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'SAMENA Daily' - News

Singapore government to offer ICT tenders worth S$2.2B in 2015

Tenders will be focussed on digital and data services, web services, infocomm infrastructure, as well as the development of the Smart Nation platform

The Singapore Smart Nation initiative seems to be firing on all cylinders with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) announcing earlier today that S$2.2 billion (US$1.63 billion) worth of information and communications (ICT) tenders would be made available in 2015, in order to further the development of the initiative.

According to the IDA, the tenders will be focussed on digital and data services, web services, infocomm infrastructure, as well as the development of the Smart Nation platform.

This amount is up from the S$1.95 billion (US$1.44 billion) that the government spent on Smart Nation initiatives in 2014.

As per a statement released by IDA, at the moment “resources are being invested into building infocomm infrastructure, developing citizen-centric services and enhancing overall cyber security within the government. In line with the Smart Nation plans for better government service delivery, government agencies will be leveraging on agile development, cloud services and data analytics, as well as emerging technologies like Internet of Things sensors and robotics, to better anticipate and meet citizens’ needs.”

Enhancing cyber security within the government is another key area of focus. Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director of IDA, revealed that over the past two years, measures have been taken to strengthen capabilities in monitoring and detecting cyber threats through the Cyber Watch Centre (CWC) and Monitoring and Operations Command Centre (MOCC) as well as securing of government ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure through DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) mitigation services and tighter access controls.

IDA also announced that a new government initiative known as the Centre of Excellence in software engineering and data analytics is being set up by IDA in One-North. With facilities for user research, user experience testing and consultancy services to government agencies in developing services for citizens. It will be staffed by a team of software engineers and data-scientists, and “engender a culture that is multi-disciplinary, innovative and collaborative”.

“As we move towards realising our Smart Nation vision, the government is actively engaging with citizens, businesses and the tech industry. We seek to gain better insights into the kinds of applications that people need and build new Digital Government capabilities to deliver great experiences to them. This is also the time to invest in the infrastructure that will be foundational to Smart Nation,” said Poh.



Source: http://e27.co/singapore-government-to-offer-ict-tenders-worth-s2-2b-in-2015-20150527/

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