Digitally Transforming Culture and Customer Experience DIGITAL REPORT 2021
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
Yeo Teck Guan, Chief Business Technology Officer
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SINGAPORE POOLS PRIVATE LIMITED
DIGITALLY TRANSFORMING CULTURE AND CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE Yeo Teck Guan discusses change management, COVID-19, and the digital transformation of Singapore’s state-owned gambling organisation.
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eo Teck Guan is a man on a mission. Since joining Singapore Pools Singapore’s state-owned gambling non-profit - in 2012, Yeo has worked tirelessly to enact a complete digital overview of the organisation’s capabilities and strategy. “Digital transformation is key. So it has been important to figure out how Singapore Pools, as a very traditional company with a long history, could leverage technology,” he explains. “Along the way we've learned a lot about how best to shape the customer experience and better support our customers.” This month, we sat down with Yeo to discuss the ongoing digital transformation strategy he is spearheading, enhancing Singapore Pools to be a more agile, digitallyempowered business.
A Safer Bet When Singapore gained its independence in 1965, the new government found itself faced with a number of challenges, one of which being illegal gambling. However, the new government was aware that a blanket ban - like Prohibition in the United States - would simply drive those activities underground, putting more money in the pockets of triads and illegal bookkeepers, creating an unsafe experience for Singaporeans looking to bet. “During that time there were a lot of illegal activities, including gambling, that were causing problems for the country,” explains Yeo. “So, in 1968, the government set up Singapore Pools to provide people who wanted to bet with a safe and trusted means to do so, and to use the funds to support our community.” singaporepools.com
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The organisation is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tote Board, which is a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance.. Over the past 50 years, Singapore Pools as played a leading role in combating the country’s illegal gambling scene. “Our mission was to provide those people who bet with a safe and trusted environment in which to do it, and ensure that the surplus revenue from gambling in Singapore could be channelled back into supporting the community through charities, rather than lining the pockets of illegal syndicates,” Yeo explains, adding that, in the decades since its inception, Singapore Pools has earned the trust of the country’s citizens. First and foremost, winnings are tax-exempt, so winners get to keep every dollar of their prize money. “Unlike in a lot of other countries, if you win a million dollars, you get to keep a million dollars,” says Yeo. And all the surplus 4
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revenue is channelled back to the government where it's used to build national stadiums and so forth.” In the 2019/2020 financial year, Singapore Pools collected close to S$9bn. Of that total, S$6.3bn - 70% of the total - was returned to the winners, 22% was collected by the government as tax revenue, and 5% was channelled to the Tote Board to be redirected to charities and grants that support the arts, community development, charity, education, health and sports sectors, with the remaining 3% representing the organisation’s operating costs. Digitally Transforming the Customer Experience The first step Yeo and his team took was transforming the Singapore Pools’ customer touchpoints, which were very traditional counter-service based and in-person when he arrived.In 2016, the team launched an
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enhanced Singapore Pools Account service that allowed customers to manage their accounts and place bets online. The platform is also supporting Singapore Pools’ efforts to work with the authorities on combating illegal gambling activity. Next, Yeo and his team rolled out new, digital branches. “Traditionally, customers come into our physical locations, speak to someone at a counter to place their bets, pay their money and so forth,” Yeo explains. “The digital branches allow our customers to access our services using new technologies, and conduct transactions in a way that is paperless, cashless and queueless.”
YEO TECK GUAN TITLE: CHIEF BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER COMPANY: SINGAPORE POOLS INDUSTRY: GAMING LOCATION: SINGAPORE
“ Our mission is to provide those people who like to bet with a safe and trusted environment in which to do it” YEO TECK GUAN
CHIEF BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SINGAPORE POOLS
EXECUTIVE BIO
Socially Responsible Gambling Both the Singapore Pools app and digital branches will explore facial recognition in their onboarding process, not only to make the customer experience more frictionless and improve security, but also
Yeo Teck Guan is the Chief Business Technology Officer of Singapore Pools, a subsidiary of Tote Board. He is responsible for leading digital transformation and innovation within the organisation, while providing leadership to spearhead all Information Technology initiatives. As a digital evangelist at heart, his passion is to drive innovation and the digital acumen within the organisation, to grow its strengths as a contributor to the community. Outside of Singapore Pools, he is active within the business and professional community to contribute his expertise and knowledge to fulfil the mission and objectives of non-profit organisations and committees.
Adoption of digital technology to transform services and businesses Cisco has been proud to partner with Singapore Pools, helping them enhance their data center infrastructure. They have pivoted well to a digital-first world and we were proud to help them develop their various digital channels. Through our time with them, we have also helped Singapore Pools develop a comprehensive centralised platform for iShine Cloud, which was set up to provide charities with an affordable IT platform.
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Cisco and Singapore Pools: Innovation, Security and Trust
Andy Lee, Managing Director of Cisco Singapore & Brunei, on working with Singapore Pools on their digital transformation journey. Cisco Systems is a pillar of the digital age, helping companies of all sizes develop a roadmap for their digital transformation journey, transforming the way people connect, communicate and collaborate. “We use technology as the bridge between hope and possibility,” explains Andy Lee, Cisco’s Managing Director for Singapore and Brunei. “We help our customers build simpler, more secure and more cost-effective networks, in order to help them, not only unlock today’s opportunities, but also to ensure they are ready for the future.” Cisco was chosen by Singapore Pools as a key technology partner, helping them leverage technology from AI and big data to automation and cyber security in order to make better, more informed decisions. It’s a long-standing relationship built on mutual trust and a shared enthusiasm for innovation.
“We have a deep understanding of Singapore Pools’ core vision, business priorities and how they run their operations,” says Mr. Lee, emphasising just how important “collaboration and trust” are to the success of their joint venture. During the past 12 months, as the world found itself thrown into a new, often uncomfortable reality, Cisco has been an essential part of Singapore Pools’ support structure, as the company made the transition to a remote working model “almost overnight.” Mr. Lee stresses just how important technology has been as an enabler in managing that transition, something that has only served to elevate Cisco’s importance to its partners. By leveraging its cutting edge networking solutions, Cisco has been able to help partners like Singapore Pools “ease the transition to the new digital reality of a remote and distributed workforce.” Both Mr. Lee and Mr. Yeo are irrepressible disruptors whose work is never done. Mr Yeo has big plans for Singapore Pools, and Mr. Lee plans on being there to help every step of the way. “We are proud to partner with Singapore Pools on their digital transformation journey to streamline and automate all their manual processes,” says Mr. Lee. “We look forward to working closely with them to drive productivity, efficiency and long term business resiliency, in order to ensure a seamless transformation from the old to the now to the new.”
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TYPES OF PRODUCTS Singapore Pools' roster of products has evolved over the years, offering an alternative to illegal gambling avenues while also keeping to the organisation’s mission to promote socially responsible gambling.
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DID YOU KNOW...
Toto is a 6-out-of-49 state lottery game. First played in 1968, Toto is Singapore Pools’ oldest, and one of its most popular products. The Singapore Sweep was introduced in 1969, and involves a seven-digit sweepstake drawn once a month. 4D is Singapore Pools’ third lottery. The four-digit game hit the market in May of 1986 and holds prize draws every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Lastly, in 1999, Singapore Pools added sports betting to its portfolio, initially covering football, but adding motorsport in 2008 and horse racing in 2019.
to help further the organisation’s mission to promote socially responsible gambling. “By leveraging on facial recognition, we will be able to protect the security of our mobile app users, to prevent unintended bets through unauthorized access” Singapore Pools is a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA), which comprises more than 80 countries and oversees socially
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responsible gambling practices across the globe. “We have achieved the highest level of certification from the WLA, which we have maintained since 2012,” says Yeo. At the same time, Yeo adds that they partner with the Singapore government and the National Council on Problem Gambling to promote safer play, and work towards minimising the dangers of problem gambling to their customers
In the Wake of COVID-19 The Coronavirus pandemic had a dramatic effect on the operations of enterprises across the world, with some being better prepared to meet its challenges than others. “COVID-19 has created a number of pain points for us, and solving them has required a change mindset,” says Yeo. Singapore went into lockdown for two singaporepools.com
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IMPOSSIBLE DOES NOT C O M P U T E. Technology that turns ideas into reality.
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DELL TECHNOLOGIES AND SINGAPORE POOLS: TRANSFORMING IT
ERIC SEOW OF DELL TECHNOLOGIES ON WORKING WITH SINGAPORE POOLS TO DELIVER IT TRANSFORMATION IN THE FACE OF CHANGING CONSUMER DEMAND In 2015, Yeo Teck Guan, Singapore Pools’ Chief Business Technology Officer, needed a strategic technology partner that had the ability to deliver essential technological innovation and support those innovations throughout their lifecycle. “He saw this in Dell Technologies,” says Eric Seow, Financial Sector District Sales Director for Dell Technologies Singapore. “We delivered what Singapore Pools needed: highly resilient, highperformance infrastructure that powers their 24/7 digital platform.” Since 2015, Dell Technologies has remained a key strategic partner of Singapore Pools, helping them use digital channels to better engage their community of consumers, as well as unlock the potential of new, innovative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, IT automation and the adoption of hybrid cloud. “Our partnership has grown even stronger and we have embarked upon several initiatives to inject new IT capabilities and greater resiliencies into their organisation,” says Seow. At the heart of this ongoing relationship, Seow explains, are commitment, empathy and trust. He adds that, “Having a close collaborative relationship is one of the key ingredients for any successful outcome. To develop that kind of relationship, there must be trust at every level. We have earned that trust through years of successful engagement and delivering on our promises.”
Going forward into 2021, Dell Technologies will continue to support its valued strategic partners including Singapore Pools - as it facilitates success in the new normal, and helps organisations leverage increasingly vital digital platforms and applications to drive successful outcomes. “We are seeing digital platforms becoming more vital for organisations to connect and deliver their differentiators to the consumer; blockchain becoming an intrinsic technology that will strengthen the security portfolios of businesses; the rollout of 5G driving new use cases for IoT; and AI, ML and automation as essential success factors in this new data driven era,” says Seow. “Dell Technologies has made vast investments over the years in all of these key technological advancements, with many of them being incorporated into the design of our latest products and solutions.” This year, Seow sees Dell Technologies’ relationship with Singapore Pools reaching new levels of engagement and innovation, as the two organisations “continue to explore new use cases for these advanced technologies and assess how we can deliver meaningful, enriching capabilities for Singapore Pools and their community of consumers.”
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months during 2020. “We were all working from home. We were lucky that our digital journey was already well underway when the pandemic hit,” Yeo adds. “We had already transitioned to Office 365, which meant we were well positioned to make the jump to working remotely. Singapore Pools' staff basically faced no difficulties during the lockdown.” However, Yeo notes that the shift to remote work elevated the cyber security risks that Singapore Pools faced. With some older staff working remotely in the cloud for the first time in their careers, Yeo explains that the whole company “needed to be extra vigilant when it came to cyber attacks.” In response, Singapore Pools has been conducting regular antiphishing campaigns to better train its staff to recognise and report any suspicious activity. 12
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“ The digital branches allow our customers to access our services using new technologies, and conduct transactions in a way that is paperless, cashless and queueless” YEO TECK GUAN
CHIEF BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SINGAPORE POOLS
SINGAPORE POOLS PRIVATE LIMITED
Training has been an essential part of managing cultural change amid a digital transformation and the constraints of COVID19. “There's been a lot of training and teaching over the past year. During the pandemic we've also held quarterly virtual town halls which we use to keep employees informed, and to educate them about upcoming changes,” Yeo says. “Change mindset needs to be top down and also bottom up. The senior management needs to provide support and leadership on our initiatives and instil confidence in the staff. Bottom up is about understanding whether our staff like and see the value in different tools and initiatives.” Yeo’s team set up forums for Singapore Pools staff to share their opinions, comments and suggestions on new initiatives, which were then incorporated into the company’s ongoing strategy.
DID YOU KNOW...
MAKING THE MOST OF DR OPEX “Traditionally, any CIO will tell you that you run your digital services on one data centre, and have a second running passively for disaster recovery (DR) backup,” Yeo notes. “Our DR has always been a big operational expense and, with the latest technology available, we're looking at using our DR facility to support the operational capacity of our standard data centre, meaning we have as much as 200% capacity to support customer demand for our digital services.” Unlocking additional capacity has become even more essential during the COVID-19 crisis, which caused a global spike in data demand which, combined with the Singapore Government’s recent moratorium on new data centre builds, means that getting the most out of available digital infrastructure is a higher priority than ever. “My team and I are trying to get rid of our DR data centre and pivot towards using it to better support our customers,” says Yeo, adding that Singapore Pools’ strategic partner, Dell EMC, “has been chosen to help us with this because their position in the technology landscape gels nicely with what we’re looking to accomplish.”
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Leveraging on IT infrastructure to help charities digitalise Singapore Pools has always aspired to be a “Company for Good” and is committed to leverage their strengths to achieve this goal. Leveraging their technology capital and IT expertise to benefit the community, Singapore Pools set up iShine Cloud in 2018. iShine Cloud is a charity that provides other charities with an affordable and integrated suite of charity-specific solutions via a secure cloudbased IT platform. Using Singapore Pools’ IT infrastructure, as well as other resources, iShine Cloud aims to improve the productivity, governance and efficiency of operations of charities, thus enabling them to focus on better serving their beneficiaries. With iShine Cloud, Singapore Pools is able to help keep charities running amid the COVID-19 crisis. While the rest of Singapore forges ahead with various Smart Nation initiatives, the nonprofit sector has been struggling to pick up the pace. Digitisation is therefore paramount to address these challenges. iShine Cloud has since onboarded 31 charities with 1,512 users and is looking to expand its solutions and support more charities in the future. 2021 and Beyond Yeo is always looking for the next project. He admits that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few strategic goals weren’t accomplished in 2020. “Because of COVID-19, things were obviously slower last year; instead of nine or 10 megaprojects, we only did five. Having said that, we still managed to go ahead with some essential projects,” he says. “This year, we will continue on our journey to upgrade and consolidate our major systems, bringing in our global partners to help us move forward and improve.” 14
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“ Ultimately, it is with the support of this very team that I am confident that we can continue our transformative success here in Singapore Pools” YEO TECK GUAN
CHIEF BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, SINGAPORE POOLS
As for what the future holds, Yeo adds that the achievements in digital transformation thus far would not have been possible without his capable and forward-looking team. “Ultimately, it is with the support of this very team that I am confident that we can continue our transformative success here in Singapore Pools.”
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