How businesses can protect themselves against web threats

Did you know that almost a third of network users were attacked by web threats in previous years?

Did you also know that risky online behaviour of employees remains a challenge for half of businesses?

If you weren’t aware before, it’s time to think again.

Surely, employees can put corporate networks and sensitive data at risk. Their doing so is either by chance or by design. While employees might be the unknowing gatekeepers of your organisation’s network safety, the onus is on businesses to educate their staff and implement strict security policies.

Even so, education might not be enough. Since attacks have become more malicious and sophisticted, one of the key techniques used to penetrate businesses is social engineering. Attackers manipulate employees into performing dangerous actions or giving out personal information.

Business Solution for Web Threats

However, this is not enough. Endpoint protection, such as Kaspersky Web Traffic Security, provides businesses with a solid first line of defence. The added risk-mitigation layer stops threats at the point of attempted attack. Hence the attacker never once has the opportunity to reach employee endpoints. Such software reinforces web gateways to protect employees from web-based attacks of all sorts. Moreover, the solution is able to reduce risks and decrease IT support overheads.

As a powerful multi-layered machine learning based anti-malware engine, the Kaspersky Web Traffic Security weans the probability of hazardous actions. Actions like clicking on phishing links and opening untrusted web pages become unlikely with the renewed anti-phishing engine, in addition to the deep learning-based technologies. By filtering ingoing and outgoing content, the risk of infection and data leakage is quickly lowered. Moreover, the application’s web control feature assists in the managing of categories of web resources, limiting its access to only authorised employees.

Around the clock, the solution uses global threat intelligence from the cloud to improve attack detection rates. The cloud contains reputation data about files, URLs and IP addresses from Kaspersky Security Network and unique data acquired during expert research.

In terms of social engineering, Kaspersky Web Traffic Security can significantly reduce the risk and minimise pressure from IT support staff.

Serget Martsynkyan, Head of B2B Product Marketing, Kaspersky Lab, commented, “The application will boost business defenses, providing a proven Next Generation cybersecurity engine, with arguably the lowest false positive rates and highest detection rates in the industry – governing internet use via a single application point.”

Better Business with Less Threats

Users of Kaspersky Web Traffic Security can also enjoy enhanced management capabilities.

For an improved user experience, a graphic user interface can be used for event-centric gateway security management and monitoring.

Secondly, a SIEM integration is present to add gateway security context to the infrastructure-wide picture of security events.

To tackle heavier loads and work easier with distributed infrastructure, multi-node management is available.

Additionally, a special multitenancy mode for MSPs and diversified companies is available. This allows them to assign dedicated workspaces for different customers or projects/offices and manage them separately.

Finally, role-based access control allowing the management of access levels for security administrators who have different responsibilities is possible.

The fear of an employee who probably has poor IT literacy or cyber hygiene is ameliorated with this endpoint protection. No more cases of curiosity killed the cat.

Kaspersky Web Traffic Security is a part of Kaspersky Internet Gateway Security. More information about the application can be found here.

EXCLUSIVE! Chatbot Development for Public Service

OpenGov Asia has recognised GovTech for the public sector’s evolving digital use. The agency has streamlined government operations and broken new ground with its Virtual Intelligent Chat Assistant (VICA). The project is part of GovTech’s ongoing efforts to develop and deploy chatbots to fill gaps in government services and enhance the lives of citizens.

VICA is the most recent citizen assistant platform from GovTech, utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create more efficient and beneficial chatbots for government agencies to manage and for end users. The ‘Ask Jamie’ Virtual Assistant will eventually be replaced by VICA.

The engine-neutral platform employs cutting-edge tech to enhance performance and precision. VICA utilises natural language processing engines, machine learning and AI to enhance virtual and phone interactions between Singapore government institutions and residents or businesses.

This platform not only learns and interprets conversations but also offers businesses the ability to design and train chatbots, features that Ask Jamie did not provide. The automated processes provided by VICA make it easier for agencies to onboard and “train” their chatbots.

This accomplishment earned GovTech the prestigious OpenGov Asia Recognition of Excellence Award, which will be presented at the 8th Annual Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum 2023.

Chatbot advancement to improve citizen experience

In addition to providing a simple FAQ, VICA improves transactional services in numerous other ways. Streamlining transactions provides greater convenience and access to government services and information, as well as quicker and more direct responses to user inquiries.

Taxi drivers and hawker stall owners, for instance, can use the IRAS chatbot to request assistance with tax filing. The Municipal Services Office’s OneService Chatbot, Kaki, which allows residents to easily report municipal issues via WhatsApp and Telegram, is also powered by VICA.

VICA-powered chatbots provide the public with timely updates, such as the Gov.sg chatbot, which provides COVID-19 updates and disseminates important government announcements in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Using NLP technology has allowed VICA-powered chatbots to better understand and interpret human language, particularly in the context of Singaporean English, thereby improving overall user experience. It is possible to create more structured conversational flows by defining intents, entities and context management – the building blocks that provide directions to chatbots and allow them to meet the needs of users.

VICA provides detailed analytics and insights into the performance of the chatbot as well as user conversations. With this information, the team can identify areas for improvement to enhance performance and accuracy.

Technology is constantly evolving, and the team is continuously on the lookout for and learning about new AI trends. Hence, VICA has been experimenting with a Generative AI programme that can understand written prompts and respond with helpful assistance in real-time since mid-2022.

VICA’s development involves the gradual integration of cutting-edge technology that meets the requirements of the entire government. These technological upgrades will include a unified chat frontend to ensure consistent branding across all government ministries and agencies – Singpass Integration, Live Chat Escalation, and support for various chat platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

As part of the closed beta programme with internal testers, the VICA team has been utilising these technologies to improve the quality and efficacy of the chatbots with citizens.

Developers also want to reduce the time and effort that their agency partners have to invest in training and maintaining their chatbots. While the team has always been receptive to new technologies, they take a measured approach, through progressive internal testing phases with the selected partner agencies before launching to the public.

The strategy is to determine how technological advancements can benefit not only the agency partners but also citizen users.

VICA intends to surpass FAQ-style chatbots with near-human conversation capabilities in the long run. It intends to combine services and transactional capabilities so that chatbots can assist users with their inquiries and complete transactions.

Given the potential risks and shortcomings associated with the development of intelligent development of platforms, it is vital to have an ethics framework in place. This will allow developers to plan for and be aware of the pitfalls and limitations of AI, which include:

Accuracy: Models can give false responses that sound convincing
Bias: Inherent biases may exist in the training dataset, which can be difficult to pre-empt due to the lack of information. This could then manifest in the model’s responses;
Harmful content: To create a safe and healthy environment for users’ interaction with chat apps, chat moderation is important to monitor and regulate user input messages against inappropriate and offensive content;
Data governance: When interacting with chatbots, users may inadvertently volunteer personal and confidential data through the chatbot’s prompts.

It is essential to encourage interactions with them and provide feedback to ensure that chatbots are performing as intended and to improve their overall performance.

Despite the functionality and enormous potential of generative AI, VICA has placed a high priority on governing its use to ensure that such technology is employed in an ethical manner benefitting both end users and society.

To mitigate the risk of unintended prejudices and ensure adherence to data governance rules, it is crucial to adopt an intentional strategy for the collection and transformation of raw data into useful and insightful outputs. Such a strategy can help ensure that the data is handled fairly and responsibly and that any potential risks are addressed pre-emptively or proactively. Moreover, this approach ensures that the resulting outputs are accurate, reliable and trustworthy.

About the team

The organisation recognises the importance of aligning team members towards a shared vision and objective, regardless of their diverse backgrounds. With a diverse team, each member can bring their unique perspectives and expertise to the table. Working collaboratively, the team can leverage these diverse perspectives to generate innovative problem-solving strategies.

The VICA team fosters an atmosphere of open communication and encourages feedback, creating a cooperative environment where team members feel heard and valued. This establishes a safe place where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

They frequently organise team-building activities outside of work to foster camaraderie, build stronger relationships and create a more cohesive team dynamic. They believe this approach can lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making.

Defining clear objectives and goals is crucial for the success of the VICA team. Every team member understands that they are working towards a common objective, providing a sense of purpose and direction.

Clear missions and defined tasks allow the team to stay on track and ensure that their efforts are moving the project forward in the right manner. This approach helps ensure that everyone is aligned and focused on achieving the same goals, which ultimately contributes to the success of the project.

The VICA team has implemented a robust project management framework that outlines the roles and responsibilities of team members at each project stage. They adhere to budget planning procedures to manage costs effectively. This framework helps ensure that everyone is clear on their responsibilities and contributes effectively to the project’s success within the specified budget.

The VICA team has adopted an agile approach that emphasises adaptability, speed and continuous quality improvement. The team uses retrospectives to evaluate what works well and what doesn’t, identifying opportunities for future improvement. This enables the team to quickly make adjustments and continuously improve the project’s quality, resulting in a more successful outcome.

EKSKLUSIF! Pemerintah Singapura Pakai AI dan ML untuk Bikin Chatbot Cerdas

Proyek VICA (Virtual Intelligence Chat Assistant) adalah platform layanan chatbot yang bisa digunakan sebagai dasar pengembangan berbagai layanan chatbot di berbagai instansi pemerintahan Singapura. Platform ini ditenagai dengan Kecerdasan Buatan (Artificial Intelligence/ AI) dan pembelajaran mesin (Machine Learning/ ML) agar chatbot yang dikembangkan oleh berbagai instansi pemerintahan bisa memberikan respons yang lebih ‘manusiawi’ kepada warga dan berbagai perusahaan di Singapura.

Layanan platform chatbot VICA dikembangkan oleh GovTech, yaitu Badan Teknologi Pemerintah (Government Technology) yang mendorong transformasi digital ke berbagai instansi pemerintah di Singapura. GovTech mengembangkan VICA sebagai perbaikan dari layanan chatbot sebelumnya; Ask Jamie.

Untuk membantu VICA memberikan jawaban yang lebih natural dan akurat, GovTech memanfaatkan teknologi NLP (natural language processing) terbaru dengan platform mesin-agnostik. Menerapkan kecerdasan buatan dan pembelajaran mesin membuat VICA mampu mempelajari dan menafsirkan percakapan dan meningkatkan interaksi ketika ‘diajak bicara’ secara virtual maupun lewat telepon. Sebagai sebuah platform, VICA juga digunakan oleh berbagai instansi pemerintah lain untuk melatih chatbot yang mereka kembangkan. Fitur ini sebelumnya tak ada di platform chatbot Ask Jamie.

VICA merupakan bagian dari upaya GovTech untuk membangun dan menggunakan chatbot guna menjembatani pemerintah dengan warga dan swasta. Kepiawaian dan inovasi GovTech ini mendapat atensi dari OpenGov Asia untuk mendapatkan penghargaan OpenGov Asia Recognition of Excellence Award yang akan diberikan pada Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum 2023 tahunan ke-8.

Chatbot pintar

Dalam wawancara dengan CEO dan Pemimpin Redaksi OpenGov Asia, tim pengembang VICA menyebut mereka telah meningkatkan berbagai fitur untuk memperbaiki cara chatbot anyar ini dalam melayani pengguna. VICA bisa memberi jawaban lebih cepat dan sesuai konteks sehingga ia tak hanya menjawab pertanyaan berdasarkan jawaban yang sering ditanyakan atau sesuai template semata. Hal ini membuat pengguna merasa lebih nyaman ketika berinteraksi dengan VICA.

Sebagai sebuah platform, VICA juga digunakan untuk mengembangkan chatbot instansi pemerintah lain. Contohnya adalah chatbot IRAS yang digunakan wiraswasta seperti supir taksi atau pemilik kios jajanan untuk meminta bantuan dalam pengajuan pajak. Kaki, chatbot layanan terpadu dari Kantor Layanan Kota bisa yang akan menampung laporan dan keluhan warga soal masalah kota lewat WhatsApp dan Telegram.

Selain itu, platform chatbot VICA juga bisa memberikan informasi terbaru secara real-time kepada warga. Contohnya, chatbot Gov.sg yang memberikan pembaruan status COVID-19 dan pengumuman pemerintah dalam bahasa Inggris, Mandarin, Melayu, dan Tamil.

Agar interaksi dengan VICA lebih ramah pengguna, tim memanfaatkan teknologi NLP untuk bisa memahami dan menginterpretasikan bahasa manusia. Namun, bahasa utama yang paling baik diinterpretasikan VICA saat ini adalah bahasa Inggris Singapura.

“Dengan memahami maksud pertanyaan, siapa yang menanyakan, dan konteks pertanyaan, ini akan jadi bahan arahan bagi chatbot untuk memberikan jawaban yang memuaskan kebutuhan pengguna, sehingga alur percakapan bisa lebih terstruktur,” jelas tim VICA.

Agar performa VICA makin bagus, tim juga melengkapi platform ini dengan analisis data. Hasil analisis itu memberikan gambaran terperinci tentang kinerja chatbot serta bagaimana kinerjanya atas percakapan pengguna. Hal ini membuat tim VICA bisa mengidentifikasi hal yang bisa diperbaiki untuk meningkatkan akurasi VICA.

Ketika memanfaatkan AI, terdapat kekhawatiran masalah etika dari kecerdasan buatan yang digunakan. Sebab, pada beberapa kasus, AI kerap memberi jawaban yang menyesatkan atau tidak sesuai etika. Tim VICA menyadari hal dan sepakat kalau model AI bisa memberikan respons yang salah namun terdengar meyakinkan.

Jawaban yang keluar dari model AI juga bisa terkontaminasi oleh bias. Bias bawaan ini mungkin terjadi imbas dari kumpulan data yang digunakan untuk melatih model AI itu. Namun hal ini bisa jadi sulit dicegah karena kekurangan informasi yang dimasukkan dalam data latihan AI tersebut. Bias dan jawaban menyesatkan tadi kemudian nampak dalam respons AI atas pertanyaan pengguna.

Untuk menjaga pembicaraan yang sehat, model AI juga perlu menyaring konten yang ditanyakan pengguna. “Moderasi obrolan diperlukan untuk memantau dan menyaring pesan yang dimasukkan pengguna untuk mengatur respons AI terhadap konten yang tidak pantas dan menyinggung.”

Etika lain yang dipertimbangkan tim pengembang VICA adalah soal tata kelola data. Saat berinteraksi dengan chatbot, pengguna mungkin secara tidak sengaja memberikan data pribadi dan rahasia secara sukarela akibat perintah chatbot.

“Terlepas dari fungsi dan potensi AI generatif yang sangat besar, kami memastikan teknologi ini digunakan dengan cara yang etis dan menguntungkan pengguna dan masyarakat,” tegas tim VICA.

Untuk mengurangi berbagai risiko disinformasi, misinformasi, bias, dan masalah etis lain, tim memastikan efisiensi dan kegunaan tiap informasi yang dikumpulkan dan ditransformasi sebagai bahan data mentah pelatihan model AI yang mereka kembangkan. Hal ini juga dilakukan agar mereka mematuhi aturan tata kelola data yang berlaku. Selain itu, mereka pun senantiasa memeriksa umpan balik pengguna agar chatbot yang dikembangkan berfungsi semestinya.

Ketika ditanya soal pengembangan VICA ke depan, sejak pertengahan 2022, tim pengembang telah mulai bereksperimen dengan program AI Generatif. Program ini bisa memahami petunjuk tertulis dan merespons dengan bantuan yang bermanfaat secara real-time.

Dalam jangka Panjang, VICA akan terus disempurnakan dengan teknologi terkini yang paling sesuai dengan kebutuhan Whole-Of-Government. Mereka akan mengembangkan antarmuka obrolan terpadu sehingga branding pada chatbot pemerintah lebih seragam di semua kementerian dan lembaga. Selain itu, mereka juga berencana melakukan integrasi VICA dengan Singpass, memperbanyak fitur Live Chat, serta integrasi dengan platform chat seperti Whatsapp dan Telegram.

Selain itu, tim VICA juga telah menjajaki teknologi kemampuan percakapan tingkat lanjut seperti yang digunakan oleh ChatGPT. Mereka tengah menelisik teknologi ini dalam program beta tertutup dan tengah melakukan pengujian internal untuk meningkatkan kualitas dan kenyamanan pemakaian chatbot. Langkah selanjutnya adalah menerapkan cara yang dapat mempermudah para mitra GovTech ketika mengadopsi platform VICA ketika mereka ingin membuat chatbot sendiri. Dengan VICA, mereka bisa mempersingkat waktu dan mengurangi kerumitan dalam melatih serta memelihara chatbot mereka.

“Kemajuan teknologi apa pun harus bisa memberikan pelayanan yang lebih baik bagi mitra instansi dan warga, itu sudah menjadi DNA kami,” tegas tim VICA

Cita-cita jangka panjang lain adalah membuat chatbot VICA bisa digunakan sebagai media transaksi. Jadi, chatbot ini tak sekedar bisa menjawab pertanyaan saja, tapi juga bisa terintegrasi dengan operasional layanan pemerintah. “Kami juga selalu terbuka untuk teknologi baru dan siap melakukan kalibrasi melalui fase pengujian internal, sebelum meluncurkan layanan itu kepada warga.”

Membangun tim inovatif

Tim VICA lantas membeberkan sejumlah cara yang mereka lakukan untuk memastikan inovasi berkelanjutan dan keberhasilan program.

“Dengan menetapkan tujuan dan sasaran yang jelas, setiap anggota tim akan terbantu untuk memahami bahwa mereka memiliki tujuan bersama yang jelas, sehingga setiap orang memahami tugas dan tanggung jawab masing-masing.”

Di tahap awal, tim membangun kerangka kerja manajemen proyek. Kerangka ini membantu peran dan tanggung jawab anggota tim untuk pembagian beban kerja yang sehat di setiap tahap proyek. Kerangka ini juga berguna untuk penentuan perencanaan anggaran agar biaya bisa dikelola secara efektif. Tim juga menciptakan suasana yang terbuka terhadap berbagai umpan balik, sehingga setiap anggota tim bisa dengan bebas dan merasa aman dan didengar ketika mengajukan pendapat.

Untuk mengukur dan mengevaluasi keefektifan kerja, tim VICA mengadopsi metodologi Agile. Metode ini dianggap lebih fleksibel, cepat, dan bisa membantu tim untuk meningkatkan kualitas kerja mereka. Sementara dalam proses pengembangan produk, mereka mendapat manfaat dari metode Scrum dan Kanban. Sebagai bahan evaluasi, tim juga mengandalkan retrospektif untuk mempelajari kembali apa yang berhasil dan apa yang tidak. Bahan ini lantas digunakan untuk perbaikan produk di masa mendatang.

Ketika berinteraksi dengan tim yang berbeda latar belakang, tim VICA memulai proyek dengan membangun rasa saling percaya dan menyelaraskan visi dan tujuan bersama. Sehingga, tiap anggota bisa memiliki cara masing-masing untuk berkontribusi dengan caranya yang unik. Dengan menyatukan semua pendapat berbeda ini, mereka dapat menciptakan dan menemukan solusi inovatif untuk berbagai masalah.

Sementara untuk menjaga kebersamaan dan kolaborasi yang efektif dalam tim, mereka memperbanyak waktu bersama lewat sesi curah pendapat (brainstorming), proyek bersama, hingga kegiatan team bonding. Mereka pun mengembangkan budaya untuk menghargai kontribusi dan menghormati pendapat setiap anggota tim. Inisiatif ini menjamin tiap pendapat didengar serta memberikan lingkungan yang aman bagi tiap anggota untuk berbagi pandangan yang berbeda.

EXCLUSIVE! Selecting Startups to Fund with Kei Furukawa

Venture Capital (VC) has played a significant role in driving innovation and economic growth by providing essential financing for startups and early-stage enterprises. With rising interest rates and complicated loan approval processes, many entrepreneurs are turning to VC financing opportunities to bridge the gap between funding sources for innovation and traditional, lower-cost forms of finance available to existing businesses.

To attract private equity funds and entice entrepreneurs with high-return ideas, the VC industry must offer a satisfactory return on capital, provide appealing returns for its members, and demonstrate promising upside potential. However, consistently outperforming investments in inherently risky business operations remains a significant challenge

Despite not being long-term ventures, the goal of VC investments is to provide financial support to a company’s balance sheet and infrastructure until it achieves a certain size and level of credibility that makes it attractive for acquisition by a corporation or provides the opportunity for liquidity in the institutional public equity markets.

Due to the saturation of the startup market and ongoing inflation concerns, many investors are opting for a more conservative approach. Venture capitalists today are adopting a more cautious, long-term strategy, departing from the previously prevalent aggressive, short-term investment approach.

Venture Capitalists Measure When Funding a Startup

Kei Furukawa, a Partner in Investment & Business Development at the UTokyo Innovation Platform Co (UTokyoIPC), presents the Innovative Platform as the entity in charge of enhancing the University of Tokyo (UTokyo)’s innovation ecosystem. It is tasked with ensuring returns on its investments as a funding corporation as well as disseminating academic research outcomes from the world-leading university in Japan to society as a whole.

“UTokyo IPC aims to accelerate innovation on a global scale that leveraged the University of Tokyo through three key activities: supporting entrepreneurs, facilitating corporate innovation, and investing in startups,” Kei reveals.

The company’s primary activity is Venture Capital (VC), which consists of meaningful investments and the exiting of those portfolios. A concurrent objective is to apply UTokyo’s research, intellectual assets and other resources to businesses.

While the ultimate goal is to make investments, Kei shared that they also conduct extensive research and academic work, that can be commercialised.

The company has invested in around 60 companies or portfolios that are primarily focused on various fields including biotech (drug discovery, medical devices, agriculture), robotics, aerospace, IT and AI (mainly enterprise solutions).

“It is pertinent that our company was established as a result of a political decision, indicating that the government is currently experiencing a period of uncertainty,” Kei explains. “Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)made a joint decision to increase funding for startups emerging from universities, to explore ways to transform research into viable business ventures. This decision ultimately led to the creation of our company.”

Typically, national universities in Japan are not permitted to invest in companies, but an exception was made in this case. As a result, the VC firm is deeply invested in the growth of startups and takes a deep interest in their success.

Kei explained that the national budget was used to establish our funds. It is noteworthy that the funds comprise public and private sources, with a government disbursement allowing it to undertake investments with significantly greater risk.

He acknowledges that the company employs a matrix to evaluate the success of its investments. However, due to their focus on early-stage deep tech investments, it can be extremely challenging to conduct such measurements, particularly at an early stage. Nonetheless, his team closely monitors the progress of each investment and ensures that the milestones established for both business and technology are met.

The company operates an incubation and accelerator programme called “1st Round” (https://www.1stround.jp/) that serves as a bridge between academia and business. It is a programme co-hosted by 13 Top national and private universities from Japan. To participate in the initiative, start-ups are not required to be incorporated but must do so if chosen. If already incorporated, they must be under 3 years, and must not be funded by a VC at application timing.

He notes that they have numerous corporate sponsors, consisting of major Japanese corporations of a wide spectrum of industry fields. They strongly encourage partnerships between the startups and the sponsoring companies to conduct proof of concept (POC) projects together. This safe and close-knit community has resulted in many successful ventures between companies and startups.

The venture capitalist arm has a follow-on investment strategy aimed at providing support to the companies they invest in, particularly during challenging times. They take a hands-on approach by having members sit or observe boards meeting of portfolio companies to offer guidance and mentorship for business development, HR support (has own recruitment platform “Deep tech Dive” (https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/dive/), and public relations. Also since their fund terms are 15 years, relatively longer than other VC funds, which helps deep tech startups to firmly bring technology to the market.

The VC strongly believes in the value of persistence and is committed to not giving up on its investments. They are determined to work tirelessly until the very end to revitalise the company, a trait they consider critical of a successful investor.

As a university subsidiary, they do not limit themselves to any particular investment areas and remain open to various types of startups. While there may be some sectors that are more attractive to non-tech venture capital, they generally favour startups that may be complex to comprehend but possess the potential to bring about transformative changes in the world.

They take a long-term investment approach and have transitioned from short-term rapid investment to supporting social impact and sustainability, particularly in healthcare startups. However, they also must balance this with the need for financial returns.

When making investments, financial returns are undoubtedly important, but they are not the sole factor that should be taken into account. The overall impact of the investment, including its social, environmental and ethical implications, should also be carefully considered.

Startups have several options for obtaining capital, such as crowdfunding, venture loans, and revenue-based finance. Each strategy has its own advantages and disadvantages, and therefore, entrepreneurs must have a deep understanding of these options.

Having multiple funding options can be advantageous, provided that entrepreneurs and shareholders are well-informed about the pros and cons of each. A thorough understanding of the funding options can help them make an informed decision that aligns with their business goals and objectives.

Urban Ideas and Solutions Through LKYGBPC

The Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), which began in 2001, is a biennial global university start-up competition hosted in Singapore. Organised by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, focuses on urban ideas and solutions developed by student founders and early-stage start-ups.

According to Kei, as an entrepreneur, it is essential to have the appropriate capacity and seek guidance from knowledgeable individuals, particularly in the early stages of the business. As a university subsidiary, UTokyoIPC is well-equipped to assist entrepreneurs and help prevent them from making fatal mistakes out of ignorance.

The success of promoting entrepreneurship in culture depends on the ecosystem and environment that encourages and supports it. Singapore has a strong entrepreneurial environment, with universities such as SMU and NUS emphasising entrepreneurship. In contrast, Japan has a larger economy but tends to be more conservative.

The University of Tokyo has been actively fostering entrepreneurship by offering courses to students, which has led to the creation of numerous companies. The critical factor behind this success is the creation of an environment that supports entrepreneurship and motivates people to pursue it. Marketing and promoting the benefits of entrepreneurship are also vital to its success.

“The programme is expanding and involving many other universities beyond Singapore. This makes LKYGBPC an excellent platform for startups or the venture capital industry, as it is close to many countries in the region.” Kei believes.

Since joining the company in 2019, Kei has been actively involved in supporting startups, professors, and students through various initiatives. His passion is on deep tech startups or those with the potential to bring about positive changes in the world. He has invested in a diverse range of fields, including IT, robotics, AI and agritech.

Many successful entrepreneurs come from different backgrounds, such as business, engineering, finance, marketing and more. While having a technical background can be advantageous in some industries, it is not always necessary for achieving business success, Kei opines.

“Ultimately, having a strong business sense is more crucial than any specific technical background. What truly matters is possessing a good grasp of business and the necessary skills to succeed in it. This entails competencies such as strategic thinking, financial management, leadership, communication, and problem-solving,” Kei concludes.

Pendanaan untuk Dongkrak Inovasi Medis dan Obat

Pemodal ventura atau venture capital (VC) telah menjadi kekuatan vital dan katalis inovasi terkemuka selama beberapa dekade terakhir. Permodalan mereka telah menjadi sumber keuangan utama bagi sejumlah startup, sebab VC dikenal lebih ramah inovasi bagi pertumbuhan perusahaan pemula (startup).

Alih-alih meminjam modal dari bank yang memiliki suku bunga tinggi dan proses persetujuan pinjaman yang rumit, tidak heran jika banyak pengusaha lebih memilih alternatif pendanaan kepada pemodal ventura. Bagai gayung bersambut, investor pun mendukung upaya para pendiri startup dengan memasok modal yang mereka butuhkan.

VC menjadi jembatan untuk mengisi celah kebutuhan antara sumber modal inovatif dan tradisional. Pendanaan model ini menjadi alternatif sumber modal rendah biaya untuk mendanai bisnis. Untuk menyediakan dana besar bagi pegiat startup, bisnis pemodal ventura harus memberikan insentif yang menarik bagi para investor privat agar mereka mau menaruh uang mereka di perusahaan pemodal ventura.

Di sisi lain, besarnya ketersediaan sumber dana menjadi modal bagi VC untuk menarik potensi startup berkualitas yang berpotensi memberikan keuntungan tinggi. Secara singkat, tantangan pemodal ventura adalah mencari potensi untuk melipatgandakan investasi yang diberikan pada bisnis-bisnis dengan tingkat risiko tinggi.

Modal ventura bukanlah modal jangka panjang. VC bertujuan untuk berinvestasi hingga perusahaan mencapai ukuran dan kredibilitas yang bisa dijual ke korporasi lain atau bisa dijual sebagai likuiditas di pasar modal. Intinya, seorang pemodal ventura berinvestasi pada ide pengusaha, mengembangkannya dalam waktu singkat, kemudian mencari strategi untuk mendapat laba berlipat dengan menjual perusahaan atau melakukan penawaran saham perdana (Initial Public Offering/ IPO).

Namun, kiniada muncul tren baru dimana pemodal ventura beralih dari metode investasi jangka pendek yang agresif ke pendekatan jangka panjang yang lebih konservatif. Pasar startup yang sudah terlalu jenuh menjadi salah satu alasan transisi ini. Tren ini, dikombinasikan dengan kekhawatiran inflasi yang berkelanjutan, membuat banyak investor memainkan portofolio investasi mereka dengan lebih hati-hati.

Menyaring startup potensial

University of Tokyo Innovation Platform Co (UTokyoIPC) menjadi salah satu pemodal ventura yang melakukan pendanaan jangka panjang ini. UTokyoIPC berkecimpung sebagai pemodal ventura untuk startup deep tech. Sehingga, mereka lebih sering memberikan modal jangka panjang hingga 15 tahun untuk perusahaan yang mendalami inovasi dibidang bio teknologi, peralatan medis, dan obat-obatan.

Pendirian pemodal ventura UTokyoIPC sendiri berawal dari inisiatif Menteri Ekonomi dan Menteri Pendidikan untuk memberikan pendanaan pada riset-riset yang dilakukan kampus. Mereka ingin agar riset-riset itu bisa dikomersialisasi dan dikembangkan menjadi bisnis. Lantas didirikanlah UTokyoIPC di bawah Universitas Tokyo yang mendapat sumber modal dari pemerintah dan swasta.

“Di portofolio kami, ada sekitar 50-60 perusahaan dan kebanyakan bergerak di biotech, seperti penemuan obat, peralatan medis, dan sebagian kecil bergerak di pertanian,” tutur Kei Furukawa, Partner, Investasi & Pengembang Bisnis UTokyoIPC, dalam wawancara khusus dengan Mohit Sagar, CEO dan Pemimpin Redaksi OpenGov Asia.

“Meski tak banyak pemodal ventura yang bergerak di area ini, namun kami melihat sektor ini sangat penting dan berdampak pada hidup banyak orang, sehingga kami memutuskan untuk berinvestasi di sini.”

Ia lantas membeberkan sejumlah hal yang menjadi pertimbangan perusahaan pemodal ventura untuk berinvestasi di sebuah startup. Kei mengaku penilaian yang mereka lakukan tak jauh beda dari penilaian yang dilakukan oleh pemodal ventura lain pada umumnya:

Memiliki tim yang bagus,
Mengusung teknologi yang menarik di waktu yang tepat,
Ketersediaan pasar,
Potensi ekspansi, untuk mengukur seberapa besar perusahaan bisa dikembangkan dan berapa banyak pasar yang bisa diraup.

Tidak terpenuhinya sejumlah syarat itu menjadi kesalahan startup ketika gagal menggaet pemodal. Ketersediaan pasar dan potensi kecepatan pertumbuhan perusahaan menjadi pertimbangan terbesar para pemberi modal.

Modal jangka panjang

Sebagai pemodal ventura untuk startup yang bergerak dibidang bio-tech, UTokyoIPC menyadari bahwa mengembangkan inovasi teknologi medis memang membutuhkan waktu lama. Sebab, industri ini berkaitan dengan kesehatan dan nyawa manusia sehingga perlu riset mendalam untuk memastikan keamanan dan keakuratan produk yang dihasilkan.

“Di tahun pertama, kami mengelola startup agar mereka berkomitmen menjaga pertumbuhan perusahaan. Kami tidak mengejar-ngejar mereka agar lekas besar. Sebab, pengembangan deep tech memang perlu waktu, sehingga kami tidak perlu terburu-buru.”

Selain itu, skema pendanaan campuran antara publik dan privat membuat model pendanaan yang diberikan UTokyoIPC bisa lebih menerima pendanaan model ini. Mereka bisa lebih leluasa mengambil risiko ketika berinvestasi.

Untuk memberi pendanaan, UTokyoIPC biasanya memulai dengan melakukan konsultasi dengan berbagai riset yang ada di kampus-kampus. Mereka mencari riset yang berpotensi untuk diubah menjadi bisnis. Riset yang dianggap potensial akan diajak untuk mengikuti pitching sebagai bagian dari proses seleksi sebelum pemberian modal.

Setelah itu, mereka memberikan program bimbingan tahap awal. Perusahaan yang terpilih masuk ke program ini akan mendapat pendanaan dengan nilai maksimum US$100 ribu sebagai dana hibah. Mereka mendapat bimbingan selama enam bulan agar dana hibah yang diberikan bisa dipakai untuk mengembangkan perusahaan.

“Mereka tak tahu banyak soal bisnis, sehingga kami memberikan saran dan dukungan uang sebanyak mungkin agar mereka tidak terjegal di fase awal mereka. Tujuan kami agar startup bisa berhasil melewati pendanaan tahap awal (seed round funding) dan mencapai valuasi terbaik.”

UTokyoIPC memberikan pendanaan di tahap awal perusahaan mulai dari seed funding hingga seri kedua (second round funding). Sebagai investor tahap awal, Kei menuturkan sulit untuk mengukur tingkat kesuksesan investasi yang dilakukan. Sehingga, mereka berpatokan pada target-target yang telah ditetapkan bersama. Jika startup berhasil mencapai tiap target yang sudah disepakati, hal tersebut menjadi indikasi perusahaan telah berjalan dengan baik. Jika yang terjadi sebaliknya, maka perlu dilakukan peninjauan ulang untuk mengubah haluan.

Sukses di pemodal ventura

Sebagai seseorang yang tidak memiliki latar belakang investasi dan bisnis, Kei merasa beruntung bisa terjun ke bisnis pemodal ventura UTokyoIPC. Awal ketertarikan Kei terhadap bisnis modal ventura sendiri berawal sejak ia menjajal Pendidikan MBA di Singapura.

Merasa tak punya cukup mental untuk menjadi seorang pengusaha, Kei banting setir untuk mempelajari sistem pendukung bisnis yaitu pemodal ventura. Sehingga, ia pun banyak mengambil kursus pemodal ventura kala itu.

Meski demikian, jalan tak selalu mulus. Lantaran tak punya pengalaman kerja di bidang itu, ia tak langsung terjun ke industri pemodal ventura. Setelah melanglangbuana ke sejumlah perusahaan swasta, suatu hari ia berkesempatan berkarir di UTokyoIPC yang merupakan pemodal ventura.

Menurutnya, agar berhasil di bisnis pemodal ventura, seseorang mesti memiliki kemampuan berelasi yang baik. Sebab, bisnis ini selalu berhubungan dengan orang lain, baik dengan investor maupun startup.

“Karena Anda akan berhubungan dengan banyak orang, berbicara dengan mereka dan memahami siapa mereka. Sebab, ini akan menjadi aspek penting ketika melakukan investasi.”

Selain kepiawaian dalam menangani orang lain, catatan lain sebagai seorang pemodal ventura adalah semangat pantang menyerah. Pemodal mesti berjuang bersama tim startup hingga titik darah penghabisan. Optimisme dan kemampuan untuk terus mencoba strategi baru sangat diperlukan. Sebab selalu akan ada momen di mana rasa putus asa dan keinginan untuk menyerah muncul karena tidak melihat jalan keluar menuju keberhasilan.

“Tapi, saya tekankan untuk jangan menyerah. Anda harus mendorong diri Anda hingga hari terakhir, hingga berhasil.”

Selain itu, seorang investor juga perlu memiliki kesabaran untuk memberi waktu dan kesempatan bagi orang lain. Sebab, dalam investasi deep tech, banyak pekerjaan laboratorium yang tak segera terlihat hasilnya.

“Saya berbicara dengan berbagai tim ketika mereka bekerja di laboratorium dan berpikir bahwa sebagian besar waktu yang digunakan tidak segera menjadi uang atau menjadi produk, namun kami tetap memberi keleluasaan waktu. Kami melihat kesempatan apa yang bisa kita manfaatkan dari hasil penelitian mereka. Sehingga persoalannya, “Apakah Anda ingin memberikan waktu bagi startup yang dimodali? Yang kemungkinan dalam tiga atau lima tahun ke depan akan menjadi bisnis yang besar? Saya kira ini penting.”

LKYGBPC sosialisasikan minat kewirausahaan

Menurut Kei, Singapura memiliki kultur entrepreneurship yang kuat ketimbang Jepang. Hal ini mengejutkannya dan membuatnya tertarik untuk menggali lebih jauh ketika mendapat pelajaran entrepreneurship dalam proses mengambil gelar master di negara itu.

“Meski Jepang memiliki skala ekonomi yang lebih besar, namun warga di sini lebih konservatif ketimbang Singapura yang sangat agresif dengan entrepreneurship.”

Lewat kompetisi kewirausahaan seperti Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) menurut Kei berguna untuk terus memupuk jiwa kewirausahaan anak muda di Singapura dan berbagai belahan dunia. Selain itu, LKYGBPC juga memberi pengaruh ke berbagai universitas lain di dalam dan luar Singapura untuk ikut terlibat dalam pengembangan kewirausahaan.

Kompetisi ini juga menjadi sarana yang baik untuk mempertemukan startup dengan pemodal ventura. Sehingga, ia berharap program kompetisi ini bisa menjadi platform untuk melebarkan semangat entrepreneurship.

EXCLUSIVE! Beyond Smarter Data Management and Protection for Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Institutions

Over the coming years, Singapore is poised to witness significant transformations in digital financial services, particularly in three key domains: the emergence of Web 3 and decentralised finance, the widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and the implementation of machine learning (ML) technology.

Prioritising strong governance and compliance should be at the top of the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector’s list of objectives. Adherence to regulations, following rules and taking responsibility can greatly enhance services, ensure safety, and enhance the client experience.

Employing a centralised data protection solution enables consumers to track and verify if and how their data is being protected data across various workloads. When clients have the ability to do so, they can be confident that their data is being adequately safeguarded. Moreover, this can ensure that recovery time objectives and IT audit compliances are met.

Combatting threats such as malware and ransomware, along with ensuring overall cybersecurity, requires a strategic approach across multiple levels. This includes actively monitoring for potential issues and regularly backing up data. Storing immutable copies of data in a secure location can prevent malware from encrypting them.

In addition, data intended for recovery should undergo scanning and cleaning by the organisation’s anti-virus solution to ensure that any potentially harmful data, also known as “dirty” data, is not inadvertently reintroduced into production systems.

Ensuring seamless operations while mitigating the risks of ransomware and other cyber-attacks can be challenging. However, modern data protection solutions have demonstrated their ability to reduce costs, enhance automation, enhance human capabilities and identify innovative ways to reuse data to generate new value.

The OpenGov Breakfast Insight on 22 March 2023 held at the Voco Orchard Singapore aimed to share insights and practical solutions to empower organisations to maximise data capability through cost-effective, secure and automated data-driven processes that adhere with current data regulations and comply with the standards of Singapore’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance industry.

Opening Remarks

OpenGov Asia — Mohit Sagar∶ Singaporean financial institutions need full data security and risk mitigation strategies

Kicking off the session, Mohit Sagar, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, explains that financial data management is a set of processes and policies, usually helped by specialised software. This approach enables an organisation to merge its financial data, adhere to accounting regulations and legal requirements, and generate comprehensive financial reports.

The regulatory body responsible for overseeing Singapore’s financial institutions and establishing guidelines for data management and protection is the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). According to its regulations, financial institutions are required to implement robust policies and procedures for managing data, including appropriate classification, handling and protection.

“Financial institutions must ensure that adequate security measures are in place to mitigate the risks of data breaches and cyber threats. This could include implementing strong encryption protocols, regularly testing systems for vulnerabilities, maintaining up-to-date software and hardware and training on cybersecurity best practices,” Mohit emphasises.

The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) serves as the data protection authority in Singapore, responsible for enforcing compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The Act sets a baseline level of data protection that must be followed by all sectors operating in Singapore.

Additionally, the PDPA also mandates that organisations obtain individuals’ consent before collecting, using, or sharing their personal information. The PDPC is empowered to investigate any breaches of the PDPA and impose penalties for non-compliance.

Data recovery refers to the process of getting lost, deleted, corrupted or inaccessible data back from storage media like hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB drives, or other types of data storage devices. Several companies in Singapore offer data recovery services that specialise in getting data back from different types of storage media used by financial institutions.

“It’s important to remember that data recovery services can be expensive, and it’s always best to have a full data backup and disaster recovery plan in place to minimise the risk of losing data,” is Mohit’s caveat. “Establishing a robust backup and recovery system can help avoid the need for expensive data recovery services and ensure business continuity in the event of a data loss incident.”

The protection of sensitive financial data from unauthorised access, theft and cyberattacks is a top priority for Singapore’s financial institutions. To achieve this, they employ a range of security measures, including encryption, access controls, firewalls, regular updates and patches, employee training and awareness programs, penetration testing, and incident response planning.

These safeguards work together to create a comprehensive data security framework that helps to prevent data breaches and protect the integrity and confidentiality of financial data.

“Under the PDPA, financial institutions must obtain the consent of individuals before collecting, using, or disclosing their personal information,” Mohit reiterates. “But while this is the norm, there are exceptions to this rule.”

Concessions are allowed under certain circumstances, such as legal obligations or the prevention of criminal activity. As an example, financial institutions may disclose personal information to law enforcement agencies to comply with legal requirements or to prevent potential criminal activity.

Mohit understands that risk mitigation is a crucial component of risk management in Singapore’s financial sector, and financial institutions employ a range of strategies and tools to identify, evaluate and reduce the risks they face.

Diversification, risk transfer, risk avoidance, risk monitoring and reporting, contingency planning, and strong governance and compliance frameworks are examples of risk mitigation strategies utilised by financial institutions in Singapore.

Financial institutions consider the development of a data exit strategy and recovery plan as an essential part of their risk management. The process involves identifying crucial data, anticipating exit scenarios, creating a recovery plan, establishing data backup procedures, testing the recovery plan, and maintaining the plan by updating, reviewing, and monitoring it regularly.

“By adhering to these steps, financial institutions can establish a robust data exit strategy and recovery plan that ensures the protection and recovery of vital data in the event of a data breach or system failure,” Mohit ends.

Welcome Address

According to Raymond Goh, Veeam’s Vice President of Sales Engineering for APJ, the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry has experienced significant changes over time and has had to contend with various challenges such as regulatory compliance, cybersecurity threats, and the need to innovate to stay competitive.

The pandemic has accelerated the industry’s digital transformation, resulting in a greater demand for digital banking services. However, it has also introduced new challenges, such as physical branch disruptions and an increased risk of cyberattacks.

“Despite the challenges, the industry can provide value to its customers by leveraging new technologies and innovative strategies.” Raymond is convinced “To effectively manage risks, BFSI institutions must continue to invest in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity measures, and advanced analytics.”

The FSI journey from 1866 to the present has been remarkable; from brick-and-mortar establishments to the current digitised systems, payment apps, digital wallets, contactless payments, crowdfunding platforms, and many others.

Financial systems can be affected by various disruptions, including funding and liquidity issues, asset price declines, contagion effects and heightened credit risk. The impact of a crisis on the financial sector is largely determined by the sector’s ability to mitigate four risks: market risks, liquidity risks, credit risks, and earnings risks.

“The rise of FinTech and non-bank startups are altering the competitive landscape in financial services, forcing traditional institutions to reconsider their business practices,” Raymond reiterates. “Old school processes and legacy systems are no longer relevant in the digital world, and indeed, can be a hindrance.”

Financial institutions must foster an innovative culture that promotes innovation and utilises technology to streamline existing processes and procedures for optimal efficiency. This cultural shift towards a technology-centric mindset mirrors the broader industry acceptance of digital transformation.

Raymond recognises that today’s consumers are more knowledgeable, sophisticated and informed than ever, and they demand a high degree of customisation, personalisation and convenience from their banking services.

It is predicted that future generations, starting with Generation Z, will have an even greater preference for omnichannel banking and be more technologically savvy than Millennials.

Organisations using obsolete business management software or siloed systems will be unable to compete in this increasingly digital-first environment. Without a solid, futuristic technological foundation, businesses will miss out on crucial business evolution.

“In other words, digital transformation is no longer merely a good idea, but a necessity for survival,” Raymond states.

Financial service organisations that use cutting-edge business technology, particularly cloud applications, have a significant advantage in the digital transformation race as they can innovate more quickly. The agility and scalability of cloud technology are its strengths. Without the constraints of system hardware, cloud technology allows systems to evolve in tandem with the business.

Raymond agrees that banking is being reshaped as regulations tighten and consumers adopt new technologies and demand 24/7 access to their most sensitive data, regardless of device.

As a result of a string of high-profile breaches in recent years, security is one of the leading challenges facing the banking industry and a major concern for bank and credit union customers. Financial institutions must invest in the most advanced technologically driven security measures, such as Authentication, End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) and Address Verification Services (AVS), to protect customers.

Financial services are increasingly confronted with issues related to auditing as the frequency of data breaches and privacy concerns continue to increase. This has led to more stringent regulatory and compliance requirements.

Compliance with financial data protection standards is subject to strict regulations and audits entail some of the most rigorous requirements in modern business, often involving the need to manage highly complex IT infrastructures.

Adhering to and conducting annual disaster recovery (DR) testing regularly can be both expensive and resource-intensive.

From a financial standpoint, any amount of downtime is unacceptable, and banks may face significant penalties for revealing confidential information. The centralisation of remote or branch offices (ROBO) can exhaust an organisation’s resources and bandwidth.

Businesses around the world were heavily impacted by the pandemic, causing considerable disruption and presenting numerous challenges. These challenges demand innovation, the necessity for enhanced employee engagement, rapid market changes and quality improvement.

In this scenario, FinTech and its underpinning technology will be major disruptors. Blockchain will shake things up; digital will become mainstream; customer intelligence will be the most significant predictor of revenue growth and profitability; the public cloud will become the dominant infrastructure model; and regulators will also turn to technology.

The common theme among these is resilience, trust and data agility.

Over the last two years, the Financial Services Industry has placed significant importance on specific issues. Some key initiatives are modernising the IT operating model to adapt to the new normal, simplifying legacy systems to decrease costs, enhancing the technological capabilities to better understand customer requirements, preparing the architecture to facilitate connections with any device or location and prioritising cybersecurity measures.

FSI organisations face distinct challenges due to their strong customer relationships, financial accountability and regulatory oversight. These challenges include effectively managing regulatory and capital costs, improving operations and customer experiences to meet modern standards, safeguarding against cyber threats and ransomware attacks and ensuring data and privacy security.

According to Raymond, Veeam plays a major role in addressing all these areas and can offer unique solutions to the various opportunities and challenges that FSI organisations may encounter. Veeam’s solutions encompass streamlining and automating operations, facilitating cloud migration and modern application development, ensuring data immutability, and effectively managing privacy, risk, and compliance.

“By embracing digital transformation, utilising big data analytics, forming strategic partnerships, having strong compliance and cybersecurity frameworks and investing in talent development programmes, FSI organisations can take advantage of opportunities and address challenges,” Raymond believes.

End-user Insight

Luis C Cruz, Executive Director, Head of Automation, Infrastructure for DBS Big Data, AI and Analytics, DBS Bank Ltd is convinced that by aligning IT initiatives with the company’s overall business objectives, a comprehensive IT strategy can help businesses deliver long-term shareholder value.

“This strategy entails identifying the company’s current and future technology requirements, evaluating potential technology solutions, and developing a plan for implementing those solutions,” Luis explains.

By doing so, the company can ensure that its IT investments support business growth and profitability while reducing costs and boosting efficiency. In addition, a comprehensive IT strategy can help the business gain a competitive advantage by leveraging emerging technologies and optimising the IT infrastructure.

A comprehensive IT strategy can generate long-term shareholder value by enabling organisations to make informed decisions about technology investments and leverage technology to achieve business goals.

A robust IT strategy:

Aligns with organisation goals and governance
Adapts to the marketplace and changes how our employees work
Is focused and consistent
Honestly identify challenges
Would be authentic, clear and understood
Is memorable with a compelling tagline and value proposition
Has to be actionable towards a goal
Shows where to play and how to win

Providing foundational infrastructure capabilities that support business objectives and delivering applications and solutions to aid employees in achieving their desired business outcomes are examples of company strategies that are enabled by IT.

“The concept of SMAC or Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud stack, is an example of a technology strategy that is widely used throughout the industry and by IT leaders,” Luis reveals. “It all comes down to the customer experience.”

Determining the optimal approach, timing and speed (the how, when and pace) of SMAC implementation is crucial as it forms the basis for leveraging big data in corporations. As IT leaders, Luis anticipates the need to stay up-to-date on SMAC trends and implications relevant to their roles. A perfect example of a company that effectively leverages SMAC-stack infrastructure is an online streaming service provider website.

To generate sustainable shareholder value, businesses must cultivate strategic and functional IT competencies, enhance tools that improve the IT function and promote a customer-centric culture. These efforts will fortify the organisation’s internal processes and enable the development of an efficient decision support system, as well as the delivery of transformational applications.

In addition to benefiting the company, these efforts will also benefit customers by enabling enterprises to provide consistent, high-quality IT services and innovative IT solutions to business units. This will allow organisations to optimise IT efficiency and enhance its impact on enterprise outcomes, ultimately driving long-term investor value.

“IT strategy is influenced by several internal and external factors,” ends Luis. “And understanding these is critical for developing a successful IT strategy that aligns with the organisation’s overall goals and objectives.”

Closing Remarks

Raymond acknowledges the significance of data backup as a critical aspect of maintaining data resilience and availability but emphasises that it is only one aspect of a comprehensive strategy.

Data backup is a single component of ensuring data availability and resilience in hybrid cloud environments. In addition to backup solutions, it’s essential to consider other factors that can affect data resiliency and availability, such as infrastructure and data proximity, Raymond opines.

“Data proximity, the physical location of data in relation to its applications, is a crucial factor to consider when designing hybrid cloud environments. These factors must be taken into account to ensure that hybrid cloud environments are designed optimally to meet the needs of applications and data requirements.”

By adopting solutions such as edge computing or hybrid cloud architectures, organisations can ensure data proximity. These solutions enable data to be stored and processed closer to where it is required, which can improve application performance and ensure data resiliency and availability.

This involves ensuring that there are adequate computing, storage, and networking resources available to support the workload, as well as having a highly available and resilient infrastructure to mitigate the risk of outages.

“Veeam provides data resiliency through secure backup and fast, dependable recovery solutions for the hybrid cloud of the organisation,” Raymond explains. “Our solutions are intended to safeguard critical data and applications, prevent data loss and enable rapid and dependable recovery in the event of a disaster or outage.”

Veeam offers solutions designed to help organisations achieve their business continuity and disaster recovery goals by ensuring data resiliency and availability in their hybrid cloud environments.

Mohit concurs that with the increasing volume of data being produced and stored every day, data protection has become increasingly crucial. Businesses are adopting techniques that allow for data restoration in the event of loss or corruption.

“As organisations continue to produce and store more data, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure the security and protection of that data,” Mohit observes.

In this VUCA landscape, technology can provide significant benefits to organisations in protecting their data. Implementing technological solutions helps businesses to secure their data from loss, theft and unauthorised access. It also ensures quick data restoration in emergency or outage situations.

“In essence, the purpose of technology partnerships is to assist businesses in implementing and improving their technical systems,” Mohit believes. “There is no doubt: collaboration in technology promotes growth, eases processes and reduces timelines.”

Two heads are better than one when it comes to implementing established technology systems. But while a technology partnership can effectively deliver technical expertise, it is important not to underestimate the value business acumen offers in return.

“Ultimately, collaborating and pooling resources can prove to be a highly effective approach in propelling both parties towards progress and innovative solutions,” Mohit concludes.

EKSKLUSIF! Benteng Cerdas untuk Keamanan dan Manajemen Data untuk Lembaga Perbankan, Jasa Keuangan dan Asuransi

Singapura memiliki peran kuat dalam perkembangan finansial di Asia. Otoritas Keuangan Singapura (Monetary Authority of Singapore/ MAS) memperkirakan sektor ini akan tumbuh 4%-5% pertahun pada 2021-2025 dan rata-rata membuka 3-4 ribu lapangan pekerjaan baru tiap tahun. Untuk itu, Kemenkeu Singapura mengeluarkan Peta Transformasi Industri Finansial (Industry Transformation Map/ ITM) 2025 pada September 2022, agar industri finansial Singapura menjadi yang terdepan.

Namun, di balik angka pertumbuhan yang menarik itu, ancaman keamanan siber di Singapura pun kian meningkat. Berdasarkan laporan Badan Keamanan Siber Singapura (Cyber Security Agency of Singapore/CSA) pada Agustus 2022, ransomware, phising, command and control server, dan kejahatan siber meningkat di Kota Singa ini.

Keamanan siber menjadi hal yang tak bisa ditawar bagi perusahaan perbankan, finansial, dan asuransi. Sebab, aset data yang mereka kelola dan kepercayaan pelanggan merupakan urat nadi perusahaan agar bisa terus hidup dan bertumbuh. Sekali terjadi, insiden keamanan siber akan menodai reputasi perusahaan dan menjauhkan mereka dari sumber utama penggerak bisnis: kepercayaan pelanggan.

Serangan ransomware diperkirakan akan makin meningkat di tahun mendatang. Data Veeam menunjukkan 50% perusahaan menjadi lumpuh akibat serangan ransomware, sebanyak 76% perusahaan setidaknya terkena sekali serangan ransomware, dan 38% perusahaan tidak bisa mengembalikan data yang terkena serangan ransomware.

Untuk itu, membangun benteng yang cerdas untuk memerangi ancaman seperti malware, ransomware, dan kejahatan siber lain menjadi sangat krusial bagi berbagai bisnis. Sebuah solusi keamanan data terpusat bisa menjadi jawaban untuk memastikan keamanan siber terpantau secara keseluruhan.

Perusahaan bisa mencegah potensi serangan siber seperti ransomware dengan melakukan pencadangan data secara teratur. Untuk menambah lapisan keamanan, salinan ini bisa dilengkapi dengan replikasi dan foto. Proses klasifikasi data yang harus disimpan sesuai dengan prioritasnya juga diperlukan sebagai langkah mitigasi ancaman siber. Langkah mitigasi selanjutnya adalah memindahkan salinan data ke lokasi penyimpanan yang lebih aman untuk mencegah dokumen itu terenkripsi oleh malware. Dengan demikian, data tetap tersedia meski sistem kehilangan pasokan listrik, serangan siber, atau insiden lain.

Solusi keamanan siber terpusat diperlukan untuk memberi kemudahan bagi pengawas untuk melacak dan memverifikasi apa dan bagaimana perlindungan data di berbagai lini. Solusi yang bisa dapat memberikan peringatan jika terjadi indikasi penyusupan ransomware atau serangan lain ke sistem juga amat dibutuhkan. Pengawasan terpusat pun menambah keyakinan bahwa data telah terlindung secara maksimal, meringankan pekerjaan dengan bantuan automasi, kecerdasan buatan, kemampuan mengolah ulang data untuk mendapat insight baru, dan mengurangi biaya operasional.

OpenGov Breakfast Insight akan berbagi wawasan dan solusi praktis mengenai automasi dan arsitektur aplikasi. Acara yang diselenggarakan pada 22 Maret 2023 di Voco Orchard Singapura akan meningkatkan kemampuan proteksi data Industri Perbankan, Jasa Keuangan dan Asuransi (BFSI) Singapura.

Pembuka

Entitas bisnis privat perlu memiliki strategi pemulihan terhadap serangan siber, kegagalan sistem, atau bencana alam. Perusahaan perlu menyiapkan beberapa hal terkait rencana pemulihan, mulai dari identifikasi data yang perlu dilindungi, prosedur pencadangan data, rencana memulihkan data penting, serta pengujian, pembaruan dan audit atas rencana pemulihan data.

Pencadangan dan pemulihan data perlu dilakukan karena kelalaian menjaga data pelanggan bisa berimbas pada mahalnya biaya pemulihan, denda, dan mencoreng reputasi perusahaan ketika terjadi bencana.

Karena itu, sangat disarankan bagi perusahaan untuk memiliki cadangan data yang komprehensif dan rencana pemulihan bencana untuk meminimalkan risiko kehilangan data.

“Rencana pemulihan harus menjadi salah satu pertimbangan utama, sebab ini yang akan menjadi penyelamat ketika terjadi serangan,” jelas Mohit Sagar, CEO dan Pemimpin Redaksi, OpenGov Asia.

Selain itu, mereka pun mesti taat pada aturan yang ditetapkan pemerintah untuk menjaga berbagai kemungkinan kegagalan sistem layanan finansial. Dari sisi pemerintah, mereka menetapkan regulasi bagi lembaga keuangan, perbankan dan asuransi.

Aturan Pedoman MAS mensyaratkan lembaga keuangan untuk memiliki kebijakan dan prosedur manajemen data yang kuat.

Lembaga keuangan diharuskan melakukan klasifikasi, penanganan, dan perlindungan dan keamanan data yang tepat. Selain itu, Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) mensyaratkan organisasi untuk patuh dengan aturan data pribadi (Personal Data Protection Act/ PDPA).

Sambutan

Perubahan masif layanan digital dalam lima hingga sepuluh tahun terakhir telah mengubah proses bisnis dan ekspektasi pada industri finansial. Perusahaan diharapkan bisa memiliki strategi untuk menangani berbagai tantangan digitalisasi, mulai dari privasi, keamanan data, hingga serangan siber harus ditangani.

Raymond Goh, VP Sales Engineering, Veeam APJ menyebutkan empat tantangan utama industri finansial; risiko pasar, likuiditas, kredit, dan pendapatan. Untuk menghadapi tantangan pasar, perusahaan finansial perlu terus melakukan inovasi. Salah satunya adalah lewat automasi untuk efisiensi proses dan tetap memenangkan pasar. Berinvestasi pada automasi membuat perusahaan bisa mengubah pekerjaan, proses, dan prosedur manual.

“Di era digital, tidak ada ruang untuk proses dan sistem manual. Oleh karena itu, penting bagi lembaga keuangan untuk mempromosikan budaya inovasi, di mana teknologi dimanfaatkan untuk efisiensi proses dan prosedur,” tandas Goh.

Perusahaan finansial mesti makin gesit untuk menghadapi tantangan persaingan dari industri fintech yang menjadi pesaing kredit layanan perbankan tradisional. Apalagi konsumen saat ini makin cerdas dan mengharapkan layanan perbankan yang lebih praktis dan terpersonalisasi.

“Selain itu, pasca COVID-19, sejumlah perubahan pada sistem bisnis juga terjadi,” lanjut Goh.

Bertambahnya kecepatan perubahan bisnis menjadi salah satu bagian dari tantangan itu. Bisnis berubah untuk mengikuti ekspektasi pasar yang makin banyak tuntutan. Perusahaan pun diminta untuk terus melakukan inovasi sebagai jurus adaptasi terhadap pasar. Automasi bisa membantu mempercepat proses dengan menggantikan proses yang diolah manusia untuk mempercepat proses dan menghindari human error.

Seiring dengan digitalisasi yang terus menjadi arus utama, inovasi seperti fintech dan blockchain tidak dapat terhindari sebagai persaingan yang harus dihadapi. Untuk memenangkan persaingan, perusahaan finansial dan perbankan mesti memanfaatkan analisis data untuk mengenali pelanggan lebih dalam. Sebab, bisnis yang mampu menebak dengan tepat keinginan pelanggan akan menghasilkan solusi yang meningkatkan pendapatan, mendongkrak pertumbuhan, dan menimbun keuntungan.

Sementara untuk menjaga risiko pendapatan, keamanan siber dan modernisasi jaringan menjadi tantangan berikutnya. Perusahaan finansial merupakan sasaran empuk bagi para penjahat siber. Tidak heran jika tingkat serangan siber makin meningkat dari tahun ke tahun dan industri pun perlu makin waspada dan mempertebal tembok keamanan mereka.

Komputerisasi di perbankan sudah dimulai cukup lama, sehingga tak heran jika sejumlah pemain perbankan terkemuka masih menggunakan aplikasi dan sistem lawas. Namun, sistem kuno ini tidak bisa akan mampu mengimbangi kecepatan dunia digital, sehingga, modernisasi sistem-sistem ini mutlak diperlukan untuk mengimbangi permintaan konsumen dan memajukan bisnis.

Untuk itu, Goh menyampaikan bahwa saat ini organisasi jasa keuangan banyak yang mengalihkan sebagian sistem mereka ke cloud untuk mempercepat proses bisnis. Tentu, keandalan teknologi cloud adalah kelincahan dan fleksibilitas dalam memperbesar atau memperkecil kapasitas sistem yang dibutuhkan (skalabilitas).

Berdasarkan riset yang dilakukan Veeam, sebanyak 50% beban kerja akan dilakukan di komputasi awan (cloud) pada 2023. Sementara 65% perusahaan akan menggunakan layanan komputasi awan untuk strategi perlindungan data mereka.

“Tuntutan lain bagi industri perbankan adalah mesti tersedianya sistem tanpa jeda selama 24 jam, 7 hari seminggu. Tidak ada toleransi untuk downtime dan kebocoran data rahasia bisa menyebabkan sanksi denda yang bisa menghancurkan bisnis perbankan.”

Saat ini, perusahaan tak lagi punya cukup waktu untuk pemulihan data. Jika dulu downtime bisa dilakukan dalam hitungan dua hingga tiga hari, saat ini toleransi terhadap downtime kian menipis. Kegagalan sistem selama 30 menit atau dalam hitungan jam saja akan sangat berpengaruh pada kepuasan pelanggan.

Bank perlu mempersiapkan sistem mitigasi dan cadangan sebaik mungkin untuk data-data paling sensitif mereka. Selain itu, kemampuan sistem untuk mampu memulihkan seluruh data tepat waktu juga menjadi tantangan. Goh menyebut 9 dari 10 pelanggan tidak bisa lolos dari ketentuan ini.

Insight Pengguna

Perusahaan perlu memastikan investasi TI yang dilakukan bisa mendukung bisnis mendulang pendapatan dan profitabilitas bisnis, mengurangi biaya, dan meningkatkan efisiensi. Selain itu, strategi TI dengan memanfaatkan teknologi baru juga membantu bisnis memiliki keunggulan kompetitif.

Untuk itu, Luis C Cruz, Direktur Eksekutif, Kepala Automasi, Infrastrutktur untuk Big Data, AI, dan Analisa DBS, percaya bahwa kemampuan untuk terus belajar menjadi fondasi untuk strategi TI yang komprehensif dan kompetitif.

Pencadangan data saat ini tidak semata digunakan untuk menyiapkan backup semata, tapi sekaligus sebagai bagian dari perlindungan data. Ia menyampaikan konsep “SMAC” (Social, Mobile, Analitic, dan Cloud) sebagai basis penggunaan big data di perusahaan besar.

“Konsep “SMAC” digunakan secara luas di seluruh industri dan oleh para CIO/pimpinan TI untuk melakukan transformasi proses bisnis dan meningkatkan pengalaman pelanggan,” jelas Luis.

SMAC merupakan model baru bagi tim TI perusahaan agar organisasi lebih terkoneksi, kolaboratif, dan produktif. SMAC bisa memengaruhi seluruh “ekosistem” perbankan mulai dari pelanggan, karyawan, dan mitra.

“Harapan saya adalah kita, sebagai pemimpin TI, tetap mengikuti tren dan implikasi dalam SMAC karena sangat berkaitan dengan peran kita. Situs penyedia layanan streaming online mungkin adalah contoh terbaik dari perusahaan yang memanfaatkan infrastruktur tumpukan SMAC dengan sebaik-baiknya.”

Luis mengutip bahwa untuk mendorong nilai pemegang saham jangka panjang, bisnis harus mengembangkan kompetensi TI yang strategis dan fungsional, meningkatkan alat TI yang meningkatkan fungsi TI, dan menumbuhkan budaya yang berpusat pada peningkatan kepuasan pelanggan. Proses ini akan memperkuat proses internal organisasi, yang dapat mengarah pada pengembangan sistem pendukung keputusan yang efisien dan penyampaian aplikasi transformasional.

Hal ini juga akan menguntungkan pelanggan, karena perusahaan akan dapat memberikan layanan TI yang konsisten dan berkualitas serta solusi TI yang inovatif untuk unit bisnis. Dengan ini, organisasi akan mengoptimalkan efisiensi TI dan meningkatkan dampak TI pada hasil perusahaan, sehingga mendorong nilai pemegang saham jangka panjang.

Penutup

Raymond Goh: Menjawab tantangan digitalisasi dengan automasi, cloud, pengelolaan data, dan kekekalan data untuk memperkuat ketahanan siber

Organisasi FSI memiliki kombinasi tantangan unik karena bisnis ini berkaitan erat dengan kepercayaan pelanggan, beban tanggung jawab yang besar lantaran mengurus keuangan, hingga peraturan yang ketat. Ancaman serangan siber dan ransomware juga terus menghantui. Untuk itu, perusahaan perlu melakukan investasi untuk mengamankan sistem, menjaga operasional, sekaligus berinovasi agar layanan bisa terus menyesuaikan dengan ekspektasi pelanggan yang makin digital.

Menurut Goh, seluruh tuntutan itu bisa diringankan dengan solusi Veeam. Solusi automasi bisa digunakan untuk merampingkan dan mengotomatisasi operasional. Sehingga, sumber daya manusia bisa dialihkan untuk berkonsentrasi pada inovasi dan hal lain yang berkontribusi langsung pada pertumbuhan perusahaan ketimbang hanya memelihara sistem lama.

“Dengan beralih ke perlindungan data modern, Anda menghilangkan beban besar dari manajemen lama sekaligus memberikan perlindungan dan pengawasan yang lebih besar terhadap data sensitif Anda,” terang Goh.

Selain itu, automasi juga menghemat anggaran perusahaan. Pemulihan data otomatis, pelanggan Veeam berhasil mengurangi biaya pencadangan dan pemulihan 55% lebih efisien dan mengurangi biaya pencadangan dan perlindungan data hingga 50%.

Veeam membantu perusahaan untuk melakukan migrasi ke cloud dan pengembang aplikasi modern. Perpindahan ini membutuhkan keahlian untuk mengubah data yang terjebak disistem lama ke komputasi awan (cloud) yang fleksibel. Dengan data yang lebih fleksibel, pelanggan bisa mengolah ulang data mereka dan membuahkan insight yang berguna bagi perusahaan. Pelanggan Veeam yang menggunakan kembali data mereka untuk mendorong pengembangan dan pengujian aplikasi modern berhasil meningkatkan produktivitas hingga 11%.

Perlindungan data dari serangan malware dan ransomware menjadi keharusan. Untuk itu, Veeam menawarkan solusi kekekalan data (data immutability). Konsep ini memberi garansi dan mengatasi celah antara jaringan produksi dan pencadangan data. Jadi, meski terjadi serangan, data cadangan tertap 100% terlindungi. Sebanyak 95% pelanggan Veeam yang menggunakan cadangan permanen tidak terpengaruh atau hanya sedikit terdampak dari ransomware.

Dengan banyaknya aturan yang mengikat institusi finansial, Veeam bisa membantu mengelola privasi, risiko, dan kepatuhan data. Sistem perlindungan data modern memastikan penyimpanan dan perlindungan data bisa mengikuti aturan-aturan yang bisa berubah sewaktu-waktu. Pelanggan yang menggunakan Veeam untuk regulasi dan privasi secara aktif berhasil mengurangi 45% kegagalan audit dan kepatuhan.

Mohit menambahkan bahwa organisasi dapat memperoleh manfaat besar dari penggunaan solusi teknologi untuk melindungi data mereka. Dengan menerapkan solusi ini, bisnis dapat memastikan bahwa data mereka aman dari kehilangan, pencurian, dan akses tidak sah serta dapat dipulihkan dengan cepat jika terjadi keadaan darurat atau gangguan.

“Intinya, tujuan kemitraan teknologi adalah untuk membantu bisnis dalam menerapkan dan meningkatkan sistem teknis mereka,” tegas Mohit.

Dia percaya bahwa kolaborasi teknologi bisa mendorong ekspansi bisnis perusahaan. Menurutnya, dua kepala lebih baik daripada satu ketika menerapkan sistem teknologi. Hal ini serupa dengan kemitraan teknologi yang dapat memberikan asistensi dan pengetahuan teknis apa pun secara efisien.

EXCLUSIVE! Governance of Effective Data Protection in the Information Age

Thailand has made significant progress in enhancing its governance systems for data protection in recent years. However, to guarantee that citizens are empowered to exercise their rights and simultaneously hold corporations accountable for their data practices, it is essential to increase public knowledge and education on data protection.

Process optimisation for data governance and management is a key component of Thailand’s digital transformation. In recent years, the nation has made enormous strides in the digital sphere, and the continued success of this transformation will rely on efficient data governance and management systems.

Effective data management is only one aspect of data governance. It also relies heavily on the development of terms and guidelines for data rights, obligations and principles. These are the basic tenets of sound governance that inspire confidence in the generation, collection, processing and use of data by corporations and governments.

To unlock the full potential of data, it is crucial to establish the necessary infrastructure, regulations and standards through collaboration between public sector organisations, non-governmental actors and other relevant stakeholders.

Institutions and stakeholders within the data governance ecosystem must possess the skills, resources and incentives to carry out their duties effectively and to maximise the value of their data.

Robust information and data governance is crucial to ensure that data is accurate, reliable, secure and accessible when needed. This is especially important in low- and middle-income countries where data literacy levels may be low, and the quality of data may be poor.

In any context, however, public trust is crucial in using any derived insights to spur civic change. Confidence can be gained by developing and implementing clear policies and regulations around data collection, storage, sharing and usage. Agencies must also respect privacy, provide transparency and ensure accountability around these processes.

The OpenGov Breakfast Insight on 16 March 2023 held at Amari Watergate Bangkok delivered current information on the right technologies, data governance policies, regulations and frameworks to drive the quality, accuracy and availability of insights for Thailand’s public sector organisations.

Opening Remarks

Kicking off the session, Mohit Sagar, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, OpenGov Asia acknowledges that with the proper data governance, an organisation can rest assured that its data is being managed effectively and used in accordance with all regulations and standards.

“The effective management of data ensures its consistency and reliability and prevents misuse. This is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses, as they are subject to new data privacy regulations and rely heavily on data analytics to enhance efficiency and make informed strategic decisions,” he believes.

Good data governance enables improved access to information and better decision-making by both government officials and the public. This is achieved through the transparent, responsible and secure management of data.

“If government agencies are going to work together effectively, they need data governance policies that will make sure their information is shared in a way that is secure, appropriate and legal,” Mohit asserts.

Data governance is the systematic process of managing the availability, usability, integrity and security of data in enterprise systems, based on internal data standards and usage policies in line with government regulations. The process ensures that data is reliable, consistent and not abused.

“As organisations content with new data privacy regulations and rely on data analytics to optimise operations and drive business decisions, robust data strategy with sound governance is crucial,” Mohit says. “Using a collaborative process, this assists in dismantling data silos and harmonising data from various systems.”

Effective oversight is vital to ensuring the proper use of data and preventing the potential misuse of sensitive information, like customer data. Effective data governance enhances business decision-making by supplying better information, resulting in competitive advantages, increased revenue, and increased profits.

Self-service data solutions reduce reliance on IT staff and promote quicker and more informed decision-making across the entire organisation by allowing non-technical users to freely access, modify and analyse data.

To implement data governance, organisations must establish rules, processes and standards for managing data. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, ensuring data quality and addressing privacy and security concerns.

Data governance and cybersecurity are closely related as cybersecurity plays a crucial role in protecting sensitive information from unauthorised access. It helps to maintain data privacy and confidentiality while reducing the risk of cyberattacks or data breaches that could potentially compromise the functioning of government systems and erode the trust of citizens. Therefore, cybersecurity is an essential component of data governance.

In the end, implementing data governance can have several benefits, including improving the speed, agility and precision of decision-making while maintaining privacy and security. Moreover, it can also assist organisations in maximising the value of their data assets.

Welcome Address

Pawasut Seewirot, Software Country Leader at IBM Thailand, delivered a welcome address to the attendees where she acknowledged their crucial role in promoting an understanding of data governance concepts, such as privacy and security.

The field of intelligent automation mainly comprises advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, business process management, and robotic process automation. It leverages cutting-edge tools such as analytics, machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing to accomplish its objectives.

“Combining these technologies has enabled intelligent automation to produce some of the most cutting-edge solutions utilised by contemporary business leaders,” Pawasut observes.

Digital transformation, however, can often come at a high cost. The proliferation of vendors can create a bottleneck for IT staff, with disparate vendors, tools, and processes required to obtain support for expanding data centres.

IBM Technology helps businesses and CIOs solve these issues. As organisations rapidly undergo digital transformation and change, utilising global technology lifecycle support and services for IBM Systems products will benefit the organisations.

“Our organisation provides global technology lifecycle support and services. As a world-class provider, we are committed to providing an outstanding client experience, as evidenced by our Net Promoter Scores,” Pawasut claims.

As organisations continue to rely more heavily on digital technology to gain a competitive edge, safety becomes a growing concern. A strong cybersecurity strategy includes multiple layers of defence to combat cybercrime, such as cyber-attacks that attempt to access, change, or destroy data, extort money from users or the organisation, or disrupt normal business operations.

Security system complexity can increase costs due to contrasting technologies and a lack of in-house expertise. However, organisations can effectively combat cyber threats and reduce the lifecycle and impact of breaches by implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that adheres to best practices and is automated using advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Pawasut stresses the importance of a data platform which is a set of technologies that function collectively to meet an organisation’s end-to-end data needs. It allows organisations to acquire, store, prepare, deliver and govern their data, as well as provide a security layer for users and applications.

“A data platform is essential for maximising the value of your data,” says Pawasut. “A modern data platform attempts to solve numerous problems. It is a collection of interoperable, scalable, and replaceable technologies that work together to meet the complete data requirements of an enterprise while ensuring its security.”

Technology Insight

While the world has been disrupted by various events, Kieran Hagan, Data, AI, and Automation Principle Technical Sales Manager (ASEANZK), IBM recognises that digital transformation remains a significant driving force for change.

“The pandemic has hastened the adoption of digital solutions to keep up with the ever-changing requirements of their customers,” Kieran observes.

As technology advances and consumers rely more heavily on digital channels, the trend toward digital transformation is expected to continue, creating a greater need for easily accessible and understandable data. As a result, there is a greater demand for consumable data – information that is easily accessible and understandable – from which people can make informed decisions.

To improve service delivery, Kieran emphasises the importance of engaging citizens and providing them with personalised, integrated experiences across government services. This is essential for any government seeking to improve citizens’ trust, satisfaction, and overall experience by making it easier for them to access and benefit from the services they require.

Sonoma County is an excellent example of a government that prioritised strengthening its safety net and reformed its approach to meeting the needs of its most vulnerable individuals and families.

Kieran emphasised the need to digitally modernise workflows and operations, maintain regulatory compliance and foster innovation while reducing costs. DataOps is emerging as the optimal strategy for managing data to enhance the agility and effectiveness of organisations.

DataOps, like its predecessor DevOps, emphasises software development collaboration, automation, and continuous delivery. It also aims to eliminate the silos between teams involved in data management, such as data engineers, data scientists, and business analysts.

According to Kieran, the advent of DataOps represents a significant shift in the way that organisations manage and leverage data and by adopting a more agile and collaborative approach to data management, organisations can make better use of their data, respond more quickly to changing business needs, and gain a competitive advantage in their respective markets.

The emphasis on data quality is a key feature of DataOps. DataOps is concerned with ensuring data accuracy, completeness, and consistency, all of which are critical for making sound business decisions. Data quality issues are identified using automated testing and validation technologies before they have an impact on company operations.

Kieran cited the efforts of the Government of Odisha (India), which worked to combat welfare fraud and ensure that the most vulnerable members of the population received the necessary assistance.

The government of Odisha (India) used IBM Analytics tools to combat welfare fraud, identifying approximately 500,000 false beneficiaries. The government was able to ensure that resources were delivered equitably and tax rupees were used more efficiently by leveraging available insights on citizens. This effort aided the government in providing appropriate assistance to those in need while also eradicating fraudulent activities that siphoned off valuable resources.

Securing and protecting people, the nation, and infrastructure while mitigating data collaboration risks across hybrid cloud environments is of the utmost importance in the current digital era. The proliferation of cloud computing and hybrid cloud environments, as well as the accompanying cyber security challenges, now necessitate that governments strike a balance between securing their data and infrastructure and ensuring that essential information is accessible to those who require it.

To mitigate risks associated with data collaboration in hybrid cloud environments, businesses should implement a comprehensive security strategy that combines technologies, processes, and policies. Hence, artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable tool.

“Artificial intelligence is being incorporated into daily life, business, government, and other fields. IBM assists individuals and businesses in securely adopting AI,” Kieran shares. “Only by incorporating ethical standards into AI applications and processes can build a trustworthy system.”

A holistic approach with strong security measures, transparency, accountability, and secure technology design is highly recommended, according to Kieran. Thus, the effectiveness of the strategy is enhanced by a continuous drive for information and education.

Fireside Chat

Dr Supot Tiarawut, President & CEO, Digital Government Development Agency, Thailand, is of the opinion that organisations’ failure to implement effective data management and governance strategies hinders their ability to fully leverage their enterprise data.

Such strategies are necessary for laying a strong data foundation. Strong fundamental data can offer critical insights for a wide range of applications, including understanding public behaviour and making critical decisions.

Some countries have given particular attention to the strategic value of understanding and interpreting data as well as the unrealised economic potential of underutilised data.

“Establishing a data foundation has specific challenges, but if organisations fully understand these challenges, they will be able to overcome them and benefit from efficient master data management,” Dr Supot believes.

Data governance is the practice of understanding where the data is, how it is used, and whether it is adequately protected. Good data governance ensures the integrity and consistency of data.

Effective data governance creates a governed data foundation for insights, secures data privacy, and simplifies data management by establishing policies and regulatory compliance. Public sector staff must have the knowledge and skills to effectively and safely manage and use data.

“The lack of data literacy in government agencies emphasises the importance of effective data governance policies,” Dr Supot furthers.

In today’s dynamic and ever-changing enterprise environment, data governance is a must. Businesses today collect massive amounts of data from various sources, and data governance assists organisations in managing risk, maximising value and lowering costs.

Inconsistencies in various systems across an organisation may remain unresolved in the absence of effective data governance. Using data governance best practices allows organisations to maximise their data while avoiding operational or analytic issues caused by data disparity.

“We should have a good definition of what data governance is,” says Dr Supot. “It encourages all government agencies to utilise their data and use it efficiently as well as integrate their data to make good decisions.”

In Thailand, there is a growing understanding that instead of solely mandating government agencies to implement data policies strictly according to established guidelines, it may be more effective to first align these policies with the agencies’ goals or purposes, and then provide them with specific steps that can help them get started.

The government in Thailand is planning to ask each agency to identify the type of data they are utilising, and once they have this information, they will inquire about the data’s processing and how it will be protected. This approach will enable the government to better understand the data management practices of each agency and identify any potential issues that need to be addressed.

“As a result, we can ensure sufficient data security so that no information leaks occur,” Dr Supot is confident.

Standardising data definitions across an enterprise or agency is a common objective of data governance, but there may be other objectives and goals that depend on the specific focus of a data governance program.

To establish an effective data governance framework, it is important to develop principles that are appropriate for the specific environment in which the organisation operates. These principles should guide the overall approach to data governance and help ensure that data is managed in a way that is consistent, reliable, and aligned with the goals and objectives.

Collaboration between the government and the private sector is essential for effective data governance. Among the key principles of data governance are public integrity, transparency, accountability, auditability, and standardisation. By adhering to these principles, data is managed in a way that is consistent, trustworthy and compliant with relevant regulations and standards.

Closing Remarks

Pawasut stressed the growing need for skilled professionals in data management as businesses increasingly look to data for competitive advantage. She believes that by addressing the data management skills gap, organisations can help individuals advance in their careers and organisations realise the full potential of their data.

“We are taking all possible measures to address the shortage of skilled workers,” confirms Pawasut. “But closing the gap will require collaborative efforts among individuals, groups and communities.”

Changing an organisation’s innovation culture is a challenging and time-consuming endeavour that requires sustained efforts over time. Pawasut invited interested delegates to get in touch with them to arrange an innovation workshop.

These workshops are valuable because they help foster originality, teamwork, knowledge acquisition and participant involvement. They provide a platform to generate new ideas, solve complex problems and learn from the experiences, insights and perspectives of others.

Innovation workshops can also boost morale and commitment to the company’s success and can be a useful tool for organisations that want to foster innovation and maintain competitiveness in a dynamic market.

Mohit is convinced that the success of developments in data governance depends on the effectiveness of collaboration.

“Integral to ensuring that an organisation’s information management procedures and policies are effective, streamlined, and company-wide adopted is bringing together diverse stakeholders, each with their own distinct perspectives and skills.”

There is an opportunity for corporate IT departments to build trust around enterprise data stores, allowing employees to work with IT to improve data quality, governance and security. This transition may be challenging for some organisations as it may require changes in culture, processes and technology, but it is essential for organisations that want to maximise the value of their data assets.

“Ultimately, a digital partnership’s objective is to generate a competitive advantage. Businesses can leverage one another’s strengths to better serve customers and expand,” Mohit concludes.

March 26, 2023

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