TechTouch Asia

By Patricia Yim GM, IBM ASEAN Digital transformation (DX) is an urgent priority for companies to strengthen their competitive advantage amid the bruising effects of COVID-19. Leaders have realised the urgent need to digitalise their operations, cloud-enable their applications, and continue their digital transformation in order to keep their operations going, ahead of the need to emerge as a strong leader in their industry post-pandemic. Digital infrastructure forms the fundamental backbone supporting cross-border trade, commerce and collaboration especially for each of the 10 member states in the ASEAN economic bloc. Countries must “accelerate the digitalisation of businesses and economies as a collective response to the public health, economic and communications challenges posed by COVID-19”, said Singapore Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran in April at the Extraordinary G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting . There are some positives, however, as the world g...

Tata Communications , a global digital ecosystem enabler, has launched the Secure Connected Digital Experience (SCDx), a new proposition for enterprises to help them rebuild and adapt their organisations for a post-COVID world. Businesses are looking to redesign and restructure their operations for a transformed landscape as countries emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns, the company said. Tata Communications’ SCDx proposition is intended to meet this growing, worldwide demand for new ways of operating, which includes far higher levels of working from home, rising security risks, a shift to digital commerce and more contactless experiences for employees, customers and supply chain partners. AS Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications says, “COVID-19 is acting as a catalyst and accelerator of business transformation. In recent months, millions of employees have experienced working from home, consumers have embraced digital shopping and delivery, and businesses have adapt...

by Sandeep Bhargava, MD, Asia Pacific Japan (APJ), Rackspace Technology Source: Rackspace. Bhargava. Cost reduction across all aspects of business is top of mind in today’s economic climate. Other than managing workforce costs, business and technology, leaders are looking for other methods of reducing expenses such as downsizing office space, reducing office consumables, and outsourcing some of the back-end processes to shared services and help desks. While these steps help in maximising resources, short-term cost reduction is just part of the equation. For more significant cost savings and lasting cost control, companies need to examine how their whole organisation consumes its resources. This is where cost governance comes in. Cost governance aims to develop a business-focused and sustainable programme for cost-reduction and managing spending. With the recent disruptions, businesses are becoming more receptive to cloud technologies. Thus, spending on multicloud and hybr...

Great Eastern and RebateMango have collaborated to launch a new dimension of rewards on UPGREAT , Great Eastern’s all-in-one rewards platform as part of Great Eastern's digital transformation journey. A new range of dining, lifestyle and shopping rewards have been introduced as part of the insurer’s regional consumer strategy to engage its customers online. Through this direct integration, Great Eastern’s UPGREAT members will experience a new, seamless experience and the opportunity to receive more UPGREAT points when they shop at over 500 Singapore retailers. By using RebateMango to power the merchant offerings, UPGREAT members simply need to open the UPGREAT app, select the retailer and start shopping to earn UPGREAT Points. At the same time, it allows UPGREAT to enjoy easy scalability in their offering to users. UPGREAT Points can be exchanged for additional rewards like air miles, as well as petrol, food delivery or dining vouchers. RebateMango, which powers the ret...