Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Singapore Computer Systems Wins Inaugural Asia Business Continuity Award For Business Continuity Provider Of The Year (Recovery Site)

Receiving a prestigious award - SCS Representative

Singapore Computer Systems Limited (SCS), a leading information and communications technology service provider in Asia, has emerged the top business continuity provider of the year in Asia for its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) site in the inaugural Asia Business Continuity Awards (ABCA), beating contestants from various countries around the world.

SCS has been providing BC/DR and data centre services since 1987. SCS has almost 100,000 square-feet of BC/DR and data centre facilities, and has been certified as a Full BC/DR Service Provider by the world’s first SS:507 standards, as well as for Information Security Management System (ISMS). SCS supports customers across multiple industries including financial services, government, logistics, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, property, and many more.

SCS’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tan Tong Hai, said, “SCS is delighted to win the first ever Asia Business Continuity Awards, for the business continuity provider of the year (recovery site) category. Since establishing the first BC/DR site in Singapore in 1987, SCS’ BC/DR team has conducted over 4,000 recovery tests and has helped clients recover from 9 live disasters, including SARS in 2003. SCS has also developed end-to-end BC/DR offerings and introduced new innovations, such as adding mobility, scalability, flexibility and automation to our offerings. We believe that our proven experience, expertise and innovative spirit are key to us winning this award and we will continue to introduce new concepts to bring BC/DR to the next stage.”

For full story, click here
For reported profit is Q3 FY2007, click here

About Singapore Computer Systems Limited

Singapore Computer Systems (SCS) is a leading information and communications technology service provider in Asia. As the provider of Trusted Services to its customers, SCS empowers organisations with competent IT professionals, using proven processes and living technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Our services are designed to maximise organisational performance and are compliant with regulatory and security guidelines. They range from traditional IT infrastructure, business solutions, systems integration and managed services to state-of-the-art Application-Aware Infrastructure, Infrastructure-Aware Applications, converged communications, business rules management systems, business process outsourcing, and business continuity management services. These are flexible solutions that are adaptable to our customers’ needs as their businesses grow or change.

Trusted Services have been successfully deployed in multiple sectors including government; banking, insurance and financial services; manufacturing, logistics and distribution; healthcare; property; and telecommunications.

Incorporated in 1980 and listed on the Main Board of The Singapore Exchange in 1991, SCS has operations in Asia spanning Singapore, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

For more information, please visit http://www.scs.com.sg/.

Singapore Consumers Demanding More from Contact Centers - AVAYA

Next generation contact centers may be the key competitive differentiator for businesses in Singapore, according to a research commissioned by Avaya. The report, Avaya Contact Centre Consumer Index Score Report Singapore 2007, undertaken by research firm callcenter.net, showed that while over 80% of consumers surveyed preferred to speak directly to a customer service representative (CSR), they retained a low expectation of the service quality from contact centers. Key reasons for low marks are attributed to long waits (40%) and lack of knowledge/giving wrong information by the CSR (21%).



When compared to other countries like China (13%) and India (20%), more than 40% of Singapore consumers surveyed indicated a significant dislike for contact center interaction; and registered the lowest service level expectation of the three countries. However, Singapore also saw a higher percentage of first preference to telephone and speak directly with a CSR.


As one of the main communications channels for many companies, the customer experience with the CSR can have a direct impact on the company’s revenue as well as reputation. In fact, over one third of respondents stated that the most important thing for them is to have their call answered fast or issue resolved quickly. The resulting feedback showed that just having the human element, the CSR in this case, is insufficient.

To offer better response and improve positive experiences, businesses need to extend the capabilities of the CSR and one of the ways to break out from the competition is through next generation contact centers.

“The contact centers of the future will be IP-based,” said Eric Tan, Country Director, Avaya Singapore. “Together with Session Initiated Protocol (SIP), the contact centre can now have a more complete profile of the customer, together with applications to connect with experts for efficient issue resolution. This capability allows enterprise knowledge workers to become on-demand experts whose availability can be determined in real time and then easily located and contacted.”

In addition, the research has revealed that the customers’ contact centre experiences can be diverse and addressing the Satisfaction Index means offering a range of business communications technologies as there are generation-differences in using technologies.

For example, the older generations have a higher propensity to contact the company via the telephone, while the Generation Y (16-30 year olds) prefers self-service technology. However, the research also showed that their tendency for contacting agents arises when the transactional complexity increases. In fact, this group also has a high expectation of service from contact centers. As this group represents future customers, the need to upgrade existing contact center technology cannot be ignored.

“This group has stated a high preference to have video streaming/conference in their interaction and the best way to deliver this capability is on the IP platform,” added Tan.

Overall, the research have indicated that a positive experience from the contact centre interaction has a direct correlation to the loyalty index and an increased propensity for customers recommending services/products from the company to others; a likelihood of additional purchases; as well as using the contact centre again for their next interaction. The bottom line then, is that the contact centre can afford companies a competitive edge today and for the future.


About Avaya

Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500®, use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications-Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: www.avaya.com.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Networking session with Sri Lankan delegates

Presentations from companies


Let's exchange business cards!

SiTF welcomed Sri Lankan delegates for a networking session at the SiTF house on 15 Nov 07. Our distinguished guests are from the Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council (SLSBC), which is part of the ceylon chamber of commerce. During the session, both local and Sri Lankan delegates had their air time to share with the group a little more about their respective companies. Contacts were also exchanged as new opportunities are explored.



Grabbing opportunities

For more pictures, visit our gallery

"I am pleased to send this message to mark the occasion of the visit to Singapore of the Sri Lanka Singapore Business Council delegation to attend Global Entrepolis Singapore 2007. As at date, 11 delegates representing 8 companies will participate in this premiere business networking event to identify business opportunities and to establish contact with members of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) where one to one business meetings have been arranged. The delegation will also network with companies from overseas that will participate at the event. The focus this year too will be essentially IT/ITES related and the companies from Sri Lanka many of which lead their field will comprise the delegation. An important feature in the companies participating is that many have innovative products and operate in diversified markets. This reflects the resourcefulness of the entrepreneurs and management of those companies and the talent of their teams, which has the potential to mutually benefit both the company and its business partners."

-Shamil Mendis

President, Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council



About Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council

The Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) was inaugurated on 14 August 1997 with the objective of promoting trade, investments, joint ventures, services and tourism between Sri Lanka and Singapore. The Council with its membership of over 50 reputed companies in Sri Lanka, serves as a recognised representative of business sector interests. The Council functions under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the premier Chamber in Sri Lanka with its membership representing the entire spectrum of the business community.
The services of the Council range from assisting in matchmaking / establishing business contacts, sourcing business partners for visiting businessmen, organising one to one business meetings, inward / outward missions, trade fairs / exhibitions and dissemination of trade related information.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Visit by Vietnam Delegates

Local delegates interacting with our guests

Vietnam delegates came to Singapore for a visit on the 14 Nov 07. The networking lunch session was held at Suntec Tower 3. Over 40 participants from local companies and MNCs were present to interact with the Vietnamese. Some SiTF members snapped at this wonderful chance as well to enlarge their network. It is a fruitful networking session as both local and Vietnam delegates grabbed the opportunity to exchange contacts.

Lunch time! Let's eat!

Visit our gallery!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

GlobalRoam heeds the call of China


EVER wanted to give your phone number to someone you met - a business contact, housing agent or even a date - but did not want them to keep calling you if the relationship soured? And what about worrying if they will pass your number to other people? In the past you had to change your number to stop unwanted contact. But GlobalRoam's new cMask service lets you give out a cMask number that others can call and SMS as if it were your real number.

If you want contact to cease you just delink the cMask number without having to change your real number. And only those you give your cMask number to can contact you. Anyone else who calls the cMask number from another line won't be able to reach you.

GlobalRoam, which is listed on PhilipCapital's OTC market, may be about to strike gold with the new service. This month it signed a preliminary pact with China Unicom New Space - a subsidiary of giant China Unicom - to launch the cMask service in four Chinese cities by the middle of next year. And dating online communities Eteract.com and SingaporeCupid.com started using cMask this year to let members chat on the phone without giving their real numbers.

GlobalRoam chief executive Clarence Tan (main head picture) says the technology is useful for many purposes. "You can give cMask numbers to business partners but if the deal turns bad you can easily break the link. And when people advertise to buy and sell things, they can give out their cMask number and deactivate it later."

GlobalRoam's second new service, gCross, lets mobile phone users call their friends' personal computers (PCs) to chat using a Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) or instant messaging. This helps parties save money as PC users do not have to pay for calls received.

Older technology required a unique number to be bought for every PC, which could be expensive, Mr Tan says. "If there are two million VoIPusers, you need two million numbers." But gCross uses technology that helps the company save resources so only 200 numbers are needed for four million VoIP users.

Both services use SmartMap, a technology that GlobalRoam has filed a patent for. SmartMap was developed by professors at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is based on mapping algorithms. "The professors provided the algorithms and we commercialised the technology by putting up applications," says Mr Tan, who has an MBA from NUS.

For full press release, click here

About GlobalRoam Group LimitedGlobalRoam Group Limited is a group of companies which provides innovative infocomm services. The Group's objective is to connect people across diverse media, transcending barriers created by technology across different platforms. With its patent-pending technology, this includes bridging the mobile world to the online world, at convenience and cost savings to end-users. GlobalRoam collaborates with Telecommunication companies and service providers in reaching out to new markets. GlobalRoam is headquartered in Singapore with data centers in Singapore and US. GlobalRoam is the first OTC-quoted company in Singapore. For more details, visit www.globalroam.com.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

ASOCIO APICTA is here!

Download event programme

SiTF is hosting the regional Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) ICT Summit and the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards. This is the first time in history that these two events are being held together.

On 28 November 2007, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan is the guest of honour and will be giving a ministerial address during the ASOCIO ICT Summit. Be the first to hear on what the Minister has to say. IDA will be updating on the progress made on the progress made on the IN2015 master-plan. In addition, Japan, Korea and Malaysia will share their ICT opportunities and future plans. More than 200 delegates are expected to attend the ASOCIO ICT Summit, including regional delegates. No other forum where you will get such a mix of audience and speakers.

The networking opportunities are immense. There will be senior infocomm managers (buyers and sellers), venture capitalists and top government officers. We expect about 500 delegates to attend the various ASOCIO and APICTA events. Part of the program includes the business matching birds-of-a-feather session. This event is open to all, complimentary of SiTF. You will get to listen to exciting presentations throughout the afternoon and view exhibits of not only local companies, but from the region as well.


Please visit: www.sitf.org.sg/singapore2007 and click on the ASOCIO icon for more information and online registration.

Join us @ Sitex 2007 - your digital playground

Come join us @ Sitex 2007 - your digital playground!!!


Date: 29 November 07 - 2 December 07
Time: 11am - 9pm daily
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 5-6



FREE ADMISSION!!!


Lucky Draw

For every $100 spent at the show, you'll be entitled to 1 lucky draw entry. Multiple entries will be generated based on how much you've spent (up to a maximum of 20 entries per customer). For example, S$500 gets you 5 entries. Proceed to SITEX 2007 Lucky Draw Area for redemption of lucky draw coupons.

1st Prize: Pioneer 50" HD Plasma TV, $8,299.00
2nd Prize: Pioneer Home Theatre, $6,093.00
3rd Prize: POS Corporate Software, $5,000.00
4th Prize: DAUF Navigation System AUF 6800, $2,600.00
5th Prize: Packard Bell EasyNote MV85-002, $2,298.00
6th Prize: Packard Bell EasyNote GN45-019, $1,798.00
7th Prize: Compaq Presairo F576AU Notebook PC, $1,099.00
8-9th Prize: Packard Bell Compasseo 600, $788.00
10-12th Prize: Packard Bell Compasseo 600 (160+40), $788.00
13th Prize: UTILITY Desktop, $899.00
14th Prize: DAUF Portable GPS Navigation, $700.00
15th Prize: X-BOX 360 Model, $699.00

Plus, loads of awesome prizes including Free Edvan Multi-Media Speaker System, IT magazine subcription, Besta Electronic Dictionary, Pioneer HDMI DVD Player and Aztech Helex RC Helicopter!

With such attractive prizes, what are you waiting for? Mark it down on your calendar, "29 Nov 07 - 2 Dec 07: Sitex 2007!!!"
For more inforation, visit http://www.sitex.com.sg/

Friday, November 9, 2007

Infocomm Singapore explores opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe

Mr Pek, Chairman of SiTF, standing right of PM Lee Hsien Loong during a group photograph


The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), together with the Singapore Business Federation, led a business delegation to Hungary and Poland last month as part of efforts to help local infocomm companies explore e-government opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. The business trip took place in conjunction with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Hungary on 8-10 October 2007.

Members of the infocomm delegation included CrimsonLogic, Singapore Technologies Electronics, Stratech Systems and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation.

Commenting on the infocomm opportunities in the two countries, Ms Tham Ai Chyn, Assistant Chief Executive, Industry and Cluster Development, IDA, noted that Poland and Hungary had joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 and were aligning themselves to the EU’s i2010, a strategic policy framework which lays out broad policy guidelines for the information society and the media. “In the two country's transition towards a vibrant free market; opportunities exist for Singapore companies, particularly in areas like IT solutions in e-government, intelligent transport systems, hospitality management services and possibly environmental services and logistics, she said.

Hungary is one of Singapore's largest trading partners among the Central European countries and the country’s infocomm and telecommunications (ICT) industry has considerable backing from the government. Last year, the Hungarian government spent some €19.5 million ($40.56 million) on the development of IT. A further investment of €546 million is planned over the next seven years from EU funds.

During last month’s visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ST Electronics and Hungary’s Albacomp Computers Company to jointly pursue and implement infrastructure projects for the public and private sectors in the country. Albacomp is one of the five largest IT companies in Hungary. The MOU was signed in Budapest during the Singapore-Hungary Business Forum, witnessed by Prime Minister Lee and Hungary's Minister of Economy and Transport, Mr Janos Koka. As a start, both companies have identified and agreed to pursue two public projects in the areas of mass transit and e-Government, and are expecting potential market opportunities in these areas with value worth more than US$100m in the near term. The Singapore delegation also visited Poland, where €700 million is planned to be spent on developing IT resources within public administrations offices between 2007 and 2013. Speaking at the Poland-Singapore Business Forum during the visit, Mr. S. Iswaran, Minister of State for the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, said he saw great scope for cooperation in ICT, especially in the e-Government space. “Poland is the largest ICT market in Central and Eastern Europe, and its ICT industry contributed a significant 5.5 per cent to GDP in 2005.Prospects for the Polish ICT industry remain bright due to fresh demand, especially in e-Government,” he said.



“The trip to Europe is really interesting for me both as a Siemens staff, and also as the Chairman of SiTF. The projects that are available there are typically huge by Singapore standards. With the EU backing in terms of funding and policies, our companies can replicate a solution to the EU countries with some minor changes, but again there is tremendous synergy. What is key to success is that of determination, and stamina. Our members should understand that the countries are much bigger compared to Singapore which is a city, state, and country at the same time. Contrast this to the European countries, you will realise that the customer knowledge network increases exponentially. However, if we can navigate this like some of our other companies, there is a tremendous pot of gold for us. I do hope that we have more companies that are keen to be in Europe, and I wish them all success.”

-Mr Pek Yew Chai
Chairman, SiTF

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Looking out for an IT vendor

Fancy your IT expertise? Be the one to maintain SiTF's own server!

SiTF is looking for an IT vendor to give IT support to the organisation. The job scope would include server maintainence and providing IT support to related issues. Applicants must have substantial knowledge on both hardwares and softwares.

Interested personnel can give us a quote. For more details, please contact jenny at 63259705 or email her at jenny@sitf.org.sg

Thursday, November 1, 2007

I Want Windows Mobile for FSI Solutions

Developing Windows Mobile applications and need a platform to help market your applications to your target audience? Need to train your developers to get up to speed but don't have the budget for the training? Need access to devices for testing but faced with limited budget?

Microsoft and SITF Wireless Chapter has announced the “I Want Windows Mobile for FSI Solutions” programme to help local ISVs to get jumpstarted in this market.



If you qualify, you get:
1. Free 3 days training on Windows Mobile development
2. A free Motorola MC35 Windows Mobile Professional device
3. A loaner Moto Q Windows Mobile 6 Standard device for testing

Developer Learning Solutions has been appointed the training partner for this programme. Check out the course info here.