The wholly-owned subsidiary, called IDA International, will also serve as a platform for Singaporean technology firms - many of which are struggling in tough economic conditions - to expand overseas.
The Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), Lee Boon Yang, said that growth for the infocomms industry was expected to fall by a half this year, and IDA International would help local IT companies find new sources of revenue.
The unit will offer “holistic” solutions, from high-end strategic planning to implementation. “Teaming agreements” will see local firms such as NCS, Netrust, Elixir and ST Electronics club together to offer complimentary e-government solutions.
“It’s taken Singapore 28 years to get e-government where it is today,” said Seah Chin Siong, the CEO of IDA International. “Other countries want to get there in a much smaller timeframe - they want to leapfrog others using Singapore’s experience.”
Seah admitted that the biggest challenge will be how Singapore’s e-government model could benefit countries of different sizes, languages and cultures.
However, he insisted that the city-state’s size should not mean that its model cannot work in bigger countries. “We can be of as much help to China as we can to Bhutan,” he said.
Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and South Africa were identified as target markets for IDA International. Brunei was the only Asian country mentioned.
The idea to create an international arm was first mooted during an industry dialogue session with MICA in 2007, according to Tan Yen Yen, chairman of Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Robin Hicks
Quelle/Source: FutureGov Magazine, 18.02.2009
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