GLG expands Singapore office

GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group), a platform for professional learning, has relocated and expanded its Singapore office. GLG connects thousands of clients to its membership of 500,000 subject-matter experts around the world and across fields for short- and long-term learning engagements.

"Our mission is to transform how the world's top professionals learn and share expertise by creating a variety of one-to-one learning opportunities," said GLG CEO Alexander Saint-Amand. "We are experiencing a rapid rate of expansion of our business in Singapore, among the fastest anywhere in the region. This new office facilitates that growth and helps us accomplish our mission here."

GLG will occupy 6,000 sq ft on the 19th floor of Samsung Hub in Singapore's central business district. The office can accommodate 64 employees.

"Singapore is a crucial hub for us because of its strategic location and its high concentration of industry-leading companies and professionals," said GLG Head of Asia-Pacific and Managing Director Evan Auyang.

"Singapore is an important market for us," added David Anderson, Head of GLG Southeast Asia. "With this new, larger office, we will continue to increase our capacity and focus on providing excellent service to our customers in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and across the Asia-Pacific region."

GLG's new Singapore office features activity-based working, which enhances flexibility by providing different types of private meeting and collaboration spaces, a café, standing tables, and phone booths. The company pioneered this approach with its New York, US office in 2014, and activity-based working is also featured in its Hong Kong hub.

US-headquartered GLG has 1,400 employees in 12 countries. Its Asia Pacific headquarters is in Hong Kong.

The Huawei P10 Plus could well replace a digital SLR camera

Chen introduced accessories that complement the Huawei P10 Plus.

Richard Chen, fashion and beauty Photographer and Leica Akademie Instructor, says the Huawei P10 Plus smartphone is literally like carrying a big camera in a small phone.

At a Huawei P10 Plus Masterclass in Singapore, Chen shared that he works with large Leica cameras professionally, and is increasingly finding that the mobile cameras on the Huawei P10 Plus more than deliver when it comes to personal photography.

"If I'm exploring I actually don't bring the (conventional digital) camera nowadays," he said.
"I'm starting to use it as the main camera. With a smaller camera you can walk farther. You sweat less."

Chen has put the smartphone through its paces in the five months that he has had it, bringing it on trips to Australia and Hong Kong, concluding that the Huawei P10 Plus is able to achieve what a large camera can do in a smartphone form factor. "The P10 Plus is doing some things that all my previous phones cannot do," he said, sharing that he has owned high end Nokia Windows phones and various Samsung handsets in the past. For example:

Well-designed interface, with a fine level of control

The Huawei P10 Plus camera offers the same ease of use with a Leica DSLR camera, and even uses the same font for the interface, Chen said.

Swiping left and right when the camera is activated provides quick access to additional modes functions. Swiping upwards activates the 'pro' mode, allowing manual adjustments to the image such as white balance and aperture size. The top part of the camera screen features an icon for dual-lens capabilities, which uses a dual lens system to offer the soft bokeh* effects previously only seen in professional SLR lenses. 

"I like the (interface; it has) all the controls that I want for the different modes that I want," he said.

Excellent panoramas

Featured photo: Richard Chen, Huawei P10 Plus Masterclass. The sun does not cause the area around it to be significantly overexposed. The red patch in the centre comes from a red spotlight that was in the Leica gallery, and isn't part of the original image from Chen.

The Huawei P10 Plus beats an SLR camera when it comes to panoramas, stitching handheld pictures together seamlessly. Chen pointed out that his 6,000 x 4,000 pixel resolution images do not have areas which are clearly brighter, a typical challenge for cameras when part of a panorama has a light source like the sun in it.

In contrast, getting the same shot with a physical camera would require more post-production effort such as manual adjustment to make each each perspective of the panorama consistent before stitching them together in editing software. Getting the panorama in the first place would be less convenient as the tripod and camera equipment would be bulkier and heavier, and need to be transported to the location, Chen explained.

Monochrome mastery

A dedicated monochrome sensor picks up areas of subtle brightness. "Leica is the only brand that can do monochrome and get away with it," Chen observed. With the Huawei P10 Plus he noted that "pixel for pixel it performs better than the colour sensor."

The graininess seen in pictures taken with vintage monochrome film cameras can also be reproduced on the Huawei P10 Plus.

Neon lighting reproduction

Featured photo: Richard Chen, Huawei P10 Plus Masterclass. Excellent reproduction for neon lighting. 

Typically, focusing on neon lighting results in images where the colours of the neon lights turning white and washing out the surrounding colours and details. This is not the case with the Huawei P10 Plus, Chen said, with the neon colours very well preserved, allowing the surrounding colours and details to come through.

Beautiful colour representation

Chen said colours are reproduced well. "The reds are rock solid. Certain cameras will represent red as an orangy red or a magenta red," he explained. "I like it because it's very faithful."

Preservation of details in high-contrast photography

The Huawei P10 Plus also earned praise for faithful colour representation in situations where there are extremely bright and extremely dark areas at the same time. When presented with such a setting, a digital camera will typically end up with either turning the bright part totally white or the dark part totally black. The silhouette effect for subjects standing in front of a sunlit window are a typical consequence. The Huawei P10 Plus is intelligent enough to avoid such situations. In HDR landscape shots that Chen tried, the smartphone preserved the details and colours of bright skies as well as the colours and textures of darker cliffs.

“The fun thing is that it's on automatic,” Chen said, explaining that a conventional digital camera in auto mode would typically not guarantee such results.

Light painting mode

In a live demonstration, a volunteer moved from right to left holding a light strip to show how the Huawei P10 Plus can register the light trails in real time, without washing out the image. The white pedestal that the cameras are on in the foreground would have reflected so much light for a traditional camera that it would have washed out the entire image, Chen said.

Chen described the Huawei P10 Plus' light painting mode, which comes with four sub-modes, as 'amazing'. The light trails effect can be achieved with a conventional digital camera, but can only be reviewed after the entire light painting sequence is completed, whereas the smartphone will show the action in real time. The Huawei P10 Plus also handles the light affecting the image differently. A conventional digital camera would absorb more light from brighter areas over a long exposure, potentially overexposing brighter areas in a picture, whereas the smartphone is less sensitive to bright areas which are stationary, resulting in a darker background that shows off the light trails beautifully.

Malleability

The smartphone is also capable of producing images which can be edited with a high degree of flexibility. Chen explained that with the technology used today, a picture with more neutral parameters can be adjusted upwards or downwards easily, whereas a picture with parameters already skewed towards the high or low end cannot be adjusted as much towards the middle.

The Huawei P10 Plus features the Leica Dual Camera 2.0 Pro Edition, which carries two SUMMILUX-H lenses with a larger aperture (f/1.8) as well as 20 megapixel and 12 megapixel sensors. The collaboration with Leica has enabled 4K-resolution images, excellent optical image stabilisation, as well as superior low-light photography.

Huawei has also added 3D facial detection, dynamic illumination, and natural portrait enhancements to the bundled software.

The two challenges with phones, storage and battery life, are not an issue with the Huawei P10 Plus, Chen said. The phone comes with 128 GB of internal memory that is expandable with another 256 GB with a micro SD card, and has lasted through six hours of photography in his experience.

Chen suggests getting a rubber/foam lined tripod adapter to secure the phone to a tripod, as well as a Manfrotto mini table top tripod which will fit a wide range of situations.

"The biggest advantage your phone used to have over the camera was the social connectivity but now you're able to combine both," Chen summarised. "What is attractive to me for the Huawei P10 Plus is the big-camera functionality, the ability to have the fine controls and then you have the social linkage, so it's become one-stop. You don't need separate devices."

Source: Huawei. This infographic shows how the Huawei P10 Plus is like carrying a studio in your pocket.

Interested?

Check out Chen's Instagram

*Bokeh refers to the out-of-focus backgrounds in pictures where a subject in clear focus in the foreground. The most desired type of bokeh is 'soft bokeh' where objects in the background have soft, blurred edges. 'Hard bokeh' on the other hand describes situations where objects in the background are blurred, but still retain crisp outlines which distract the eye.

Get a prepaid virtual Visa account with Singtel Dash

Source: Singtel.

Singtel has launched Singapore’s first virtual Visa account on its all-in-one mobile payments app, Dash. Both new and existing Dash customers will automatically receive a Dash Visa Virtual Account* that can be used for mobile payments at over 50,000 merchant points in Singapore.

To start paying on their mobile, customers sign in on the Dash app, top up their Dash Visa accounts and start using them at Dash merchants and on local e-commerce sites such as Qoo10, Zalora and HungryGoWhere. Customers with compatible NFC-enabled Android smartphones will also be able to pay using their Dash Visa accounts wherever Visa payWave is accepted, including at Sheng Siong supermarket, as well as cafes such as Spinelli and Toastbox.

Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, Consumer Singapore, Singtel, said “Just one year on from relaunch, we are pleased to expand our payments universe with Visa. We are always seeking new ways to enhance Dash’s functionality and convenience to stay relevant to our customers’ changing lifestyle habits.”

Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei said, “Singaporeans are becoming more digitally engaged and smartphones have become an integral part of their lives. Based on research that we have conducted, two out of three Singaporeans have made a payment using their smartphones, and it is even more popular amongst Millennials**.”

Singtel also announced future plans for Dash to be included in global wallets such as Apple Pay, and enable QR code payments to expand into hawker centres. In addition to Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic, Dash is also working towards adding more educational institutions to its merchant list to widen its reach in the youth segment.

Yuen added, “Dash's goal is to deliver ubiquitous mobile payments for everyone in Singapore. With Dash Visa, customers can now enjoy paying with their mobile at more than 50,000 physical merchant points and also on e-commerce sites. We look forward to introducing more innovative enhancements that will add value to our customers' digital lives."

Dash is available to everyone regardless of telco relationship or device model. It is the only mobile payments app that offers real-time local and international money transfers***, in-store and online retail payments, as well as transit payments. Customers can enjoy paying with Dash for their taxi, bus and train rides, and also at supermarkets, convenience stores and food courts. Since its relaunch last year, Dash has boosted its customer base to over 500,000, with payments, remittance and transit transaction volumes more than doubling.

Interested?

Customers will be able enjoy the following promotions till 20 August 2017:

 New and re-contracting Singtel postpaid mobile customers will receive S$50 discounts or free accessories when they purchase the following handsets with Dash at any Singtel Shop:

- Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Huawei P10/P10 Plus and HTC U11 (S$50 handset discount)

- Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ (Free S Clear View Standing Cover)

 All Dash customers will also enjoy these exclusive partner deals (terms and conditions apply):

- S$1 short grain rice or instant white coffee at Sheng Siong

- S$1 for any 8oz Hot Espresso-Based Beverage (usual price S$4 to S$5.70) at Spinelli

- 18% off a minimum S$120 spend, plus S$5 Cashback on Zalora

- S$1 deals across various items and discount coupons on Qoo10

- S$10 Cashback with S$180 spend across merchants on Shopback

- S$5 Cashback with every S$50 top-up on GrabPay

Download the app

*The Dash Visa Virtual Account is a prepaid account. All new and existing Dash customers are eligible for a Dash Visa virtual account on Dash app v4.5. To activate Visa payWave payments, customers are required to set Dash as the default payment on their phone settings.

**SEA Consumer Payments Attitude Survey 2016 – Report for Singapore. Conducted by Toluna on 500 Singaporeans to gain insights and assess their attitudes towards cash and card usage, mobile banking, contactless payments, online shopping etc.

***Remittance services are offered by SingCash

Singtel TV celebrates 10th birthday with free previews, promotions, and prizes

Source: Singtel. Mr and Mrs Chua Boon Kwee were gifted with a Samsung TV and two years of set top box rental for being one of the longest-tenured Singtel TV subscribers in Singapore.

Singtel TV is celebrating 10 years of entertainment this July to August with a lineup of free previews, exclusive offers and prizes. The anniversary celebrations coincide with Singapore’s National Day (August 9).

Singtel TV customers will be able to enjoy 10 days of free previews of over 150 channels on Singtel TV from 4 to 13 August. The previews enable Singtel TV customers to watch the latest blockbusters like Doctor Strange, Moana and The Monkey King 2; dramas and live sporting action on channels such as AXN, Disney Channel, FOX Movies, as well as Jia Le Channel and more. The free previews will also be available on Singtel TV GO.

Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, Consumer Singapore, Singtel said, “We are delighted to celebrate 10 years of delivering exciting programmes to our customers. Singtel TV has significantly expanded its Pay-TV offerings in the last decade, extending over 250 topnotch channels, live streaming on Singtel TV GO, as well as introducing our video portal app, Singtel CAST.”

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Singtel TV will also offer a free three months’ subscription* without contract, for selected packs to the first 1,000 new or existing customers who sign up for a new pack. The offer includes Starter Packs like Family Starter, Jingxuan Starter, Kondattam Starter, as well as Add-on Packs including Movie+, World Sports+ and more.

From 14 August Singtel TV customers can further look forward to winning 10 prizes, including a hands-on experience driving a Formula 1 car at the Monza circuit in Italy, tickets to the 2017 Emmy Awards and VIP visits to Cartoon Network Studios in California, US.

In addition, Singtel rewarded its 10 longest-tenured Singtel TV subscribers with a complimentary Samsung 55" UHD Smart TV and two years’ free digital video recorder (DVR) set-top box rental. “When Singtel TV first started, programmes were quite limited but now it’s so good. Good choice and right choice!” shared Chua Boon Kwee, one of the recipients. “I hope to have more programmes for my wife and children, something family-oriented so that we can watch TV together.”

*Terms and conditions apply.

Singapore holds innovation event this August

Celebrating research, innovation, creativity and enterprise, the second one-north Festival will be held on 18 and 19 August 2017 at Biopolis, Singapore.

Ad for the one-north Festival at Raffles station. 

Themed Pioneering an Innovation Future, the festival jointly organised by A*STAR and JTC will revolve around the subthemes of future health, future living and future work. For the first time, Science Centre Singapore’s X-periment! will be incorporated into the one-north Festival, featuring cutting-edge innovations in future health.

The festival also brings to light the multidisciplinary, multistakeholder collaboration between research performers and industry partners in the one-north community, a key driver that has enabled investments in research, innovation and enterprise to contribute to Singapore's economy and improve lives.

Participants can choose from over 40 talks, more than 50 sessions of laboratory tours and open houses, five interactive workshops and close to 50 exhibition booths that will be open to the public on 18 and 19 August.

Some highlights include:

Educational talks (registration required)

There will be over 40 talks featuring experts from different fields. Hear from the best in the field – scientists, innovators, academics and industry experts – on how science shapes the way we live and work, and what the next big thing might be.

Future Health

Future Health explores the latest advances in medical technology, drug discovery, healthcare and well-being to improve the lives of Singaporeans.

 How do scientists discover new medicines to save lives?

 Demystifying the common cold – find out how you can prevent it

 You are what you eat: Unlocking the power of nutrition to delay ageing

Future Living

Future Living offers a glimpse of what the future holds as Singapore's urban landscape is transformed for better liveability and sustainability.

 Biotechnology: Can we cut our environmental footprint?

 Computational thinking: A new way for children to learn

 Who are we? Using biometrics to create your identity in a digitised world

Future Work

Future Work, echoing the key thrusts of the Future of Manufacturing initiative and strategies recommended by the Committee on the Future Economy, highlights Industry 4.0 technologies for the workplace of tomorrow.

 The factory of the future: A new world of disruptive technologies

 Clinician-scientists: Who are they and what do they do?

 What skills do we need to succeed in a future-ready world?

Register for the talks

Behind-the-scenes lab tours and open houses (registration required)

Get a rare chance to see A*STAR’s research laboratories at Biopolis and Fusionopolis. Find out more about the scientific activities that go on there; including Singapore’s first open-innovation lab, a startup space; and the innovation centre of a consumer goods giant responsible for many of your personal care products.

Laboratory tours

 Visit ASPIRE 1, Singapore’s first national petascale supercomputer

 Fighting superbugs using bioengineering and nanotechnology

 Bioimaging: Can we see chemistry?

Open houses:

 Visit A*START Central, Singapore’s first open innovation lab and tech incubator, and find out what inspires founders of medtech, biotech and Internet startups

 Step into P&G’s Singapore Innovation Centre to discover the research and development that have led to the consumer care products that we use every day

Register for the open houses

Interactive workshops

Designed for those who prefer a hands-on experience, the interactive workshops offer a new skill to pick up and new ways of discovering science.

 Brain and Behaviour: Discover how emotions and behaviours affect the brain

 Ageing in Motion: Wear an ageing suit and walk in the shoes of an elderly person

 Where art meets science: Stamp, twist and drill – make mementos as you experiment with metals*

Get more details about the workshops

Innovation on display (open to public)

See the latest technologies on display; hear from innovators as they explain the science behind the mechanisms; and try them out.

Future Health

 Algorithms and sensors: Engineering a way to reduce stress

 3D bioprinting: Can we print organs?

 How old are you? Find out your real body age

Future Living

 IoT sensors: The modern approach to monitoring safety in homes

 Biometric facial recognition technology: Can science fight crime?

 Doodle: The animated character that entertains and educates your preschooler

Future Work

 3D printing and AI: Is this the future of the assembly line?

 Cloud computing: The revolution of the logistics industry

 The masterplan: How do our industry spaces look like?

RACE.EAT.PLAY

Organised by JTC, the inaugural RACE.EAT.PLAY aims to inspire innovation in the one-north community and the public.

 RACE: In one-north’s first-ever Soapbox Race soapbox cars - non-motorised, gravity-powered vehicles - will career down a race and obstacle course at Biopolis Road. Contestants will be judged on speed, creativity and showmanship.

Race day is Saturday, 19 August.

 EAT: Have your selfie printed on coffee, or try out the latest raw food culinary concepts. Explore the Future Food Street, which showcases the trendiest food.

 PLAY: Make your own robot or drone at the Robotics Jamming event. Activities are suitable for the young (6 years onwards) and the young at heart.

*Available for registration on the spot.

Jabra Evolve 75 is wireless, has active noise cancellation

- New Evolve wireless headset designed for bustling open office environments

- First headset to receive Microsoft Skype for Business’ Open Office and Outdoor certification

- First Evolve headset to feature both active noise cancellation and Bluetooth capability

Source: Jabra. The Evolve 75 in action in an open office.

Jabra has extended their Evolve range of headsets for modern office workers with the release of the wireless Evolve 75. For the first time in the Evolve line, Jabra has combined wireless capability and active noise cancellation (ANC)* into a portable, compact package.

Taking its cues from the popular Evolve 65 and Evolve 80, Jabra listened to feedback to fill the gap between the two - a wireless model without ANC, and a wired model with ANC. The Evolve 75 has integrated the best features of these two industry mainstays, and also improves on them by offering unparalleled sound quality, portability and noise isolation.

Jabra says the headset is ideal for concentration and collaboration by remote workers, desktop  workers, corridor warriors - the ones who need to make calls in the corridors to avoid distracting others - and flexible hub (coworking space) workers. Patrick Khor, Jabra Country Manager, noted that workplace trends are towards open offices, hot desking, and workers who are out in the field most of the time but who still require a private space at the office when they return. At the same time, companies are doing away with expensive physical phones, adopting voice over IP (VoIP) solutions like Skype for Business or 'soft phones' that work via software instead - but laptop audio can fall short compared to physical phones, Khor said. 

He shared research conducted by Jabra** which showed that 78% of office workers believe their productivity is negatively impacted by on-site noise, while as much as 24 minutes is lost each day due to workplace interruptions. "Concentration and collaboration are not suited for today's open office work spaces. The least productive workplace is the open office," Khor said. "People are struggling to be as productive as they used to be."

Jabra has designed the Evolve 75 to tackle the problems of today’s open offices, by giving users their own virtual private space at the flip of a switch, while still maintaining the collaborative potential that open offices offer. In demonstrations of the Evolve 75 at the media briefing, using the headset as opposed to using the phone alone showed a clear difference in sound quality - vehicle noise in the background could not be heard when the headset was in use. This writer personally tried the headset and with ANC on it sounds like there is a bubble of silence around you.

"The mobile call comes to the headset, the laptop call comes to the headset. (It's) crystal clear sound," Khor explained. "We're blocking noise around you in the office."

Wayne Lee, APAC Lead for Product Management and Alliance, Jabra, introduced the headset as "the best wireless headset for concentration in the open office". The headset shuts out ambient noise, offers a better sound experience for both callers and the called, and can be connected to two devices at the same time. "We think design is one of the things that makes our product unique," said Lee.

Khor gives the big picture on Jabra and why Jabra headsets.

Certified by most major unified communications platforms such as Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx, and Google Hangouts, the Evolve 75 is also compatible with Jabra Direct – Jabra’s cloud-based software for headset customisation.

The Evolve 75 is the only wireless ANC headset to boast Open Office and Outdoor certifications from Microsoft’s Skype for Business Certification Program. Due to the vast number of products endorsed for Skype for Business, the quality of these products ends up varying wildly. This has led Microsoft to introduce a new Skype for Business Certification Program, which brings with it more stringent requirements for certification.

The Evolve line - launched only in Q414 - has been very popular, Khor says, and grew 100% by volume from 2015 to 2016 with this year showing similar numbers to date. The Evolve 75 fits in between the Evolve 60, which is wireless but does not have ANC, and the high end Evolve 80, which has ANC but is wired.

Products seeking to get certified for Skype for Business must now pass two tests in the Open Office and Outdoor categories. To pass the Open Office test, a microphone must not pick up chatter from adjacent users, making it usable in crowded offices like call centres, where multiple people are speaking. Meanwhile, the Outdoor test pits products against several different noise profiles, ranging from a cafeteria to the inside of a car to a railway station. A certified headset should be able to effectively cancel out ambient noise and maintain audio clarity in all of the above situations. The

To achieve this, engineers at Jabra spent over four years developing a software solution that integrates both the boom microphone and ANC microphones to create a noise-free zone around the user, with the boom microphone as the centre point. All noise picked up by the ANC microphones in a 60-centimetre radius is recognised as background noise, and will be appropriately filtered out by the Evolve 75. The software can also recognise and transmit only when the user is speaking, ensuring optimal call quality.

Aside from offering superior noise cancellation, the Evolve 75’s 30m range for laptops (10 for smartphones) also allows for unmatched freedom of movement in the office. Offering dual Bluetooth connectivity, the Evolve 75 can connect to up to two devices simultaneously, letting users have one integrated communication solution for both their laptop and smartphone.

Jabra focuses on the growing unified communications space for enterprise headsets.Research predictions for unified communications include a US$37 billion market by 2018, and 86 million unified communications users by 2021. Khor said that the Singapore business is getting "this type of growth".

Open offices are unproductive. According to Jabra, 78% of open office worker respondents in a survey said that they are impacted by noise and disturbances, impacting productivity.

“The premise behind the open plan office is to foster collaboration and improve communication among employees. But despite their many benefits, they have become breeding grounds for unsatisfactory labour output,” commented Holger Reisinger, SVP, Jabra Business Solutions. “Interruptions from colleagues and the noise generated in these environments are negatively impacting workers and contributing to lacklustre performance. Increasingly, knowledge workers are being forced into isolation to do their jobs. The Jabra Evolve 75 provides businesses with an alternative solution to support an open office philosophy that’s conducive to better performance.”

Lee does a deep dive into the Evolve 75 headset.

Key features include:

• High-definition (HD) voice for crystal clear calls and music
• Superior active noise cancellation (ANC) 
• Integrated "busylight" clearly shows when the user is busy
• Wireless range of up to 30m away from the laptop and 10m from the smartphone
• Flexibility to connect two Bluetooth devices at the same time for calls and music – for example, to both a computer and a smartphone
• Integration with leading unified communications (UC) platforms including Skype for Business and Cisco certification
• Up to 15 hours of battery life
• All-day comfort leather feel ear cushions and an on-the-ear wearing style for all day comfort
• Discreet boom-arm: Boom-arm can be clipped into the headband when not on calls
• Listen-in: Easy to reach button on the ear cup allows users to hear announcements without removing the headset
• Optional charging stand

Jabra, part of the GN Group, is a leading developer and manufacturer of communications and sound solutions. The GN Group specialises in medical-grade hearing appliances, as well as audio devices for enterprise and consumer markets.

Interested?

The Jabra Evolve 75 is available at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$512.53 (inclusive of charging stand), or S$434.42 excluding the stand.

*ANC refers to the ability to switch noise cancellation on and off, as opposed to passive noise cancellation, which is cannot be switched off.

**Jabra knowledge worker survey 2015. 

Qatar Airways Cargo transports pioneer cow herd for new dairy industry in Qatar

Qatar Airways Cargo, the cargo division of Qatar’s national carrier, has transported the country’s first two shipments of 330 Holstein cows from Europe on a Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777 freighter. These initial shipments are part of a 4,000-head herd that marks the launch of a completely new industry for Qatar.

Ulrich Ogiermann, Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo said, “It is with utmost pride that we were given the opportunity to offer our expertise and services to support this momentous project. We are truly a part of history, helping launch the country’s newest industry, producing dairy products to meet local demand. The cattle charters involve a great deal of skill and coordination to ensure the flight from the points of origin to Doha was smooth and safe.

“With our extensive freighter fleet and state-of-the-art cargo facility at our Doha hub, we were able to meet our client Baladna Farm’s requirements with tailormade solutions to transport the cattle from various continents swiftly into Doha. Our dedicated team at Qatar Airways Cargo is well-trained and our QR Live product is fully-compliant with IATA’s Live Animal Regulations to ensure safe and comfortable air transportation of live animals.”

Source: Qatar Airways. Cows feeding.

The cargo carrier has been appointed to charter more than 20 cattle shipments from Europe, the US and Australia in the next few weeks. Upon arrival at Hamad International Airport (HIA), the cattle are carefully and efficiently transferred to Baladna Farm, a major livestock farm in Qatar.

Power International Holding Chairman Moutaz Al Khayyat said: “We are proud to expand the dairy industry in the State of Qatar, and are thankful to Qatar Airways Cargo for the expedient, safe and secure transportation of the cattle that have now safely arrived at their new home, Baladna Farm. With the arrival of the dairy cows, we aim to meet 30-35% of the imported milk demand in the country within two months.”

Baladna is a subsidiary of Power International Holding, a diversified Qatari company. Baladna has built special cowsheds with a temperature control system to ensure a comfortable environment for the cattle. Baladna Farm, built over 700,000 sq m, includes 40,000 Awassi sheep able to withstand high temperature and produce high-quality milk. The farm also houses 5,000 goats and an animal feed mill yielding 100 tonnes per day.

Qatar Airways Cargo recently attracted attention for undertaking a massive airlift of food and grocery items when a blockade was initiated by neighbouring countries on 5 June. This undertaking, arranged entirely by Qatar Airways Cargo, lasted several weeks and used its own fleet, as well as other leased aircraft. The cargo airline continues to connect its global customers’ businesses to over 150 destinations on 200 passenger and freighter aircraft.

Ranked the world’s third-largest international air cargo carrier, Qatar Airways Cargo has made significant investments in its fleet, network, its hub and products in recent years as part of its strategy and commitment to improve and enhance its product offering for the benefit of customers globally. The cargo carrier has performed charters for a variety of cargo including such as horses, cattle, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas products, art, concerts and exhibitions, machinery, mining and humanitarian relief goods.

Preorders now available in Singapore for Microsoft Surface Pro

Source: Microsoft. The Surface Pro (top left) together with accessories.

Microsoft has announced that the new Surface Pro and Surface Pro Signature Type Cover are now available for preorder in Singapore starting 20 July. 

Unveiled in May, the new Surface Pro has been redesigned from the inside out to give people more performance with improved battery life. Everything has been streamlined and refined — from softer, rounded edges to cameras built to fade into the bezel. At 8.5mm thin and weighing from 767 g*. the new Surface Pro packs the power of a 7th generation Intel Core processor into a new fanless**, whisper-quiet design. The Surface Pro delivers the most performance and battery life in a laptop that is thin, light and quiet: up to 13.5 hours***.

 “With every release of the Surface Pro, we continue to push boundaries to better serve the needs of our customers who are seeking greater mobility and power in their devices in order to stay productive. The new Surface Pro delivers the versatility of a laptop and a creative studio in one thin, lightweight device,” said Veronica Chiu, Windows and Devices Group Lead, Microsoft Singapore. 

The Surface Pro is not only a powerhouse laptop, but also a mobile creative studio with a high-resolution 12.3” PixelSense touch display that supports the new Surface Pen****, the fastest pen to date that is twice as accurate as the previous version. Inking in applications across Windows 10 and Microsoft Office 365****, including the new Microsoft Whiteboard app, will unlock ways for people to be more creative, collaborative and productive, Microsoft said.

The new Surface Pro Signature Type Cover delivers a high-quality scissor mechanism and 1.3 mm of key travel for faster and more accurate typing. A full-size glass trackpad with five-finger multi-touch capabilities allows for ultimate precision, and the entire keyboard is wrapped in soft yet durable Alcantara material, creating a comfortable palm rest. The Signature Type Cover will be available in Platinum, Black, Burgundy and Cobalt Blue. 

For commercial customers, the new Surface Pro will be available through more than 30 commercial resellers, as well as the Surface as a Service programme*****. The latter is a new programme that helps customers benefit from a flexible and efficient scheme which centralises billing and servicing. Organisations that sign on with Surface as a Service will also benefit from technological advancements through periodic leased equipment refresh, as well as end of lease term flexibility, where they can choose to return the device, keep the device, or extend the agreement.  
 
Interested?

Starting from S$1,188, the new Surface Pro will officially launch in market on 15 August 2017. The suffested retail price for the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover is S$249, while the standard Surface Pro Type Cover is S$199. The Surface Pen is S$148, while the Microsoft Surface Arc Mouse is S$118.

Consumers can preorder from the Microsoft Store, as well as authorised retailers including Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, Harvey Norman, and Newstead

Preorder for commercial customers is also available via authorised device resellers including AsiaPac Distribution, Insight Technology Solutions, JK Technology, SoftwareOne and UIC Asian Computer Services 

*Core m3 version 

**Core m3 and Core i5 versions 

***Up to 13.5 hours for video playback. Testing conducted by Microsoft in April 2017 using preproduction Intel Core i5, 256GB, 8 GB RAM device. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except: Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors. 

****Sold separately   

*****Surface as a Service only available with select resellers and partners

Cards are 52% of payments in Asia, but new tools are emerging

An omnichannel payments strategy is key to creating a seamless customer experience for 79% of merchants and retailers according to benchmark data in 2017 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants and Retailers from ACI Worldwide and Ovum.

The study* revealed that although the EMV card standard has lowered fraud prevention costs, fraud continues to shift online. And while merchants and retailers plan to considerably increase investment in payments to improve customer experience (by 50% compared to 2015), more than three quarters of these organisations view security, compliance and fraud management issues as the biggest barriers to their investment decisions.

Principal findings include:

· Cards continue to dominate the payments market for retailers and merchants, making up 52% of payments in Asia

· New and alternative payment tools now account for 10% of global merchant transactions, with contactless cards now accounting for near 2% of transactions in Asia as high sales-volume merchants embrace quick and convenient means of payment

· Six in 10 (59%) of merchants and retailers plan to increase their payments investments during the next 18 to 24 months, up from 50% in 2015

· Payments investment is high in all sectors, with 65% of travel and accommodation companies reporting an increase in investment levels

· Merchants and retailers increasingly expect payments investment to improve the customer experience, but more than 75% indicate security and compliance are the biggest barriers to payments initiatives

· Although 52% of merchants and retailers say their card not present (CNP) losses are growing, 70% say they are satisfied with their CNP fraud prevention tools.

“As commerce becomes increasingly digital, payments technology is critical to improving customer engagement and reducing costs—with 79% of global merchants and retailers noting that an omnichannel approach is key to creating a seamless customer experience,” said Lynn Holland, VP, ACI Worldwide.

“Although there isn’t one path to payments modernisation for merchants and retailers, the benefits of investing in new and alternative payments methods are increasing—in terms of both merchants’ bottom lines and overall improvement of customer experience,” said Matthew Heaslip, Analyst, Ovum. “To stay competitive in this changing retail market, merchants and retailers must foster strong payment partnerships with companies that not only understand their market verticals, but can also help them both improve their omnichannel capabilities and reach new customers.”

Interested?

Read the 2017 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants and Retailers report

*For the 2017 Ovum Global Payment Information Survey, which includes merchant, biller, and retail banking components, ACI and Ovum created a 23-point questionnaire, looking at the following criteria for key payments players: significant aspects of existing payments infrastructure; forecasts for spending; areas for investment and perceptions of where payments fit within their broader strategic objectives. This survey was sent to payments decision makers globally in December, 2016—January, 2017. It provides a snapshot of payment perceptions among merchants, financial institutions, and scheduled billing and payment- taking organisations such as higher education, consumer finance and insurance. Overall, 1,475 executives across 15 industry sub-verticals in 25 key global markets responded, resulting in more than 144,000 separate data points on perceptions and expectations of payments among critical payment enablers globally.

Industries surveyed include general merchandise, food service and restaurants, grocery, fuel and convenience, and travel and lodging, based in countries in the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

posted from Bloggeroid

Place a finger to your ear for your next conference call

Source: Origami Labs. The ORII smart ring is splashproof.

Move over, smart watches. The world’s first voice-powered smart ring, ORII, has launched on Kickstarter. The Bluetooth-enabled ring turns the hand into a smartphone using cutting-edge bone conduction technology to transmit sound.

ORII has dual noise-cancelling microphones that lets wearers make calls, send messages and access Siri or Google Assistant without needing to take out their phones, all by placing a fingertip to the ear. With the ORII app, users can also set custom alerts using the four LED lights on the wearable, or have it vibrate.

Beta users' rings (US$399) will ship in November 2017, and the first batch of rings (US$149) will be delivered in February 2018.

ORII is the first product from Origami Labs, a maker of voice-enabled connected hardware. The company was founded by four Hong Kong-born university friends.

Source: Origami Labs. Make discreet calls wherever you are.

Kevin Johan Wong, CEO and Co-Founder of Origami Labs said, “Our inspiration came from my dad who has been visually impaired from a young age. He set out to develop a voice and text-based technology to help others like him and is a pioneer in his field with eight patents under his name. Integrating the same technology used in hearing aids, ORII uses bone conduction to send sound discreetly to your ear, creating a device which allows freedom from screen-based interaction.”

According to a CCS Insight report, 2020 will see a wearables market worth close to US$34 billion.


Interested?

The splash-proof ORII comes in three colours - matte black, sandblasted silver and metallic dark grey

It is estimated to be good for an hour of talk time, and will require an hour of charging

Visit the Kickstarter page for ORII. At the time of writing ORII has already surpassed its Kickstarter target, but early bird rings are still available for US$99

Businesses in South China Sea area should beware of Spring Dragon APT

Kaspersky Lab is warning of activity from a threat actor targeting countries around the South China Sea. The cybersecurity firm has seen increased activity by an advanced persistent threat (APT) called Spring Dragon (or LotusBlossom) since 2017 that involve new and evolved tools and techniques.

Kaspersky Lab Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) Senior Security Researcher Noushin Shabab said, “We believe that Spring Dragon is going to continue resurfacing regularly in the Asian region and it's important to be familiar with its tools and techniques. We encourage individuals and businesses to have good YARA rules* and other detection mechanisms in place and strongly recommended they use – and regularly audit – a multilayered approach to security.”

Spring Dragon has been targeting high profile political, governmental and educational organisations in Asia since 2012. Kaspersky Lab has been tracking the APT for the last few years.

In early 2017, Kaspersky Lab identified renewed attacks in the threat actor’s target region. According to Kaspersky Lab telemetry, Taiwan had the largest number of attacks followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Macau, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. To help organisations better understand and protect against the threat, Kaspersky Lab’s researchers have undertaken a detailed review of 600 Spring Dragon malware samples.

Kaspersky Lab’s overview of Spring Dragon’s tools shows that:

- The attackers’ toolset includes a unique customised set of links to command and control servers for each malware: the malware samples contained more than 200 unique IP addresses overall.

- This toolset was accompanied by customised installation data for each attack to make detection difficult.

- The arsenal includes various backdoor modules with different characteristics and functionalities – although they all have the capability to download additional files to the victim’s machine, upload files to its servers and execute any executable file or command on the victim’s machine. This allows the attackers to undertake a number of malicious activities on the victim’s machine – particularly cyberespionage.

- The malware compilation timestamps suggest a time zone of GMT +8 – although the experts warn that does not represent a reliable indicator of attribution. Countries which are in this time zone include Brunei, China including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Western Australia as well as parts of Indonesia.

Kaspersky Lab GM ANZ Anastasia Para Rae says, “Organisations and businesses need to step up and manage risk on reputation and service guarantees. The average loss from a single targeted attack is close to US$1,000,000 excluding reputational impact. In the event of cyberattack, a considerable investment is made for urgent response to improve software and infrastructure. The reverse needs to take place. We must not wait for attacks to happen for us to take precaution.”

In order to protect your personal or business data from cyberattacks, Kaspersky Lab advises companies to:

- Implement an advanced, multilayered security solution that covers all networks, systems and endpoints.

- Educate and train your personnel on social engineering as this method is often used to make a victim open a malicious document or click on an infected link.

- Conduct regular security assessments of the organisation's IT infrastructure.

*YARA is a tool for pattern matching that helps cybersecurity researchers detect and identify malware.

BenQ has a new line of colour-accurate digital laser projectors

The BenQ LU9715 digital laser projector.

BenQ, the global brand in digital light processing (DLP) and interactive displays, has announced a new line of laser projectors for large-venue corporate, professional, and educational applications.

According to BenQ, large business venues, museums, exhibition halls, and boardrooms will appreciate the 24x7 continuous operation capability. Daren Low, Senior Product Manager, BenQ Singapore, explained that low-maintenance requirements are a plus point when the projectors are typically mounted at heights which are relatively inaccessible, and would need scaffolding to be erected every time maintenance is required.

The colour-accurate digital laser projection line features the LU9715 and LU9235, both of which offer BlueCore Laser technology for full 360° and vertical projection, support for 24x7 operation, and ultra-bright output of 8,000 and 6,000 ANSI lumens respectively.

Dual-array laser light sources provide superior, long-lasting image quality. The LU9715 even delivers a guaranteed 20,000 hours of perfect performance at 8,000 ANSI lumens brightness. BlueCore laser technology allows for complete control of light output under any conditions. This allows for ultra-high 100,000:1 contrast ratio and auto-adjustable brightness to reveal every detail of the darkest images and video scenes. The LU9715 and LU9235 also feature spontaneous response with no wait time required to turn on or resume projection from a blank screen, achieving true black for zero light intrusion.

“Our blacks are very black even on standby mode,” Low said.

Adaptability is enhanced with features like 360° rotation and portrait orientation for a variety of installation choices. High-quality all-glass construction ensures ultra-clear focus and high apertures for brighter images in venues of every size.

Motorised zoom, lens shift, advanced geometric correction, and optional lenses are among the options available. Up to eight lens options are available to cater to a wide range of installation configurations.

Interested?

Watch the Instavideo of a demonstration showcasing the new projectors

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about BenQ's new interactive flat panel, which was launched at the same time. BenQ also unveiled a world-first home cinema projector at the same event, the BenQ X12000  

BenQ interactive flat panel makes education, collaboration a breeze

BenQ, the global brand in digital light processing (DLP) and interactive displays, is offering a new interactive flat panel (IFP) that combines a 4K Ultra HD whiteboard, annotation, and collaboration solution into a single platform.

With the RP750K, BenQ has created an interactive flat screen display that taps into the dynamic possibilities of classroom or commercial training and collaboration scenarios. A Germ-Resistant Screen protects users, while preinstalled annotation tools encourage participation.

The RP750K Germ-Resistant Screen is infused with a multilayer coating of durable, non-toxic nano-ionic silver. This coating kills most germs that can accumulate on screen surfaces, preventing cross-infection. The ionic silver’s antimicrobial ability remains effective even after thorough cleaning and long periods of use.

The 75" IFP’s health-conscious design features continue with Smart Eye-Care for a smooth and comfortable viewing experience. An embedded motion sensor automatically activates flicker-free and low blue light features when movement is detected near the screen. Daren Low, Senior Product Manager, BenQ Singapore, said the blue light control results in displays which are gentler on the eye while the nano-ionic silver on the glass disrupts the cell division mechanism of most bacteria and viruses. The panel also features an anti-glare treatment to reduce eyestrain and offer more legible content.

The Android-based panel comes with proprietary BenQ software that increases productivity. Instructional tools include the EZWrite 4.0 whiteboard solution with handwriting recognition. EZWrite supports scribbling and will also recognise characters and shapes. Ideal for educational and team-building applications, EZWrite has a stopwatch, scoreboard for multiple teams and support for a buzzer that gives the floor to the 'first responder', said Low.

The InstaQShare collaboration solution allows participants to share information and collaborate on the fly through wireless mirroring between the display and devices. A mobile device may take control of the IFP while the screen can be broadcast to up to 16 other mobile devices, if the network permits it.

“BYOD is quite mature nowadays. It's very practical in a commercial environment,” Low said.

The IFP also supports video recording, Microsoft Office, a floating toolbar, and Data-to-Go, a feature which saves annotations as images and allows the images to be shared for review material. The content can be accessed by QR code, email, or as a hard copy and appears electronically in PDF form.

The stylus accessory, called the NFCPen, works through near field communications (NFC) technology and does not need a battery. Two are included with each IFP. A swipe of the palm will erase what's on the screen.

The RP750K is germ-resistant, eye-friendly and anti-glare.

Interested?

The RP750K costs S$9,999.

Watch the Instavideo of the NFCPen in action

Watch the Instavideo of screen mirroring in action

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about BenQ's new digital laser projectors, which were launched at the same time. BenQ also unveiled a world-first 4K UHD LED home cinema projector during the event, the BenQ X12000

Emojis taking the world by storm 🌩

In celebration of 🌎 World Emoji Day on July 17 App Annie set out to uncover just how deep the world’s obsession with emojis 💖 ran, and partnered with Leanplum to release a Mobile Marketing Trends report, Winning App ❤ (& 💸 ) With Emojis.

Beyond the emoji becoming an official word in the Oxford Dictionary, we now know from the report that:

·         Emoji usage rose 🚀163% in 2016

The library of emojis that marketers tapped into also increased by 10%.

·         Emojis lift push notification 💍 engagement 💍 by 85%

Push notifications without emojis saw a 2.44% open rate, versus push notifications with emojis that saw a 4.51% open rate.

·         Android is more effective for push notifications 🙃

Android push notifications with emojis are opened at a rate 135% higher than those for iOS, which is 50% higher than those without emojis. It is possible that Android push notifications stick around in the notification tray longer, so users have more time to see the emoji and react to it.

·         Millennials 💁🏻 are more interested in emoji push notifications

The report also reveals the most successful emojis 😍 are those used in the retail, dating, and gaming industries.

Interested?

Download the Winning App ❤ (& 💸 ) With Emojis report

Track a real-time visualisation of all emoji symbols used on Twitter

Browse research papers on emojis

posted from Bloggeroid

Singapore Computer Society unveils 2017 10 Best Tech Companies to Work For

Singapore Computer Society (SCS), the nation’s largest body for infocomm and digital media professionals, has announced the winners of the Best Tech Company to Work For Award at its annual conference, the Tech³ Forum.

The award recognises four of the 10 Best Tech Companies to Work For as overall winners for their implementation of innovative practices and their demonstrated workplace excellence in the infocomm and digital media (ICM) industry.

This year’s Best Tech Company Award ceremony was graced by the Minister of Manpower, Lim Swee Say, and attended by more than 200 senior professionals from the public and private sectors. In his speech, the Minister shared how Singapore is ahead of the curve in driving innovation in the ICT sector. He also praised the 10 best tech companies for providing inclusive opportunities to Singaporeans, and valuing talent based on their skills, helping to drive industry growth.

In its second instalment, the Best Tech Company to Work For Award aims to honour the best infocomm and media workplaces and inculcate a strong people culture across the industry. Nominations were assessed by an independent panel of judges, represented by both public and private sectors in the industry.

Howie Lau, President, Singapore Computer Society, said, “The success of the 10 best tech companies to work for is a testament to the importance of investing in human capital in the midst of a digital revolution. We hope that this award will inspire other technology companies to join us in creating a strong people culture across the industry.”

Standing out from a pool of nominations, the winning companies demonstrated outstanding performance on five criteria: Inspiring people culture, spirit of innovation, financial sustainability, people management and human resource policy. The 10 best tech companies to work for in Singapore are:

• Accenture

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Accenture is a leading global professional services company providing services and solutions in strategy consulting, digital, technology and operations. In a video celebrating Accenture's win, staff spoke of access to the latest technologies and their dedication to build future technology leaders through hands-on learning.

Winning qualities

• Strong team spirit, with passion and pride displayed by everyone

• Revolutionary performance management system accompanied with solid mentorship programme, where the bell curve distribution is removed and each individual is assessed by their mentor and not direct boss

• Promotes a learning culture with digital, social and mobile learning materials available at all levels

• Carousell 

Winner – Small Organisations/Startups category

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Carousell created a marketplace that makes it easy for preloved items to find new homes. Its goal is to become the No. 1 mobile classifieds marketplace in all markets. A video of Carousell's employees reflected the company's open culture, which is focused on problem solving. "The people here are very driven to solve problems for our customers," said one employee.

Winning qualities

• Great mission and vision for social impact - ability to humanise their mission stories

• Significant time and effort spent in the hiring process to find the right hire to fit into the culture

• Strong culture and great vibes in the office, with the ability to attract good talent

• EON Reality 

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

EON Reality is the world leader in virtual and augmented reality (AR)-based knowledge transfer for industry and education. The company aims to make knowledge available, affordable, and accessible for everyone. Staff shared in the video profiling Eon Reality that they are exposed to lots of new technology and are constantly learning.

Winning qualities

• Leaders are sincere and people-oriented

• Excites employees on the huge potential of AR for applications in education, healthcare, smart city planning

• Transparent corporate culture and staff are trusted and empowered

• IBM Singapore

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

IBM is a globally integrated technology and consulting company. The company is focused on helping organisations embark on their cognitive journeys, built on a strong foundation of cloud, big data and analytics, and security. According to a video on IBM, people form the heartware of the organisation, and use IBM technology to help businesses grow. "We work together and grow together to become business partners, it's like a friendship formed," said one staff.

Winning qualities

• Sense of sincerity and authenticity among the leadership team

• Prides itself as a company that is essential and socially relevant

• Open workspaces that encourage collaboration

• Razer
Joint winner – Large Organisations/ MNCs category

Razer is the leading lifestyle brand for gamers. Its mission is to be the world’s greatest brand for gamers. "We are always one team, we're always bigger than ourselves as a person," said Min-Liang Tan, Razer CEO, on video. "We play hard, and we play fair."

In her acceptance speech, Patricia Liu, Chief Customer Officer, Razer, said that the company is "made up of gamers who design and make products for gamers". "We constantly ask ourselves what kind of environment do gamers need to be phenomenal and that's the approach that we take to design our workplace and our culture," she said.

Winning qualities

• Inspiring and charismatic leader

• Appealing to young working adults, especially gamers

• Puts in sincere efforts to groom local talent  

• Red Hat Asia Pacific

Joint winner – Large Organisations/ MNCs category

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Red Hat is the world's leading provider of open source software solutions. Its mission is to be the catalyst in communities of customers, contributors, and partners, creating better technology the open source way. Red Hat has translated open source principles into principles that connect business success to personal growth, staff said in the accompanying video. The company has a cross-department mentorship programme, for example.

Richard Koh, Country Manager, Singapore, Red Hat, said the win recognises the open source culture all Red Hatters live and breathe daily. "We're an open organisation, we firmly believe in meritocracy," he said. "All Red Hatters are given equal opportunities."

Koh also brought up 'kampong spirit', where villagers would pitch in to help each other, to recognise the efforts of others. "By working together we can actually make the infocomm industry a lot more vibrant and an attractive destination for talent," he said.

Winning qualities

• Strong sense of identity amongst employees, shown by the low staff turnover rate and high Glassdoor rating

• Openness, transparency and innovation is embedded in the company DNA

• Emphasis on training, and sets aside a generous training budget for external training programmes

• ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems)

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

ST Electronics is a leading info-communication technology solutions provider in Asia delivering solutions in intelligent transportation, public safety and security, smart infocommunications technology (ICT) infrastructure, cyber security and defence. ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) has many HR initiatives to attract and retain staff, shared employees in an associated video. There is a 'work hard and play harder' spirit at the company, they said.

Winning qualities

• Strong family-friendly and Singapore kampong-spirit culture

• Well-structured HR programmes that attract and retain both the young and matured working professionals

• Encourages innovation and provides seed funding to try worthy ideas

• Tableau Asia Pacific

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Tableau is on a mission to help people see and understand their data. "High energy, vibrant and dynamic" were adjectives used by Tableau staff to describe themselves.

Winning qualities

• High energy and dynamic workforce with cool workspace

• Empowering staff (even non-IT staff) to use Tableau's own products for data analytics to generate meaningful and impactful businesses

• Appealing to young working adults (both IT and non-IT)

• Tinkerbox Studios

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Tinkerbox Studios is a design and development studio on a mission to build innovative products that changes lives for the better. The company has code reviews which give feedback on how they can improve the quality of their software. "For me it's like a family," one staff said on video.

Winning qualities

• Promotes a strong culture of learning and experimentation, eg. TinkerThursday for dinner as a team in the office to share ideas.

• Great talent development programme and strong sense of mission and dedication to train a good pool of developers for the better of the industry, eg. the intern was so impressed with the coding standards that he joined the company after graduation.

• Emphasis on peer code reviewing to enhance quality of the codes, which further demonstrates their commitment to culture of quality codes and peer support.

    

• Titansoft 
Winner – Mid-sized Organisations category

10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2017

Titansoft is a software development and consultancy company specialising in gaming and entertainment. Its vision is to empower customers to become global leaders in their respective industries. Titansoft's motto is to never stop improving. The company has striven to create an environment which is very open, one where staff can learn something new every day.

The company has a unique self-promotion model, in which staff initiate the process to promote themselves when they think they are ready. They first undergo self-assessment, then a technical assessment followed by a panel interview. In the accompanying video, an employee from Titansoft said the company is "creating an environment I actually want to work with."

Winning qualities

• Daring and advanced in implementing latest thinking in human resources and organisation development (HR & OD) practices, eg. Self-promotion and self-organising agile development teams

• Open and transparent culture that values bottom-up initiatives, e.g. When the self-promotion idea was suggested by the Technical Manager and not HR

• Highly committed workforce that is empowered and serious with their self-development and peer reviews

“Our vision is of an inclusive ecosystem in which Singaporeans can maximise the use of the resources available, and fully access to all opportunities in the industry. It is made possible thanks to the support from our partners, including Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Workforce Singapore (WSG) and e2i (Employment and Employability Institute),” Lau said.

The Best Tech Company to Work For Award is a manifestation of the collaboration between industry partners to support ICM professionals and drive industry development.

“Singapore is in the middle of the most dynamic region in the world that is rapidly digitalising, and our infocomm and media sector is well-positioned to benefit from this growth. To do so, companies will need to be at the forefront of adopting policies and practices to attract and retain talent in this industry. IMDA is pleased to honour the achievements of the companies awarded with the Best Tech Company to Work For Award, which celebrates the spirit of innovation, the creativity and passion of our people, as we work towards building a digital economy,” said Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Tan Choon Shian, Chief Executive, WSG said, “In this changing manpower landscape, it is critical for employers to put in place progressive human capital practices and take greater ownership in grooming talents for the future, to enhance their competitiveness. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the award winners, and I hope more companies will emulate these role models and adopt progressive human capital practices to develop and retain their employees.”

In addition to the award, SCS has also partnered e2i to co-organise an Infocomm Technology Career Fair which will run from August to September. “e2i has been working with industry partners to enable ICM professionals to stay updated and deepen their competencies through training, networking and masterclasses. We have also initiated integrated career fairs to improve job matching. As tripartite partners, e2i is committed to work with SCS to provide enhanced career support for ICM professionals and companies on skills development and job placement,” the CEO of e2i Gilbert Tan said.

More details about the Information Technology Career Fair will be announced in August.

SCS has over 31,000 members. Established in 1967, the society serves as a key platform for professionals to network with established practitioners, advance their careers, and sharpen their skills and knowledge in order to stay ahead of the latest trends and best practices in the infocomm and digital media industries.

Source: SCS. From left: Howie Lau, President, Singapore Computer Society; Tan Choon Shian, Chief Executive, Workforce Singapore (WSG); Andrew Chow, President, ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems); Sam Liew, MD, Technology, ASEAN, Accenture; Lum Seow Khun, Director, Sales & Transformation, IBM Singapore; Marcus Tan, Co-Founder & President, Carousell; Patricia Liu, Chief Customer Officer, Razer; Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower; Richard Koh, Country Manager, Singapore, Red Hat (wearing red hat); Wong Yew Choy, Director of Titansoft; Khoong Hock Yun, Chief Digital Evangelist, Infocomm Media Development Authority; Gilbert Tan, CEO, e2i (Employment and Employability Institute); Kelvin Tham, COO & Co-Founder, Tinkerbox Studios; Sridhar Sunkad; MD, EON Reality and Cherilyn Tay, Territory Development Manager, Tableau.

*SCS defined the three categories as large organisations or multinational companies (MNCs), mid-sized organisations (SMEs) of 50 to 200 employees, and startups or small parties with up to five years of incorporation, or fewer than 50 employees. Nominations began in September 2016, and the evaluation process included site visits, and employee interaction sessions.