Singapore Polytechnic establishes the Enabling Platform Partnership

Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has introduced an Enabling Platform Partnership designed to empower Singapore-based enterprises as they embark on their transformation journey into the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). The initiative, initiated and spearheaded by SP, addresses critical industry needs across business transformation, talent development, and technology adoption. 

The announcement was one of the highlights of the Automation SolutionGO! and the Regional Industry Networking Conference (RINC) 2025, which was jointly organised by SP and AutomationSG at the end of July 2025. Formerly the Singapore Industrial Automation Association, AutomationSG is a professional association for companies and professionals in the automation, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics sectors. 

The Enabling Platform Partnership brings together institutes of higher learning, trade associations, and agencies from Singapore and Malaysia to close gaps in manpower, talent development, and technology adoption within the JS-SEZ by enhancing industry-ready skills training, upskilling, and reskilling programmes. 

The stakeholders include Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic International, Southern University College, Sunway University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, AutomationSG, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing, Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Johor Skills Development Centre, and Johor Talent Development Council. 

The benefits of this cross-border partnership are already evident in ongoing collaborations. A prime example is SP’s recent partnership with the Johor Skills Development Centre, which successfully leveraged a funding scheme from Malaysia's Human Resource Development Corporation (HRDF) to develop and deliver a two-day training programme across four runs. 

This initiative equipped over 140 Malaysian employees of Tai Sin Electric, a Singapore enterprise, with essential knowledge in sustainability 101, aligning their skills with the company's Singapore-based workforce. This success now allows other Singaporean companies in Johor to access similar funding for their subsidiaries' upskilling and reskilling needs.

Soh Wai Wah, Principal and CEO of Singapore Polytechnic, said: “The Enabling Platform Partnership is a strategic catalyst for enterprise transformation, directly supporting Singapore’s goal of helping businesses expand into Johor and Batam. It solidifies Singapore Polytechnic’s position as a leading regional education and training institute with continual relevance to Singapore’s economic development.”

Source: Singapore Polytechnic. Principal & CEO, Singapore Polytechnic, Soh Wai Wah (4th from left) and Guest-of-Honour, Alvin Tan, Singapore Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade & Industry, and Ministry of National Development (6th from left) with industry partners commemorating the Enabling Platform Partnership.

The event also featured the GO! Awards as a key initiative by AutomationSG to recognise outstanding solution providers and end-users who excel in business growth, sustainability, and technology utilisation. There were two GO! Sustainability award winners, Ranpak which makes sustainable, paper-based protective packaging solutions, and LeanCost International, whose SmartCarbon AI-Expert System determines carbon footprints. The GO! Technology Utilisation award was given to Black Sesame Technologies Singapore, which offers the Sesame X full-stack AI computing platform for real-time AI inference in robotics.

Terence Teo, President of AutomationSG said: “Through strategic collaborations, real-world pain point discussions, and groundbreaking initiatives with Singapore Polytechnic and regional partners, we are creating an ecosystem where smart manufacturing, AI, and workforce transformation drive sustainable growth amidst turbulent times.” 

Automation SolutionGO! and RINC 2025 also featured the first Manufacturing Jobs & Skills Fair, co-organised by SP, AutomationSG and e2i, to help job seekers and mid-career switchers. 

First business transformation programme in Malaysia sees significant success

United Overseas Bank Malaysia and The FinLab have announced that the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have completed the Jom Transform Programme¹ are expected to see productivity rise by up to 30% through digitalisation.

The Jom Transform Programme is the first business transformation programme in Malaysia to help local businesses digitalise their operations, driving productivity and revenue growth.

During the three-month programme, the 16 participating SMEs gained digital transformation skills and knowhow such as business re-engineering and digital marketing. As part of their skills development, they learnt from experts and were matched with technology partners to pilot relevant solutions and to assess the effectiveness of these solutions.

Out of the 16 participating SMEs, 12 piloted solutions to enhance their core business processes such as payroll, human resources and accounting. The automation of these processes is expected to help employees reduce the time they spend on manual, administrative processes by as much as 30%². The SMEs also piloted solutions in digital marketing, lead generation, content creation and e-commerce solutions. These solutions are expected to boost the SMEs’ sales and customer acquisition by up to 10%³.

Wong Kim Choong, CEO, UOB Malaysia, said the Jom Transform Programme affirms the bank’s commitment to help Malaysian SMEs digitalise their business for continued growth and productivity.

He said, “The Jom Transform Programme is designed to help Malaysian SMEs digitally transform their operations and we are pleased to announce that it has met this objective. Having completed the three-month programme, our 16 selected SMEs are now able to apply digital solutions to optimise their workflow processes, to improve sales, to increase customer loyalty and to raise brand awareness. To help these businesses grow further, we will support them in their expansion both at home and across the region through UOB’s established regional network.”

Jom Transform is jointly organised by UOB Malaysia and The FinLab, an innovation accelerator under United Overseas Bank. The programme is supported by five strategic partners including the Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Maxis, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and SME Corporation Malaysia.

Pauline Sim, Co-Head, The FinLab, said, “The Jom Transform Programme has successfully brought together the technology ecosystem and members of the SME community that are looking to digitalise and to uplift businesses together. We are thankful to all our partners who have supported the programme. As we continue the momentum into 2020, we will collaborate with the business and technology communities and networks we have brought together to support even more businesses who desire to transform.”

Serai Group, a Malaysian family-owned food and beverage (F&B) group with nine outlets across Kuala Lumpur, was one of the SMEs that successfully completed the Jom Transform Programme. As part of the programme, Serai Group piloted a digital solution provided by AImazing, a Singapore-based technology firm, to help the business digitalise its receipt and point-of-sale data.

Najib Hamid, MD and Group Chef, Serai Group, said “The Jom Transform Programme has helped us to evaluate our operations and to identify new technology solutions for our business. The F&B sector is competitive, and it is important to ensure our operations run smoothly at every level, from procurement and production through to customer experience. We are now implementing the solution from Singapore-based technology firm, AImazing, to reduce the manual workflow of collating sales data from across our nine outlets, releasing our staff to do higher-value work.”

Syarikat Letrik Chen Guan, an electrical contractor that provides end-to-end project management, electrical and mechanical services, is adopting UOB SmartBusiness⁴ to help drive efficiencies in its procurement and back-office processes.

Choong Pin Hoong, Director, Syarikat Letrik Chen Guan, said, “With projects running at different sites, our business requires many varieties of supplies and inputs. We are keen to implement technology solutions that will make the site planning, supply and management more automated and easier for our site managers to make and to track orders and deliveries.

"Through the Jom Transform Programme, we have come across new technology solutions such as UOB SmartBusiness, which enables us to digitalise our core processes and sales channels. This will help us build a strong foundation for our expansion plans.”

¹'Jom' is a colloquial term for ‘let’s go’ in Bahasa Malaysia. 

²This forecast is based on the number of man-hours the participating SMEs currently spend to manually process human resource (HR)-related activities such as payroll, leave applications, and employee benefits. The time dedicated to completing these types of activities typically account for 30% of the business owners’ total working hours.

³The projection is based on the digital solutions that the SMEs have piloted and are currently implementing. 

⁴In June 2018, UOB partnered SAP to launch UOB SmartBusiness, an integrated digital business solution designed to help SMEs make cost savings and improve their operating efficiency.

Kampong Glam launches new digital initiatives with 150 merchants on board

Haji Lane in Kampong Glam.

Kampong Glam, Singapore’s first digitally-enabled neighbourhood, has launched five initiatives in its first phase to help traditional businesses there succeed in a digital economy.

The neighbourhood transformation project is led by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), in collaboration with Enterprise Singapore, One Kampong Gelam (OKG) association and the Singapore Malay Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI). It is aimed at strengthening the neighbourhood’s appeal to digitally-savvy consumers and visitors interested in an experiential retail experience, and helping businesses become more productive through technology. Some 150 merchants are already benefitting from the transformation.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for the Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency, has been appointed as special advisor to the Kampong Glam digital transformation project. As special advisor, Dr Yaacob will engage with key stakeholders, and provide guidance on the development and prioritisation on the digital transformation of the neighbourhood.

The first phase of the neighbourhood’s transformation comprises five digital initiatives:

- E-payments, for convenient transactions;

- Digital map listings and virtual in-store tours, for improved merchant discoverability;

- An augmented reality-enabled navigational tool with digital marketing features, to
help visitors navigate through the neighbourhood;

- Convenient, affordable shopping delivery services, so customers can “shop without
shopping bags”; and

- An integrated point-of-sale system, to help businesses become more efficient

Following initial success in helping more merchants establish online listings and virtual tours on digital maps such as Google Maps, a memorandum of intent was signed at the launch between Temasek Polytechnic (TP) School of Business, IMDA and OKG to increase the involvement of TP students to continue to assist merchants on their digitalisation journey.

To further enhance the digital capabilities of the Kampong Glam neighbourhood, OKG is working with key stakeholders to explore new ideas for a second phase of transformation, which may include pervasive outdoor Wi-Fi coverage, intelligent digital signages, Internet of Things-based visual identifiers, social media-based brand identity and e-commerce capabilities.

“I am encouraged to see how merchants in Kampong Glam have adopted digital solutions. Most
merchants recognise the benefits of digitalising their businesses but they need some help to make
the first step. This where the associations, industry partners and government agencies can provide
the resources and support. The appointment of Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for the
Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency, as special advisor to the Kampong Glam digital
transformation project, would provide a familiar face on the ground offering support to merchants
on their digitalisation journey.

“This launch of the Phase 1 initiatives is just the start. With the collective effort from the community,
public and private sectors entering into mutually beneficial partnership, I am confident that merchants will adopt more innovative digital solutions, creating an even better visitor’s experience in Kampong Glam and improving their business opportunities,” said S Iswaran, Singapore Minister for Communication and Information.

“All businesses today, including traditional businesses, must digitalise to stay competitive in the digital economy. We are excited to collaborate with our partners to bring new digital options to Kampong Glam and enable more people to discover this gem of a neighbourhood. Businesses now have more tools to engage their customers with an integrated experience that unites the physical and digital, and be better positioned to seize growth opportunities in a fast changing business environment,” said Jane Lim, Assistant Chief Executive, Sector Transformation Group, IMDA.

“Kampong Glam is a neighbourhood close to many Singaporeans’ hearts, with a rich blend of rich history and culture, as well as modern retail shops and contemporary eateries. Strengthening our digital presence helps our merchants better connect to a younger generation of locals, as well as overseas visitors, to give them a chance to experience our unique mix of retail experiences and cultural heritage, said Saeid Labaffi, Chairman, OKG.

“We want to help businesses grow and there is a need for the traditional merchants to embrace technology, to open up the opportunity to increase their business multifold,” said Azhar Othman, Chairman, SME Centre@SMCCI. “This is where our advisors come in, to work hand-in-hand with the merchants, to get them online.”

“As the lines between the physical and digital world continue to blur, our small and medium sized enterprise (SME) merchants need to keep pace by adopting new mindsets and digital capabilities that enable them to fully participate in this ever-evolving economy. Embarking on this digital journey will allow businesses to better engage their customers not only here at Kampong Glam, but also beyond the precinct, bringing new opportunities to showcase the unique offerings of our SME merchants and reach new customers,” said Chew Mok Lee, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Industry Clusters, Enterprise Singapore.

Riverbed: Singapore businesses link digital performance to business performance

Riverbed, the digital performance company, has found that nearly all (99%) of business decision makers (BDMs) in Singapore believe that optimising digital performance is essential to business performance, and 98% agree that digital, including the delivery of digital services and applications, is critical to the future of their business. 

Source: Riverbed. Cover of the Riverbed Digital Performance Global Survey 2018.

However, the Riverbed Digital Performance Global Survey 2018, also found that 92% of the decision makers say that major barriers – including budget constraints, legacy networks and lack of visibility – are holding them back from advancing digital strategies and delivering the performance and customer experience required in today’s digital world.

The global survey, which includes responses from 1,000 BDMs at companies with US$500 million or more in revenue across nine countries, also found that while Singapore BDMs recognise digital performance as a key business driver, 79% reported that critical digital services and applications are failing, impeding deadlines and diminishing productivity more than once a month. Additionally, one in three (32%) cited failures and slowdowns on a weekly basis. 

“This survey underscores the tremendous opportunity that maximising a digital strategy can have on the bottom line, while simultaneously highlighting the challenges companies face today,” said Bjorn Engelhardt, Senior VP, Asia Pacific and Japan at Riverbed Technology. 

“The findings reinforce that forward-thinking companies are well-positioned to lead their industries in the race towards digital transformation by prioritising investments in modernising their networks and tools to measure and manage the digital experience for their customers and employees. Those who hesitate to embrace digital strategies and processes will quickly fall by the wayside, and those who drive digital performance will see significant business outcomes.” 

The digital experience

Nine in 10 (89%) of Singapore business decision makers agree that providing a successful digital experience is even more critical to the company’s bottom line than it was just three years ago.

BDMs in Singapore surveyed unanimously agreed their company would benefit from improving the performance of their company’s digital services and applications. They see this happening primarily through:

- Improved customer experience and satisfaction (53%)

- Increased revenue/sales and profitability (50%)

- Stronger brand (46%) 

Obstacles to digital strategies

Of the 92% of BDMs who said they face significant challenges when it comes to achieving a more successful digital strategy, most cited multiple challenges, including: 

- Budget constraints (49%)

- Overly complex or rigid legacy IT infrastructure (43%)

- Lack of full visibility across the digital or end-user experience (37%)

The eight in 10 (79%) reporting that critical digital services and applications are failing at least a few times per month and impacting productivity and the end user experience, nearly one in four experience failures at least several times a week. 

Just over half (54%) of the survey respondents say the maximum acceptable time to resolve digital performance issues is within an hour, and nearly 20% said within minutes. Consequences listed include:

- Loss of sales and revenue (44%)

- Delayed product launches (43%)

- Loss of customers (33%)

- Loss of brand loyalty (39%)

- Loss of employee productivity (32%)

Other findings include:

Infrastructure visibility and the digital experience

Smart business leaders are looking to put greater emphasis on the management tools and infrastructure underlying digital services. In fact, 98% say that visibility across the digital experience is critical to measure and manage it successfully; and 98% of global business decision makers believe that a modern IT architecture that delivers greater agility is important to improving digital performance.

Acting soon

More than two thirds (68%) of Singapore BDMs believing it is critical that their company invests in improving the digital experience for users or customers in the next 12 months. The key areas business decision makers see themselves making investments include:

- Improving service desk capabilities (62%)

- Modernising networks and infrastructure to drive greater agility (57%)

- Accelerating development of applications (56%)

Technology wishlist

Nearly all (98%) of the Singapore BDMs believe the use of cloud technologies is important to their company’s ongoing digital strategy. To further advance digital services in support of their strategy, BDMs would also like their companies to invest in emerging technologies such as:

- Data analytics (55%)

- Internet of Things (IoT; 55%)

- Blockchain (51%)

- Artificial intelligence (AI; 38%)

- Virtual reality (VR; 30%)

Riverbed is focused on delivering solutions to maximise digital performance. Its Riverbed Digital Performance Platform brings together cloud networking and cloud edge solutions. 

Explore:

Read the Riverbed Digital Performance Global Survey 2018 report.

*The Riverbed Digital Performance Global Survey 2018 is the result of a custom online survey by Wakefield Research of 1,000 business decision makers at companies with US$500 million or more in revenue. Research was completed in May 2018 across nine countries: US, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Singapore and the UK. Among the 1,000 respondents, 200 were in the US, with 100 in each other country.

Influential Brands unveils award winners for 2017

Influential Brands has named six CEOs Top CEO of the Year at the 5th edition of the CEO Asia Conference held in Singapore on 7 November. The 2017 conference, themed The Future of Business in Asia, was held in collaboration with knowledge partner Deloitte Singapore, education partner, SIM, and official car Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Among the awards* presented at the event were Top CEO of the Year, Top Influential Brands, Outstanding Brands, Influential Artist of the Year and Influential Woman of the Year. Some 400 C-suite executives from over 100 leading companies across the region including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China attended the event. 

Source: Influential
Brands.

Jorge Rodriguez, MD, Influential Brands said, “All awardees of the Top CEO of the Year awards are business leaders from Asia representing diverse sectors from the consumer industry. Chow Tai Fook is a prominent leader in (mainland) China and Hong Kong, Thai Beverage is a market leader in Thailand and in the region, NTUC FairPrice is a dominant player in the grocery sector in Singapore, Success Resources is the global market leader in people development, Hatten Land is a developer with an award-winning portfolio of integrated residential, hotel and commercial developments in Melaka and finally, ONE Championship has expanded to become the Asia’s largest martial arts event company.

"The six Top CEO awardees have demonstrated not only their capacity to lead their organisations but also their ability to understand clearly what consumers expect from them."

Rodriguez added that three factors will drive business success.

- Dynamic connections: consumers will decide how, when and where to buy

- Meaningful branding and innovative products: consumers will be drawn to a brand that has a purpose and is always innovating its products

- Right associations and partnerships: consumers will find the most efficient way to get what they want hence brands must increase brand exposure and leverage on strategic partnerships

"Influential Brands exists for these reasons of fostering dynamic connecting, building channels for brand education and facilitating partnerships and opportunities in Asia," he said.

Thirty-three brands were named in the Top Influential Brands awards and another four as Outstanding Brands. Old Chang Kee was recognised under Influential Brands Hall of Fame for its appeal to consumers across generations. The brand has been a winner for five consecutive years under the Influential Brands Top Influential Brands award category.

Two new individual awards were introduced this year. Iskandar Jalil, Singapore's celebrity potter, won the inaugural Influential Artist of the Year award. The first Influential Woman of the Year award went to Christine Tan, anchor for CNBC's Managing Asia programme.

“The role of the CEO exists at the intersection of the external environment and the internal organisation. In today’s disruptive marketplace, it is not possible for CEOs to shield their organisations from ambiguity,” said Philip Yuen, CEO, Deloitte Southeast Asia and Singapore.

“At Deloitte, we harness our organisation’s broad capabilities to deliver forward-thinking and fresh insights for every stage of a CEO’s career through Deloitte’s CEO Programme – supporting CEOs in their strategic agenda to manage the complexities of their roles, tackle their companies’ most compelling challenges, and adapt to strategic shifts in the market. In this spirit, I would like to congratulate the award winners and wish them continued success.”

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the official car for the event, introduced the Rolls-Royce Ghost and the Wraith, a two-door coupé, at the award ceremony.

Paul Harris, Asia Pacific Regional Director for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “Rolls-Royce has always been the choice for industry titans, and the movers and shakers of the business world. To maintain our pinnacle position means also constantly evolving and integrating cutting-edge technology to create the best in luxury. We are supporting Influential Brands’ CEO Asia Conference as it is a unique platform to support the regional business arena, while showcasing our brand of luxury to highly-successful individuals.”

Deloitte has also released a white paper, Scaling Edges – A Pragmatic Pathway To Broad Internal Change, in conjunction with the event. In the paper, the consultancy advised companies to reconsider how they innovate today, typically by flooding the market with new, marginally improved products or services, to "innovating at an institutional level" instead in the era of the "Big Shift", what Deloitte terms the current environment where we are experiencing increased globalisation and rapid advancements in technology. 

"This change requires firms to rethink even the primary objective of why they exist and drastically change their management mindset; in today’s rapidly changing landscape, a focus on scale efficiencies is not enough. Though transformative change is required, it is admittedly far from a simple task," Deloitte said in the executive summary of the paper.

Pragmatic Pathways is a new framework for digital transformation that in essence says: 

- Focus on edges rather than the core of a company, as change agents can better identify projects which are most likely to achieve significant and sustainable returns. 

- Leverage external resources rather than internal support to scale in edge projects to circumvent scrutiny and organisational resistance to change.

- Accelerate learning rather than focus solely on short-term outcomes to make edges conduits of transformation.

Details:

Top CEO of the Year 
 
Seah Kian Peng, CEO, NTUC Fairprice Co-operative

Dato Colin Tan, Executive Chairman & MD, Hatten Land

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman, One Championship

Richard Tan, Chairman, Success Resources Singapore

Kent Wong, MD, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, President & CEO, Thai Beverage Public Company 

Influential Woman of the Year 
 
Christine Tan, Anchor, Managing Asia, CNBC

Influential Artist of the Year 
 
Iskandar Jalil, Master & Veteran Potter

Hall of Fame 
 
Old Chang Kee

Top Influential Brands
	Brand Name		Category	Country
1	Raffles Hotel		Heritage Hotel	Singapore
2	Gardens by the Bay		Tourist Attraction	Singapore
3	Lee Hwa Jewellery		Premium Jewellery	Singapore
4	Din Tai Fung		Asian Restaurant	Singapore
5	BreadTalk		Bakery	Asia
6	NTUC FairPrice		Supermarket & Online Grocery Retailer	Singapore
7	Watsons		Retail Loyalty Card & Personal Care Store	Singapore
8	MindChamps		Pre-school Education	Singapore
9	Orange Clove		Caterer	Singapore
10	ERA		Property Agency	Singapore
11	Spectacle Hut		Multi-Brand Designer Optical	Singapore
12	Gain City		Air-con & Home Appliance Retailer	Singapore
13	Huawei		Mobile Phone	China
14	Delsey		Luggage	Asia
15	De Longhi		Premium Coffee Maker	Asia
16	Canon		Camera	Asia
17	Grab		Taxi Booking App	Asia
18	Lazada		Online Market Place	Asia
19	Jean Yip Group		Beauty Centre	Singapore
20	My First Skool		Pre-school Education	Singapore
21	Sunshine		Bread	Singapore
22	SCS		Butter	Singapore
23	CP Group		Frozen Food	Asia
24	Gardenia		Bread	Singapore
25	Skylight		Abalone Premium Gift	Singapore
26	Bonjour		Bread	Singapore
27	Katrina Holdings		Bali Thai, So Pho, Streats	Singapore
28	JobStreet.com		Online Job Search	Asia
29	Central Food Retail Group		Grocery and Convenience Retailer	Thailand
30	Chow Tai Fook		Premium Jewellery	Asia
31	Joy City		Shopping Mall	China
32	Beijing Tong Ren Tang		Traditional Chinese Medicine	China
33	Telkomsel		Telecommunications	Indonesia

Outstanding Brands
	Brand Name		Category	Logo Display
1	Choc Spot		Confectionery Retailer	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
2	Curry Times		Local Cuisine	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
3	Prata Wala		Asian Restaurant	Outstanding Brands -  Singapore
4	KIODA		Korean Concept Store	Outstanding Brands -  Malaysia

Explore:

Learn more about Deloitte's Scaling Edges methodology

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about:

The 2015 Top Influential Brands and the winners in 2014

The Rolls Royce Dawn Black Badge

*Criteria for the awards in 2017 include:

Top CEO of The Year

A selected group of six CEOs will be recognised for their exemplary achievements in five areas:

Brand leadership: Leads an organisation that owns prominent brand(s) with strong brand power and high brand equity in the eyes of external and internal stakeholders. Brand power is assessed by Influential Brands' constant market monitoring via surveys and social media listening.

Brand expansion (local and international): Demonstrates an ability to build strong partnerships and takes calculated risks in his/her pursuit of business expansion and market leadership. Proven track record creating new brand concepts within their existing marketplace or taking the brand to uncharted territories in Asia and beyond.

Financial performance: Assessment of business performance based on revenue and other indicators (i.e. new countries, new partnerships, point of sales, etc).

Innovation: Infuses and empowers innovation from within the organisation. Embraces new technology in line with new industry developments and allocates time/resources in research and development (R&D) as an important activity in his/her business.

Personal integrity: Living according to values has earned him/her immense respect from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community. Coupled with the ability to communicate ideas, this creates the potential to influence others.

In 2016, the recipients for this segment included:

George Quek, Chairman of BreadTalk Group

Anthony Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of GrabTaxi Holdings

Dr Michael Tan, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Fullerton Healthcare Corporation

Richard Eu, CEO of Eu Yan Sang International

David Chiem, Founder, CEO and Chairman of MindChamps Holdings

Alain Ong, CEO of Pokka International

Influential Woman of the Year award 

In line with the Champions of Excellence programme, the Influential Woman of the Year 2017 Award recognises one woman for her exemplary achievements in three areas: influence, business leadership and personal branding. An intensive assessment based on the following criteria was conducted:

Influence: Demonstrates an ability to infuse a special energy that leads to the generation of a greater impact as a result of her work, presence, values and decisions. Coupled with the ability to communicate ideas, this creates the potential to influence others.

Business leadership: Leads and or fronts an organisation that owns a prominent brand(s) with strong brand power and high brand equity in the eyes of external and internal stakeholders.

Personal branding: Living to values has earned her great respect from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community.

Influential Artist of the Year award

One artist will be recognised for his/her exemplary achievement in three areas: influence, contribution to the promotion of arts and culture and personal integrity.

Top Influential Brands awards

The 33 awardees will be brands enjoyed and loved by consumers in Asia. The selection is backed by more than five years of consumer insights and surveys covering Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and China and more than 5,000 respondents. The Asiawide study was conducted via both face-to-face and online surveys. More than 50 categories from Online Marketplace and Food and Beverage (F&B) to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Electronics and Beauty & Wellness were covered. The top five brands from each category qualify for this award. 

Outstanding Brands awards

Outstanding Brands was created two years ago to identify, feature and celebrate growth brands that sparkle and have shown resilience and growth in changing times. A brand must not only be noteworthy in its own category, industry or domain, it must show significant growth in revenue year-on-year for the past two years or more. It cannot be in receivership and must have a clear business expansion plan. 

Adapting workforce culture to the new normal

Source: Microsoft. Digital transformation requires change both externally and internally.

The changing face of Singapore’s workforce has resulted in a need for organisations to foster a new culture of work to achieve digital transformation success, a Microsoft study* has concluded. In fact, 77% polled felt that more can be done by their organisations to invest in culture development.

The Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found the following factors influencing the culture of work in Singapore today:

Increasingly mobile workforce and exposure to new security risks

The rise of mobility and proliferation of mobile and cloud technologies have resulted in individuals working across multiple locations and devices. In fact, the study found that only 38% of respondents are spending all of their work hours in the office, and 84% of respondents are working off personal smartphones. The latter raises new security challenges for organisations.

The rise of diverse teams

The research also found that 26% of workers in Singapore are already working in more than 10 teams at any one point in time. This makes the availability of real-time insights and collaboration tools crucial to get work done.

Gaps in employees’ digital skills even as leaders are in the process of embracing digital transformation

As the bar is raised with new technologies adopted across industries, deployment is uneven. In fact, 74% of respondents feel that more can be done to bridge the digital skills gap among workers.

Said Borko Kovacevic, Director, Productivity Solutions, Microsoft Singapore: “The rise of digital technologies, along with a new generation of Millennials entering the workforce, has brought about a need to address changing workers’ expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use. And with more than half of the world’s Millennials residing in Asia, the workplace will need to transform to adapt to the technology habits of these digital natives. In addition, due to deployment of advanced and emerging technologies, organisations need to relook at reskilling its workforce to develop creative and strategic skills for the future.”

Even as 75% of business leaders in Singapore acknowledge the need to transform into a digital business in order to succeed**, successful digital transformation will ultimately depend on people and the tools they are provided with.

“People are at the heart of digital transformation. Their expectations, knowledge and skills, as well as the tools they use for work, are determining factors in the level of transformation that any organisation can achieve. The challenge that they face now is how to implement new ways to foster a modern culture of work to better empower Asia’s workers, especially those at the frontline. By estimates, there are 2 billion firstline workers globally, and make up majority of our workforce today,” said Kovacevic.

Firstline workers serve as the initial point of contact between companies and the rest of the world - they are first to engage customers, represent brand, and see products and services in action, Microsoft said. The company suggests unlocking the potential of employees, organisations need to address and elevate their workforce, especially firstline workers, through addressing the core values of the new culture of work: 

Unlocking employees’ creativity

Collaboration fuels innovation through sharing of ideas and enables flexibility in how people work through a connected experience, while working seamlessly across devices. However, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that majority of respondents feel restricted in the way they work today, with 58% highlighting that they needed to be physically present in office as equipment or tools used for their line of work is only available in the workplace.

Fuelling teamwork

By giving all workers a universal toolkit for collaboration, organisations offer its people choice and ownership as to how they work together and collaborate in real-time. In fact, the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study found that two in five workers highlighted that access to technology for collaboration such that they can respond in a timely manner to internal and external requests was important in their line of work. 

Strengthening security

Today, 61% of respondents are working on employer-issued PCs, but 84% are also working on personal smartphones or using corporate devices for personal activities, which underscores potential security risks. In fact, 66% of respondents admitted to checking personal emails on company-issued devices, and are doing so for the convenience. Therefore, leaders need to strengthen their security not to put organisation’s confidential data at risk to address the need for workers to work without barriers and without impeding productivity. 

Making it simpler

With the rise of apps, devices, services and security risks in the workplace, there is a need to streamline the IT management, break down service siloes so that disparate data can be combined and reasoned in new ways and reduce complexity. In fact, a Microsoft Asia Pacific IT leaders study*** found that 72% of IT decision makers (ITDMs) in Singapore agreed that there is a need to reduce complexity of managing their existing IT security portfolio.

“We believe that every worker – from the factory floor to the front desk, to the executive boardroom – can contribute to an organisation’s collective endeavours. It is our view that involving firstline workers in digital transformation will drive unprecedented opportunity – for workers, the organisations that they work for, and the industries and society at large,” added Kovacevic. “At Microsoft, we see the opportunities that can be unlocked with technology by equipping frontline workers with the right tools, such as Microsoft 365. Ultimately, digital transformation projects can only succeed if the right tools are in place for workers to leverage and maximise upon.”

Microsoft has been diversifying the Microsoft 365 family to address workforce challenges with Microsoft 365 F1, a version of Microsoft 365 which provides purpose-built capabilities that help foster firstline culture and community, train and upskill employees, digitise business process, deliver real-time expertise, and minimise risk and cost. New intelligent search capabilities, a vision for intelligent communications centring on Microsoft Teams, and security and IT management enhancements to help customers stay secure and compliant were also introduced at Ignite:

- Microsoft 365 F1 brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security to empower the more than two billion firstline workers worldwide, who serve as the first point of contact between a company and its customers, or who are directly involved in making products.

- A new vision for intelligent communications, including plans to bring Skype for Business Online capabilities into Microsoft Teams, along with cognitive and data services. This makes Teams the true hub for teamwork in Office 365, including persistent chat, voice and video.

- Intelligent search experiences use AI and machine learning to deliver more relevant search results across Microsoft 365.

- Microsoft 365 is delivering improved advanced threat protection (ATP) features like enhanced anti-phishing capabilities, expanded protection to SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams and integration between cloud and on premises identity threat detection capabilities.

- For organisations still on Office 2007, end of support will happen on 11 October. Customers who are still using Office 2007 products and services are encouraged to move to Office 365 or Microsoft 365 to stay supported, and ensure uninterrupted support from Microsoft.

Kovacevic said: “With cloud-based productivity tools being a key pick among Asia’s mobile workers to drive greater collaboration among teams, we urge organisations to take the opportunity to evaluate Microsoft 365 as an option to modernise their workforce.”

Source: Microsoft. Infographic illustrating findings of the Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study,

Interested?

Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about the Ignite announcements

*Microsoft Asia Workplace 2020 Study, conducted between February and March 2017 involving 4.175 respondents in 14 Asia markets. The 14 markets include Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. All respondents were prequalified as at least spending 30 hours per week in a full-time role, or spending at least 20 hours per week in a part time role. This included 307 respondents from Singapore.

**Microsoft Asia Digital Transformation Study. The study surveyed 1,494 business leaders from Asia, including 118 from Singapore. All respondents were prequalified as being involved in shaping their organisations’ digital strategy. The study found that only 34% of business leaders in Singapore have a full digital transformation strategy while half are in progress with specific digital transformation initiatives for selected parts of their business. Another 16% of respondents said they had a very limited or no strategy in place.

***Microsoft Asia Pacific survey of 1,200 IT leaders across 12 markets, including Australia, mainland China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Four in 10 (41%) of respondents are working in organisations with 250 to 499 PCs; 59% work in organisations with 500 and more PCs.

Charting the waters in a digital world

Strategists from IBM iX, the global consulting agency, recently convened more than 25 global executives from leading telcos and media companies to discuss challenges, opportunities and solutions for reinventing their businesses in a digital world.

Above all, the group recognised the need to create disruptive opportunities of their own before they themselves are disrupted. Companies are increasingly required to develop processes for identifying and understanding new digital paradigms that require attention, and the resources required to grow market share and profitability across their businesses. While the conversation focused on telco and media, IBM iX notes that the challenge of reinvention applies to all industries.

Said Brian Love, Associate Partner, IBM iX: "The discussions validated a rapidly changing world where customer expectations are on the rise, traditional customer relationships are changing hands and the demand for data drives massive investments in their networks."

Highlights included:

Digital orchestration – while the majority of companies have already developed new digital initiatives, few felt they were maximising their investments. Most have disparate efforts working under the CIO, chief marketing officer (CMO) and various business unit leaders, and find that these efforts often conflicted with one another. Telcos need to find ways to better orchestrate these efforts to remain aligned to one another, and to the overarching digital strategy. These efforts must be sponsored from top-down, starting with the CEO.

IT / business alignment – businesses face an ongoing divide between the technology organisation and the business. The success of new innovative, customer-centred business strategies require CIOs to provide the technology to execute – operating otherwise can cause innovations to stall. Business and IT planning must coordinate to ensure that investment in the platforms and employee tools support the customer experiences the businesses envisions.

Talent reinvention – participants indicated that only 30 to 50% of their workforce were prepared for their digital future. Telcos require significant retraining or refreshing of personnel capabilities, while tomorrow's employees will need new "digital savvy" that must be incorporated fluidly into team environments. In response, companies must be customer-focused, agile in approach and iterative in delivery. Difficult decisions may be required to position a team for future competition.

Innovation through new businesses – many of the executives report that the pressures of maintaining their business frequently impede their ability to invest in innovation. To handle current and future disruptions, companies must consider creating new entities and/or companies to drive their innovation agenda. Smaller, more nimble upstart companies are more likely to have the freedom to experiment, evaluate new partnerships and offer differentiated measures of success and incentives. Incumbent companies must identify unique, proprietary resources and expertise, and innovate with institutional competitive advantages.

Nanyang Polytechnic students chart digital transformation course for Sim Soon Heng Cooking Ingredients

Source: Nanyang Polytechnic. MD of Sim Soon Heng David Sim (centre in blue) with his mother Mrs Sim (third from left) and his son (second from left) together with the students of Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management and School of Information Technology. The students worked together on digital transformation for Sim Soon Heng.

Traditional sauce manufacturer Sim Soon Heng Cooking Ingredients (SSH) is taking its first steps into the digital world, with the help of eight teenagers from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) in Singapore. The students, from the School of Business Management and School of Information Technology, came up with a digitisation strategy for the 39-year-old family-run business that covers multiple channels of customer engagement.

To help the company move beyond selling sauces to restaurants and other businesses, NYP students are developing an interactive website for SSH, targeted at consumers. They have also developed a social media engagement strategy and will be conducting data analytics on social media data. For instance, when the online tools go live, the students will monitor market reactions in order to customise content that is more engaging as well as to launch targeted marketing campaigns.

SSH is the first local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) to undergo a digital transformation at NYP’s new Customer Experience and Analytics Centre (CEAC). The CEAC helps SMEs digitise their businesses through the development and implementation of online strategies. SMEs can also tap on CEAC to enhance the customer’s experience through data analysis and customer experience studies. The centre is currently working with another three clients and more companies are expected to come on board over the next few months.

David Sim, MD, Sim Soon Heng Cooking Ingredients said, “We have run our business in the same way for the last four decades. It is time to update. We believe the best people to help us do this are the youth. So we chose to work with Nanyang Polytechnic’s students. They have been very professional in helping us through this transformation. ”

His father, Sim Liap Siang, founded the business in 1978, beginning with supplying ready-made chilli paste to hawkers. Today, SSH’s customers comprise food establishments, school canteen and hawkers across the island. They get a wide variety of cooking ingredients from the company, from its self-made chilli paste to soya sauces and flour. The ready-made recipe sauces business will be led by a new generation - David Sim’s son.

Loh Chuu Yi, Director, School of Business Management, Nanyang Polytechnic, said, “Digitisation can be a long and formidable journey, especially for SMEs. The CEAC gives these smaller businesses the opportunity to take a less resource-intensive first step. These real-world experiences also give our business students an edge when they join the industry.”

The CEAC will be formally launched on 27 March 2017 by Low Yen Ling, Singapore Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade & Industry.

posted from Bloggeroid

Brunei boot camp aims to help SMEs go digital

DHgate, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) China, and ABAC Brunei have launched the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border E-commerce Training (APEC CBET) boot camp in Brunei to cultivate more talent in the cross-border e-commerce industry while upgrading industry standards for training.

According to the APEC CBET website, 60 to 80% of e-commerce exporters survive their first year in business compared with a 30% to 50% survival rate for traditional businesses. Additionally, as many as 40 different economies can be reached on average by e-commerce export firms, compared with traditional exporters who reach an average of three to four economies.

The APEC CBET boot camp is an upgraded version of the APEC CBET capacity building programme, and is designed to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the ASEAN region to migrate to a cross-border e-commerce centric business model. The boot camp will be funded and provided by the government of Brunei. DHgate, a B2B transactional cross-border e-commerce marketplace in China, will provide mentors and professional resources to transform Brunei into the centre of e-commerce in the ASEAN region. China, as the specialist in global digital trade, and DHgate, as the cross-border e-commerce specialist, aim to share best practices through online and offline training with ASEAN SMEs.

According to the three organisations, SMEs are not aware of available digital platforms and technologies, nor do they have the skills to correctly utilise them. These factors prevent SMEs from upgrading their business model. The boot camp will identify the unique needs of local businesses and provide localised classes. It will focus on:

1. The transition in mindset of SME owners and operators from a traditional business to a digital business.
2. The involvement and participation of decision makers and employees to acquire the skills and professional knowledge to run and operate a business with a digital model.

3. To integrate and transform the existing business model through both online and offline trade with the support of digital trade platforms.


The camp will start off as a one-day class and in late 2017 be upgraded to a three-month class. In addition to classroom training, the boot camp will also provide students with both online and offline hands-on experience and guidance. A special zone on DHgate.com will be launched for mentors and students to engage in online discussion.

At the end of every three-month class cycle, DHgate and ABAC Brunei will select star students and provide them with a series of entrepreneurship incubation resources, including startup capital, offices
and opportunities for partnerships and community relations. The goal is to transform them into role models for SMEs in the ASEAN region.

Interested?

Take a free CBE course

posted from Bloggeroid

CEOs have to take charge of reskilling their workforces: Accenture

Source: Accenture website. The top skills required to stay relevant at work in the next five years include technical skills, adaptability and problem-solving capabilities.

A new report* by Accenture Strategy cautions that in a rapidly changing digital landscape, CEOs must lead the charge in reskilling their people to be relevant in the future and ready to adapt to change.

According to the report, Harnessing Revolution: Creating the Future Workforce, CEOs must put their people first and at the centre of change to create the future workforce.

The stakes are high for businesses, workers and society as a whole. Development of human skills such as leadership, critical thinking and creative skills, as well as emotional intelligence, would reduce job losses due to total automation considerably. The survey of 10,527 working people in ten countries, including Australia, India, Japan and Turkey, coupled with Accenture Strategy modelling show that if the rate at which workers build relevant skills is doubled, the share of jobs at risk of total automation would be reduced.

“Paradoxically, the truly human skills, from leadership to creativity, will remain highly relevant and winning organisations will strike the right balance — leveraging the best of technology to elevate, not eliminate their people,” said Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer, Accenture. “Not only are workers optimistic, but they understand they must learn new skills. Digital can accelerate learning by embedding training seamlessly into daily work — so learning becomes a way of life — helping workers and organisations remain relevant.”

Fully 84% of workers surveyed are optimistic about the impact of digital on their job. More than two-thirds think that technologies such as robots, data analytics and artificial intelligence will help them be more efficient (74%), learn new skills (73%) and improve the quality of their work (66%).

Eighty-seven percent of these working people expect parts of their job to be automated in the next five years, ranging from 93% of Millennials to 79% of baby boomers. Of those who expect automation, 80% anticipate more opportunities than challenges in how automation will impact their work experiences in the next five years.

Additional Accenture research shows that artificial intelligence alone has the potential to double the annual economic growth rates and boost labour productivity by up to 40% by 2035 in the 12 developed countries examined.

Additionally, the values of today’s workforce will require leaders to respond with a different range of rewards, benefits and support. According to modelling undertaken by Accenture Strategy and Gallup, non-financial factors, such as well-being, engagement, quality of life and status are equal, if not more important to workers than income and benefits.

“Creating the future workforce now is the responsibility of every CEO. Those leaders who make their people a strategic business priority and understand the urgency of this challenge will be the ones that make the greatest gains in growth and innovation,” said Mark Knickrehm, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Strategy.

To help leaders navigate and shape the future workforce, Accenture Strategy has the following recommendations:

· Accelerate reskilling: From top to bottom, invest in technical and more human skills involving creativity and judgment, taking advantage of the fact that 85% of workers are ready to invest their free time in the next six months to learn new skills.

Scale reskilling by using digital technology. This can include wearable technologies, such as smart glasses that provide technical advice and information as workers carry out tasks. It can also include intelligent software to personalise training that offers recommendations to support an individual’s lifelong learning needs.

· Redesign work to unlock human potential: Co-create role-based, gig-like employment opportunities to satisfy workers’ demands for more varied work and flexible arrangements. Develop platforms through which a range of resources and services can be offered to employees and freelancers alike in order to create a compelling community that keeps top talent loyal.

· Strengthen the talent pipeline from its source: Address industry-wide skills shortages by supporting longer term, collective solutions. These include public private partnerships designed to create a broad adoption of skills training. Work with the education sector to design curricula that develop relevant skills at the beginning of the talent supply chain.

*Accenture combined quantitative and qualitative research techniques in order to analyse how responsive and responsible leadership could help create the future workforce. The research programme is built on three pillars of a survey, econometric modelling and an index, complemented by secondary research and interviews with experts from universities, startups, large corporations and government organisations.

The online survey was conducted in the US, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, India, Japan and Turkey of 10,527 workers across skill levels and generations between November 26 and December 9, 2016.