The IT Society_2013 Issue 1 by SCS secretariat

The magazine of The Singapore Computer Society MICA (P) 001/07/2012 S$4 where sold

Cloud Computing Cloud Expansion 2013 pg 3 The Changing Face of BCM pg 4 All Work, No Life? pg 12 Putting Smiles on Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Faces pg 17

JAN MAR 2013

The iT SoCieTy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jan - mar 2013

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PRESIDENT’S NOTE

It’s all up in the Cloud

This March marks my first anniversary as the President of Singapore Computer Society after assuming the helm from Alphonsus Pang. Since the Society’s establishment in 1967, the industry has seen many advances in ICT. While we’ve had our fair share of fads and trends, many technology advances have stood the test of time and continue to change the way we live, work, and play today. Cloud technology is shaping out to be among the latter. Having gained momentum slowly over the last decade, collaborative cloud services look set for deeper entrenchment in our homes and offices over the next 10 years. So it’s no surprise that the theme of this issue is Cloud – a $40-billion industry that is set to grow to $240 billion by 2020.

2012 was an eventful year indeed. Through our various Chapters, we organised many events which provided myriad learning and networking opportunities for members and participants. The good news is, SCS has more events in store for you. So do check out what, when, and where they are.

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arTiCLe

CoLumn

President’s Note

Regular

Editor’s Message

Regular

Cloud Expansion 2013

Feature

04- The Changing Face 05 of BCM

Feature

06- The Cloud Master 07 shares it all

People

Do I really have to be in the office? No!

People

IT Youth Award 2013: Here Are Your Finalists / SCS Quiz

People

Welcome Aboard!

Forefront

All Work, No Life?

Forefront

Are our ICT Professionals Engaged? / Two Special Issues of the International Journal of IT

Forefront

So without further delay, let’s jump right in and get our heads in the Cloud. Have a wonderful 2013 ahead.

14- InfoPier - Your 15 Professional Profile

Professional Development

Developments Coming Your Way / Be a Certified Software Quality Analyst!

Forefront

Putting Smiles on Children’s Faces

Events

ERP Systems and India: Perspectives from Professionals / Dialogue Session with Facebook and Gree

Events

Calendar of Events

Events

Final Say

Regular

At Your Fingertips

We’ll share with you insights about what’s next in cloud computing, locally and on the international stage. Hear from the experts, and get an idea of what to expect this year. And if one of your resolutions is to make it home earlier from your IT job more often, you are likely not alone. We examine the topic of work-life balance in our industry which is rapidly getting an apparently well-deserved reputation for being demanding on our personal time. Find out what professionals and students have to say about this in our latest Infocomm Survey in this issue. Then, hear from the experts about what businesses and individuals can do to spark the change for a healthier way forward. Our feature with awardwinning work-life advocate and entrepreneur Lim Meng Wee reveals his bold approach that is making both his staff and his customers happier!

CONTENTS

Chak Kong Soon President Singapore Computer Society chak.kong.soon@scs.org.sg

The magazine of The Singapore CompuTer SoCieTy

REGULAR

Editor’s Message We start off the New Year with one of the most interesting themes that is changing the landscape of information technology in the last decade: cloud computing. This technology utilises computing resources that include both hardware & software that are delivered as a service over a network such as the Internet. One of the most significant transformation brought about by cloud computing is in the startup space, where developers can purchase servers on demand to build web applications and bring them to market at a rapid rate. While startups have leveraged the power of computing to bring web and mobile applications to market, not all major corporations have come to adopt cloud computing as part of their infrastructure. Chief among their concerns are security and legal compliance. On the security front, cloud computing providers are subject to attacks from black hat hackers who seek to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. On the other hand, a well-known problem is who are supposed to be in “possession” of the data. Most termsof-service agreements from companies do not address the issue of ownership because the cloud computing service has to adjust itself to different ownership rights depending on whether it is the custodian or possessor of the data. Cloud computing has now created many opportunities for organisations. Larger companies are now taking the advantage of not requiring a team to manage IT infrastructure resources or

Editor Bernard Leong

Contributing Writers

use web services that integrate social media into customer relationship management systems. File sharing among users within a company are made simpler all thanks to cloud computing technology. Coupled with the focus on mobility, the demand for cloud computing is not limited to just a developer trying to extract interesting data from a social media platform via an API. It also has the capability to scale based on the demands of the existing services and create interesting patterns and trends through large datasets. As we look forward to another exciting year at SCS, we invite you to get your head in the Cloud with us. See you on Cloud 9!

Raju Chellam K.S. Jaishankar Damien Joseph Christine Koh Dr Lee Hing Yan Lim Meng Wee Eugene Syn Chandra Sekar Veerappan Martin Yates

Advertising Sales & Admin Leong Hoi Lan For ad sales enquiries, Tel: 6226 2567 ext 12 Email: hoilan.leong@scs.org.sg

Mailing Address 53 Neil Road Singapore 088891

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Editorial & Design

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Bernard Leong Editor bernard.leong @scs.org.sg

Feedback We value your feedback on this magazine. Simply email scs.secretariat@scs. org.sg with your comments to help us produce an even more interesting and relevant magazine for you in subsequent issues. You are welcome to submit articles for consideration of inclusion.

For advertising enquiries, please call 6226 2567 or email scs.secretariat@scs. org.sg The IT Society is the official publication of the Singapore Computer Society. Any part of this publication may be reproduced as long as credit is given to the publisher, Singapore Computer Society. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society.

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The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

FEATURE

Cloud Expansion 2013 The forecast of cloud computing looks bright this year, but Martin Yates alerts companies that it may not be all blue skies ahead Given the hype and predictions that our world should have ended months ago, it might be comforting to know it is going to be business as usual going forward. I, for one, predict anything but business as usual in 2013. In fact it could be a tipping point for both IT vendors and consumers as cloud services take greater precedence in the daily execution of business.

• The largest IT cloud infrastructure companies will continue searching and acquiring smaller companies that will add value to their cloud portfolio to make them stand out as true industry market leaders. In the contest for supremacy in the new market place, not all cloud vendors will succeed. After all, adopting private cloud solutions stands out as one of the most complex developing areas in 2013.

While there is no doubt that public cloud suppliers are enticing business users with attractive cloud services, many organisations are still quite reluctant to migrate over to external cloud suppliers. This could be due to reservations such as data security, industry compliance, national regulations, and doubts about the quality of service by cloud providers.

• Organisations building their own internal private cloud services will have many new exciting choices of vendors to choose from. It is never easy to decide which vendor’s strategy to follow, especially when there are no standard solution that ﬁts all. Because of that, differentiated offerings are constantly being developed. We can only expect to see more and improved consolidation of private cloud solutions with other cloud services to form truly integrated Hybrid Cloud solutions in 2013.

But if the internal IT departments cannot grasp the potential cost benefits, and more importantly, the competitive innovative aspects of cloud computing services, your business may be at risk if appropriate decisions are not made now. Despite current trends indicating businesses are working directly through cloud servers, Internal IT departments are not useless at all, and will continue to act as the central function for many organisations in the future. While this may spell a happilyever-after for internal IT departments, it should be noted that the rapid cloud transformations taking place should never be underestimated. That is why, today, many internal IT organisations are building in-house private cloud services, giving their users and business community some of the benefits of cloud experience without leaving the safety of the company data center. This trend will certainly continue to shape the IT service landscape in 2013 and beyond. Based on my own experience, here are some of my forecasts which I hope serves as a little reminder for that 2013 consideration list.

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• The largest public cloud providers today such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google will continue to add extremely valuable cost-efﬁcient functionality to their portfolios, such as a pay-for-what-you-useonly function. Companies that are allowed to use such services will be more agile, all thanks to the ability to customise their IT services according to their needs. Plus, they can save on investing in costly IT infrastructure. The number of business units consuming cloud services will only increase rapidly as long as their policy and regulations permits them to. This move will force traditional in-house IT departments to rethink their internal IT strategies with urgency.

• More in-house IT departments will eventually learn to embrace and support public cloud services by adding their own value-added services as an internal IT offering. With that, internal IT departments can backﬁll many areas of support that are not or could not be realistically provided by commodity- focused public cloud providers. In summary, the role of traditional IT is changing faster than we think. Those who design, build, and run IT must change with the times or be left behind. Business units that once totally relied on internal IT for application hosting and services are gaining independence to forge ahead alone, thanks to public cloud services. Their favorite applications do not always need to be run in-house now as they are increasingly readily available via a web client to any online device. This changes the fundamentals of central governance-driven IT. Moving forward in 2013, internal IT departments and Chief Information Officer (CIO) leading them must develop new capabilities and strategies that align both business and IT into one. So, tell us more about your feedback and experiences. And as 2013 promises to be an exciting year of transformation, we would like to wish you a very good fortune on the journey.

Martin Yates Member, SCS Chairman, Enterprise Cloud Computing & Virtualisation Special Interest Group

Join SCS Enterprise Cloud Computing & Virtualisation SIG today! If you have an interest in Cloud and want to learn more about the Cloud industry, take the first step today by being part of the SCS Enterprise Cloud Computing & Virtualisation Special Interest Group. To register, please visit www.scs.org.sg/cloud_reg.php.

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FEATURE

The Changing Face of BCM Technologies around Big Data and Cloud Computing are prodding more companies to take Business Continuity Management (BCM) seriously

In its simplest form, BCM means being prepared for anything that could hurt, harm, or stop your business from functioning. In a study commissioned by NCS two years ago, network and power outages were the top reasons cited for business disruptions. These days, customers have little patience for web pages that upload too slowly, and no tolerance for companies that are totally unavailable for business online or offline, for whatever reason. Such downtime could result in huge monetary losses for businesses. According to the Meta Group, the cost of downtime ranges from US$1 million an hour for retail companies, to US$2.8 million per hour for utilities companies. With the tremendous potential impact of downtime on the bottomlines of businesses these days, the BCM conversation is now making its way from the IT department to the boardroom.

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

The ABC Behind BCM

Move to Social Media

In a world where Analytics, Big Data, Cloud (ABC) are converging, the need to manage, monitor and measure Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery readiness is also changing.

Also dramatically different are the means of communicating a disaster. Companies can no longer afford to have people manning phones to physically alert individual employees about a potentially disruptive event or disaster. Everyone must be informed in real time, at once, and on every device available.

For a start, cloud computing is no longer hype. Forrester Research estimates the global cloud market to reach US$241 billion by 2020, from under half that level currently. More than 50% of the cloud market by 2020 will be dominated by hybrid clouds, which is combination of public and private clouds. These days, enterprises such as banks, insurance companies, and government departments are making use of this technology to choose what data goes where. Classified information would generally be kept in their own data centres, or on private clouds under their control. In the Business Intelligence and Analytics space, the flavour of the day is Big Data (BD). Simply put, BD is the amalgamation of structured data (in databases) with unstructured data (from email, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn updates, video feeds, etc). International Data Corp (IDC) expects BD spending in the Asia-Pacific outside Japan to reach US$603 million in 2013, up 42.6% over 2012. The market for BD will see a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44% from now to 2015, IDC says.

Gartner predicts that by 2015, 75% of organisations with BCM programs will use social media services in their crisis communications strategies. “Enterprises cannot afford to ignore social media as a crisis communications tool,” Gartner says. “In many cases, social media may offer the only available means of locating and contacting personnel; informing citizens, customers, and partners of product or service availability; and taking other business-critical actions following a disruptive event.”

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Leading the Evolution in Singapore With rising awareness of the importance of BCM today, Spring Singapore offers financial schemes to help companies ensure business continuity and disaster recovery readiness. In October 2012, SCS’ Business Continuity Group (BCG) joined hands with Enterprise Cloud Computing & Virtualization (ECCV) Special Interest Group to organise “Innovative Practices in Business Continuity Management & Cloud”. SCS, through BCG, is doing its part to be at the forefront of BCM evolution in Singapore by boosting awareness in organisations about the need for better preparedness and about the new international BCM standard, ISO 22301.

Join SCS Business Continuity Group today! If you have an interest in BC/DR or BCM, the SCS BCG (Business Continuity Group) invites you to join the Chapter where you will be able to share and exchange BC issues and knowledge with fellow professionals. To register, please visit our website here http://www.scs.org.sg/BCG_join.php.

Be at the forefront of IT Business Continuity with CITBCM Do you want to take the next step in your career? Be the best in the field of Business Continuity Management, Disaster Recovery and Data Centre with the world’s first certification in ITBCM. For more information on CITBCM or the free preview session on 6 March 2013, visit www.scs.org.sg.

Raju Chellam Senior Member, SCS President, Business Continuity Group (BCG)

For details on CITBCM course and examination, contact Institute of Systems Science, NUS at 6516 2020 or visit www.iss.nus.edu.sg

PEOPLE

The Cloud Master shares it all Program Director of the National Grid OfďŹ ce Dr. Lee Hing Yan shares his insights on the local cloud computing scene and gives advice to companies who want to stay in the game.

1. In your current role at IDA, you lead the national programme for cloud computing. Can you tell us more about what your job involves? IDA seeks to increase the competitiveness of Singapore through cloud computing. We also aim to enhance the vibrancy and growth of the Singapore Infocomm sector by developing a cloud ecosystem. To realise these objectives, we have identified six key thrusts: supporting flagship projects, attracting cloud players, developing competency and manpower for industry, forging R&D relationships and building knowledge capital assets, providing enabling infrastructure, and building a trusted environment. We have plans underway to establish programmes and undertake initiatives to realise the above objectives. These include the development of best practices and standards on cloud security.

2. How has cloud computing changed the project management landscape in recent years? The fundamentals in project management are pertinent to this new paradigm of computing. Whether an enterprise is putting in place a private cloud or developing software-as-aservice (SaaS), the project management discipline continues to apply to ensure that the deliverables meet the schedule and stay within budget. What really has changed is the provisioning of software, platform and infrastructure via a service model.

The iT SoCieTy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jan - mar 2013

3. Can you share with us some complexities of projects involving cloud computing? An example of such complexities is to ensure that Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) share security information with the user enterprise so that the latter knows its requirements are met. However, CSPs are quite reluctant to reveal that information. Plus, cloud security measures are quite complex to handle. To address this issue, IDA collaborated with the Information Technology Standards Committee to produce technical references and guidelines on server virtualisation security, cloud security, and service level agreements. With these documents, enterprises can now ensure that the services rendered by CSPs would fulfill their security needs. Another challenging project involved the migration of a legacy system to a cloud platform. Often, legacy systems are based on older versions or propriety technology or software which may be unsupported by CSPs. This makes it much more challenging to migrate a legacy platform than to develop wholly new cloud services.

We aim to use the appropriate cloud for the appropriate need by adopting a multi-prong approach to cloud computing as follows: (a) Leverage commercially-available public cloud offerings for appropriate needs so as to benefit from lower cost of computing resources; and (b) Implement a private Government cloud (G-Cloud) for Wholeof-Government use where security and governance requirements cannot be fulfilled by public clouds.

5. In terms of managing outsourced cloud projects, what are some useful tips you could give to IT professionals to avoid common pitfalls? Cloud computing is not without its challenges. Users should undertake due diligence to ensure that its adoption makes dollar sense and meets regulatory compliance. Using a CSP may mean buying into its proprietary protocols, standards and tools; it makes migration costly, difficult and time-consuming, leading to vendor lock-in. Users should also plan their exit strategy and include such expenses into their cost analysis.

4. How does IDA keep up with the times and expectations of customers? Four years ago, we put in place a bulk tender to ease the procurement of public cloud services by government agencies by pre-qualifying CSPs. A typical procurement process takes several months, negating the benefits of cloud services that are meant to give us the advantage of scalability and agility.

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6. What prompted you to pursue with SCS certiďŹ cations and how has it helped you professionally?

9. Tell us more about yourself. (i.e. time spent with your family)? What do you do during your free time?

In my work, there are five key competencies: project management, advising and consulting, business development, financial management, and professional knowledge. Besides attending regular refresher seminars, attaining SCS certifications is just another avenue to ensure my competency is kept current and measures up to acceptable industry standards.

My children have been working overseas since their university graduation. With our nest now empty, my spouse and I can spend more time together. Outside work, I spend some evenings teaching at NUS. I also undertake weekend mission trips to Batam, and date my wife. Other than that, I research my family tree at libraries, pore over old newspapers and browse microfilms, or embark on genealogy trips. My most recent trip was to locate my ancestral village in Guangdong. While the village is still untouched by massive urban development, it will likely be overrun by factories in the near future. However, I failed to meet any relatives or obtain a copy of the family book. When not poking my nose up the family tree, I will be postcrossing.

7. Would you encourage your staďŹ&#x20AC; and colleagues in your company to attain SCS certiďŹ cations? Why? Certifications are an assurance that an individual has the necessary experience, skills, and knowledge to undertake a job or task. When I hire staff, these certifications are an assurance to me that he or she is competent in specific areas. Likewise, staff lacking in the required competencies should upgrade themselves as part of their professional development. Over the past three years, IDA has been encouraging and supporting all relevant staff to be COMIT certified.

More on Dr Lee Hing Yan Dr. Lee Hing Yan is the Program Director of National Grid Office at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, where he is responsible for the national program for cloud computing. Prior to this, Hing Yan held leadership positions at other prominent organisations. He also co-founded several high-tech companies and is an advisor and member of several advisory panels and councils. The former National Computer Board scholar holds a PhD and two Master degrees.

Dr Lee Hing Yan Senior Member, SCS Program Director, National Grid Office, IDA

8. What is the best advice you will give to IT professionals in order for them to scale new heights in their career? Be teachable as there are many people from whom we can tap wisdom and insights from. It is important to recognise that learning never stops. This is especially true in the Infocomm industry where we continue to witness rapid technology advances and changes.

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PEOPLE

Do I really have to be in the office? NO! Work-Life Excellence Award Winner, Mr Lim Meng Wee, allows staff to work from home. Mr Lim Meng Wee, the Managing Director of SP Consulting (International) Pte. Ltd., recently accepted the Work-Life Excellence Award on behalf of his company. The Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy presented Mr Lim with the award for his effort in advocating worklife balance and integration. He shares with us his thoughts about the award, as well as the importance of a balanced professional-personal life. “We are proud of these achievements. It shows our clients that we really walk the talk,” says Mr Lim as he refers to how his staff are living testaments of the effectiveness of his company’s Work-life Strategy. The company provides consultancy and related trainings on Work-life strategies, among others. So, how exactly is Mr Lim an advocate of work-life balance? Mr Lim allows his staff to work from home. In fact more than 70% of them don’t come into the office at all. That’s not as easy as it sounds though. Mr Lim elaborates, “We have to set measurable and objective outcomes for our staff. Monthly meetings are scheduled to review progress and address project concerns.” To Mr Lim, the outcome of the work produced is more important than the staff’s attendance and punctuality. Mr Lim trusts his staff to take their job seriously, while at the same time, not neglect their personal lives. But even with the given autonomy, some staff still prefer to be in the office because it makes communicating easier. He stresses, “Different staff has different needs at different phases of their lives. The needs of young singles, married couples, and those with elderly parents are different and we have to ensure that their work life needs can be met as much as possible.

THE IT SOCIETY — Jan - Mar 2013

“Depending on their scope of work, we allow telecommuting for some of them while for others like administrative staff, we allow for flexi-times. For some, even with telecommuting and working from home, they may prefer to come to office where they can interact with others more frequently. “So we set up a family area in the office where they can bring their children to work if they want to. We also allow them to use office’s photocopying facilities for their children’s school works.” Mr Lim shares that the best way to promote work-life balance is by “living it out and letting others notice the difference”.

on the best Work-life practices. He also encourages fellow employers to apply for government grants to help implement the work-life balance and workplace health. “I believe one of the most important resources of an IT company or for that matter any company is human resource. With rising expectations from staff wanting the best of both worlds, having a work and also a family life, companies that are able to provide an environment of work-life balance or integration will ultimately be able to attract good and loyal staff.”

Leading by Example When it comes to spending time with his family, he is never stingy. He emphasises the importance of a stable family environment with lots of family time and interaction. Mr Lim believes that these factors contribute a great part to a successful marriage and that “the years of watching a child grow up is priceless”. On top of that, Mr Lim tries to maintain a clean bill of health through a disciplined exercise regime, healthy diet, and regular medical checkups. When it comes to keep work and life in balance, Mr Lim takes advantage of advances in technology. The various mobile devices means that work for him is no longer confined to the office. So you can often find Mr Lim catching up on work even as he attends to his personal commitments. To help promote work-life balance to other organisations, his company joined the Family Life Ambassadors (FLA) and Employer Alliance (EA), playing a role to encourage companies to leverage

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IT Youth Award 2013: Here Are Your Finalists SCS is proud to present our six ﬁnalists for the IT Youth Award 2013. From the pool of nominations received, our finalists stood out due to their unwavering commitments to IT and their outstanding contributions to their schools and community. This year, the community had a say in determining who walks away as the proud winner of this prestigious award. Their votes account for 20% of the overall judging criteria. An astounding 7,737 votes were received during the seven-day voting period. Winners of the IT Leader Awards, and IT Youth Award 2013 will be conferred at the SCS Gala Dinner & IT Leader Awards 2013. The event will be held on 22 February at Shangri-La Hotel. Watch out for the winners in the next issue of The IT Society.

SCS Quiz A) WebOS B) BBX C) QNZ D) QNX 2. The Turing Award has been hailed as the Nobel prize for computer science. Which organisation gave out this award? A) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers B) British Computer Society C) Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences D) Association for Computing Machinery 3. Who is the entrepreneur of SpaceX? (Hint: This man also co-founded Tesla Motors and PayPal.) A) Reid Hoffman B) Jack Dorsey C) Peter Thiel D) Elon Musk 4. Which company’s cloud based gaming platform was used by major Game vendors and has been recently acquired by Sony?

5. The Amazon S3 is an online storage web service. What is S3? A) Super Storage Service B) Simple Sure Service C) Simple Super Storage D) None of the above

9. What does “IaaS” means in Cloud infrastructure? A) Infrastructure as a service B) Information as a service C) Infrastructure as a software D) None of the above

6. Which one of the following is NOT a cloud computing client? A) Mobile app B) Web browser C) Thin client D) Virtual desktop 7. Salesforce.com is the pioneer of web hosted enterprise software for “Software as a service”. Who is the founder of Salesforce.com? A) John Hanke B) Marc Benioff C) Larry Ellison D) Elon Musk 8. Cloud Foundry, Heroku, Force. com, Google App Engine, as well as Windows Azure Compute are examples of: A) Hybrid cloud service B) Software as a service (SaaS) C) Platform as a service (PaaS) D) None of the above

10. Yottabyte is a unit of information or computer storage that is equivalent to A) One billion bytes B) One septillion bytes. C) One trillion bytes D) Billion Billion bytes

Answers: 6. D 1. D 7. B 2. D 8. C 3. D 9. A 4. A 10. B 5. D Correct Answer: Simple Storage Service

1. The New Blackberry 10 smartphones will be based on which operating system?

Chandra Sekar Veerappan Member, SCS Embedded Software Engineer, Human Network Labs

A) Gaikai B) Cloud union C) Square Enix D) Eurogamer Web: www.scs.org.sg

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PEOPLE

Welcome Aboard! 2012 has seen the biggest entry of new members, with more than 800 ICT professionals joining SCS. To date, the Society has more than 27,000 members! Let’s hear from some of our new members about what attracts them to SCS…

Why Should You Join SCS? SCS provides you with a plethora of benefits… - Great OPPORTUNITIES to get in touch with the Infocomm community and our 27,000 members - Wide range of ACTIVITIES such as seminars, career talks, networking events to cater to your needs - Gain PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION with SCS’ industry endorsed certifications

Pravin Jathan Manager Accenture Singapore

Andy Tan

Post-graduate student I am an experienced Business-IT professional delivering solutions in both private and government sectors. Being a ‘T-shaped’ professional, I am always reflecting on the significance of business and IT. I have always been interested in the Arts, Philosophy, and heuristic (computer science). I hope to further the interests of SCS through fostering collaborative learning.

My interest in computers started as early as 1985, when, in my school days, I learned computer fundamentals and BASIC. In my endless journey in IT, I have learnt many lessons, among which is the importance of continuous learning and adapting to changes in order to achieve progress. This is something that keeps me going every day. I am privileged to be a member of Singapore Computer Society.

Join SCS today!

Koh Sui Leng Mohammad Sanower Hosssain Shanu Marketing Executive Azad Catering Pte Ltd

My first experience with the computer was in 2001 at the age of 22. Since then, IT has become a part of my life and I cannot imagine a moment without IT. I started the IT profession as an IT instructor and later moved on to becoming a system administrator and IT executive. I joined SCS to enrich myself with more knowledge on IT.

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Lead Consultant, Application NCS Pte Ltd I have had the honour of gaining 13 years of colourful and creative professional experience in IT, and I feel that the journey will continue to be a fruitful one. A day without technology means a day filled with challenges without our smart gadgets. Because of that, I joined SCS to keep abreast of new technology and trends through their seminars and opportunity to network with professionals in the community.

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FOREFRONT

ALL WORK, NO LIFE? Study reveals the effects of work-life conﬂict on the IT professional, and what to do to restore balance between your professional and personal life. With only 24 hours a day, time is obviously a finite resource for all of us. As working adults, the time we have for personal commitments depends heavily on how much time we spend at work. But, the IT profession is often considered to be one that requires long hours and round-the-clock availability. To make matters worse, technological advancements make it easier for IT professionals to remain connected to the office even after working hours. Moreover, given the interdependent nature of the work, IT professionals often have to wait for others to complete tasks before embarking on their part of the work. Similarly, delays in their own work may affect the work of others downstream. The pressure is especially acute as deadlines draw near. At such times, IT professionals tend to intensify their effort to complete the work to meet deadlines. Such intense work pressures typically leave IT professionals with very little energy for anything else. In fact, the stress of dealing with work-life conflict may even push IT professionals to leave their current employer for a job in a different organisation (turnover), or in severe cases, to leave the IT industry entirely (turnaway).

The Study

Little is known about how work-life conflict affects IT professionals. To what extent do IT professionals experience competing demands on their time and energy at the workplace? How do

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

these different forms of conflicts affect IT professionals’ intention to stay with their organisation and the IT industry? The Singapore Computer Society Infocomm Survey (2011/2012) sought to answer these important questions with information from 758 IT professionals.

The Results

Many IT professionals agree that their working hours are quite demanding. That being said, many have also accepted the demands of their work commitments eating into their personal time. Some are prepared to work long hours, even 24/7 cycles. This worklife conflict will eventually lead to two possible outcomes: a turnover, or a turnaway.

The Solutions?

For Employees Know how much pressure you can handle. If you are experiencing difficulties, talk to someone. Our study reveals that trying to cope with work-life conflict on one’s own is counterproductive as it is likely to lead to further stresses. For Employers Listen to, acknowledge, and understand your subordinates’ work-life concerns and personal obligations. Consider giving your employees flexible work-personal schedules and greater autonomy in managing their work obligations. This may lower the work-life conflict of your employees.

This abstract is taken from a research paper titled ‘The relationship between time conflict, strain conflict, and job mobility intentions’ by Damien Joseph and Christine Koh at the Nanyang Business School, NTU. The paper was presented at the International Paper Development Workshop at 2012 Annual Academy of Management Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, August 3-7.

Damien Joseph

Senior Member, SCS Assistant Professor, Nanyang Business School, NTU

Christine Koh

Associate Professor, Nanyang Business School, NTU

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ARE OUR ICT PROFESSIONALS ENGAGED? SCS’ third industry-wide Infocomm Survey conducted from November 2011 to January 2012 reveals the answer and what it means for employers.

Figure 1 – Engagement (Say, Strive, Stay)

The Infocomm Survey found that 64% of ICT professionals in Singapore feel engaged with their organisations and employers (Figure 1). Findings from Aon Hewitt’s recent research (2012) also revealed that on a global level, only 51% of employees feel engaged with their organisation. An engagement score of 65% and above will consistently deliver better business results. Comparing the results from the Infocomm Survey with the Aon Hewitt’s research, our IT professionals in Singapore look to be faring better than the global average. The Infocomm Survey results also showed that IT professionals who are engaged with their organisations are more satisfied with ICT work, and are less likely to leave the organisation or the industry. SCS’ Infocomm Survey seeks to understand the various needs and issues concerning Infocomm professionals and students in Singapore. This study is a follow-up from the survey results that were published in the Q3 2012 issue. In that issue, we revealed the factors that attracted and retained ICT professionals to the industry and what constitutes “Meaningful Work” to them.

The Singapore Computer Society would like to express our gratitude for the following sponsors and supporters of the Infocomm Survey 2011/2012 Key Partner:

Supporting Organisations:

inTereSTeD To finD ouT more aBouT The SurVey reSuLTS? purChaSe a Copy noW! Please contact Ms Leong Hoi Lan at hoilan.leong@scs.org.sg or call 6226 2567 ext 12 for more details. Item

Price Per Copy* (Executive Summary)

Price Per Copy* (Full Report)

SCS Member

S$20.00/copy

S$40.00/copy

Non-Member

N.A.

S$80.00/copy

*In digital format

Premier Sponsor:

Co-Sponsors:

Two Special issues of the International Journal of IT Learn more about ageless Computing and mobile Commerce! We know you just cannot get enough of IT. That is why we are pleased to announce that the SCS International Journal of Information Technology (IJIT) will be releasing two special issues to satisfy your IT knowledge cravings. The first issue, Volume 18 Number 1 on Ageless Computing, Design and

Web: www.scs.org.sg

Service, focuses on how IT can be used to improve the lives of the elderly. In the second issue of IJIT, Volume 18 Number 2 on Mobile Commerce, the researcher will explain to you the characteristics and the future of businesses-on-the-go.

journal relevant and appealing to readers. Get your two issues of IJIT at http://www.intjit.org/journal/index.html.

The SCS team would like to say a big ‘Thank you’ to Prof Miao Chunyan and her team for keeping the IJIT online

The magazine of The Singapore CompuTer SoCieTy

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Are you on InfoPier? Be a InfoPier member and showcase your professional profile, competencies, awards and achievements, professional certifications and affiliations in just a few clicks. What’s more, InfoPier also allows you to enhance your connectivity with prospective employers and expand your career opportunities.

InfoPier –

your professional proﬁle at your fingertips!

Update your profile and professional competencies by 31 March 2013 and …

get the limited edition of infopier 8gB flash Drive and your free copy of SCS infocomm Survey!

• Enjoy extended InfoPier membership till 31 December 2013. • Receive a limited edition InfoPier 8GB ﬂash drive and a free e-copy of SCS Infocomm Survey 2011/2012 if you are the first 100 to update your full profile in InfoPier.

Follow these two simple steps to move ahead in your career path!

Step 1 Login to your infopier account (Register for InfoPier at www.infopier.sg/signup for new members)

Step 2 update your professional proﬁle

4 2

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

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Choose your Job role and functional group (based on the niCf*)

add in your other Competencies

that you may have acquired from your previous working or training experiences.

Assess your competency level from a scale ranging from “Basic understanding” to “Expert” and Highlight your best competencies to the public. Find out about your career path possibilities and other information of your Job Role directly from the NICF webpage.

add in professional Certiﬁcations that you have earned.

Complete your professional proﬁle

with other professional information such as your working experience and qualifications etc.

Training Dashboard – Personalised Training Programmes at Your Door Step

The latest training programs and industry events will be shown on your InfoPier dashboard, catered to your unique professional development needs. Watch out for special discounts for selected training programs. Exclusively for InfoPier members only.

Do not miss out on the 5th Infocomm Professional Development Forum (IPDF) 2013 this coming July. With a robust participation of more than 250 professionals last year, you definitely will want to attend the event this year to gain insights to the latest and emerging technologies and to foster professional ties with various industry counterparts. Watch this space for more information coming your way!

What’s more…

About InfoPier

InfoPier will be organising a series of Round Table Expert sharing sessions on hot and emerging topics such as Cloud Computing, Social Media, Mobile Computing, Business Analytics, and many more. If you are a technical expert or would like to nominate an expert in any of these topics, please write to infopier@scs.org.sg with your contact information together with the expert’s professional experience. Limited seats will also be made available for backbenchers to hear from these thought leaders.

The Infocomm Registry is your one-stop access to shared knowledge, industry thought leadership, information on training program, latest infocomm news and many more! What are you waiting for? Get registered and update your professional profile on InfoPier today!

*About NICF The National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) defines the competencies needed for various key infocomm job roles. The NICF is part of the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system and was jointly developed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and strategic stakeholders in the infocomm industry. For more information, please check the NICF website at www.nicf.sg. Web: www.scs.org.sg

The magazine of The Singapore CompuTer SoCieTy

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developments Coming Your Way SCS is reviewing and updating its certiﬁcation courses and examinations to enhance relevance and ensure manageability for industry professionals.

Many industry professionals upgrade themselves through SCS’ suite of certification courses and examinations every year. Our certifications including CITPM, COMIT, and CITBCM are valuable and highly coveted credentials recognised by the industry. To ensure relevance and manageability for industry professionals, these courses and examinations are undergoing a thorough review. These certification courses are mapped to the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) and supported by Workforce Development Agency

(WDA) under the WSQ qualification and funding (Up to 70% funding available).

also allow professionals more choices of training provider.

For more information on the course calendar and curriculum, please visit www.iss.nus.edu.sg or call Ms Tay Li Ying at 6516 7646 or email her at tay_li_ying@nus.edu.sg

The newly appointed training providers are:

More Training Providers Onboard SCS has appointed more training providers for the suite of SCS certification courses.This new development will meet the growing demand for SCS certifications. It will

1) COMAT Training Services – CITPM & COMIT courses 2) Organization Resilience Management – CITBCM Course The new training providers will commence the CITPM, COMIT and CITBCM courses in Q2 of 2013. Watch out for more details in the next issue.

Be a Certiﬁed Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) The CSQA certiﬁcation indicates a professional level of competency in carrying out software quality principles and practices. Mr Colin Li, Mr Pua Yeow Cheong, Mr Patel Vipulkumar Ramjibhai and Ms Jessica Wang took the CSQA Examination Preparatory Workshop in October 2012. Hear what they have to say. “The CSQA certification study gave me the opportunity to improve and validate my QA knowledge systematically. This certificate validates me as a PROFESSIONAL in the IT industry. It also tells the management that my expertise is recognised by the IT industry, and that I am very serious about my profession.”

“SCS has provided very high quality training with great course material and in-depth guidance for the CSQA exam model. The CSQA certification enhanced my Quality Management knowledge and helped me with my work. Eventually, I ran my projects and operation in “Green” with respect to cost and timeline.”

Colin Li Changen

Patel Vipulkumar Ramjibhai

“This CSQA certification is an affirmation of the knowledge I have acquired to create quality softwares. As a Lecturer, I will be able to use and share this knowledge and skill with both students and the industry partners to develop quality softwares.”

“The CSQA Certification brings accreditation to my current knowledge in quality assurance. After attending the workshop, I was able to apply the tools and knowledge at work. This new knowledge enabled me to enhance the quality assurance principles and software practices within my organisation.”

Member, SCS Manager, CITS SIM University

Pua Yeow Cheong

Member, SCS Senior Lecturer, School of Informatics & IT Temasek Polytechnic

Senior Technical Lead HCL Technologies Pte Ltd

Jessica Wang Jingxian

Senior Process Specialist StarHub Ltd

Be a Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)! Find out how to be a CSQA and acquire a professional level of competence in software quality now!

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

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Putting Smiles on Children’s Faces SCS Young Professionals’ Chapter charity event brings joy and recognition for kids from Beyond Social Services The SCS Young Professionals’ Chapter, together with various ICT companies and volunteers from Nanyang Polytechnic, organised the LIFE Charity Programme cum Mini Funfair on 1 December 2012. Riding on the success of the 2011 event, the 2012 LIFE Charity event was on a larger scale, and catered to 300 children and 150 caregivers. That Saturday afternoon was filled with fun activities and delightful treats. To spur the children to value education and learning, the LIFE programme incorporated the LIFE Awards to acknowledge them for their exemplary academic performances. The PSLE Award 2012 and the Excellence Award 2012 recognised outstanding performance for primary level students. The Enchanted Award 2012 gave parents or caregivers their due recognition for their volunteerism.

“Acclivis is proud to be part of LIFE Charity Programme cum Mini Funfair. It was an eye-opener for us to learn from the kids the importance of smiling. And even though we raised more than S$10,000 to support the LIFE Charity Programme, it is still not enough to heal the pain of the children. But it was definitely a good start for us, and Acclivis is committed to contribute more in future.”

Marcus Cheng

Member, SCS Sales Director Acclivis Technologies and Solutions

The partners, sponsors, and corporate donors’ contributions have gone a long way to encourage and bring joy to these children. Hence, we want to extend a warm and heartfelt thank you to the following individuals and companies:

inDiViDuaL DonorS: Chia Sock Ker Adrian Chye Choon Hoong Chye Choon Hoong Deep Singhania Gunasekharan Chellappan Han Chung Heng Robert Kim Lai Poh Hing Howie Lau How Sin Leslie Ong Yew San Ong Chai Fong Shriranga Kulkarni Joshua Soh Tay Ghim Chuan Jonathan Jonathan Wong Yum Shoen Liang

CorporaTe DonorS:

Acclivis Technology Solutions Pte Ltd Avnet Technology Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd Orange Business Services Singapore Pte Ltd Organisation Resillence Management Pte Ltd PTC System (S) Pte Ltd Pro-Datech Systems Pte Ltd

Web: www.scs.org.sg

The magazine of The Singapore CompuTer SoCieTy

EVENTS

ERP Systems and India: Perspectives from Professionals

To join the SCS Supply Chain Management SIG, sign up at www.scs.org.sg/scm_reg.php now!

SCS Supply Chain Management SIG discusses India’s Supply Chain Industry and the need for better and de-coupled ERP software On 18 Sep 2012, the Supply Chain Management Special Interest Group (SCM SIG) organised a talk at SCS. Two industry speakers, Mr. Tejpal Singh and Mr. Jaishankar KS, from DHL Regional office in Singapore, spoke to a sizeable audience from Industry and Education sectors.

Insights on India

Tejpal’s presentation touched on how increasing urbanisation and middle class population trends are influencing India. He also discussed the development of the nation’s logistics industry. His presentation ended with an analysis on the current market size, growth drivers, and future prospects of the various sub-segments such as shipping modes, infrastructure, and Third Party Logistics (3PLs) in the Indian logistics community.

The Evolution of the Environment & ERP software

Jaishankar kicked off his presentation by stating that most organisations today are outsourcing operating functions to 3PLs. By doing so, information management for both the organisation and the 3PLs have become more complex. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions that enterprises are currently using typically manage one organisation with multiple subsidiaries. However, with 3PLs now in the picture, enterprises have to manage multiple 3PLS with different business models that may not integrate well with those of the enterprises. Hence, Jaishankar suggests that an enhanced ERP solution software with multi-managing functions is the way forward.

De-coupled IT systems

Jaishankar also feels that the fixed Order Management system that is connected to the main ERP solution software is quite inflexible. This is because any modifications made to the Order Management system could disrupt the entire ERP solution software. He then highlighted the need for an independent and customisable module. To achieve this, the Order Management Function should be developed as an individual specialised system. Thereafter, connect it to the organisation’s main ERP solution software. Doing so would help to facilitate the supply chain operations efficiently with high flexibility. To find out more about other insightful upcoming events organised by SCS and the various SIGs, visit www.scs.org.sg.

K.S. Jaishankar Member, SCS

Dialogue Session with Facebook and Gree Students gain valuable insights from industry experts at SCS organised event. The latest Gree games? Job opportunities at Facebook? Some 180 students got a rare and priceless chance to meet the folks behind the two big brands in the gaming and social media world at the “Impact of Social Media at the Workplace” dialogue tea session held at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). Mr Madan Nagaldinne from Facebook shared aspects of Facebook and its impact on youths. He also outlined career opportunities at the world’s most used social network service for interested students. Mr Noritaka Kobayashi from Gree, makers of hit games like Knights and Dragons, Monster Quest, and Crime City, introduced the latest trends in the

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

gaming industry, including social gaming, a new area that leverages the power of social media. The event, organised by the SCS Student Chapter and supported by NYP, was graced by Mr Chak Kong Soon, President of SCS, and the directors of School of Information Technology (SIT) and School of Interactive & Digital Media (SIDM) from NYP. For updates on other upcoming events, visit http://www.scs.org.sg/

Eugene Syn

Student Chapter Member, SCS Nanyang Polytechnic

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Calendar of Events

‘Mar 2013 1-Mar 8-Mar 13-Mar

‘Feb 2013 ner & IT S Gala Din 22-Feb Feb

SC ards 2013 Leader Aw und Table o R InfoPier ive Digital on Interact Media

CITPM Preview Se ssion CITBCM Preview Se ssion Business Analytic s SIG Launch 13-Mar IDM Chapter 5th AG M 14-Mar CITPM Chapter 14 th AGM 15-Mar BCG 17th AGM 18-19Mar QA Ch apter: Workshop on Secure Software Development Model (SSDM) 20-Mar Mobile & Wireless Chapter 8th AGM 21-Mar IDM Chapter: One Day Workshop on Game s that Teach: A Perfect Ma tch or An Oxymoron 22-Mar QA Chapter 22th AG M 25-26Mar CITPM Chapter: Work shop on Financial Tools and Cash Manage ment for IT Project Mana gers 28-Mar SCS 46th AGM

Apr 2013 Apr

Apr

QA Chapter: Workshop on Secure Software Development for Banking and Finance InfoPier Round Table Series

May 2013 May

4-May 18-May

CITPM/COMIT/CITBCM Enrolment SCS Business Leadership Seminar SCS Bowling Tournament 2013

Jul 2013 Jul

Infocomm Professional Development Forum

REGULAR

FINAL SAY BIG MECH

Aren’t we all fascinated by robots? We’re talking giant robots, comparable to the likes of Megazords from Power Rangers, Gundam, or the robot in the Award-winning movie, Avatar. These are robots huge enough for us to sit in and control. Japanese designer and artist Kogoro Kurata has built one in his namesake. The gargantuan robot weighs over four tonnes and stands a towering 13 feet. KR01 Kuratas Battle Mech can shoot but it is hardly a war machine. In fact, it’s just an expensive toy with harmless weapons such as Water Launcher and an impressive BB gun that fires over 6,000 rounds in a sheer minute. But with some modifications, who knows, KR01 may just fulfill a bigger destiny than being a mere toy. It could be used to save people during calamities. This may just be the beginnings of the knights in shining armour of the future.

TAKE WORK WITH A PINCH!

First, Wii got our butts off the sofa and sweating it out with the controllers. Then, Microsoft developed the Xbox Kinect, sparking a series of hit games like Dance Central and Kinectimals which ushered in a new era in gaming with motion sensor input devices that ‘obey’ your every move. Well, now this innovative ‘giant leap in gaming technology’ is about to take another leap from the family gaming room to office cubicles.

The iT SoCieTy — Jan - mar 2013

KEYBOARDS GO VIRTUAL

Is that tiny on-screen Qwerty keyboard on your Smartphone a source of big frustration? Taking up about half of an already tight screen, typo errors are inevitable. And we all know the ramifications of that: becoming an overnight worldwide laughing stock at damnyouautocorrect.com. But wait, there’s something new: a laser projection virtual keyboard by Brookstone. Simply place this pocketsize device on a flat surface and pair it with your Smartphone via Bluetooth. Then, wait for a projection of your virtual laser keyboard. Voila! You can start typing away now. Perhaps, not long in the future, even screens will be a virtual projection.

Motion-control hardware and software company Leap Motion will soon be launching a touch-free 3D motion device that will allow users to “interact with our computers in a better and more natural way.” Simply connect a Leap Motion controller to your computer, and you’ll be able to command your computer via movements and gestures. You can now control your computer by clicking, grabbing, scrolling, and pinching the air. Looks like the days of the office mouse could be numbered.

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