchange Data Centre on 18 April 2013, Thursday, 10.00am, at the Equinix Singapor.
Mr Brian Lillie, Chief Information Officer, Equinix
Mr Samuel Lee, President, Asia-Pacific, Equinix
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. I am indeed very happy to join you here today at the groundbreaking ceremony of Equinix's third IBX Data Centre. Equinix is building on the success of its first and second data centres in Singapore, and I trust that as you introduce more advanced energy-efficient technologies with this new project, you will achieve new heights in supporting the growing demand for data centres in Asia.
Singapore as a Strategic ICT Hub for Global Companies
2. Singapore has consistently performed well in worldwide rankings in terms of being one of the most conducive places to do business, with our stable political climate and reputation for efficiency. In the latest World Bank Report issued in June 2012, Singapore attained top position based on the ease of doing business.
3. Global corporations are accelerating their investment in Singapore for two major reasons. The first is to consolidate their IT resources and functions for enhanced efficiency, greater economies of scale and increased governance. The second is to tap on Singapore's ease of doing business, and as a strong regional hub to support their expanding business in Asia. As part of our Shared IT Services Programme, IDA has been working closely with global industry players in facilitating the setting up of their strategic IT operations, such as the global CIO function and data centres in Singapore. Since 2006, this initiative has helped to create more than 1,600 high-end ICT jobs and generated more than S$1 billion in ICT investments.
Enhancing Our Infrastructure Effectiveness
4. Enterprise spending on public cloud services is on the rise, and according to a recent Gartner report, this spending is expected to reach US$207 billion by 2016, more than double the amount in 2012. Our optical fibre Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network or Next Gen NBN will be able to support this exponential increase in cloud usage, with the corresponding need for ultra-fast connectivity and enhanced network capabilities. Next Gen NBN has achieved its target coverage of 95 per cent in all homes and non-residential buildings to date. For businesses, the network is expected to lower domestic connectivity charges for data centres and boost productivity.
5. Specifically for media ICT companies, IDA has been encouraging the development of innovative digital media services in Singapore for the region, through the Digital Marketplace Programme or DMP. Over the past three years, this programme has attracted about S$60 million worth of investment and created over 240 jobs. Separately, the first building for Mediapolis@one-north, called Infinite Studios has been completed in October 2012. It will house a fast-growing media ICT community which will provide a robust suite of services such as visual effects development and digital content distribution. With SG1 and SG3's close proximity to Mediapolis, the data centres will be able to support the digital media community in their critical business needs, and pillar the vision to establish Mediapolis as a world class and globally connected media hub.
6. The BCA-IDA Green Mark for New Data Centres was recently introduced to encourage new data centres to adopt energy-efficient design, technologies and systems in the planning and design phase. Jointly developed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and IDA, this category is a new addition to the BCA-IDA Green Mark Scheme launched late last year. In 2012, SG2 was awarded the Green Mark GoldPLUS rating under the category of existing data centres. I trust that Equinix will also be introducing efficient design strategies for SG3, putting it as one of the forerunners to attain the Green Mark for New Data Centres.
Singapore Infocomm Ecosystem facilitates co-innovation
7. As our infocomm ecosystem continues to develop and flourish, one important area which Singapore is looking at is co-innovation. American venture capitalist Marc Andresseen observed that "software is at the point of development where innovations across user industries are now within reach, powered by the affordability and capability of technology". I am glad to share that Singapore is a focal point in the global infocomm industry. For example, Maven Lab, a home-grown technology company, recently worked with Infineon Technologies to co-develop a mobile product catalogue application. This enterprise mobility app has empowered Infineon's customers to access product information easily, enhancing overall user experience.
8. The increasing levels of co-innovation pilots between user organisations and the infocomm ecosystem has led to another key initiative that IDA is embarking on this year, the Business Analytics (BA) Innovation Challenge. Taking the format of a competition, the challenge will provide the platform for global enterprise users to crowd-source, prototype and potentially develop data analytics models, products or solutions to solve real-life industry problems. The competition will allow for collaboration and continues to facilitate co-innovation on multiple levels - where enterprise users will be able to work with data scientists, the BA translation centre, research institutions and solution providers, amongst many others.
Conclusion
9. To conclude, I would like to congratulate Equinix on this occasion of the ground breaking of its third IBX data centre and commend Equinix for your fervent commitment in contributing to the data centre and cloud ecosystem in Singapore. I would also like to wish Equinix all the best in a smooth and successful setting up of SG3. I look forward to visiting the state-of-the-art premises when it is ready in 2014.
10. Thank you.
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