Business Transformation Through Technology- Singapore Model
Business digitization is now proving to be genuinely transformative – even within companies that were originally sceptical.
Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, resulting in fundamental changes in how a business operates and the value they deliver to their customers. It’s also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure.
Singapore rank first in the Asian Digital Transformation Index,followed by South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Thailand, India and the Philippines, to round up the top 10. Singapore is already well on its way to attaining the benefits of digitization, thanks to the clear leadership of the Singapore government and the technological maturity of its citizens which has enabled the nation to readily adopt new strategies for delivering more efficient and effective services.
Singapore’s digital leadership
A strong advocate of digital government, Prime Minister Lee initiated the Smart Nation programme in November 2014 to “harness the power of networks, data and info COMM technologies to improve living, create economic opportunity and build a closer community”. A high priority for Singapore, the Smart Nation programme is headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
Focus on digital training
GovTech Hive, the government-backed Software Design and Development Centre of Excellence, not only provides technological services to government agencies but also works on building a digital workforce.
Another initiative by the Singapore government through the Skills Future programme uses credits and subsidies to offset training costs in order to encourage Singaporeans to continually upgrade their professional skills, promoting lifelong learning and skill mastery.
Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has offered myriad courses, programmes, webinars and certification to acquire new skills and preserve core capabilities in innovation and technology. Remarkably, the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology has showcased digital solutions
such as manpower scheduling, rapid task communicators (eDataLogger) and workflows to help businesses streamline operations and strengthen business capabilities.
There are various government support schemes for businesses to adopt digital solutions and case studies of businesses who have successfully managed to streamline their business processes.
Singapore has integrated effective digital document processes to help organizations maintain business resilience and reduce business risk, opening up new revenue opportunities.
In preparing for the new normal after Covid-19, Singapore has already seen the implementation of an ambitious, broad-based strategy to digitize and streamline back-end processes, creating efficiencies and cost savings.
ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN BUSINESS RESILIENCE