First announced in 2014, Singapore’s Smart Nation (consisting of the three pillars of digital society, digital economy and digital government) push has been many years in the making. Almost a decade on, this initiative has seen the country undergo digital transformations across all sectors, from manufacturing and telecoms to financial services and retail.
While current Smart Nation efforts, ranging from urban planning to healthcare, are steadily improving quality of life, it is important to look beyond solely digitalising processes. Instead, leaders need to leverage data in motion and real-time analytics to strengthen and nurture the symbiotic relationships between the digital trinity.
From static to streaming data
Data is, without a doubt, the key to fully embracing a Smart Nation and bridging gaps between the three pillars of the digital economy, digital society and digital government. What underpins a society-wide digital shift is a fundamental move from physical, discrete frameworks to software and online systems. Setting data in motion, instead of relying on static volumes of it, is critical for government bodies to react instantly as it arrives. Sharing of data from various sources and between agencies allows well-informed decisions to be made in advance.
This is especially crucial when information across key sectors such as finance, transport, urban infrastructure and culture is centralised in government portals. Streaming real-time data thus becomes the fingerprint of a digital society and the foundation necessary for computerised systems and stakeholders to understand, organise and better serve the community.
Data flow between government bodies and businesses
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Data-sharing between government statutory boards and corporations can incisively elevate sectors that are key enablers of a country’s economy. For instance, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) worked with the private sector to aggregate data around tourist travel and spending patterns into a data sharing and analytics platform. This enabled tourism industry organisations and SMEs to harness insights from a single database, enhancing data-driven decisions for business growth, despite limited analytics resources.
Setting data in motion enables both government services and business processes to understand industry trends, benchmarks and citizen or customer insights as they continuously evolve to meet societal needs. Simultaneously, dynamic insights can also be harnessed for cross-sector impacts, propelling Singapore towards a more digital society.
Expanding synergy and interconnectivity across a Smart Nation
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As governments and businesses work together to improve corporate objectives, citizens remain the main stakeholder. Data-sharing across government agencies can facilitate better policy planning and enhance citizen experiences. This is evident through SingPass, the country’s digital identity database, which allows citizens to seamlessly access over 250 digital services from 60 government agencies. Implementing such systems ensures a secure, hassle-free citizen experience when seeking services at government-recognised institutions.
Another example is Singapore’s Hawkers Go Digital initiative. The integration of mobile payments has seen government agencies such as Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) working with providers and local hawkers to encourage contactless payments. Such initiatives help local hawkers retain profit-making and business agility while pushing society to become increasingly digital.
By facilitating interconnectivity between platforms, data in motion can nurture a digital nation that is more synchronised in providing more convenient solutions and easier access that addresses day-to-day needs. For example, citizens can have a single overview and simplified access to their financial, health and residential status. As government agendas and corporate offerings collectively nurture digital citizenry, this prompts a cycle where citizens progressively enjoy a greater permeation of digital services in their lives.
Governing real-time data
With vast amounts and types of data at play, combined with enhanced interconnectivity, it is imperative to consider data governance processes required to ensure that data is used in the right manner. Especially where large volumes of data are shared across many networks, strict management of data and granular access control across cloud deployments is necessary. Doing so fosters trust amongst stakeholders, inspiring confidence in data infrastructures as the Smart Nation initiative develops further.
Stakeholders, businesses and governments must set data in motion to keep up with changing citizen demands and the global economy. Having the expertise of fully-managed cloud service providers can help governments streamline processes, manage and guarantee enterprise-grade security of real-time data. By realising how the three pillars are interlinked, using real-time data to promote interconnectivity across multiple institutions and reinforce data governance helps to drive cohesive and secure development across the nation. The path towards a socio-economic ecosystem that thrives in the digital age on all levels can be paved as Singapore moves towards being an even stronger Smart Nation.
Samantha Seow is the country manager for Singapore at Confluent
