ceo 2014 singapore

CEO SINGAPORE 2014 SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL CEO 2014

1WWW.CON T EN TGRO UP I N T ERNAT IONAL.COM

CEO SINGAPORE 2014 SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL

S I N G A P O R E

i-Sprint looking at new SECURITY BOOM

AEC integration driving outsourcing in Malaysia

COGNIZANT drives efficiency with new technologies

DANATEQ leading rise of data-driven services

DHL POSITIONING FOR SINGAPORE’S SME GROWTH

CEO SINGAPORE 2014 SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL CEO SINGAPORE 2014 SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL CEO 2014CEO 2014

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Visit www.joce.sg Call +65 6248 9414 | +65 6246 6746 Email [email protected]

1 Listen more than you talk

We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To

be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the

most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd

advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting

notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out

there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

2 Keep it simple

You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody

ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business

solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in

business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A

simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for

the worse.

3 Take pride in your work

Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year

Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile

for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and

personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities

they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they

represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on

helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

4 Have fun, success will follow

If you aren’t having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the

morning to work on your business is a chore, then it’s time to try something else.

If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative

atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will fluorish. A smile and a joke can

go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

5 Rip it up and start again

If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn’t a success, welcome to the

club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the

way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get

disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went

wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up

and start again.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British businessman and an adventurer who is known for the Virgin brand. Queen Elisabeth II knighted him in 1999 for his abilities and entrepreneurship in the spirit of the United Kingdom. Branson is the seventh richest person in Great Britain according to theSunday Times Rich List. Branson has played himself in several TV series, including Friends, Baywatch and the reality TV show The Rebel Billionaire by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Source: Nordic Innovations publication, Blue Wings –magazine, 2/2013

Sir Richard Branson´s five top tips to starting a successful business

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Mikko Silventola

ART DIRECTOR/LAYOUT: Lina Hurmerinta

JOURNALISTS: Rob O’Brien, Justin Harper, Kirsten Han

PHOTOS: Tom White

PUBLISHER: CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL Boulevard Plaza Tower One Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai P.O. Box 334155, Dubai, UAE

www.contentgroupinternational.com

CEO Travel: Recommended for CEOs by us!

A Magnificient trip to Alila Villas in Bali

Alila Villas Soori on the southwest coast of Bali might just be the very definition of paradise. Located near the island's

famed Tanah Lot Temple, this luxurious beachfront resort leads you to depths of relaxation you never knew existed.

Nestled between lush rice fields and glistening volcanic black sands lapped by the Indian Ocean, these luxury villas in

Bali fully integrate the beach experience in its vibrant

mix of spaces. The perfectly calibrated balance of

tranquillity and vitality, that is so Bali, does a fine job

of soothing and stimulating the senses.

Poised on an elevated plateau that meets with

limestone cliffs sweeping down to the ocean, the

view from the Alila Villas Uluwatu is nothing less

than picture-perfect. Re-discover the joy ofpure

relaxation in unparalleled comfort and space in

each of our exquisitely designed Bali luxury villas.

Surrender yourself to the enchantment of Bali's

beauty and serenity in the luxury of flawless

perfection.

More information: www.alilahotels.com

The world is changing faster than ever, creating new opportunities for those ready to seize them. In an environment where the biggest risk is playing it safe, you need to break from convention in order for breakthroughs to follow.

At Cognizant, our flexible, collaborative approach helps hundreds of organizations across the globe not only run better, but run different. And helps more than half of the Top 50 Fortune companies in the U.S. turn their ideas in the workplace into lasting successes in the marketplace.

So if you’re looking to stand apart, don’t stand still. Because those who challenge how business gets done today lead the world tomorrow.

The future belongs to thosewho challenge the present.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.80 Anson Road# 27-02/03 Fuji Xerox TowersSingapore-079907Ph: 65- 6324 6672Fax: +65 6324 4383Email: [email protected]

CEO 2014

WWW.CON T EN TGRO UP I N T ERNAT IONAL.COM

S I N G A P O R E

i-Sprint looking at new

SECURITY BOOM

AEC integration driving

outsourcing in

Malaysia

COGNIZANT

drives efficiency

with new

technologies

DANATEQ

leading rise of

data-driven services

POSITIONING

FOR SINGAPORE’S

SME GROWTH

CEO_Singapore_May_layout.indd 1

4/24/14 10:24 AM

Visit www.joce.sg Call +65 6248 9414 | +65 6246 6746 Email [email protected]

1 Listen more than you talk

We have two ears and one mouth, using them in proportion is not a bad idea! To

be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the

most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd

advice. This can mean following online comments as closely as board meeting

notes, or asking the frontline staff for their opinions as often as the CEOs. Get out

there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them.

2 Keep it simple

You have to do something radically different to stand out in business. But nobody

ever said different has to be complex. There are thousands of simple business

solutions to problems out there, just waiting to be solved by the next big thing in

business. Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A

simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for

the worse.

3 Take pride in your work

Last week I enjoyed my favourite night of the year, the Virgin Stars of the Year

Awards, where we celebrated some of those people who have gone the extra mile

for us around the Virgin world. With so many different companies, nationalities and

personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities

they all have in common. One was pride in their work, and in the company they

represent. Remember your staff are your biggest brand advocates, and focusing on

helping them take pride will shine through in how they treat your customers.

4 Have fun, success will follow

If you aren’t having fun, you are doing it wrong. If you feel like getting up in the

morning to work on your business is a chore, then it’s time to try something else.

If you are having a good time, there is a far greater chance a positive, innovative

atmosphere will be nurtured and your business will fluorish. A smile and a joke can

go a long way, so be quick to see the lighter side of life.

5 Rip it up and start again

If you are an entrepreneur and your first venture isn’t a success, welcome to the

club! Every successful businessperson has experienced a few failures along the

way – the important thing is how you learn from them. Don’t allow yourself to get

disheartened by a setback or two, instead dust yourself off and work out what went

wrong. Then you can find the positives, analyse where you can improve, rip it up

and start again.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British businessman and an adventurer who is known for the Virgin brand. Queen Elisabeth II knighted him in 1999 for his abilities and entrepreneurship in the spirit of the United Kingdom. Branson is the seventh richest person in Great Britain according to theSunday Times Rich List. Branson has played himself in several TV series, including Friends, Baywatch and the reality TV show The Rebel Billionaire by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Source: Nordic Innovations publication, Blue Wings –magazine, 2/2013

Sir Richard Branson´s five top tips to starting a successful business

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Mikko Silventola

ART DIRECTOR/LAYOUT: Lina Hurmerinta

JOURNALISTS: Rob O’Brien, Justin Harper, Kirsten Han

PHOTOS: Tom White

PUBLISHER: CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL Boulevard Plaza Tower One Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai P.O. Box 334155, Dubai, UAE

www.contentgroupinternational.com

CEO Travel: Recommended for CEOs by us!

A Magnificient trip to Alila Villas in Bali

Alila Villas Soori on the southwest coast of Bali might just be the very definition of paradise. Located near the island's

famed Tanah Lot Temple, this luxurious beachfront resort leads you to depths of relaxation you never knew existed.

Nestled between lush rice fields and glistening volcanic black sands lapped by the Indian Ocean, these luxury villas in

Bali fully integrate the beach experience in its vibrant

mix of spaces. The perfectly calibrated balance of

tranquillity and vitality, that is so Bali, does a fine job

of soothing and stimulating the senses.

Poised on an elevated plateau that meets with

limestone cliffs sweeping down to the ocean, the

view from the Alila Villas Uluwatu is nothing less

than picture-perfect. Re-discover the joy ofpure

relaxation in unparalleled comfort and space in

each of our exquisitely designed Bali luxury villas.

Surrender yourself to the enchantment of Bali's

beauty and serenity in the luxury of flawless

perfection.

More information: www.alilahotels.com

The world is changing faster than ever, creating new opportunities for those ready to seize them. In an environment where the biggest risk is playing it safe, you need to break from convention in order for breakthroughs to follow.

At Cognizant, our flexible, collaborative approach helps hundreds of organizations across the globe not only run better, but run different. And helps more than half of the Top 50 Fortune companies in the U.S. turn their ideas in the workplace into lasting successes in the marketplace.

So if you’re looking to stand apart, don’t stand still. Because those who challenge how business gets done today lead the world tomorrow.

The future belongs to thosewho challenge the present.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.80 Anson Road# 27-02/03 Fuji Xerox TowersSingapore-079907Ph: 65- 6324 6672Fax: +65 6324 4383Email: [email protected]

CEO 2014

WWW.CON T EN TGRO UP I N T ERNAT IONAL.COM

S I N G A P O R E

i-Sprint looking at new

SECURITY BOOM

AEC integration driving

outsourcing in

Malaysia

COGNIZANT

drives efficiency

with new

technologies

DANATEQ

leading rise of

data-driven services

POSITIONING

FOR SINGAPORE’S

SME GROWTH

CEO_Singapore_May_layout.indd 1

4/24/14 10:24 AM

-Sprint, which specialises

in identity, credential

and access management

solutions, was set up

by CEO, Albert Ching, and Chief

Operating Officer, Dutch Ng, after the

2000 dotcom boom.

From inside the banking industry

they saw a demand for safe and secure

transacting by offering a reliable,

robust “end-to-end” authentication

solution.

“How do you enable trust when

you can’t see someone on the other

end? How do you know you’re the

right person talking to the right

service provider?” Mr Ching says. “We

worked in banks, we knew what their

problems were.”

i-Sprint’s suite of security

solutions allows banks, government

agencies, corporations and online

service providers to provide a

secure environment to enable end

users and organizations to conduct

online transactions with trust and

confidence which is fundamental for

online and mobile commerce.

“What we do is look at multiple

dimensions after which we do a

combination of verifications to

provide high identity assurance that

you are who you are and that you are

talking to the right organisation. We

call this ‘Contextual Authentication’,”

Mr Ching says.

“We are looking at a set of

governance and business processes

which have to work together to

ensure you are as strong as your

weakest link.”

Headquartered in Singapore,

i-Sprint has expanded rapidly across

Asia Pacific with a presence in

China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu,

Zhuhai), Hong Kong, Taiwan,

Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and the

United States.

i-Sprint Group has two major

strategic investors - the Hong Kong

and Shanghai-listed ASL/Teamsun

Group and Great Ally Investments,

a wholly-owned subsidiary of the

Peregrine Greater China Capital

Appreciation Fund.

It is already supporting 150 regional

financial institutions, government

agencies and large corporations to

protect their confidential information

and critical business transactions

with an estimated total asset value of

more than US$10 trn.

“We are providing trust to the

banks, not just security,” says Mr Ng.

Demand for new security solutions

is being driven by rising cybercrime.

A recent survey by PwC of 1,330

companies from 79 countries found

39 percent of financial services

affected by ‘economic crime’ last

year had been hit by cyber crime,

compared to 17 percent in other

industries.

The growth of technologies such

as cloud computing and mobile

commerce has brought an urgency to

discussions around online security,

but Mr. Ching says the technology

is just one component of i-Sprint’s

security solutions.

“I look at this from two sides: you

can have the biggest lock on your

door, but what if the window is open?”

he says. “We help our clients to look

out for their weakest link and apply

our solutions to mitigate potential

security issues.”

Security vulnerabilities such as

the recent Heartbleed bug, used to

steal sensitive data such as account

information and passwords from

various web services and clients,

can be mitigated with the right

technology, Mr.Ching says.

“Our proven end-to-end

Encryption for Data and Password

Protection solution has been

designed to address the potential

data leakage vulnerabilities in web

servers and on the network,” he says.

But it is the rise of mobile

commerce and cloud computing -

and their inherent security challenges

- that has i-Sprint looking at a busy

2014. Worldwide mobile payment

transactions reached US$235.4

billion in 2013, a 44% increase from

2012 values of US$163.1 billion,

according to Gartner.

In Singapore, i-Sprint’s software

already supports the government’s

e-tax platform and various other

government agencies - and recent

deals have included the sales of

online security solutions to Bank of

China and Taiwan’s Cathay United

Bank to enhance security around new

mobile financial services.

“The highly connected world

that we live in and its global

communications systems have

triggered technological, social

and cultural changes. This level of

interconnectivity has introduced a

diversity of risks that enterprises must

find new ways to protect themselves

against,” Mr Ching says.

“Good security is about being

proactive and mitigating those risks.”

“We are looking at a set of governance and business processes

which have to work together to ensure you are as strong as your

weakest link.”

I-SPRINT LOOKING AT NEW

SECURITY BOOM

Change the sub head to: Online security has become a global issue in recent years due to more sophisticated and largescale threats,

from which enterprises now need to protect themselves.

Albert Ching, CEO of i-Sprint, and Dutch Ng, Chief Operating Officer.

-Sprint, which specialises

in identity, credential

and access management

solutions, was set up

by CEO, Albert Ching, and Chief

Operating Officer, Dutch Ng, after the

2000 dotcom boom.

From inside the banking industry

they saw a demand for safe and secure

transacting by offering a reliable,

robust “end-to-end” authentication

solution.

“How do you enable trust when

you can’t see someone on the other

end? How do you know you’re the

right person talking to the right

service provider?” Mr Ching says. “We

worked in banks, we knew what their

problems were.”

i-Sprint’s suite of security

solutions allows banks, government

agencies, corporations and online

service providers to provide a

secure environment to enable end

users and organizations to conduct

online transactions with trust and

confidence which is fundamental for

online and mobile commerce.

“What we do is look at multiple

dimensions after which we do a

combination of verifications to

provide high identity assurance that

you are who you are and that you are

talking to the right organisation. We

call this ‘Contextual Authentication’,”

Mr Ching says.

“We are looking at a set of

governance and business processes

which have to work together to

ensure you are as strong as your

weakest link.”

Headquartered in Singapore,

i-Sprint has expanded rapidly across

Asia Pacific with a presence in

China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu,

Zhuhai), Hong Kong, Taiwan,

Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and the

United States.

i-Sprint Group has two major

strategic investors - the Hong Kong

and Shanghai-listed ASL/Teamsun

Group and Great Ally Investments,

a wholly-owned subsidiary of the

Peregrine Greater China Capital

Appreciation Fund.

It is already supporting 150 regional

financial institutions, government

agencies and large corporations to

protect their confidential information

and critical business transactions

with an estimated total asset value of

more than US$10 trn.

“We are providing trust to the

banks, not just security,” says Mr Ng.

Demand for new security solutions

is being driven by rising cybercrime.

A recent survey by PwC of 1,330

companies from 79 countries found

39 percent of financial services

affected by ‘economic crime’ last

year had been hit by cyber crime,

compared to 17 percent in other

industries.

The growth of technologies such

as cloud computing and mobile

commerce has brought an urgency to

discussions around online security,

but Mr. Ching says the technology

is just one component of i-Sprint’s

security solutions.

“I look at this from two sides: you

can have the biggest lock on your

door, but what if the window is open?”

he says. “We help our clients to look

out for their weakest link and apply

our solutions to mitigate potential

security issues.”

Security vulnerabilities such as

the recent Heartbleed bug, used to

steal sensitive data such as account

information and passwords from

various web services and clients,

can be mitigated with the right

technology, Mr.Ching says.

“Our proven end-to-end

Encryption for Data and Password

Protection solution has been

designed to address the potential

data leakage vulnerabilities in web

servers and on the network,” he says.

But it is the rise of mobile

commerce and cloud computing -

and their inherent security challenges

- that has i-Sprint looking at a busy

2014. Worldwide mobile payment

transactions reached US$235.4

billion in 2013, a 44% increase from

2012 values of US$163.1 billion,

according to Gartner.

In Singapore, i-Sprint’s software

already supports the government’s

e-tax platform and various other

government agencies - and recent

deals have included the sales of

online security solutions to Bank of

China and Taiwan’s Cathay United

Bank to enhance security around new

mobile financial services.

“The highly connected world

that we live in and its global

communications systems have

triggered technological, social

and cultural changes. This level of

interconnectivity has introduced a

diversity of risks that enterprises must

find new ways to protect themselves

against,” Mr Ching says.

“Good security is about being

proactive and mitigating those risks.”

“We are looking at a set of governance and business processes

which have to work together to ensure you are as strong as your

weakest link.”

I-SPRINT LOOKING AT NEW

SECURITY BOOM

Change the sub head to: Online security has become a global issue in recent years due to more sophisticated and largescale threats,

from which enterprises now need to protect themselves.

Albert Ching, CEO of i-Sprint, and Dutch Ng, Chief Operating Officer.

astrac, a boutique executive recruitment firm, was started on the oil and

petrol-stained floors of a garage in Delhi, India, with a $1000 investment.

Its founder and CEO, Nina Alag Suri, spent $800 on a computer

and $200 on a first generation Motorola mobile phone back in the days when a

mobile phone was heavy lifting.

“Since the time I was in engineering college I wanted to run my own business,

one of the bits of advice my dad gave me was that I couldn’t run a business unless I

knew how it worked… so he told me to go and get some experience,” Mrs Suri says.

The company, which has a headcount of around 42 employees globally, focuses

on director and executive level candidates in the financial services and technology

sectors. Talent is sourced locally in each market with very little or no “cross border

hiring”.

After the financial crisis Nastrac changed its outlook from being “top-line

focused” to becoming a very lean and highly productive focus company by

narrowing its industry sectors and creating a shared services centre to support all

of its offices.

Nastrac hires seasoned industry professionals - there are no entry level positions

- and all of the directors have spent 15 to 20 years in the industries in which they

talent search. Despite the company’s core business being executive search, they

don’t actually hire any recruiters.

“We hire people who have been there and done the job, understand how

companies think and operate, and are capable of sitting across the table from the

client and providing advice; if you haven’t done it yourself, it is very difficult to

advise a client,” Mrs Suri says.

“Companies do not hire a firm like us to just find resumes. We have transformed

into brand ambassadors - how we pitch the company to a prospective candidate is

what makes all of the difference.

“That is where companies are realising that they have to hire recruitment firms

who are consultative, instead of just pushing CVs.” ■

Nastrac’s rise FROM A DELHI GARAGE

TO SINGAPORE HQ

Founder and CEO, Nina Alag Suri.

AEC INTEGRATION DRIVING OUTSOURCING IN MALAYSIA

alaysia’s ambitious goal

to transform itself into

a knowledge economy

and a developed country by the year

2020 requires driving growth around

foreign investments and jobs, and the

ICT sector, in particular the shared

services industry is playing a key role.

Over the past decade, the country has

consistently been ranked among the

world’s third top SSO destinations

of choice by the global management

consulting firm AT Kearney, together

with India and China.

“When you go into a new country

or new location, you have to

keep your risk low,” says Michael

Warren, vice president of the

Shared Services and Outsourcing

(SSO) division of Multimedia

Development Corporation (MDeC),

the government agency charged with

realising Malaysia’s ICT goals.

“Selecting a location with:

common cultures and languages;

a supportive foreign worker policy;

strong cyber laws, that protect

business intellectual property; and a

stable infrastructure around power

and telecoms, is critical to making

this decision.”

“Businesses are looking for talent

supply which can be customised for

their business needs, and above all they

want a business-friendly, proactive

government,” Mr Warren adds.

MDeC is responsible for bringing

companies into the Multimedia

Super Corridor (MSC), the special

economic zone established in 1996 as

a global hub for ICT and multimedia

innovation.

The SSO drive began in earnest

back in 2002 when MNCs from

around the world were lured to set up

business process outsourcing (BPO)

hubs in Malaysia.

According to a recent IDC study,

Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing

markets in the Asia Pacific for finance

and accounting services, with its

market share forecasted to reach 7

percent by 2016, by which time it will

be a billion dollar industry.

MDeC’s shared services ‘cluster’

reportedly added RM5.8bn

(US$1.8bn) to the nation’s GDP in

2012, up 32% from 2011. From 112

companies in 2008, there are now

more than 300 companies with MSC

Malaysia status; revenue of RM10.4bn

(US$3.2bn), investments of RM500m

(US$154m) and more than 7000 new

jobs being created every year.

Typically MDeC see between 30-

40 new SSO setups a year in Malaysia,

last year they saw 55 companies

startup, and this year they have

already helped 10 new companies set

up operations in the MSC in the first

quarter of 2014.

“In the past companies used to

start with lower end services such

as call centres, then perhaps an IT

helpdesk. Today the majority of the

centres start much higher up the

value chain in Malaysia, with the

majority of companies operating

shared services around financial

services, HR services, engineering

services as well as the traditional

IT outsource services,” Mr Warren

says of the growth in Malaysia’s SSO

industry. “Now they’re moving up the

value chain, to specialised knowledge

processing areas”.

Samples of large companies to

have based their global HR, payroll

and finance operations in Malaysia

include Shell, Standard Chartered,

HSBC, AMD, Intel and Dell, among

a host of others, and Mr Warren says

many more are following. Citigroup,

for example, also host a global trade

processing centre, servicing trade

and cash businesses.

“Part of the expansion plan for

a number of Malaysian services

companies into the region is through

joint ventures or mergers and

acquisitions with global players that

also want to come into this region,

we’re seeing a fair bit of this from

Japanese and Indian companies.”

Among the incentives

attracting business to the region

is a comprehensive framework of

cyberlaws, a 10-year tax exemption

and an unlimited quota of foreign

workers, something which makes

it an enticing proposition for

Singapore-based companies just

across the border from Malaysia. “If

you talk to a CEO or CFO that makes

sense to them,” says Mr Warren.

“Companies are now also coming

into Malaysia for part or full equity

participation of shared services

centres because as the market opens

up, and as Asean opens up, companies

from Japan, the US and India see this

as an excellent starting point, and

rather than start organically. ■

Malaysia’s booming Shared Services and Outsourcing industry is being driven by intensive demand from local and

international businesses to secure a foothold in the future Asean Economic Community.

”Today the majority of the centres start much

higher up the value chain in Malaysia,

with the majority of companies operating

shared services around financial services, HR services, engineering

services as well as the traditional IT

outsource services.”

Mr Michael Warren.

avid Guerineau is a man in the right place at the right time. As the Asia

Pacific managing director of trading solutions firm Etrali he has overseen

many years of double digit growth as the company expands across the

region.

Etrali is a leading provider of voice and electronic trading infrastructure for the

financial sector. Mr Guerineau has worked for Etrali for 12 years, of which the

past eight have been in Singapore. For the first four years he was based in Paris,

the company’s global headquarters. Having worked his way up from operations

manager, he took over the Singapore branch in 2009, and two years later his remit

expanded to include the whole of Asia Pacific. This includes Japan, Hong Kong,

China and Australia.

He said: ‘’I came in as the ninth employee at the time, but have seen the workforce

more than double. We have seen double digit growth across the Asia business and I

expect that to continue for the next few years.’’ Like many foreign companies based

in Singapore, China is becoming the focal point for growth.

Voice recording services are essential for financial companies in this age of

greater compliance, helping in disputes with clients and regulators alike. Such

services are also required when one bank talks to another. Last year’s Sibor bank-

fixing scandal highlighted the need to keep tabs on banks’ interactions with one

another.

‘’Banks cannot afford not to know what is going on internally and so they are

pushing for more developed solutions and analytics. We can also proactively detect

fraud by tracking patterns of behaviour. This would alert us to the start of any

market manipulation’’, he added.

Guerineau, 37, studied telecommunication engineering at university in France

before completing a master’s degree in finance and strategy. Etrali was owned by

France Telecom before being sold to private equity outfit The Gores Group last year.

‘’This has given a lot of dynamism to the company,’’ he concludes.

Etrali will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, coinciding with

independent Singapore’s. ■

Etrali capitalises ON COMPLIANCE SHIFT

IN BANKING

Mr David Guerineau.

astrac, a boutique executive recruitment firm, was started on the oil and

petrol-stained floors of a garage in Delhi, India, with a $1000 investment.

Its founder and CEO, Nina Alag Suri, spent $800 on a computer

and $200 on a first generation Motorola mobile phone back in the days when a

mobile phone was heavy lifting.

“Since the time I was in engineering college I wanted to run my own business,

one of the bits of advice my dad gave me was that I couldn’t run a business unless I

knew how it worked… so he told me to go and get some experience,” Mrs Suri says.

The company, which has a headcount of around 42 employees globally, focuses

on director and executive level candidates in the financial services and technology

sectors. Talent is sourced locally in each market with very little or no “cross border

hiring”.

After the financial crisis Nastrac changed its outlook from being “top-line

focused” to becoming a very lean and highly productive focus company by

narrowing its industry sectors and creating a shared services centre to support all

of its offices.

Nastrac hires seasoned industry professionals - there are no entry level positions

- and all of the directors have spent 15 to 20 years in the industries in which they

talent search. Despite the company’s core business being executive search, they

don’t actually hire any recruiters.

“We hire people who have been there and done the job, understand how

companies think and operate, and are capable of sitting across the table from the

client and providing advice; if you haven’t done it yourself, it is very difficult to

advise a client,” Mrs Suri says.

“Companies do not hire a firm like us to just find resumes. We have transformed

into brand ambassadors - how we pitch the company to a prospective candidate is

what makes all of the difference.

“That is where companies are realising that they have to hire recruitment firms

who are consultative, instead of just pushing CVs.” ■

Nastrac’s rise FROM A DELHI GARAGE

TO SINGAPORE HQ

Founder and CEO, Nina Alag Suri.

AEC INTEGRATION DRIVING OUTSOURCING IN MALAYSIA

alaysia’s ambitious goal

to transform itself into

a knowledge economy

and a developed country by the year

2020 requires driving growth around

foreign investments and jobs, and the

ICT sector, in particular the shared

services industry is playing a key role.

Over the past decade, the country has

consistently been ranked among the

world’s third top SSO destinations

of choice by the global management

consulting firm AT Kearney, together

with India and China.

“When you go into a new country

or new location, you have to

keep your risk low,” says Michael

Warren, vice president of the

Shared Services and Outsourcing

(SSO) division of Multimedia

Development Corporation (MDeC),

the government agency charged with

realising Malaysia’s ICT goals.

“Selecting a location with:

common cultures and languages;

a supportive foreign worker policy;

strong cyber laws, that protect

business intellectual property; and a

stable infrastructure around power

and telecoms, is critical to making

this decision.”

“Businesses are looking for talent

supply which can be customised for

their business needs, and above all they

want a business-friendly, proactive

government,” Mr Warren adds.

MDeC is responsible for bringing

companies into the Multimedia

Super Corridor (MSC), the special

economic zone established in 1996 as

a global hub for ICT and multimedia

innovation.

The SSO drive began in earnest

back in 2002 when MNCs from

around the world were lured to set up

business process outsourcing (BPO)

hubs in Malaysia.

According to a recent IDC study,

Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing

markets in the Asia Pacific for finance

and accounting services, with its

market share forecasted to reach 7

percent by 2016, by which time it will

be a billion dollar industry.

MDeC’s shared services ‘cluster’

reportedly added RM5.8bn

(US$1.8bn) to the nation’s GDP in

2012, up 32% from 2011. From 112

companies in 2008, there are now

more than 300 companies with MSC

Malaysia status; revenue of RM10.4bn

(US$3.2bn), investments of RM500m

(US$154m) and more than 7000 new

jobs being created every year.

Typically MDeC see between 30-

40 new SSO setups a year in Malaysia,

last year they saw 55 companies

startup, and this year they have

already helped 10 new companies set

up operations in the MSC in the first

quarter of 2014.

“In the past companies used to

start with lower end services such

as call centres, then perhaps an IT

helpdesk. Today the majority of the

centres start much higher up the

value chain in Malaysia, with the

majority of companies operating

shared services around financial

services, HR services, engineering

services as well as the traditional

IT outsource services,” Mr Warren

says of the growth in Malaysia’s SSO

industry. “Now they’re moving up the

value chain, to specialised knowledge

processing areas”.

Samples of large companies to

have based their global HR, payroll

and finance operations in Malaysia

include Shell, Standard Chartered,

HSBC, AMD, Intel and Dell, among

a host of others, and Mr Warren says

many more are following. Citigroup,

for example, also host a global trade

processing centre, servicing trade

and cash businesses.

“Part of the expansion plan for

a number of Malaysian services

companies into the region is through

joint ventures or mergers and

acquisitions with global players that

also want to come into this region,

we’re seeing a fair bit of this from

Japanese and Indian companies.”

Among the incentives

attracting business to the region

is a comprehensive framework of

cyberlaws, a 10-year tax exemption

and an unlimited quota of foreign

workers, something which makes

it an enticing proposition for

Singapore-based companies just

across the border from Malaysia. “If

you talk to a CEO or CFO that makes

sense to them,” says Mr Warren.

“Companies are now also coming

into Malaysia for part or full equity

participation of shared services

centres because as the market opens

up, and as Asean opens up, companies

from Japan, the US and India see this

as an excellent starting point, and

rather than start organically. ■

Malaysia’s booming Shared Services and Outsourcing industry is being driven by intensive demand from local and

international businesses to secure a foothold in the future Asean Economic Community.

”Today the majority of the centres start much

higher up the value chain in Malaysia,

with the majority of companies operating

shared services around financial services, HR services, engineering

services as well as the traditional IT

outsource services.”

Mr Michael Warren.

avid Guerineau is a man in the right place at the right time. As the Asia

Pacific managing director of trading solutions firm Etrali he has overseen

many years of double digit growth as the company expands across the

region.

Etrali is a leading provider of voice and electronic trading infrastructure for the

financial sector. Mr Guerineau has worked for Etrali for 12 years, of which the

past eight have been in Singapore. For the first four years he was based in Paris,

the company’s global headquarters. Having worked his way up from operations

manager, he took over the Singapore branch in 2009, and two years later his remit

expanded to include the whole of Asia Pacific. This includes Japan, Hong Kong,

China and Australia.

He said: ‘’I came in as the ninth employee at the time, but have seen the workforce

more than double. We have seen double digit growth across the Asia business and I

expect that to continue for the next few years.’’ Like many foreign companies based

in Singapore, China is becoming the focal point for growth.

Voice recording services are essential for financial companies in this age of

greater compliance, helping in disputes with clients and regulators alike. Such

services are also required when one bank talks to another. Last year’s Sibor bank-

fixing scandal highlighted the need to keep tabs on banks’ interactions with one

another.

‘’Banks cannot afford not to know what is going on internally and so they are

pushing for more developed solutions and analytics. We can also proactively detect

fraud by tracking patterns of behaviour. This would alert us to the start of any

market manipulation’’, he added.

Guerineau, 37, studied telecommunication engineering at university in France

before completing a master’s degree in finance and strategy. Etrali was owned by

France Telecom before being sold to private equity outfit The Gores Group last year.

‘’This has given a lot of dynamism to the company,’’ he concludes.

Etrali will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, coinciding with

independent Singapore’s. ■

Etrali capitalises ON COMPLIANCE SHIFT

IN BANKING

Mr David Guerineau.

nsurance firm Friends

Provident International

Limited, which is part

of the Friends Life

Group, last year marked its 25th

anniversary in Asia and this year

celebrates its 10th anniversary

of operations in the United Arab

Emirates.

Mr James Tan, Managing Director

of Friends Provident International

Limited said: “With the fast-growing

high net worth (HNW) segment

especially in Asia and the increasing

trend of global mobility today, our

offices in Singapore, Hong Kong

and the United Arab Emirates are

well-positioned to benefit from the

growth by offering life assurance

and investment-linked products to

both domestic affluent and global

expatriates.”

“You may not know when or where

you’re going to retire and everyone

wants to save for the children’s

education,” Mr Tan said.

According to the latest Friends

Provident International Investor

Attitudes Report, an independent

study on the views of the more

wealthy investors, saving for a rainy

day ranks highly among Singapore

and Hong Kong respondents (72%

and 61% respectively), ahead of

saving for educating the children

(42%, 36%) and saving for retirement

(63%, 54%).

“This report has become a highly-

valued resource, not just for our own

people but for market commentators

and our distribution partners,”

Mr Tan said, emphasizing that the

Group’s commitment to the regions

has never been stronger.

Friends Provident International

will continue to reshape its

operations by bringing more

resources to the ground in Asia

making it closer and easier for the

customer interaction. This will

include redesigning its product

propositions to its strategic customer

segment so that it can further

enhance the value to its already

award-winning products and service

deliveries for both its business

partners and its customers; and,

empathising and understanding its

customers’ needs and situations so

that it will be able to deliver the right

solution(s) to the right segment, in

the right market at the right time.

Under Mr Tan’s stewardship the

company is watching the insurance

industry landscape “evolve” with one

the key challenges the industry faces

being mounting changes in regulatory

requirements. Mr Tan welcomes and

embraces the changes as he sees the

benefits of transparency, despite the

higher operation costs involved in

compliance.

The other certainty is that

technology has and will continue to

shape the way we live and operate.

Mr Tan shared that investing in

technology to support the growth

in business is indisputable. The

company will integrate more

technology into its processes and

products in 2014 and beyond

to enhance quality customer

experiences while building on the

foundations that have served the

company well in Asia for the last 25

years.

Finally, Mr Tan stressed that the com-

pany would continue to develop and

grow its own talent as they are the

most valuable asset to the company

and are critical to how it performs in

Asia. ■

- h e a d q u a r t e r e d

Cognizant Technology

Solutions was founded

20 years ago as the

captive technology arm of the Dun &

Bradstreet Corporation, a 172-year-

old world leader in information

services.

Since then, it has experienced strong

growth and is now a recognized global

leader in information technology,

consulting, and business process

services.

“As enterprises around the

world increasingly focus on digital

transformation of their operations, we

expect the combination of economic

shifts and SMAC (social, mobile,

analytics and cloud) technologies to

create game-changing opportunities

across the markets we serve,” says

Cognizant Executive Vice President,

CEMEA and APAC, Santosh Thomas.

“To this end, we have built a range

of integrated capabilities: insight

and advisory consulting services,

deep knowledge of industry-specific

business processes as well as changing

industry trends, technology and

service operations to deliver business

improvements, and a culture of

innovation and agility to allow rapid

investment in new technologies and

delivery models.”

With over 50 delivery centers

worldwide and well over 171,000

employees across five continents,

Cognizant is a member of the

NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes

Global 2000, and the Fortune 500, and

is ranked among the top performing

and fastest growing companies in

the world. Revenue for 2013 stood at

US$8.84 billion with full-year 2014

revenue expected to exceed US$10

billion.

One of the big business shifts

Cognizant is currently observing

is what the company terms ‘Code

Halos™’, the information that

has come to surround people,

organizations, products and

processes, which can be leveraged to

build new business and commercial

models.

Built on SMAC technologies, Mr

Thomas says Code Halos are at the

heart of many enterprises’ advance

from “old-world industrial models

premised on physical assets to new

models based on their mastery of

‘digits’”.

“We are already seeing this with

today’s high-flying outperformers,” he

says. “Code Halo contains a richness

of business value that far outstrips

the value of physical assets that have

historically underpinned market

leadership.

“This offers companies the

opportunity to literally ‘read our

minds’ and delight us with products

and services that have us willingly

opening our wallets to do business

with them. Code Halos don’t end in the

consumer world—they are relevant to

all industries and enterprises of all

sizes.”

Cognizant’s ASEAN headquarters

was set up in Singapore in 2004 to

support global clients based in the

region. By 2008, the company had

established offices in Japan, China,

Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines,

Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

Singapore and Hong Kong

recorded US$287bn and US$280bn

GDP respectively in 2013. They are

expected to clock ICT growth of 4.79

percent and 3.87 percent respectively

in 2014, making them critical markets

for Cognizant.

Cognizant’s 2014 strategy will

focus on maintaining and enhancing

market leadership through technology

architectures such as social, mobile,

analytics and cloud, expanding

its regional footprint, particularly

in Malaysia, and developing

partnerships with key local players.

Local strategy to date has rested

heavily on recruiting regional talent:

70% of more than 4,500 associates

across ASEAN are locally hired.

“We have leveraged the regional

talent pool extensively,” Mr Thomas

says. “We view the local market, both

from business and talent standpoints,

as being critical to our overall success.”

Mr Thomas says businesses have

realized that their future performance

is reliant on new technologies and

the way they integrate them into their

operations, which is a trend Cognizant

is leveraging as it continues its growth

in Asia.

“Secular shifts in the economy,

business and technology are forcing

enterprises the world over to re-

examine how they operate. Businesses

have realized that merely incremental

levels of performance efficiency are no

longer enough,” he says. ■

I U.S.

Friends Provident TARGETS KEY MARKET GROWTH IN ASIA

COGNIZANT DRIVES BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION with new technologies

Insurance firm plans to increase resources in region and invest more in technology.

Businesses are re-examining how they operate and are embracing new technologies.

Mr James Tan.

Mr Santosh Thomas.

nsurance firm Friends

Provident International

Limited, which is part

of the Friends Life

Group, last year marked its 25th

anniversary in Asia and this year

celebrates its 10th anniversary

of operations in the United Arab

Emirates.

Mr James Tan, Managing Director

of Friends Provident International

Limited said: “With the fast-growing

high net worth (HNW) segment

especially in Asia and the increasing

trend of global mobility today, our

offices in Singapore, Hong Kong

and the United Arab Emirates are

well-positioned to benefit from the

growth by offering life assurance

and investment-linked products to

both domestic affluent and global

expatriates.”

“You may not know when or where

you’re going to retire and everyone

wants to save for the children’s

education,” Mr Tan said.

According to the latest Friends

Provident International Investor

Attitudes Report, an independent

study on the views of the more

wealthy investors, saving for a rainy

day ranks highly among Singapore

and Hong Kong respondents (72%

and 61% respectively), ahead of

saving for educating the children

(42%, 36%) and saving for retirement

(63%, 54%).

“This report has become a highly-

valued resource, not just for our own

people but for market commentators

and our distribution partners,”

Mr Tan said, emphasizing that the

Group’s commitment to the regions

has never been stronger.

Friends Provident International

will continue to reshape its

operations by bringing more

resources to the ground in Asia

making it closer and easier for the

customer interaction. This will

include redesigning its product

propositions to its strategic customer

segment so that it can further

enhance the value to its already

award-winning products and service

deliveries for both its business

partners and its customers; and,

empathising and understanding its

customers’ needs and situations so

that it will be able to deliver the right

solution(s) to the right segment, in

the right market at the right time.

Under Mr Tan’s stewardship the

company is watching the insurance

industry landscape “evolve” with one

the key challenges the industry faces

being mounting changes in regulatory

requirements. Mr Tan welcomes and

embraces the changes as he sees the

benefits of transparency, despite the

higher operation costs involved in

compliance.

The other certainty is that

technology has and will continue to

shape the way we live and operate.

Mr Tan shared that investing in

technology to support the growth

in business is indisputable. The

company will integrate more

technology into its processes and

products in 2014 and beyond

to enhance quality customer

experiences while building on the

foundations that have served the

company well in Asia for the last 25

years.

Finally, Mr Tan stressed that the com-

pany would continue to develop and

grow its own talent as they are the

most valuable asset to the company

and are critical to how it performs in

Asia. ■

- h e a d q u a r t e r e d

Cognizant Technology

Solutions was founded

20 years ago as the

captive technology arm of the Dun &

Bradstreet Corporation, a 172-year-

old world leader in information

services.

Since then, it has experienced strong

growth and is now a recognized global

leader in information technology,

consulting, and business process

services.

“As enterprises around the

world increasingly focus on digital

transformation of their operations, we

expect the combination of economic

shifts and SMAC (social, mobile,

analytics and cloud) technologies to

create game-changing opportunities

across the markets we serve,” says

Cognizant Executive Vice President,

CEMEA and APAC, Santosh Thomas.

“To this end, we have built a range

of integrated capabilities: insight

and advisory consulting services,

deep knowledge of industry-specific

business processes as well as changing

industry trends, technology and

service operations to deliver business

improvements, and a culture of

innovation and agility to allow rapid

investment in new technologies and

delivery models.”

With over 50 delivery centers

worldwide and well over 171,000

employees across five continents,

Cognizant is a member of the

NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes

Global 2000, and the Fortune 500, and

is ranked among the top performing

and fastest growing companies in

the world. Revenue for 2013 stood at

US$8.84 billion with full-year 2014

revenue expected to exceed US$10

billion.

One of the big business shifts

Cognizant is currently observing

is what the company terms ‘Code

Halos™’, the information that

has come to surround people,

organizations, products and

processes, which can be leveraged to

build new business and commercial

models.

Built on SMAC technologies, Mr

Thomas says Code Halos are at the

heart of many enterprises’ advance

from “old-world industrial models

premised on physical assets to new

models based on their mastery of

‘digits’”.

“We are already seeing this with

today’s high-flying outperformers,” he

says. “Code Halo contains a richness

of business value that far outstrips

the value of physical assets that have

historically underpinned market

leadership.

“This offers companies the

opportunity to literally ‘read our

minds’ and delight us with products

and services that have us willingly

opening our wallets to do business

with them. Code Halos don’t end in the

consumer world—they are relevant to

all industries and enterprises of all

sizes.”

Cognizant’s ASEAN headquarters

was set up in Singapore in 2004 to

support global clients based in the

region. By 2008, the company had

established offices in Japan, China,

Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines,

Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

Singapore and Hong Kong

recorded US$287bn and US$280bn

GDP respectively in 2013. They are

expected to clock ICT growth of 4.79

percent and 3.87 percent respectively

in 2014, making them critical markets

for Cognizant.

Cognizant’s 2014 strategy will

focus on maintaining and enhancing

market leadership through technology

architectures such as social, mobile,

analytics and cloud, expanding

its regional footprint, particularly

in Malaysia, and developing

partnerships with key local players.

Local strategy to date has rested

heavily on recruiting regional talent:

70% of more than 4,500 associates

across ASEAN are locally hired.

“We have leveraged the regional

talent pool extensively,” Mr Thomas

says. “We view the local market, both

from business and talent standpoints,

as being critical to our overall success.”

Mr Thomas says businesses have

realized that their future performance

is reliant on new technologies and

the way they integrate them into their

operations, which is a trend Cognizant

is leveraging as it continues its growth

in Asia.

“Secular shifts in the economy,

business and technology are forcing

enterprises the world over to re-

examine how they operate. Businesses

have realized that merely incremental

levels of performance efficiency are no

longer enough,” he says. ■

I U.S.

Friends Provident TARGETS KEY MARKET GROWTH IN ASIA

COGNIZANT DRIVES BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION with new technologies

Insurance firm plans to increase resources in region and invest more in technology.

Businesses are re-examining how they operate and are embracing new technologies.

Mr James Tan.

Mr Santosh Thomas.

Demand is growing for new services to better target valued customers and drive efficiency in business processing.ata management,

storage and

movement have

become necessary

tools of the trade in many

business environments,

even in some industries that

one might not immediately

expect.

As specialists in data

storage and and data

management , NetApp

has had to make its own

innovations to respond to

this dynamic environment.

“We’ve seen how some of our

biggest customers want to

change their consumption

models. We’re adapting

NetApp and we’re adapting

the way that we do business

with customers to meet their

needs,” says Rick Scurfield,

Senior Vice President and

General Manager, NetApp,

Asia Pacific.

Doing so might be harder

than it looks, especially

in the diverse APAC region where every country has very different needs. “I am

responsible for all of Asia-Pacific, which means I have Japan, down to New Zealand,

out to India, and all of the territories in between. When you say growth across APAC,

it becomes a very difficult question of how you address each one of those different

markets,” Mr Scurfield explains. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. We’re really looking at

different areas in different ways.”

Opportunities can be everywhere, and apart from their work with

telecommunications companies and financial institutions, NetApp has carved out

a reputation using its cutting-edge technology in Formula One racing.

“The amount of data that gets continually collected, from the wind tunnel where

the research and development carries out simulations, to when the Formula One

cars are on the track and sensors in the car feed to roving data centers with NetApp

technologies… it’s phenomenal,” Mr Scurfield says.

NetApp’s job is to figure out how to store and transmit large amounts of data as

quickly as possible, so that the racing teams are able to figure out how to optimise

their performance and vehicles.

NetApp’s work with the Sauber F1 team has allowed for analytics to be carried

out based on data generated by 100 sensors placed all over the car. As the car

speeds around the circuit, the team is able to monitor its performance in real-time,

providing advice and adjustments to the driver.

Mr Scurfield says the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in September will be a

chance to “showcase” NetApp’s capabilities.

“When we have an F1 event, we want to have our customers come in and we can

talk about the kinds of things that we’ve done inside of the environment.”

The thought of so much technology and science involved in such a high-speed,

high-risk sport is a little surprising. But it is merely an example of how dependent

the world is on data, and of the ever-growing environment NetApp finds itself

operating in. ■

rom the Singapore

headquarter of its

shipping, tracking

and delivery business,

DHL Express has been

able to watch the growth of

regional trade with fledgling

economies such as Myanmar

and developing countries

such as Vietnam, knowing

that increased cross-border

trading activities - via the

Asean Economic Community

(AEC) - will be a boon for the

business of international

logistics.

“Integration will only

reduce trade barriers: the less friction there is, the faster and more seamless our

delivery becomes,” says Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director of DHL

Express Singapore.

“Because Singapore is part of Asean, there is plenty of opportunity for

businesses with higher value add to work with their trade partners in other

countries and expand.”

Mr Vongpusanachai has spearheaded the company’s growth in Singapore

since 2008, overseeing a business which has more than 20,000 active customers.

“99% of the companies in Singapore are small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) and they continue to grow and expand... it’s one of our key pillars of

growth in terms of revenue and shipment growth,” he says.

DHL Express in Singapore serves a large community of SMEs from various

industries including the consumer durable goods, high tech and retail industries.

A 2013 study by IHS and commissioned by DHL Express found growing activity

among SMEs in international markets and a “born global” mentality driving

international trade within five years of starting up.

Singapore’s SMEs have fared well in terms of internationalisation. A 2013

report by DP Information Group found 46 percent of local SMEs had established

footholds in foreign markets, of which 43 percent had seen overseas markets

generating up to 30 percent of their total turnover.

That ambition is born from the inexpensive - and faster - communications

and technology available today, says Mr Vongpusanachai.

“Singapore has a lot of value-added SMEs that revolve around the major

MNCs that are based here. There’s a lot of tailwind pushing them forward,

and DHL offers these SMEs some key advantages so that they can continue to

leverage our services and infrastructure,” he adds.

On top of flexing its expertise for customers, DHL also offers help around

disaster management in the region through its corporate social responsibility

strategy. The company set up a global network of Red Cross-trained Disaster

Response Teams (DRTs) in 2005 to offer logistics support to communities in the

event of a disaster.

Employees of DHL Express Singapore formed part of the DRT team that

flew into the Philippines last year following Typhoon Haiyan, to offer airport

logistical support as aid began to flow into the country.

“As logistics experts we had a role to play - making sure inventory was

organised, operating the forklifts, sending packages out on time to the people

who needed them the most,” Mr Vongpusanachai says.

“While DHL has its sights on the expanding logistics market, using its expertise

to serve the community is also never far off our mind.” ■

NetApp’s analytics DRIVEN BY F1 SUCCESS DHL positioning for

SINGAPORE’S SME GROWTHHow can businesses manage and optimise their

data in a world where data is everywhere and generated in increasingly large volumes?

Fast-growing economies and increased regional trade in Southeast Asia are both

welcome trends for DHL.

Mr Rick Scurfield.

Mr Herbert Vongpusanachai.

mong the new business offerings to

spring up from the rise what is now

commonly known as ‘big data’ has

been the tailoring of services and

offerings through targeted data-driven services.

Making inroads in emerging markets in that

space is DANATEQ Pte. Ltd. Incorporated in

Singapore four years ago, the company provides

cognitive software solutions that ingest all kinds of

streaming data to process and analyze and with the

use of connectors to enterprise back-end systems,

automatically acts upon online analytical triggers.

The same system self-learns to optimize the

analysis and action for the next action cycle.

“Any data - be it telecom data, banking data,

point of sale data, digital media data - we can

analyse it and model in real-time as customers are

interacting with machines,” says DANATEQ CEO

Cody Martinson.

DANATEQ was founded by individuals -

with backgrounds in avionics, control systems,

telecommunications and defense - who came

together with a common vision of the future for

cognitive self-learning and optimizing enterprises.

Mr. Martinson watched the growth of data-driven

services from inside a telco, where optimising data

and processes in real-time is a needed resource; he

is now set on using the technology to improve the

efficiency of business processes.

“I am working with telecom customers and

other industries which would like to act upon the

enormous amounts of data they hold. The problem

is that many times it takes days or weeks to process

data and that is a problem for businesses. What was

‘in the moment’ a valid insight would become less

relevant if acted on too late,” he says.

“That created a vision: what if we take the

learnings we already have - our CTO is a robotics

engineer - that integrates the data-sensing

ingestion part of robotics engineering and includes

the controls part and then rolls it forward into one

big ‘cognitive learning loop’.”

“I decided to form a company that would solve

day-to-day business problems, not a company

that is ‘out there’ on the edges of technology,” Mr

Martinson recalls, “that leveraged on the less-

expensive hardware that wasn’t available 10 or 15

years ago and the super-computing power we have

today to present to enterprises a solution for their

data problems.”

What is labelled today as ‘customer experience

management’ includes notifications to advise a

customer of critical service issues or when offers

emerge that match their specific profile.

“We get tired of all this spam, but it’s spam

because it’s not relevant to you as a valued

customer,” Mr. Martinson says. “If it were relevant

to you, you wouldn’t consider it spam.”

The key differentiator of DANATEQ is its

“cognitive closed-loop system,” Mr Martinson says,

which provides more real-time, qualitative data on

customer behaviour and allows experiences and

services to be offered “in the moment”.

“Our robust, new-to-the-industry solutions

and new product development pipeline is bound

to excite customer-centric companies looking to

leverage on the massive amount of data in their

business,” he says.

After a successful 2013 in the Philippines, which

has seen DANATEQ secure the management of 100

million mobile subscribers through partnerships

with Smart Communications Inc. and Globe

Telecom Inc., the company is now looking to expand

further into Southeast Asia through its presence in

Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. It is forecasting 200%

growth in the region for 2014.

Expansion will hinge on the partnerships

DANATEQ is establishing with banks, airlines,

digital media, hotels and credit card companies

which have highly-valued customers and are

searching for data-driven services to enhance the

information they offer them.

The company is also working with universities

across Asia and the US, and is looking to expand its

R&D into Singapore. ■

Mr Cody Martinson.

Demand is growing for new services to better target valued customers and drive efficiency in business processing.ata management,

storage and

movement have

become necessary

tools of the trade in many

business environments,

even in some industries that

one might not immediately

expect.

As specialists in data

storage and and data

management , NetApp

has had to make its own

innovations to respond to

this dynamic environment.

“We’ve seen how some of our

biggest customers want to

change their consumption

models. We’re adapting

NetApp and we’re adapting

the way that we do business

with customers to meet their

needs,” says Rick Scurfield,

Senior Vice President and

General Manager, NetApp,

Asia Pacific.

Doing so might be harder

than it looks, especially

in the diverse APAC region where every country has very different needs. “I am

responsible for all of Asia-Pacific, which means I have Japan, down to New Zealand,

out to India, and all of the territories in between. When you say growth across APAC,

it becomes a very difficult question of how you address each one of those different

markets,” Mr Scurfield explains. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. We’re really looking at

different areas in different ways.”

Opportunities can be everywhere, and apart from their work with

telecommunications companies and financial institutions, NetApp has carved out

a reputation using its cutting-edge technology in Formula One racing.

“The amount of data that gets continually collected, from the wind tunnel where

the research and development carries out simulations, to when the Formula One

cars are on the track and sensors in the car feed to roving data centers with NetApp

technologies… it’s phenomenal,” Mr Scurfield says.

NetApp’s job is to figure out how to store and transmit large amounts of data as

quickly as possible, so that the racing teams are able to figure out how to optimise

their performance and vehicles.

NetApp’s work with the Sauber F1 team has allowed for analytics to be carried

out based on data generated by 100 sensors placed all over the car. As the car

speeds around the circuit, the team is able to monitor its performance in real-time,

providing advice and adjustments to the driver.

Mr Scurfield says the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in September will be a

chance to “showcase” NetApp’s capabilities.

“When we have an F1 event, we want to have our customers come in and we can

talk about the kinds of things that we’ve done inside of the environment.”

The thought of so much technology and science involved in such a high-speed,

high-risk sport is a little surprising. But it is merely an example of how dependent

the world is on data, and of the ever-growing environment NetApp finds itself

operating in. ■

rom the Singapore

headquarter of its

shipping, tracking

and delivery business,

DHL Express has been

able to watch the growth of

regional trade with fledgling

economies such as Myanmar

and developing countries

such as Vietnam, knowing

that increased cross-border

trading activities - via the

Asean Economic Community

(AEC) - will be a boon for the

business of international

logistics.

“Integration will only

reduce trade barriers: the less friction there is, the faster and more seamless our

delivery becomes,” says Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director of DHL

Express Singapore.

“Because Singapore is part of Asean, there is plenty of opportunity for

businesses with higher value add to work with their trade partners in other

countries and expand.”

Mr Vongpusanachai has spearheaded the company’s growth in Singapore

since 2008, overseeing a business which has more than 20,000 active customers.

“99% of the companies in Singapore are small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) and they continue to grow and expand... it’s one of our key pillars of

growth in terms of revenue and shipment growth,” he says.

DHL Express in Singapore serves a large community of SMEs from various

industries including the consumer durable goods, high tech and retail industries.

A 2013 study by IHS and commissioned by DHL Express found growing activity

among SMEs in international markets and a “born global” mentality driving

international trade within five years of starting up.

Singapore’s SMEs have fared well in terms of internationalisation. A 2013

report by DP Information Group found 46 percent of local SMEs had established

footholds in foreign markets, of which 43 percent had seen overseas markets

generating up to 30 percent of their total turnover.

That ambition is born from the inexpensive - and faster - communications

and technology available today, says Mr Vongpusanachai.

“Singapore has a lot of value-added SMEs that revolve around the major

MNCs that are based here. There’s a lot of tailwind pushing them forward,

and DHL offers these SMEs some key advantages so that they can continue to

leverage our services and infrastructure,” he adds.

On top of flexing its expertise for customers, DHL also offers help around

disaster management in the region through its corporate social responsibility

strategy. The company set up a global network of Red Cross-trained Disaster

Response Teams (DRTs) in 2005 to offer logistics support to communities in the

event of a disaster.

Employees of DHL Express Singapore formed part of the DRT team that

flew into the Philippines last year following Typhoon Haiyan, to offer airport

logistical support as aid began to flow into the country.

“As logistics experts we had a role to play - making sure inventory was

organised, operating the forklifts, sending packages out on time to the people

who needed them the most,” Mr Vongpusanachai says.

“While DHL has its sights on the expanding logistics market, using its expertise

to serve the community is also never far off our mind.” ■

NetApp’s analytics DRIVEN BY F1 SUCCESS DHL positioning for

SINGAPORE’S SME GROWTHHow can businesses manage and optimise their

data in a world where data is everywhere and generated in increasingly large volumes?

Fast-growing economies and increased regional trade in Southeast Asia are both

welcome trends for DHL.

Mr Rick Scurfield.

Mr Herbert Vongpusanachai.

mong the new business offerings to

spring up from the rise what is now

commonly known as ‘big data’ has

been the tailoring of services and

offerings through targeted data-driven services.

Making inroads in emerging markets in that

space is DANATEQ Pte. Ltd. Incorporated in

Singapore four years ago, the company provides

cognitive software solutions that ingest all kinds of

streaming data to process and analyze and with the

use of connectors to enterprise back-end systems,

automatically acts upon online analytical triggers.

The same system self-learns to optimize the

analysis and action for the next action cycle.

“Any data - be it telecom data, banking data,

point of sale data, digital media data - we can

analyse it and model in real-time as customers are

interacting with machines,” says DANATEQ CEO

Cody Martinson.

DANATEQ was founded by individuals -

with backgrounds in avionics, control systems,

telecommunications and defense - who came

together with a common vision of the future for

cognitive self-learning and optimizing enterprises.

Mr. Martinson watched the growth of data-driven

services from inside a telco, where optimising data

and processes in real-time is a needed resource; he

is now set on using the technology to improve the

efficiency of business processes.

“I am working with telecom customers and

other industries which would like to act upon the

enormous amounts of data they hold. The problem

is that many times it takes days or weeks to process

data and that is a problem for businesses. What was

‘in the moment’ a valid insight would become less

relevant if acted on too late,” he says.

“That created a vision: what if we take the

learnings we already have - our CTO is a robotics

engineer - that integrates the data-sensing

ingestion part of robotics engineering and includes

the controls part and then rolls it forward into one

big ‘cognitive learning loop’.”

“I decided to form a company that would solve

day-to-day business problems, not a company

that is ‘out there’ on the edges of technology,” Mr

Martinson recalls, “that leveraged on the less-

expensive hardware that wasn’t available 10 or 15

years ago and the super-computing power we have

today to present to enterprises a solution for their

data problems.”

What is labelled today as ‘customer experience

management’ includes notifications to advise a

customer of critical service issues or when offers

emerge that match their specific profile.

“We get tired of all this spam, but it’s spam

because it’s not relevant to you as a valued

customer,” Mr. Martinson says. “If it were relevant

to you, you wouldn’t consider it spam.”

The key differentiator of DANATEQ is its

“cognitive closed-loop system,” Mr Martinson says,

which provides more real-time, qualitative data on

customer behaviour and allows experiences and

services to be offered “in the moment”.

“Our robust, new-to-the-industry solutions

and new product development pipeline is bound

to excite customer-centric companies looking to

leverage on the massive amount of data in their

business,” he says.

After a successful 2013 in the Philippines, which

has seen DANATEQ secure the management of 100

million mobile subscribers through partnerships

with Smart Communications Inc. and Globe

Telecom Inc., the company is now looking to expand

further into Southeast Asia through its presence in

Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. It is forecasting 200%

growth in the region for 2014.

Expansion will hinge on the partnerships

DANATEQ is establishing with banks, airlines,

digital media, hotels and credit card companies

which have highly-valued customers and are

searching for data-driven services to enhance the

information they offer them.

The company is also working with universities

across Asia and the US, and is looking to expand its

R&D into Singapore. ■

Mr Cody Martinson.

CEO SINGAPORE 2014 SUPPLEMENT IS PRODUCED BY CONTENT GROUP INTERNATIONAL CEO 2014

12 WWW.CON T EN TGRO UP I N T ERNAT IONAL.COM

Design Agency, Meta Fusion, moved from 3 small offices in the Bugis area to a spacious four-storey premise in the Tiong Bahru vicinity over 5 years ago. A fortuitous move as Tiong Bahru has since become a vibrant, trendy and bustling vicinity befitting an agency that continually seeks to stay current and dynamic under the stewardship of CEO Francis Chua. The Agency has grown 7 times its original size since its inception in 2000.

Meta Fusion has cultivated a steady reputation and an extensive portfolio of clients over the years while servicing a number of industries including property, banking, retail and hospitality. From advertisements and annual reports to corporate branding and coffee table books, the company is known for its diversity and versatility among discerning clientele. Francis emphasizes, “I truly believe that variety is the spice of a designer’s life. As a designer myself, I would feel uninspired doing the same thing day in and day out.”

“The business has certainly been challenging at times, but I am very grateful that I have had talented and dedicated people who have invested their efforts and energies into building up the Meta Fusion brand.” With a compelling mix of designers trained in the US, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Meta Fusion provides a melting pot for creative talent where “iron sharpens iron”.

Creative agencies in Singapore face a competitive market for skills, which

Samples of Meta Fusion’s work

M A T T E R S

B E Y O N D D E S I G N

makes retention of staff an important CEO function. Francis says he tries to nurture a balance of experience and youth. “I always believe that young people are able to contribute a lot; a couple of my best account managers were 22 years old when they came on board. I also believe in engaging senior, more experienced staff who are able to effectively mentor the juniors with their wealth of accumulated knowledge and understanding of the business.”

Francis has watched the company grow regionally - it now has an office in Shanghai as well as projects based in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and Papua New Guinea. It has enhanced its core competencies with demand continuing to grow for more online offerings such as website design and other online services. In its push to be a “one-stop-shop” for design solutions the company added an interactive arm to address the ‘e-requirements’ of clients with traditional print media comprising a sizeable proportion of its business.

Having won over 130 international awards for design excellence, Meta Fusion is well-positioned despite the demands of a rapidly-evolving industry. Francis says, “Businesses have to be agile in this day and age of relentless, rapid change – the ability to adapt is critical to any company, big or small”.

“All said and done, I am grateful for the encouragement from dear family, the support of treasured clients, the dedication of appreciated staff and the wonderful provision of an amazing God.”

DESIGN

T 65 6579 0000

E [email protected]

W metafusion.com.sg

283 Outram Road

Singapore 169068

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