THE
SOCIETY
ISSUE THREE 2013 The Magazine of the Singapore Computer Society
FEATURE
04 ENTERPRISE MOBILITY: FRIEND OR FOE?
06 ENABLE LEARNING ON THE GO MCI (P) 108/07/2013
10 IS YOUR BUSINESS MOBILE-READY?
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY
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LOOKING AHEAD
THE CHANGE
NEVER STOPS thought leader, is always taking the initiative in helping our members adapt to this everevolving IT landscape.
CHAK KONG SOON President Singapore Computer Society Fellow, SCS chak.kong.soon@scs.org.sg
I
reiterate, our Editor, Teng Cheong’s words in our last issue: “Change is good.” And if I may add, more is on the way. Indeed, change spurs us to improve ourselves and to constantly find new ways to provide members with more value for their membership. And for this magazine, change began in the last issue. This issue, we carry on with more transformations. In terms of design, you’ll notice that our new cover look wows with an unabashed use of colours, graphics, and illustrations. Plus, we have a new masthead. Flip the pages and you will realise that the added visual elements apply across the entire magazine. These are not just for visual effect; they are designed to guide your eyes and make your reading more enjoyable.
On 17 July 2013, at the Singapore Management University (SMU), we held yet another successful series of the annual Infocomm Professional Development Forum 2013 (IPDF 2013), under the theme of “Developing ICT Innovation Leaders”. More than 200 professionals picked up valuable insights from influential IT leaders on the continuous evolution of technology. Professional workshops covering topics like New Digital Economy, Big Data & Analytics, as well as Future Interaction Technologies were also conducted. Find out more on what was covered at IDPF 2013 on page 22. As the industry is constantly being remodeled, there is now a demand for professionals who are equipped with the necessary capabilities to test for quality in software. To that end, SCS collaborated with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) to launch the new Certified Software Testing Professional
(CSTP) scheme on 28 March 2013. The first course commenced on 20 August 2013. Read more about the new CSTP on page 11. As of now, SCS is proud to offer six different certification courses for IT professionals to keep themselves upgraded and relevant in the face of this ever-changing IT industry. In the youth scene, our young professionals from the IT Youth Council are also leading change in the next generation with more budding talents. On 7 September 2013, the IT Youth Council hosted a Youth Engagement Series (YES) for young IT professionals to hear from industry luminaries about what inspired them to join the ICT industry and what drives them to achieve continued excellence. I could go on all day about change, but I don’t want to interrupt your read. I shall leave you now to discover for yourself what great things lie ahead for the members, the Society and the industry. Have a great read!
Our magazine is not the only thing that is transforming. The IT industry is ever changing at a rapid pace. And SCS, as a
Editor Tan Teng Cheong
Contributing Photographer Foo Ce Wei
Email scs.secretariat@scs.org.sg
Theme Editor Jennifer Huang
Editorial Support Loh Mun Yew Gary Teo Michael Lim Melvyn Suan Tan Kok Peng Leong Hoi Lan
Editorial & Design Oculus Design Pte Ltd
Contributing Writers Duangthip Chomprang David Lee Heyman Ong Whee Teck Harish Pillay Swaminathan Rajamanickam Christopher Tan Columnists Chandra Sekar Veerappan
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
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.
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
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EDITOR’S MESSAGE
MORE, MORE
MOBILITY! TAN TENG CHEONG Editor Senior Member, SCS tengcheong.tan@scs.org.sg
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lmost 40 years ago, the famous Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, spoke of having “A computer on every desk and in every home”. With connectivity so ubiquitous these days, we, as a human race, have gone beyond this vision, and are now a species that has “a computer in every palm” in cities and towns all over the world. Many of us now carry computing power that is way beyond what we had when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Imagine that! But what good is this power if they are not used and applied in meaningful ways? This is where Enterprise Mobility comes in. More than just games and mobile telephony, mobility allows us to do many things now that were not possible a mere five years ago. Reading online e-newspapers, paying of traffic fines, checking bank accounts, and tracking of parcels are some examples of consumer-type mobility applications that are now a daily affair for many of us. But mobility doesn’t just apply to consumers; they play tremendous roles in enterprises. Many organisations these days harness mobility technology for enhanced performance like service differentiators and to provide better engagement with customers. For example, courier companies
rely heavily on their specially calibrated mobile devices to provide us with realtime updates on our parcel’s delivery status. Retail store managers use sophisticated inventory tracking and business analytics to send realtime stock figures back to their warehouses. A casualty’s status is updated on the fly as the ambulance he is in weaves through traffic while zooming to the hospital. The list goes on. The fact is, Enterprise Mobility is everywhere. And it affects you in your role as a consumer as well as a professional. In this issue, we shine the spotlight on Enterprise Mobility. Hear from Bill Chang, CEO of Group Enterprise for SingTel, as we pick his brain for insights about this fast-evolving Enterprise Mobility scene. Learn from David Heyman from IBM what questions you should ask when leveraging on Enterprise Mobility. Plus, in our new section, Enhance to Excel, Ong Whee Teck from Accenture shares career futureproofing tips for IT professionals in Banking & Finance, which also apply if you are in other sectors! And that’s not all. Read up on the latest in the IT scene as a whole, as well as exciting activities and membership news at SCS. And on this note, my mobile phone has just beeped. Time for me to get right back to enjoying the benefits of Enterprise Mobility. But before I go, just a reminder to keep your comments and suggestions about our magazine coming in so that we can continue to make it better. We always love to hear from you. Happy reading!
CONTENTS REGULARS 01 Looking Ahead 02 Editor’s Message
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FEATURES 04 Enterprise Mobility: Friend or Foe? 06 Enable Learning On The Go 07 Permission to Innovate for Privacy, Please 10 Is Your Business Mobile- Ready? PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 11 SCS-NYP Launch New Professional Software Testing Certification 12 Fast Track Your Master’s Degree with SCS Certifications ENHANCE TO EXCEL 14 Futureproof Your IT Career in Banking and Finance MEMBERS 15 Winners All 17 Welcome Aboard 18 A Membership that Brings YOU Great Value! 18 Congratulations to our New Senior Members HAPPENINGS 20 MDA’s New Licensing Regime: What’s in it for You? Web2.0 SIG is Now ET2 SIG 21 Big Round of Applause for Ronnie! Rolling Good Fun 22 It’s All About Innovation at IPDF 2013 Welcome Syracuse University! 23 Calendar of Events THE LITE SIDE 24 Innovative Invents Quiz
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FEATURE
Enterprise Mobility: Friend or Foe? SingTel’s Group Enterprise CEO, Bill Chang, discusses the opportunities and challenges that come with the Mobility age for businesses. BILL CHANG Senior Member, SCS Chief Executive Officer Singtel Group Enterprise
1. Enterprise Mobility, to most people, is about operating their businesses on the go.The first thing that comes to mind, for most people, might be in terms of mobile applications. As a CEO of SingTel’s Group Enterprise, what does Enterprise Mobility mean to you? Is there more to it than mobile applications?
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nterprise Mobility is more than just mobile applications. It is about mobilising IT. Beyond that, it is about how enterprises use applications, services, and solutions to engage their customers, suppliers, and partners in their supply chains to improve productivity, transform their business, and gain new competitive edge. In the larger scheme of things, it also covers Machine-to-Machine (M2M) opportunities in some enterprises as well. Let’s take the automotive and transportation industry as an example. Nowadays, we have smart devices or machines in our cars to enhance our driving and entertainment experiences. On the same note, video cameras and sensors are installed on all roads across the island to collect data on road conditions. This information is then distributed to everyone through a mobile application called MyTransport.SG, commissioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). This application allows citizens and road users alike to make better sense of what is happening on the roads, public transport schedules, and even taxis or car park availability. Through Mobility and Apps, LTA enriches the commuting experience of citizens.
2.What are the main pros and cons of Enterprise Mobility today? The key advantages of Enterprise Mobility include improving productivity and delivering better customer and employee experience. With Enterprise Mobility, work is no longer confined to the desktops. This allows employees to create and add value anywhere, anytime, and on the go. It can also help enterprises to better engage suppliers and drive new revenue growth. However, businesses need to consider some challenges. What used to be a standardised and homogenous environment (PCs operating only on WinTel platforms) has now shifted into a heterogeneous mobile world with different platforms like Androids, iOS, Windows 8 mobile, and even Blackberry.
In short, the challenge is to implement a secured, manageable, and cost-effective solution to enrich the users’ experiences, improve productivity, and facilitate the transformation of businesses.
Many employees are also starting to bring their own devices to work, a term commonly known as “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)”. This is because their mobile devices tend to be much more powerful than their desktops and allow greater flexibility.
With Mobilisation and Consumerisation of IT, thanks to the BYOD trend, Enterprise Mobility is now an unstoppable trend. In fact, it is set to accelerate.
With these challenges, issues of security, manageability, and control start to rise. How do you ensure that vital corporate data remains secured? How do you erase sensitive corporate information from a missing device? Additionally, there are concerns relating to costs. How do you justify and manage the Return on Investments (ROI) of implementing Enterprise Mobility for your business? How can you get visibility and transparency in your total costs of deployment and operations?
3.What advice do you have for businesses in terms of ICT and Enterprise Mobility solutions adoption?
A CIO once told me that “BYOD” can stand for “Bring Your Own Disaster” if an enterprise lacks a coherent Mobility strategy and allows BYOD in a frivolous and uncontrolled manner. Therefore, my advice to business and IT leaders is to look at ways to embrace the adoption of the BYOD trend in order to create value and also meet the expectations of their employees. At the same time, ensure that BYOD does not compromise enterprise data and internal security. Do not disallow BYOD because doing so will create issues with employees’ morale. Companies will also have trouble attracting new and better employees, and before they know it, their younger and better talents will end up with their competitors who do deploy this BYOD strategy.
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SingTel’s Role in Enterprise Mobility Observations 4. So, how does SingTel step in to address concerns regarding Mobility? Could you elaborate on some of the solutions that SingTel offers?
5.After spending more than 20 years in the IT sector, you must have witnessed dramatic transformation in Enterprise Mobility. What have you observed?
To help business and IT leaders embrace the BYOD trend, SingTel’s Enterprise Mobility Managed Services (EMMS) come in a holistic lifecycle approach. This lifecycle approach is achieved through a four-pronged strategy:
Let’s just go back five to seven years. Back then, very few expected Mobility to massively impact people’s lives. The first signal to that trend was the launch of the iPhone in 2007. Since then, iPhone has led the revolution into smart phones. Then, came the tablets; again, no one predicted that three years ago. The rise of smart phones and tablets then paved way for the applications revolution. Today, there is a plethora of mobile applications; something for just about everyone and everything.
i. Secure SingTel’s EMMS offers solutions to enable companies to protect their vital enterprise data by securing and encrypting data to ensure privacy. It also allows IT staff to trace, lock, and wipe sensitive data on any device should it go missing. To lower the capital expenditure for businesses, SingTel offers these cloud-based services on a utility basis for scalability and ease of adoption. This ensures businesses to enable BYOD with a peace of mind.
ii. Manage With our EMMS, enterprises can manage their corporate applications through a platform that is synonymous with an app store. Through this managed application development platform, employees can simply click and launch these services on any device or mobile operating system. By providing this manageability functionality in a mobile application driven world, we bring simplicity back to Mobile IT. For M2M applications, we provide a cost-effective management platform and services to help companies in various industries to manage all their connected devices across multiple geographies.
iii. Control Under this approach, SingTel’s EMMS provides functionalities to help enterprises set up controls and filters according to their defined usage policies. This will help CIOs to retain control in a complex and heterogeneous Mobility environment.
iv. Reduce With tools such as the Telecom Expense Manager, SingTel gives enterprises full visibility of their costs. With just one click, enterprises can get a slice-and-dice view of mobile expenses from different departments or even users for analysis. Through our partnerships with leading telco companies across the world, SingTel also offers industry leading roaming plans and the most extensive global coverage to help companies lower their total mobile communication costs.
In the network area, innovations are accelerating. We used to think that 3G was more than enough. Now, service providers are piloting beyond 4G to cater to our insatiable need for speed. With the explosion of smart devices in the M2M world, the number of connected smart machines will outnumber people by more than 10 to one over the next 10 years. M2M will also bring about significant changes to industries like healthcare, manufacturing, security, logistics, and transportation. In short, the Mobility revolution will create new services, experiences, and business models to transform the way people live, learn, work, and play. But, despite all these exciting Mobility developments, we are only “halfway there”, and the second half will be much more exciting. There will be an impending revolution of wearable mobile devices like smart watches and Google Glass that will bring about new market segments, services, and user experiences. Technologies such as Big Data Analytics and Social Media are converging with Mobility to create new opportunities that will transform and shape businesses and even industries. Therefore, it is really up to businesses and IT leaders to understand the trends brought about by the technology revolution, build the right partnerships to seize the opportunities, and make the most out of them.
6. Speaking of trends, do you foresee anything unexpected on the horizon these days? We live in a VUCA or Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous world today. It is not easy to predict what will happen in this fast-changing technology industry over the next five years and the disruptions it can bring. Therefore, instead of attempting to vaguely predict the future, we try to sense today’s signals and understand the forces behind them that will amplify into key trends. We will then verify our observations by boldly experimenting and lastly, harness these forces and innovate to shape the future.
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FEATURE
Enable Learning On The Go
Christopher Tan, IT Manager of Institute For Financial Literacy, shares two ways to publish information that will allow mobile device users to learn anywhere, anytime. CHRISTOPHER TAN IT Manager The MoneySENSE – Singapore Polytechnic Institute for Financial Literacy (www.finlit.sg)
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hese days, mobile device users have two ways to conveniently access information and learn while on the go: E-Books and Learning Management System (LMS). The key difference between these two mediums is that an E-Book allows users to download and consume the material offline, while an LMS usually requires an Internet connection.
E-Books
Most Smartphones, Tablets or Notebooks are equipped with the capability to read E-Books as consumers are increasingly adopting and embracing digital books as part of their reading lifestyle. There are two examples of how you can publish your own E-Books: Open source software such as Sigil (code. google.com/p/sigil/) allow publishers to easily convert texts and images into the E-Book format, EPUB. Plus, audio and video clips can be effortlessly inserted into EPUB files, making these E-Books even more interesting to read. If you are looking for ways to add more fascinating features, you might want to consider creating E-Books in iBooks Format using the iBooks Author, an application that is available from apple.com/ sg/ibooks-author/. Besides text, images, audio, and video, this application also allows all sorts of interactive widgets to be embedded into your E-Book. However, one of the disadvantages of iBooks is that it can only be read on the Apple iPad.
Learning Management Systems A LMS is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of e-learning education courses or training programmes. On top of that, the LMS can be used to publish E-Books. Because of its wide range of functions, many educational institutions, professional organisations, and government bodies in Singapore use LMS to deliver e-learning courses to their students or employees. The more popular LMS in Singapore include Blackboard (blackboard.com) and Wizlearn (asknlearn.com). Targeting Institutes of Higher Learning, professional organisations, as well as government bodies, these commercial LMS allow e-learning materials to be delivered in different formats: Text, images, video, audio, and even interactive elements such as quizzes. However, there are other LMS that are not entirely targeted at educational institutes or professional organisations. Udemy (udemy.com) is an example of that. This site allows anyone, individual or organisation, to create and publish courses online at no cost. In addition, Udemy will not hold any rights to the contents published on their platform. Depending on the content, viewers can access courses at a price, or even for free. To make mobile learning possible, Udemy has recently launched its iPhone and iPad apps. The Android app is expected to be launched soon too. These e-learning courses on Udemy attract online students from around the world. Simply register with an email address and a password and you can be on your way to accessing these e-learning courses! Another site worth exploring in this space is CreativeLive (www.creativelive.com), which operates in a similar model to Udemy.
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Whether through E-Books or LMS, organisations now have many ways and means of publishing information and helping mobile device users to learn while on the go. Now that you are aware of the various possibilities of publishing information, you can start creating your E-Book and get your e-learning system up and running!
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FREE E-Learning Courses! To learn more about E-Book publishing, access the author’s course titled “Create That EBook” at udemy.com/create-that-ebook/. Make use of the coupon code: SCSFREE to register for free. For FREE online financial literacy courses, visit udemy.com/u/alexlum.
Permission to Innovate for Privacy, Please
The Internet’s great potential often comes from its fertility as an incubator for permissionless innovation. Duangthip Chomprang, Manager of Regional Affairs (Asia-Pacific) of the Internet Society, looks at the role of emerging technologies, in conjunction with policy controls, in enhancing users’ understanding and management of online privacy (excerpt from her presentation titled “Privacy and the evolving identity: A food for thought”). DUANGTHIP CHOMPRANG Manager, Regional Affairs (Asia-Pacific) Internet Society
The Richness of Technical Innovation
A great advantage of a fertile environment for “permission-less” innovation is the diversity to which it can give rise. Let’s look at three areas which, although quite different, could all contribute to enhance user privacy online: the evolution of infrastructure technology (WebRTC1), the application of revolutionary R&D (DNA as a data storage medium2), and the deployment of privacyfriendly services (ephemeral disclosures in social media). These and other emerging technologies will further push the boundaries for communications anywhere, anytime, and round the clock, and we have already begun to experience them in our everyday
lives whether we are aware of them or not (e.g., geo-location, pervasive sensors and identifiers in SoLoMo3, and Google Glass). Web RTC opens the door for users and businesses to interact directly with one another in real time and in a truly peerto-peer manner, by implementing simple application interfaces in pervasive browser technology. New discoveries to store digital data via DNA sequencing technology could mean virtually infinite space to store and retrieve data or information over long periods of time, under the user’s direct control. Both these innovations have the potential to reduce users’ dependence on third-party processing of data they may wish to keep private.
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Innovative solutions for Social Media, such as Wickr4 and Silent Circle5, are starting to allow users to decide how long a message will persist, and what gets stored or destroyed. This can increase users’ control over how long a piece of personal data remains accessible once disclosed. All these areas of innovation are potentially privacyenhancing. However, the digital life generates ever more personal data, and technically, that data is ever easier to collect, communicate, and monetise. Innovation can give rise to new forms of privacy risk, which technology on its own cannot necessarily mitigate.
Non-technical Privacy Innovation
On the street, and in parallel with rapid technological change, there is an emerging ecosystem of non-technical innovations to help meet users’ privacy and identity protection needs. These include trust insurance, third party identity providers, identity data protection, and management services.
The Policy Challenge
Just as technical privacy protections need the kinds of non-technical supporting factors outlined above, so policy and legislation need to play their role in helping safeguard user privacy while ensuring that innovation can continue apace. Lawmaking and technology, though, move at very different rates, and we can observe different maturity states in different jurisdictions around the world. Most countries in the world have some form of privacy and data protection laws, but some still lack effective policies and regulations. In the local scene, Singapore recently passed the personal data protection bill early this year. Elsewhere, the EU enacted an e-Privacy Directive6 to regulate – among other things - the use of cookies, with the intention of protecting privacy and ensuring user consent – but may have suffered from making its legislation too technology-specific to be genuinely effective. Although these are steps in the right direction, keeping the law up to date with the ever-changing environment of the digital world is a constant challenge, and one which increasingly requires governments to work together to find cross-border solutions. Evidently, there is no single solution.
1. WebRTC initative: http://www.webrtc.org/ 2. DNA as a digital storage medium: https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/DNA_digital_data_storage 3. Definition of SoLoMo: http://www.techopedia.com/ definition/28492/solomo 4. Wickr: https://www.mywickr.com/en/index.php 5. Silent Circle: https://silentcircle.com/ 6. EU e-Privacy Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/ LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32002L0058:EN:NOT
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Striking the Balance
Even with these initiatives by society, security issues will continue to grow across the board and within the industry. Some of these issues may actually stem from existing discontinuities within the current context: the tension between users’ needs for privacy and choice on the one hand, and the commercial interest of businesses on the other; and the constantly-changing role of technology in delivering them. But the real challenge lies in drawing the line between over controlling and continued open choices for users. If there is a generally-agreed principle here, it is that there is no single “right answer” to the privacy question. Rather, the solution should be in proportion to the threat it addresses, without compromising the rights and current/future choices of the users. Experience tells us that sustainable solutions have to be based on a combination of technical and non-technical measures, and must reflect the valid interests of all the stakeholders. If the principles of stakeholder engagement and complementary technical and non-technical innovation are truly absorbed, there is hope that there will be a safe place for your privacy in the future. The Internet and its permission-less innovations have made the world a better place to live in, with diverse content, rich enabling capabilities, and interactive platforms. However, privacy and trust must be permission-based. To achieve that, open systems and open standard principles must be embraced. This will allow stakeholders to address the challenges of the Internet and Social Media in an open and transparent manner. Only then can we build the network of trust.
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FEATURE
IsYour Business Mobile-Ready? Learn about the evolution of mobility and how you can include it into your business plan. DAVID LEE HEYMAN Websphere Mobility Sales Leader IBM ASEAN
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ingapore has been a leader in using mobile devices for communications for many years. In 1977, Singapore was an early adopter of mobile phones in cars. Since 1989, Singaporeans have been able to use mobile phones in the MRT. Government agencies, along with small and large enterprises, adopted text messaging to drive their businesses and interact with consumers. Mobile devices have since become much more affordable. The public has shifted from feature phones to smart phones that enable sharing of content and rich interactive experiences. Employees are bringing these smart mobile phones and tablets to the workplace. Executives are asking IT managers how they can access production reports on their tablets. Sales people are asking how they can check the status of an order while they are at a customer meeting. Like many other countries, Singapore is rapidly entering the second wave of the mobile revolution, which is about the business of mobile.
The Evolution of Mobility
When discussing mobile in the enterprise, most people focus on the app. This is a common misunderstanding, as enterprise mobility goes beyond just mobile apps. Take for example, websites. Twenty years ago, business managers came to IT to build flashy websites. As IT professionals, you know that style and design of the site is only a part of the story. Real value comes from the connectivity of our websites to our internal
IT systems to create e-commerce and Internet banking sites. Many companies have since leveraged these technologies to become global powerhouses. The same applies for mobility today. Forward-looking companies are embracing mobility as industries are being transformed by the anywhere, anytime nature of mobile interaction with clients, employees, and partners.
How to Leverage Mobility for Your Business?
Becoming a mobile-centric enterprise, a MobileFirst enterprise, begins with a mindset to act on opportunities, which might include challenges. Here are some areas to look at as your enterprise embarks on its mobile journey. 1. Know your users. The consumerisation of IT means users are already thinking about how mobility can make themselves more productive and their jobs easier. Reach out to your users and understand their challenges.
5. Get it all covered. Take geo-location and the objective of your users into consideration when building your systems. Be sure to provide secure transactions and data access from an array of devices while keeping your networks safe and efficient.
2. Don’t be trendy. Never make plans based on what is popular today. Rather, explore, assess, and plan your mobile platform to address current and future business and technology requirements that are unique to your organisation, industry, and users.
6.Think BYOD. Consider how “Bring your own device” (BYOD) and “Corporate OwnedPersonally Enabled” (COPE) devices can increase the productivity of your employees, especially when they can now easily connect to networks, data, and apps.
3. Get connected. Increase your enterprise’s agility with new mobile apps connected to backend systems and applications, with accelerated application delivery and support for all types of apps. 4. Leave room to grow. Ensure that your existing systems are able to support your mobile business initiative. Build them to allow access to hundreds of thousands of users.
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Above all, understand that mobile isn’t the only technology shift happening today. It is important to ensure that our mobile strategy meshes with cloud computing, data analytics, and social businesses. Combining these technologies with mobile will create an enterprise that is more dynamic, efficient, and productive.
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In 2010, a top analyst said that even by 2014, 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will have failed to put a comprehensive mobile strategy in place – leading to considerable overspending. Now that 2014 is nearly upon us, do you have a comprehensive mobile strategy? Do you know what questions to ask? Over the coming months, let’s look at the different ways enterprises can leverage mobile and what key areas need to be addressed.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Director of Nanyang Polytechnic, Mr Lai Poh Hing (left), and SCS President, Mr Chak Kong Soon, at the CSTP signing ceremony on 28 March 2013.
SCS-NYP Launch New Professional Software Testing Certification ICT Software Testing professionals get a new avenue to pursue a holistic certification in Software Testing.
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o meet the increasing demand of skilled professionals in the Software Testing industry, SCS, in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), launched a new Certified Software Testing Professional (CSTP) scheme on 28 March 2013.
To achieve these standards, the CSTP programme emphasises the acquisition of practical knowledge and a sound understanding of methods, processes, tools, and strategies in Software Testing, with a focus on the software quality control and security assurance.
This certification validates the skills of IT professionals in the testing of rapidly evolving and increasingly complex IT systems. The programme also enables IT professionals to appreciate the impact and liabilities of quality and security exposures in the areas of information systems and software.
The CSTP is managed by SCS and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). This programme is mapped onto the National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF) and supported under IDA’s Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP).
CSTP COURSE AND EXAM
Be the first to be certified under the CSTP programme! Register for the 5-day CSTP training course and exam. For registration or details on curriculum, please visit www.scs.org.sg/cstp or call Ms Seah Mee Ling at 6226 2567 ext 17, or email her at meeling.seah@scs.org.sg.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Fast TrackYour Master’s Degree with
SCS CERTIFICATIONS Local Universities grant CITPM and COMIT holders module waivers or exemptions for Masters Degree.
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een to go further academically? The Certified IT Project Manager (CITPM) and the Certification in Outsourcing Management for IT (COMIT) programmes will enable you to take greater leaps in your academic pursuit. As a CITPM and COMIT certificate holder, you will be considered for module exemptions or waivers when you take on selected Master’s Degree from major local universities.
CITPM Holders Degree
University
Module Waived/ Exempted*
Master of Business Administration, Management of Information Technology
Nanyang Technological University (School of Accountancy and Business)
Management Information System, Contemporary Engineering of Enterprise Software, Communications Technology and Network Management and Project Management.
Master of Science in Information Systems
Nanyang Technological University
Software Project Management
Master of Business Administration
National University of Singapore (NUS Business School)
Management of Information Technology
Master of Science, Management of Technology
National University of Singapore
Systems Approach to Project Management
Master of Computing
National University of Singapore
Software Project Management
Bachelor of Computing
National University of Singapore
CS4254 – IS Project Management
RMIT Master of Business in Information Technology
Singapore Institute of Management
Cross-Functional Project Management
Master of Project Management [New!]
University of Adelaide
Unspecified Elective
Degree
University
Module Waived/ Exempted*
Enrolment opens in November 2013. Contact the Certification Secretariat to find out how you can obtain the recognition that you deserve!
Master of Science in Information Systems
Nanyang Technological University
Software Project Management
National University of Singapore
Systems Approach to Project Management
To learn more about SCS professional certifications, the industry benchmarks for competency and skills in IT outsourcing management, IT project management and business continuity management, visit www.scs.org.sg/about_cert.php or email the Certification Secretariat at meeling.seah@scs.org.sg or evelyn.chan@scs.org.sg
Masters of Science, Management of Technology Master of Technology
Institute of Systems Science, NUS
Managing IT Outsourcing and Subcontracting
Bachelor of Computing
National University of Singapore
CS4255 – IT Outsourcing and Offshoring Management
Find out how your CITPM/COMIT certification can help you to achieve your Master’s Degree now! Refer to http://www.scs.org.sg to find out more on the accreditation arrangement and institutional contact details.
A GLANCE AT SCS CERTIFICATIONS o The world’s first IT-centric professional certification in the area of IT project management, outsourcing management, and business continuity management o The preferred criterion for evaluation of government IT projects o Accreditation by reputable universities o Recognised regionally and backed by more than 600 organisations
* All certifications are endorsed under the CITREP programme (up to 50% funded) and NICF mapped.
COMIT Holders
* All candidates must satisfy the formal admission requirements of the above mentioned programmes, as well as abide by the respective institute's procedures for module waivers.
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THE IT SOCIETY — Sep-Oct 2013
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingaporeComputerSociety
ENHANCE TO EXCEL
Futureproof Your IT Career in Banking and Finance
Ong Whee Teck lists three essential qualities for IT professionals not just in the Banking and Finance sector, but across all industries.
ONG WHEE TECK Member, SCS Managing Director, ASEAN Technology Consulting Accenture Singapore
N
o one can be certain of the future, especially when it comes to Information Technology in the field of Banking and Finance. Roles that did not exist 10 or 15 years ago such as Cloud Architect and Virtualisation Engineer are now being advertised, reaffirming the fact that IT is fast paced and ever evolving. The uncertainty of the Banking and Finance industry is further compounded by events such as on-going global financial crises that drive tremendous shifts in the IT system – a direct result of Financial Institutes (FIs) and regulators mandating more stringent controls and policies over business practices. Change, as we know, is the only constant. And for IT in Banking and Finance, more changes should always be expected. So, as an IT professional in these sectors, how do you futureproof yourself to stay employed? Slice and dice any role and you will find three components, some more important than others, that are necessary for your economic survival. The three key skills that all roles and job specifications require are: Business Domain, Technical Knowledge, and Management Skills.
Business Domain
This is the knowledge of the business itself. Gone are the days when a business leader is allowed to say that he or she “does not know technology”. Today, IT is so intertwined with business that it is the very fabric of business thinking to include the broad capabilities of IT. By that, I am not referring to the ability to code or set up a virtual environment; I mean the ability to include IT in the general business plan and direction. Likewise, it is not acceptable for someone in the IT world to say “I don’t know business domains”. If you lack these core skills, you must make it a point to learn them. While certain business processing functions in Banking and Finance are simple, others can be fairly complicated. For example, signature verification for cheques seems simple until you consider things like security and the optimisation of processes by the operation teams. And it can quickly become even more complex if you do not know the way of “business thinking”. Roles such as Business Analysts who deal with reengineering projects need to understand both the capability of technology that is available to them, as well as grasp a good understanding of the banking operation.
Technical Knowledge
This, of course, is fundamental to all IT practitioners. It doesn’t matter which deep end of the technology sector you’ve developed your skills in; the deep end must
exist. In other words, we need an anchor where we possess deep experience and get our hands dirty in either the application or infrastructure space. For most senior IT practitioners, their experiences comes in a “T” shape: the horizontal bar signifies the broad skill and exposure that they need to do their job, while the vertical pillar represents the depth of experience in the “deep end”.
Management Skills
This is the acumen that is required of you should you aspire to assume ever more senior positions in the Banking and Finance sector. The list of soft skills in the arsenal of a sustainably successful IT executive includes leadership, communication, people, and salesmanship. Most important of all, you must upgrade yourself by constantly reading, reflecting, and retuning your management skill and style. I also believe in the mentoring process, both giving and receiving, as many of the most important learning points I have picked up have been from senior IT professionals. A good rule of thumb would be to seek advice from someone about a decade ahead of us in their own professional journey. Speak to anyone too ahead of you in his or her career, i.e. 20 years your senior, and you will find that the gap might be too big and the areas that they are reflecting are too abstract or too far out. Also, don’t forget to give and pass the baton when someone a decade junior seeks your help for career advice.
Web: www.scs.org.sg
To be truly successful as an IT leader in the Banking and Finance space, you need to be able to speak the language of the industry, i.e. dollars and cents. This way, you can help your business understand the value of any IT projects even before you embark on the first pilot or phase of your project. In order to achieve that, you must embody the three essential skills that make up most roles available today, and I believe, in the future as well.
THE MAGAZINE OF THE SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY
And even though we differ in our skills, experiences, and inclinations, ultimately, we must know ourselves and match our abilities to the “right” job. IT professionals can survive all the changes yet to come, only if they are adult learners. So, never stop learning and don’t stop growing as a professional!
MEMBERS
WINNERS ALL Awarded to the top graduating students from tertiary institutions around Singapore yearly, the SCS Medals and Awards help promote academic excellence and reward outstanding students for their achievements. We extend our heartiest congratulations to the following winners for their hard work and perseverance! NAME OF MEDAL AND AWARD
RECIPIENT
NANYANG POLYTECHNIC Diploma in Information Technology Singapore Computer Society Award for Outstanding Project Work
Diploma in Digital Entertainment Technology (Games)
Singapore Computer Society Gold Medal Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal Singapore Computer Society Bronze Medal
Joshua Tan Jun Ming
Diploma in Information Technology
Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal & Prize
Diploma in Multimedia & Animation
Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal & Prize Lim Kai Yan Jimmy
Teo Wei Ming Daryl Ang Wee Kiat Clarence Lee Jixiang
Singapore Computer Society Best Final Year Student Award
Lee Ka Wei, Roy
SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC Diploma in Information Technology Edwin Boza Soenaryo
Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal
SCS Gold Medal and Prize for the Best Student in Project Management specialisation
Teo Yong Kim
Diploma in Infocomm Security Management
Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal
NGEE ANN-ADELAIDE EDUCATION CENTRE Singapore Computer Society Book Prize for Most Outstanding Student
Yoon Joo Kuang Nicholas
Bachelor of Science (School of Information Systems)
SCS Gold Medal and Prize for the Best Student in Infocomm Security specialisation
Bachelor of Computer Science
Zin Zin Tun
SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE Masters of Computing
RECIPIENT
NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC
Diploma in Financial Informatics Singapore Computer Society Award for Outstanding Project Work
NAME OF MEDAL AND AWARD
Letitia Justina Leong Si Eng
Ang Kah Eng
Diploma in Business Information Technology Teo Yu Lun
Singapore Computer Society Silver Medal
Sim Shi Jie
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Web: www.scs.org.sg
THE MAGAZINE OF THE SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY
17
MEMBERS
Welcome
ABOARD Let’s hear from some of our new members about what attracts them to SCS… TOP 6 REASONS TO JOIN SCS • Professional Development Through certifications and insightful talks, we aim to keep our professionals abreast of the latest developments and industry standards. • Communities of Practice Through our various chapters and interest groups, we enable our members to choose the specific fields they wish to immerse themselves in. • InfoPier The first and only registry for local ICT professional, InfoPier is a platform where networking and collaboration opportunities are bountiful. • Social & Fun Our social activities are replete with fun as we unite professionals from all walks of life for a common purpose. • Engaging the Youth Grooming young talents to whom we can pass the torch comes high on our agenda. We aim to nurture youths into capable leaders. • Resources Through the dissemination of various publications, we keep our valued members informed of the exciting happenings in the SCS milieu.
Be Our Member Today!
DAVIS LI MINYONG Assistant Manager IDA Singapore
SCS gives me the opportunity to connect with other IT professionals and seek mentorship. I think that living away from IT for a day can help to purge IT addictions or habits. I also value the slower pace of life without IT at times, for it allows me to spend more time with my family and perhaps read a book.
WILLIAM TAY Country Manager KVH Singapore
Computer has evolved so much over the last two decades and it has changed my life. Connecting with people became so easy, making my day-to-day activities so simple. IT has become an integral part of me and the thought of living a day without it is almost like going without air. My purpose of joining SCS is to expand my network in the company of like-minded people and to keep up-to-date with ICT development. I look forward to being an active member of SCS and hope to contribute actively.
PUNEET GHANSHANI
Assistant Vice President Citibank As an avid IT professional, I spend my time enhancing my three open-source frameworks, writing blogs, and developing applications on WP8/WinRT. I even wrote a book titled Journey to C, a textbook used in colleges in India, as well as more than 18 technical whitepapers. I joined SCS to be able to contribute and share my knowledge on Microsoft Technologies in Singapore.
JEFF HO
Business Analyst ST Electronics (Info-software Systems) After seeing my uncle’s homebrewed electronic roulette, it got me thinking about the possibilities of computers. Just by soldering and assembling parts bought from Sim Lim Square, my uncle transformed a mechanical roulette to an electronic one with just LEDs, resistors, and computer chips. At just 5 years old, fictional cartoon robots seemed to me like a plausible reality. From then on, the electronic roulette has always been my reminder to never stop imagining in order to create new possibilities with IT and technology.
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THE IT SOCIETY — Sep-Oct 2013
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingaporeComputerSociety
MEMBERS
A Membership That Brings YOU Great Value! SCS membership comes with many privileges and benefits. And as our members have expressed in their own words: it’s a membership that means different things to different people. Hear what they have to say.
“SCS helps us to stay relevant by giving us opportunities to play and work together while building both our careers and society. I enjoyed walking this exciting journey with the Society and would certainly encourage professionals not to miss this exciting experience of building the future with SCS.” Peter Choy
Senior Member, SCS Course Manager, Interactive Media Informatics Manager, Industry Relations & Services School of Informatics & IT Temasek Polytechnic
“The effectiveness of SCS is best felt when like-minded individual professionals team up to collaborate their time, effort, and expertise voluntarily for a good cause. It was this like-mindedness from a group of SCS members that led to the launch of the IDM Chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering with my peers and friends in gradually raising the cause of the IDM Chapter over the past few years.” Daniel Tan
Senior Member, SCS Director, School of Interactive and Digital Media Nanyang Polytechnic
“SCS has provided me with good opportunities to connect and network with other IT professionals. It has also facilitated my development through its various educational forums and SIGs/ Chapters. Through its certification programmes, I managed to enhance my competencies. In summary, SCS is a great platform for IT professionals in Singapore to grow ourselves professionally and socially.” Sivakumaran Sathappan
Senior Member, SCS CIO/Director, Information Technology Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office
“Through the talks and courses organised by SCS, I was able to keep up with the latest developments in the IT industry. As a Committee Member of the SCM SIG (Supply Chain Management Special Interest Group), I get to network with and learn from fellow IT professionals in the SCM industry. By helping to organise SCM conferences, I also established contacts with various organisations in the industry which helped in my work.” Philip Ong
Member, SCS Director, IT Product & Service Management Global Service Logistics IT DHL Supply Chain
NEW SENIOR MEMBERS FOR 2013
to our new Senior Members! One of the highlights of the year at SCS includes the upgrade of our outstanding professional members to senior members. These individuals have made notable contributions that are recognised within the ICT industry. This year, we are pleased to announce the following individuals who have been conferred for 2013.
Ang Chwee Leng Ang Keng Leong Dennis Chan Kar May Virginia Cheow Sook Mei Chiang Kar Heng Chua Sai Huah Magdalene Chua Teck Joo David S. Rosenblum Ee Seow Keong Henry Eu Kwang Chin Fan Kheng Francis Goh Seow Hiong Ho Thiam Hock @ Lau Thiam Hock Iqbal Siraj Khaw Hong Cher Andrew Khor Cheng Kian Koh Keng Chiang Edwin Lam Pang Lee Chye Seng Lee Lap Wai Andrew Lee Li Leong Sook Fun Florence
Leong Weng Loong Leow Tze Kang Steve Lim Chee Kwong Lim Kok Quee Lim Kwee Hong Patrick Lim Lian Eng Sharon Lim Sim Cheng Christopher Lim Thuan Chan Richard Lim Wai Liong Albert Lim Yee Loh Yong Chye Loo Steven Nagaian Kesavan Neo Geok Ting Ng Hock Keong Ng Kah King Ng Mui Yong Lyndy Ng Peng Hock Ng See Sing Ong Ching Liew Alan Ong Hui Leong Philip Ong Leng Teck Bernard
Ong Wee Cheong Oon Jin Gee Pang Victor Ramamoorthy Baskaran Ramlee Bin Huang Sim Poh Chiew Sivakumaran s/o Sathappan Soh Poh Peng Charlie Tan Kien Teong Tang Ai Chee Teo Chang Wee Teo Piang Nien Gary Waleed A Hanafi Wang Wei Jun George Wong Siew Ping Karen Woo Siew Wing William Wu Lick Wei Lewis Yeap Tralvex Yong Kin Khow Zainuddin Jawadwala
Congratulations to our 64 new senior members!
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THE IT SOCIETY — Sep-Oct 2013
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingaporeComputerSociety
HAPPENINGS
MDA’s New Licensing Regime:
What’s in it forYou?
SCS and ISOC-SG organised panel discussion to seek clarity on new licensing framework.
HARISH PILLAY
Fellow, SCS Global Head, Community Architecture and Leadership Red Hat Asia Pacific
O
n 1st June 2013, changes to the Licensing Framework for Online Sites laid down by the Ministry of Communication and Information came into effect. This is an extension to the Class Licensing rules that were introduced in 1996. When the rules were first introduced back in 1996, there were significant doubts and concerns expressed by both the online community and members of the public. To help SCS’ members and the public gain a greater understanding of the rules, SCS organised a forum with the former Singapore Broadcasting Authority (now known as Media Development Authority). A transcript of that forum is available at my blog at harishpillay.wordpress.com.
Fast forward 17 years, the newly announced extensions again drew major concerns from members of the SCS, Internet Society Singapore Chapter (ISOC-SG), as well as the local online sites and the wider public. There were many issues raised as to why this extension was being introduced and the confusion and concerns were palpable. As a thought leader, SCS and the ISOC Singapore Chapter organised a panel discussion on 4 July 2013, and was well attended by over 60 participants, resulting in standing room only. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Mr Aubeck Kam, was invited to be part of a panel of experts to address and understand various issues that the public may have. The other two panelists present were Mr Bryan Tan, Partner at Pinsent Masons MPillay LLP, and Mr Kuek Yu-Chuang, Regional Director of Public Policy, Yahoo! Asia Pacific.
Web2.0 SIG is Now ET SIG 2
SCS Web2.0 Special Interest Group (SIG) gets an updated name and a renewed vision to keep members in sync with emerging trends and technologies. ET2 SIG COMMITTEE LIST
Chairman
Advisor
Lua Rui Ping Jonathan Wong SCS student member MSCS
Secretary
Committee Member
Steward Tay MSCS
Jiang Keming MSCS
As the moderator of the panel discussion, I kicked off the panel discussion with a brief introduction to the topic at hand and covered some historical context, including the controversial internet community website, sintercom.org (1994 to 2001). After my introduction, Mr Bryan Tan gave an overview of the various legal references and associated changes in the rules, helping to set the appropriate context. He then proceeded to raise issues regarding the new framework. Mr Kuek then spoke about the various issues around the stated need for parity between the online and print media. He also raised questions and possibilities of alternative methods to manage some of the issues raised, instead of what was introduced. Mr Aubeck Kam spoke last and provided context and reasons for some of the thinking behind the changes. The panel discussion concluded with a spirited question-and-answer session. Do check out InfoPier, as we will be posting the video there.
T
he former Web2.0 SIG has been revamped and is now called the Emerging Trends and Technologies SIG (ET2). This newly re-repositioned SIG aims to focus on the next generation of social and technological developments that would redefine the ICT industry. It is committed to providing members a platform for discussions on issues relating to emerging trends and technologies through social media, sharing sessions, and networking events. Broadly, ET2 encompasses trends that will create impact on people’s lives; emerging technologies in various computing fields such as networks, social, interactive and mobile; and tracking IT trends and technologies and exploring its applications across all industries. Stay ahead of trends today. Join the new ET2 SIG at http://www.scs.org.sg/et2_reg.php.
Web: www.scs.org.sg
THE MAGAZINE OF THE SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY
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HAPPENINGS
Big Round of Applause for Ronnie! SCS and industry professionals bid farewell to outgoing CEO of IDA.
O
n 30 May 2013, more than 100 members and industry representatives attended an exclusive business networking night at Dallas Restaurant and Bar at Boat Quay. It was a great opportunity for professionals to connect with each other over drinks and tanalising canapés. The highlight, however, was to bid Mr Ronnie Tay farewell. After six years as CEO of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Mr Ronnie Tay is moving on to assume the position of CEO at the National Environment Agency (NEA). This event served as a tribute to Mr Ronnie Tay for his contributions and support to the Infocomm industry during his term as CEO of IDA. SCS would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to Savvis for sponsoring the event. Thank You, Ronnie! Hear what the people from the IT industry have to say about former CEO of IDA, Ronnie Tay!
“Ronnie has been a great partner and friend of SCS during his term as CEO of IDA. Thank you for spending time to meet us even after office hours to offer us valuable advice and expertise. We really appreciate your support to the Society and the industry. On behalf of SCS, we would like to congratulate you on your new appointment and wish you all the best in your new journey.” Chak Kong Soon SCS President
“I had the honour of working with Ronnie since his appointment as the CEO of IDA and have been receiving valuable guidance and encouragement from Ronnie, who is also a Board Member of ISS and the Chairman of our joint e-Government Leadership Centre. Besides being handsome and youthful, he is highly approachable, supportive, objective, and critically constructive. I am very lucky in getting away with my mischievous ways of pulling his legs at numerous public discussion panels where I served as a moderator while Ronnie was one of the distinguished panelists. He is a true gentleman.”
“It was a pleasure working with Ronnie. The partnership between IDA and SCS allowed us to reach out to our industry professionals in terms of programmes that helped build professional exchange and deepen competency. It also assisted us in engaging with our ICT students to tap on their energy and work with them to drive our ICT youth’s agenda. Ronnie’s presence and support in many of our activities enabled us to make a positive difference to our ICT community. I sincerely appreciate this and wish him all the very best!” Alphonsus Pang
Former SCS President
Lim Swee Cheang
Chief Executive Officer Institute of Systems Science (ISS) National University of Singapore
Rolling Good Fun XXXCELLENCE Team A bags the champion spot at SCS Bowling Tournament 2013.
E
OUR BOWLING CHAMPS Champion: XXXCELLENCE Team A (Eric Goh, Suzie Tan, Victor Lim, Eric Koh) 1st Runner-up: XXXCELLENCE Team B ( Jason Chia, Fanny Lee, Leo Low, Chua Ming Xuan)
nergy levels were high with plenty of excitement for 120 players at SuperBowl @ Safra Mount Faber on 18 May 2013. All our bowlers had a great time pitting their skills against one another in the competitive yet friendly game.
2nd Runner-up: RWS 3 (Horace Khoo, Richard Chua, Geraldine Marie Leong, Ahmad Faeez)
Congratulations to XXXCELLENCE Team A who emerged as champions with a total score of 2469 pins. SCS would also like to extend our heartiest congratulations to all winners of the SCS Bowling Tournament 2013. We look forward to another good game in the next tournament in 2014!
4th Runner-up: Elite Ebowlers (Lester Chia, Adeline Law, Richard Tan, Randy Ang)
SCS would like to thank Accenture for the kind sponsorship of the event, as well as SCS Volunteer, Foo Ce Wei, for assisting us with his photography skills.
3rd Runner-up: Friends and Families (Goh Boon Seng, Goh Boon Heng, Anya Hurwood, Andrey Hurwood)
High Game Score (Ladies): Suzie Tan High Game Score (Men): Horace Khoo High Average (Ladies): Jaime Yang High Average (Men): Eric Goh
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THE IT SOCIETY — Sep-Oct 2013
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingaporeComputerSociety
HAPPENINGS
It’s All About Innovation at IPDF 2013 Infocomm Professional Development Forum (IPDF) 2013 engages participants with dialogue and handson workshops to highlight the importance of innovative thinking in IT leadership. SWAMINATHAN RAJAMANICKAM
Member, SCS Director, EMC Education Services APJ
H
eld on 17 July 2013 at the Singapore Management University (SMU), the IPDF 2013 carried the theme “Developing ICT Innovation Leaders”, and attracted a turnout of more than 200 participants. The Forum started with an opening speech by the Guest-of-Honour, Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). Mr Leonard highlighted the critical need for innovation and technology growth in Singapore, which includes both hardware and software infrastructure.
Next, Mr Bill Chang, CEO of Group Enterprise for SingTel, and Mr Greg Unsworth, Partner at PwC Singapore presented the participants with insights, during their keynote presentation. Mr Chang highlighted the importance of being unique in today’s volatile and uncertain landscape, while Mr Unsworth showcased perspectives on PwC’s Outlook for digital technologies and consumer behaviour along with impact on enterprises and IT professionals. After the keynote presentations, Mr Steve Leonard, Mr Bill Chang, Mr Greg Unsworth, and Mr Saurav Bhattacharyya, CEO of Quantum Inventions, engaged the participants through a panel discussion. Facilitated by Dr Leong Mun Kew, Deputy
Director of NUS ISS, the discussion focused on the topic of “Riding on the Disruptive Technology Wave”. Once the participants were done with lunch, they were invited to workshops that covered topics on The New Digital Economy, Big Data & Analytics, as well as Future Interaction Technologies. Workshops were conducted by leading specialists in the IT industry. From the theme of the keynotes and workshop topics, the Forum certainly provided participants with insights on the current status of innovation in Singapore, as well as the requirements to nurture innovation and fill the skills gaps that exist in the Infocomm sector.
Welcome Syracuse University!
Leading information systems school joins SCS Student Chapter in exchange programme.
O
n 6 June 2013, the SCS Student Chapter played host to a group of 20 students from Syracuse University (SU), as part of their Overseas Exchange Programme. Known for its strong academic achievements, SU is also the top information systems school in America. SCS Student Chapter’s representatives from various Institutes of Higher Learning and SU students shared and exchanged ideas on their school’s teaching system and culture. After all the fun and interactive time together, it is no wonder that this event left an indelible mark on the participants.
Web: www.scs.org.sg
THE MAGAZINE OF THE SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY
HAPPENINGS
Calendar of Events AUGUST 2013
SEPTEMBER 2013 4 SEP
QA Chapter: Seminar on ITIL and CMMI for Services
6 SEP
CITBCM Preview Session
9 SEP
COMIT Preview Session
10 SEP
Workshop on Dynamic Presentations: Present Like Steve Jobs
11 SEP
MWL Chapter: Workshop on Developing Spatially-Enabled iOS Apps with OneMap
14 SEP
Green Geeks Community :: Fun – Clean Our Kitchen Garden Day
16-18 SEP
QA Chapter: CSQA Examination Preparatory Workshop & Certification
16 AUG
SCS Golf Day 2013
20 - 21 Aug
QA Chapter: 2-Day Workshop on Secure Software Development for Banking and Finance (SDBF)
20 - 22 Aug, 27 - 28 Aug
QA Chapter: 4-Day Course, 1-Day Exam on Certified Software Testing Professional (CSTP)
26 - 27 Aug
QA Chapter: 2-Day Workshop on Secure Software Development Model (SSDM)
18 SEP
28 Aug
MWL Chapter: Workshop on Developing Spatially-Enabled Android Apps with OneMap
BCG: Seminar cum Visit on Empowering Your Organisation with Effective BCM
19 SEP
Chill Out Night @ SPRUCE
30 Aug
CITPM Preview Session
20 SEP
Splash Awards Prize Presentation Ceremony
AUG
InfoPier Round Table: Business Analytics
OCTOBER 2013 8 OCT
BA SIG: Launch of SmartHub & BA SIG Seminar
25 OCT
BCG: BCM Conference 2013
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THE IT SOCIETY — Sep-Oct 2013
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SingaporeComputerSociety
THE LITE SIDE
INNOVATIVE INVENTS
Tile is also community based. If you’ve lost an item, simply mark it as “lost” through your mobile phone. This will send a signal to fellow Tile users so that if they are within range of your lost item, you will be promptly notified. Now, isn’t the term “let’s Tile it” catchy?
No Lying Through Your Teeth! Never Lose It Again Lost something? Make it tell you exactly where it is! The Tile is an amazing tracking gadget slated to be released sometime early next year. It works on a simple concept: pair it with an app on your mobile phone and attach it to your everyday belongings. If you have difficulty locating your item, simply track it on your mobile phone. This device also comes with an in-built speaker so that you can sound it in order to help you locate it.
Researchers from National Taiwan University have devised a sensor so minute that it could be easily wedged in between your teeth. With a built-in accelerometer to measure movement forces, this tiny sensor will collect information about your eating and/ or smoking patterns. It can also be fitted on oral hardware like dentures or braces. The data will then be forwarded to your medical practitioner for him or her to monitor your lifestyle habits. Although currently in the prototype phase, the research team is looking at ways to implement Bluetooth to facilitate the transfer of information. Can’t wait to sink our teeth into this one!
Forget Keys These days, anything’s possible with your mobile phones, including locking and unlocking your doors! Out early next year, the new Goji Smart Lock takes mobility to the next level while keeping a tight grip on security. Through a simple mobile application, you can control all access to your home. For a start, your door will automatically unlock when you approach it from outside. No more rummaging through your pockets or bags for keys. Goji also lets you grant entry to guests expected at your home when you are away. Simply set a window period within which you expect your visitors, or even work contractors at your door. Goji will generate a unique access code to be sent to your visitor’s mobile phones so they can unlock your door. But only within the pre-defined validity period. Goji then sends you a picture of the entrant and records all entries in a log that you can monitor via your mobile app or online. For the parents: no more losing sleep over monitoring late night curfews for your kids!
5. How many calculations per second can the World’s Fastest Supercomputer, Tianhe-2, do? A) 100 trillion calculations per second 1. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a _____________ B) 1000 trillion calculations per second protocol. C) 10000 trillion calculations per second A) Link Layer D) None of the above B) Application layer C) Transport layer 6. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is all D) Internet layer about A) Large scale online gaming platform for kids 2. Which of the following protocol converts HTTP B) Large scale online learning course and to secure HTTPS between the website and the interaction browser? C) Large scale online data mining platform A) IPsec D) Open Souce tool for enterprise mobility B) SSH C) SSL 2.0 7. Who gave the visionary and futuristic D) TLS presentation, “The Mother of All Demos” on 9 Dec 1968 ? 3. Who coined the word “Hyper Text” in 1963 ? A) Douglas Engelbart A) Douglas Engelbart B) Vint Cerf B) Paul Otlet C) Ted Nelson C) Ted Nelson D) None of the above D) Tim Berners-Lee
9. Carpet, human bodies, and walls can contribute to which influence on wireless transmission? A) Scattering B) Refraction C) Reflection D) Absorption 10. CAPTCHA is the acronym for? A) Complex Augmentated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart B) Complex Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart C) Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart D) Completely Augmentated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart 6. B 7. A 8. C
uiz
8. What is the rate that Apps are being downloaded from Apple’s Appstore? A) 3000/second B) 100/second C) 800/second D) 300/second
Answers 4. D Correct Answer: Toyota 1. A (Desno) 2. D 5. D Correct Answer: 33,860 3. C trillion calculations per second(33.86 petaflop/sec)
SCS
4. Which auto manufacturer invented the QR code in 1994 ? A) HONDA B) BMW C) FORD D) None of the above
9. D 10. C