Ng Kuo Pin Explains How Tech Makes Extraordinary Happen

Can Tech Truly Make Extraordinary Happen?

NG KUO PIN

Member, SCS Chief Executive Officer, NCS Age: 52 Earliest Tech Experience: Developed an AI speech recognition software that met the accuracy rate of 91% in 1993-94 Currently Reading: The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom Last Netflixed: The Squid Game or any other recommendations by his Gen Z children An App You Can’t Live Without: WhatsApp A Gadget You Can’t Live Without: My extra large 12.9 inch iPad Pro Favourite Way to Relax: Running distances of 10km to 12km on average and oil painting (but only when inspiration strikes)

Each year, over 2,800 infocomm and tech fresh graduates enter the workforce. Unsurprisingly, many are drawn to the tech industry by attractive pay packages, great career prospects and potential to impact the world. But, as The IT Society learns from speaking to the Chief Executive Officer of NCS – Ng Kuo Pin, joining a tech company with a clear purpose and strong beliefs may well be the most important key to unlocking personal growth and a better world.

Q: Question, KP: Kuo Pin

Q: From the outside, people just see tech as growing at an incredible pace. What is the view like from the inside?

KP: Having been in the industry for close to 30 years now, I see four distinctive periods in the evolution of tech. The first would be the mainframe period where technology was largely exclusively used by big enterprises. I joined the industry when this phase transited to the clientserver phase. In the client-server phase, the price of computers were significantly lower than mainframes and their adoption was therefore more pervasive than mainframes. But applications were rudimentary, and users had to be equipped with programming skills in order to effectively work the machines. So the uptake of computers really only took off in the third phase around the late nineties when the internet came along. Browser centric and single use applications defined this period. Then we come to the current period that everyone is familiar with – the Digital age. The advent of smart mobile phones brought about the whole conversation surrounding mobility. And it is also this time that the word “digital” came about. As a tech insider, I would split this phase into two parts. Raw, native mobile apps characterised the first part. The second part, which commenced around 2018 and is still ongoing, is marked by the confluence of various technologies such as cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) transforming the world we live in today. I’ll call it the Digital+ age.

Q: What is the significance of these changes?

KP: In every phase, technology not only becomes more human-centric and more accessible to people, its impact to the world also becomes more significant. For individuals, tech brings convenience, connects them to others and makes collaborations over different geographies possible. Likewise, for businesses, tech makes collecting and sharing information easier, facilitating not just faster but also better decision making.

And if we were to just remember that individuals and businesses have always wanted these, and they are now all made possible by tech, it is easy to understand why most businesses today either see themselves as or aspire to be tech companies. Similarly, it will be hard to find a person whose life has not improved in one way or another because of tech. That is – the power of tech and the driving force behind its continued evolution.

From the tech perspective, as we move through the different phases, app development goes from closed to open source, and standalone systems to cloud-based architecture. Effectively,

development becomes faster and more sophisticated and it also calls for developers with more specialised domain knowledge to build on these established frameworks and libraries.

Q: While these outcomes sound exciting, the journey is not always easy. How does NCS help with this process?

KP: Technology adoption tends to be faster and more obvious in the consumer sector, compared to the business sector. That said, digitalisation and digital transformation in the business world are taking place at an unprecedented pace now. Previously, during the clientserver and even the internet phases, digitalisation means dealing with legacy systems, processes, and people’s mindsets which can be uninitiated at times. Naturally, the bigger the organisation in concern, the bigger the inertia to change.

Today, people are more cognisant of the importance of digital transformation to business relevance. Plus, many organisations already have a certain level of tech embedded in their processes, so the reception towards tech is generally warmer now. However, digital transformation is no less complex because it involves changing the way businesses are conducted, interactions are carried out, and services are delivered. Hence, at NCS, it is our belief that a digital transformation project has to concurrently be a business transformation project. It has to get buy-in from the leadership and at its core – help the business achieve its business objectives and purpose. Each year, NCS challenges ourselves to bring about true transformation in the over 3,000 projects we deliver.

Q: With so many projects going on at any one time, how does NCS ensure that the best is done for every project?

KP: While we put in place some checks and balances – and so do many of our clients, we believe that the best way to do this is to code the practice of “doing the right thing” into our culture. Because there is only so much policing that can be done. Unlike in building construction, one cannot physically inspect the build floor by floor. So, how we do it at NCS is to articulate our purpose statement about harnessing technology to advance communities, and bringing people together to make the extraordinary happen. In addition, we share our purpose statement with our partners and stakeholders so that it is clear and transparent about the impact that we want to make.

To put things in perspective, although we have not had to turn down any project for this reason yet, but if one day a client approaches us to take on a project that contravenes our purpose statement, we would say “no”. We take our purpose statement very seriously – it is central to NCS’ DNA.

Q: Final question: Can tech truly make extraordinary happen?

KP: It’s a definite – yes! In the last decade, tech has not only created whole new industries, but also jobs for many people. Occupations like data scientists, cloud architects and social media influencers were non-existent as recent as 10 years ago. Today, thanks to tech, they provide livelihoods for people and – in some cases – change the narrative of an entire nation, lifting them from poverty and empowering their rapid advancement.

“Tech has much to offer to any aspiring tech professional. Particularly, in the tech services space, you get to apply your tech skills and knowledge to solve real world business problems. Additionally, you have many opportunities to work with talented and passionate people. It is complex, but also an exhilarating experience.”

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