SINGAPORE – An initiative to supply small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) entry to a chief know-how officer (CTO) has helped them save time once they go digital.
On high of this, the 70 corporations in Singapore which have used the scheme since December final yr have obtained assist to evaluate what they want first, earlier than getting suggestions of doable know-how options and even coaching programmes.
That is based on an replace on Friday (Feb 25) by the Infocomm Media Improvement Authority (IMDA) and its appointed consultants on the federal government initiative.
Within the scheme, corporations that can’t afford an in-house know-how chief have entry to a advisor CTO, who helps them implement their digital plans.
The service will help corporations shave off time for placing their digital plans in movement to a month, as an alternative of the six to 9 months they’d have taken on their very own, stated Stone Forest, one of many two consultancy companies within the initiative. The opposite agency is Accenture.
The CTO-as-a-Service scheme, introduced in February final yr, helps SMEs assess their digital readiness and determine their digital wants by a Internet portal, and recommends digital options eligible for subsidies below the Authorities’s SMEs Go Digital scheme.
SMEs that want extra assist can faucet a pool of IT consultants who can tailor particular tech options to satisfy their wants, if off-the-shelf services and products will not be accessible. These consultants also can supply mission administration providers.
Practically three in 4 SMEs that used CTO-as-a-Service engaged these consultants, stated IMDA.
Many corporations that search assist from the scheme accomplish that as a result of they have no idea the place to begin once they need to digitalise, stated Ms Eileen Tan, government director and head of knowledge know-how providers of Stone Forest.
Some companies use CTO-as-a-Service to keep away from the time-consuming means of trial and error when making an attempt to digitalise, she added.
“On the identical time, they need a extra holistic strategy in the direction of digitalisation, not simply from the cyber-security perspective, but in addition from a governance perspective , particularly on the subject of information safety,” stated Ms Tan.
Amid extra cyber assaults, cyber safety and information safety have come into focus as corporations go digital throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Newest Authorities figures present that instances of ransomware, through which hackers lock up digital recordsdata till a ransom is paid, surged 154 per cent in Singapore between 2019 and 2020.
Eligible corporations that use the consultants’ advisory and mission administration providers for the primary time don’t must pay, however are billed for subsequent consultations.
SMEs that use CTO-as-a-Service come from sectors equivalent to development, meals providers, meals manufacturing, logistics, marine and offshore engineering, skilled providers, retail, safety, and wholesale commerce, stated IMDA.
Asia Excel, a Singapore retailer and distributor of loo and kitchen home equipment, wanted a tech answer for processing the big variety of on-line orders it will get throughout gross sales occasions from completely different e-commerce websites and platforms.
Its managing director Ray Rajagopal stated Asia Excel might get 500 orders throughout peak sale durations, which might take three days to course of. However with the assistance of an answer really useful by CTO-as-a-Service, the processing time might be minimize to simply half-hour.
The time financial savings meant employees might concentrate on different issues equivalent to serving prospects.
“We’re an SME and would not have an in-house IT division or any IT specialists. So, positively, we’ve to depend on options (like these from CTO-as-a-Service),” stated Mr Rajagopal.
Minister of State for Communications and Data Tan Kiat How, who visited Asia Excel at IMM Constructing in Jurong on Friday, stated the scheme was increasing its scope of assist.
Sooner or later, it’s anticipated to assist SMEs construct digital capabilities in areas like information analytics and superior programs equivalent to synthetic intelligence, whereas additionally meet cyber safety and information safety wants, he stated.
“We began this CTO-as-a-Service with a lot of SMEs and the suggestions has been very constructive,” stated Mr Tan. “I encourage SMEs to come back on board – try the providers and proceed your digital transformation journey.”
