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Singapore Deputy Prime Minister: important to close digital gap

Image credit: www.pmo.gov.sg

As the world continues its digital transformation amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore is trying to further address the issue of the digital divide among its citizens and organisations. This was a key issue raised by Singaporeans at conversations on how to forge a better future post-Covid-19, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, speaking at the launch of the Smart Nation & U 2021 event, a tech-focused jobs and skills fair, and free online courses to support Singaporeans in leveraging technology amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that while a digital future holds tremendous potential, they must ensure that they progress together as a society. He said he is heartened that many individuals, community partners and companies were keen to contribute to bridging the digital divide and improving the lives and livelihoods of citizens.

Accordingly, the government set up the SG Digital office, which aims to reach out to 100,000 seniors, 18,000 hawkers and 20,000 heartland enterprise to go digital. Lower-income families and seniors are also being provided with affordable devices and internet access, he added.

In addition to government efforts, individuals have also stepped forward to contribute time and energy to helping others with digitalisation. In perspective, he praised a volunteer-driven non-profit tech collective where people from all backgrounds come together to build digital solutions to address societal issues, as well as another non-profit initiative that allows migrant workers to call their loved ones back home for free.

The Deputy Prime Minister also encouraged people to contribute their time and expertise to close the digital gap, such as by volunteering as Smart Nation Ambassadors or donating to the Digital for Life Fund to support community-initiated projects. Ultimately, building a more inclusive society will require a collective effort from all of them. To progress together as one, everyone must do their parts to help those around us be part of this digital journey, he added.

During his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the role played by digital technology in Singapore’s fight against Covid-19, such as the use of TraceTogether and Safe Entry to facilitate the tracing of close contacts of confirmed cases, as well as the use of virtual meetings to conduct business and keep in touch with loved ones.

He further said that in the coming years, technology and a growing digital economy will create many new opportunities and good jobs for the people, but they must ensure that workers are ready for the digital world. Singapore’s Smart Nation journey is not just about the economy, but fundamentally about using technology to improve the lives of the people.

This includes areas such as the creation of a better living environment, intelligent homes being built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), and a wider range of digital services offered by companies, the Government, and the community.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that Singapore will continue to invest in digital infrastructures, such as fibre broadband and a 5G network, to support the shift to digital. He also urged citizens and organisations to remain nimble and work together as one people and one economy, so that the nation can achieve its vision of being a Smart Nation, which will improve lives and build an enduring advantage that will enable the country to emerge stronger from this crisis.

As reported by OpenGov Asia, the Singapore Government led by DPM Heng Swee Keat allocated over S$24 billion over the next three years to help businesses and workers transition to a post-pandemic world, well-equipped with technological resources. This budget also aims to enable firms and businesses to emerge stronger, together. About S$1 billion will be allocated to mature firms to get co-funding for the adoption of digital solutions and technological improvements.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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