Businesses in Singapore Are Starting To Get Their IT Diets Right

Known for having a first-world economy, Singapore has recently overtaken the US to become the most competitive nation in the world, according to the World Economic Forum. In the same month, Singapore was also named the world’s smartest city by the inaugural IMD Smart City Index, beating the likes of Zurich, Oslo and Geneva. This list of impressive accolades can be attributed to the Singapore government’s drive towards transforming the country into a smart nation and a global innovation hub.

In its bid to achieve its smart nation ambition, the government has further introduced a slew of initiatives and pledged to invest $19b into research and development (R&D) efforts, under its new Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan.

But whilst it is encouraging to see resources being put into spurring innovation through technology, it is equally important to ensure that the money is being invested in the right technology.

To help visualise the vital importance that tech has for any business, both big and small, the modern business’s spending on IT should be thought of as being akin to a diet. At the most basic level, food – or in the case of this analogy, tech investments – is required for survival.

More than that, though, careful and disciplined IT diets are required for the long-term health of the organisation: a healthy body will allow the company to embark on more adventures (take on more business opportunities); on the flip side, a neglectful diet can lead to a host of health-related issues and costs (paying more in the long run, or losing out on potential business revenue). Just like our famous local delicacy – Char Kway Teow – whilst it may be cheap and tasty, it is very unhealthy and may affect one’s health if consumed daily. Finally, there are plenty of fad diets (technological trends) that businesses will need to carefully research and then choose from to ensure that they make the investments that truly suits their industry and business.

This has been a perennial issue that businesses around the world have struggled with. However, there are some definite signs that businesses in Asia, and Singapore in particular, are starting to get their IT diets right, and that there is still further room for improvement.

An increasingly sophisticated IT palette
Have you ever had an amazing steak at a great steakhouse and thought “That’s it, all other steak is ruined for me now”? In the same vein, there is no denying that companies have increased the business priority of tech investments over the years, but then so have expectations of IT infrastructure – both externally from customers, and internally from employees – and businesses have to figure out how they can outpace those expectations.

According to the Global Shopper Study that Zebra Technologies released recently, more than half of shoppers surveyed believe that they are better connected through their smartphones than store associates. From the other side of the fence, most surveyed retail decision makers (83%) and store associates (74%) concur that shoppers can have a better experience with technology-equipped sales associates.

Yet within the vast variety of dietary options (technologies) available to organisations today, the nutritional aspect of diets must also be considered, and in this case, there are certain attributes that businesses are increasingly looking out for in any IT diet. Similarly, mobility has become a key trend for APAC businesses.

The latest Asia-Pacific (APAC) vision study on the Future of Field Operations from Zebra Technologies showed that mobile technology investment is a growing priority for up to 60% of APAC organisations. The study also showed that equipping front-line workers with enterprise mobile devices is a priority for businesses to stay competitive, and that mobile-first organisations in Asia-Pacific tend to be early adopters of emerging efficiency-boosting field operations technologies.

Taking a long-term view on business health
In preparing for a successful and sustainable business, business leaders must make well-informed decisions. Just like how many people would have loved cheap and unhealthy food in their youth, many businesses have in the past preferred to use consumer-grade products that have lower upfront costs, rather than purpose-built enterprise solutions.

However, businesses are starting to take a long-term view on their IT investments; the Future of Field Operations study showed that mobile-first organisations in Asia-Pacific are conducting total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis prior to a major capital expenditure on mobile technology up to 83% of the time.

TCO analysis refers to an assessment of the total and comprehensive costs of a product over its entire deployment period. For example, consumer-grade products may have lower upfront costs, but are likely to be significantly less durable that enterprise solutions. A study from VDC Research on the concept of TCO found that the TCO of rugged tablet computers was less than half that of a non-rugged tablet computer. Factors that result in the lower TCOs of enterprise device include higher productivity, lesser downtime, lower operational and support costs, and a longer product life cycle. These factors also lead to a higher return on investment (ROI) for such devices.

Business leaders in Singapore, and around the world should be actively looking out for how IT investments can create new business opportunities and improve business revenues. One example from the retail space would be in how a retail store associate in a brick-and-mortar store can recapture a lost sale from an out-of-stock situation, by offering the customer additional information about other store locations where the product would still be in stock, or be offering delivery directly to the customer’s home.

Following through on IT diet plans
Anyone who has ever tried to diet would know how difficult it can be stick to dietary plans, even with the best of intentions. The industry insights I’ve discussed mainly reflect the strategic tech investment plans of Singapore businesses, but it is more important that those plans are followed through on.

Given the complexity of the tech landscape these days, I’d strongly recommend that forward-thinking business leaders actively engage IT dietitians (tech providers and consultants) to work out the best IT diet plans for their companies, and better understand the significant benefits that such plans can bring to the business health of the organisation.